Canadian Political Watch

[deja vu]

Now that he has stacked the unelected Senate in his favor i think we will be seeing his "hidden agenda" come to light. The public has long suspected he had one and now we will know for sure.

[deja vu]

A prominent Canadian politician’s decision to undergo heart surgery in the U.S. has touched off a debate about national health care in his own country. At the center of controversy is Danny Williams, premier of Newfoundland and Labrador. Williams’ decision to head south across the border for his surgery is drawing fire from defenders of the Canadian health-care system – a favorite example for proponents of a government-run health care in the U.S.

Williams, a millionaire and former lawyer, left Canada on Monday to seek treatment at an unspecified hospital in the U.S. It is not clear what kind of surgery he’ll undergo, though Newfoundland Deputy Premier Kathy Dunderdale said that having the surgery in the province was not an option. So what about a hospital in Toronto, Montreal or Vancouver?

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,584 ... latestnews


While I am all for a debate on fixing the Health Care system in Canada, this is a private decision and should be kept that way. Why not focus on the patients we send to the US when beds for at risk births are not available? The long waiting list for some treatments and surgeries?

Thousands of Canadians pay to get treatment in the US. Some border states buy lower prescription drugs in Canada to cut their states cost. Surgery is a personal private matter and he has the right to choose where he wants the surgery. Imagine if he didn't have the money and was put on the waiting list and moved number 1 person out of the way and made that person wait even longer? Then lets have a discussion on Williams choice. Until then he is paying for it not the taxpayers so it is none of our business.

[CielOnTap]

Tories want to cancel MPs' spring breaks
By David Akin, Canwest News Service
February 4, 2010
OTTAWA-Prime Minister Stephen Harper plans to cancel two weeks of parliamentary breaks this spring to try to make up for the six weeks of work lost when he decided to prorogue Parliament after Christmas.

Conservative MPs were told Wednesday that the government plans to alter the Parliamentary calendar because “there is a lot of work to do.”

MPs were to have been back in the House of Commons on Jan. 25. But Harper prorogued, or suspended, Parliament until March 3, saying the government needed to “recalibrate” its agenda. Opposition MPs accused Harper of trying to hide from Parliament.

The parliamentary calendar can only be changed with the consent of all parties.http://www.ottawacitizen.com/news/Tories+want+cancel+spring+breaks/2519454/story.html

Classic "caught with hand in cookie jar" tactic. The self-proclaimed champion of women and children forgets that March Break (I'm assuming that break week falls around that key time) is important to all parents, including sitting MPs and that he wants changes made without consulation. Not good, sir.

[CielOnTap]

Is this a tactic to make provincial health authorities look bad by having to decide who gets treatments with isotopes and if they will be done out-of-province. Add the reactor issue to the list of issues needed to go back to Parliament when its long break ends in March.

The search for isotope answers
Feb 14 , 2010

Canadians have lost their capacity for shock or anger over breakdowns, malfunctions and missed deadlines at the Chalk River nuclear facility, the country's primary supplier of medical isotopes. The latest delay – the aging reactor will not resume production in March, as promised – might have escaped public notice if the Dutch had not announced the closing of their own reactor.

Starting this week, 60 per cent of the world's production capacity will be offline. Hospitals are bracing for serious isotope shortages. Patients who need diagnostic tests face longer waits or more invasive procedures. And Prime Minister Stephen Harper's failure to come up with a solution to the isotope crisis – or even a contingency plan for periods of global scarcity – is back in the spotlight.

The Conservatives have fumbled this issue repeatedly. They fired Linda Keen, the head of the nuclear watchdog agency, for refusing to overlook safety deficiencies at the Chalk River plant. They ordered Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd. (AECL) to fire up the 52-year-old reactor again, only to see it suffer through a succession of equipment breakdowns and closures. They shopped for isotopes abroad, with limited success, making it impossible for doctors to promise timely treatment to cancer and cardiac patients. Finally, exasperated by the whole mess, they announced that Canada – once the world's most reliable source of medical isotopes – is getting out of the business. http://www.thestar.com/opinion/editorials/article/764761--the-search-for-isotope-answers

[CielOnTap]

Did you know it’s Flag Day?
February 15, 2010
Rosie DiManno


VANCOUVER – Flag Day? Who knew? Nobody we buttonholed in the long and winding queue awaiting entrance to the Canada Pavilion.

