South Coast Today - canada

Why is Trudeau govt stalling on access to info changes?

Timothy Gillespie — Mon, 04 Apr 2016 17:20:42 +0000

Three-year wait for new legislation
Last year, Canada’s information commissioner criticized the federal access to information law, and the way Ottawa applies it, in words that could not be more damning. “The Act is applied to encourage a culture of delay. The Act is applied to deny disclosure. It acts as a shield against transparency. The interests of the government trump the interests of the public,” Suzanne Legault wrote in a report on the need to modernize the law.

Canadians who voted for the Liberals thought they were electing a party that recognized the serious problems with the act and the need for it to be speedily brought up to date. After all, doing so was a major plank in the party’s election campaign.

But last week, Treasury Board President Scott Brison announced that a full review of the law will not begin until 2018, which means it will be at least another three years or more before Canadians finally get the access-to-information law that they deserve.

SEE FULL GLOBE & MAIL STORY HERE

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McNeil's Liberals mis-managed economy, with 10,600 job losses; Baillie

Timothy Gillespie — Fri, 11 Mar 2016 19:12:36 +0000

“Adding more red tape to one of our most successful export industries is yet another example of the poor judgements this government makes,” says Baillie. “It flies in the face of everything the Ivany Report says to do.”

Progressive Conservative leader Jamie Baillie says in a Friday news release that the McNeil Liberals’ mismanagement of Nova Scotia’s economy is taking its toll on jobs, with the latest job numbers adding to an "alarming trend". Since February 2013, Nova Scotia has lost 10,600 jobs, says the release, basing its claim on recent Stats Can numbers. The employment rate in Cape Breton is the lowest in the province at 40.8 per cent and the second lowest in the country.

“Where is the plan for jobs and growth?” Baillie asks. “Nova Scotians can’t afford any more Liberal screw ups.”

Baillie says you only have to look as far as the Liberal handling of the film industry, forestry industry, lobster industry and onshore natural gas industry for examples. Premier McNeil is actually making things worse.

Baillie also says the most recent decision to force lobster buyers to either take a mandatory lobster handling course or risk losing their license is condescending and wrong.

“Adding more red tape to one of our most successful export industries is yet another example of the poor judgements this government makes,” says Baillie. “It flies in the face of everything the Ivany Report says to do.”

There is an urgent need, adds the release, for Stephen McNeil and the Liberal government to start focusing on getting the conditions right for economic growth and job creation in Nova Scotia.

“If we are ever going to become a self-reliant, prosperous province, we must get going,” says Baillie. “Our rural communities especially are struggling. Our province has to be more open for investment and new jobs. That includes natural resource development and emerging IT jobs.

“I’m proud of our east coast workforce. We have to pave the way for them develop our resources in a sustainable way.”

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Has Tories’ ‘tough-on-crime’ approach broken Canada’s justice system?

Timothy Gillespie — Fri, 11 Mar 2016 10:55:03 +0000

In the name of enhanced public safety, the Conservative government was 'creating fear of others, even in our relatively safe society, became a central theme, even with year-after-year reductions in reported crime,' says Howard Sapers, Canada’s Correctional Investigator.

A decade of a ‘lock them up and throw away the keys’ approach has left Canada’s criminal justice system broken and public safety at risk, said a group of justice analysts at a Hill Times Events panel discussion.

During the Conservative government’s time in power, there was a “pursuit of a self-named ‘tough on crime’ agenda; more severe and harsher penalties were seen as both the ends and the means of criminal justice,” said Howard Sapers, Canada’s Correctional Investigator. “There was a belief that crime could be best managed exclusively by the use of imprisonment.”

SEE FULL STORY IN THE HILL TIMES

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Possible 58,000 Canada job loss with TPP?

Timothy Gillespie — Tue, 08 Mar 2016 15:20:27 +0000

Highest per capita of all countries
The March 7 "Trouble with the TPP" post by Michael Geist [Canada Research Chair in Internet and E-commerce Law, University of Ottawa, Faculty of Law] canvassed the economic studies released to date on the agreement, finding that the evidence suggests that the economic gains for Canada are modest at best. In addition to efforts to assess the economic growth impact of the TPP, some studies have also tried to estimate its effect on employment.

The Tufts University study referenced yesterday has a specific analysis on job growth. It anticipates that Canada will lose jobs as a result of the TPP, projecting a loss of 58,000 jobs in Canada. That ranks the third highest in the TPP, but the highest of all countries on a per capita basis.
SEE FULL MICHAEL GEIST ARTICLE HERE:

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Can Thomas Mulcair make NDP supporters proud of their party again?

SCT STAFF — Thu, 03 Mar 2016 09:52:25 +0000

The weekend before last year's Oct. 19 election, before voting began, all three parties believed they knew what the results would be. They had the latest public opinion polls plus their own internal surveys. The Liberals understood that a last-minute movement of voters to them from the NDP plus the enthusiasm of younger voters for Justin