But, aye, Feb. 15 is indeed Flag Day in this country so rah-rah-rah Maple Leaf.

“On this day 45 years ago, the red and white Maple Leaf flag was raised on Parliament Hill, across Canada and at Canadian missions around the world,’’ said James Moore, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages at a ceremony this morning outside the pavilion. “Today, our distinctive flag is cherished by Canadians and admired throughout the world as a symbol of freedom, democracy, rule of law and human rights.’’http://olympics.thestar.com/2010/article/765891--did-you-know-it-s-flag-day

[pysanky]

What, no cookies, no candy for Flag Day? It has to have campaign to be seen above Candy Day (yesterday) and New Year's Day.

[CielOnTap]

What is this? The Haitian government got an offer from the US to use one of their buildings for $1/year rent. Why is Canada footing the new buildings for government? Mr. Harper, your withdrawals on the taxpayers' money has put your political reputation into overdraft (while you are in Haiti).

Canada to help house Haitian government
By KATHLEEN HARRIS, Parliamentary Bureau Chief
Last Updated: 15th February 2010, 7:46pm
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — Canada will spend up to $12 million to build a temporary home for the Haitian government.

Most government buildings in the capital collapsed during the devastating Jan. 12 earthquake that killed an estimated 200,000 people. Prime Minister Stephen Harper said the Canadian cash will create a base to house key ministries and Haitian public servants for up to a year.

“The support that Canadians and the international community extended to Haiti is a testament to the compassion that unites humanity in the face of catastrophe,” Harper said in a prepared statement. “The establishment of a temporary government administrative base is an important step towards early recovery and reconstruction efforts. Canada will continue to support the Haitian government as it moves forward with its reconstruction and development agenda.” http://www.torontosun.com/news/canada/2010/02/15/12890356-qmi.html

[Smitty]

I can see this bit by Danny Williams for he has a lot of money while so many of us are closer to poverty level. So those that have yhe money can scoot to the USA or cut down costs if they are East Indians & have the job done in India as so many are doing including no by some Whities from Canada itself.

The continual lag of the Conservatives is pretty hard to accept. They definately will NOT get my vote or should I even waste time to stand in line to vote one way or the other?

Remember for many, many years the Liberals had the majority in the Senate. The Conservateves do not have a majority like the Libs have had for ages. Though I will admit that someone could prove I was wrong.

I remember when the Liberals wanted the Bill C-68 to go though without any hitches or delays the Libs sent in more Liberal Senators including Liberal Senator Sharin Castairs that could wear down any senator that was against the Bill C-68.

[fishandchips]

Canadian premiers in Washington
By THE CANADIAN PRESS
Last Updated: February 19, 2010 12:27pm
WASHINGTON — Most of Canada’s premiers are in Washington today to attend the influential National Governors Association.

Seven Canadian premiers are descending on the U.S. capital —Ontario, Quebec, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island.

They’ll sit down with their stateside counterparts and some key members of U.S. President Barack Obama’s cabinet. http://www.torontosun.com/news/canada/2010/02/19/12946066.html

Another association the average Canadian does not know about. What is wrong with a teleconference? Thought economies on both sides of the 49th parallel were hurting so spending money on expensive flights seems out of line (of what these individuals would allow companies they bailed out).

[CielOnTap]

Money issues come back to roost in the House of Parliament when March comes? This matter of pensions will be a lively discussion, especially when gold-plated pensions are concerned.

Back in 1993 when Reformers first arrived on Parliament Hill, the party made its name by advocating cuts to MP pensions as a way of leading by example and facing down the deficit.

Now though, almost all of the original group of Reformers who said they would turn down the generous benefits package have quietly opted back in, according to tracking by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation. (Preston Manning and Werner Schmidt were the key exceptions.)

Of the remaining 11 former Reformers in the Commons, 10 of them would receive well over $100,000 a year in benefits if they were to retire by the end of the year, numbers crunched by the lobby group suggest.

While MPs' individual pension benefit details are not published, the formula used to calculate them is, explained Derek Fildebrandt, the federation's national research director.

Prime Minister Harper, who was first elected in 1993 but then took a break from Ottawa before being elected again in a by-election in 2002, would receive about $150,244, according to the group's calculations.

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/capress/100221/national/mps_pensions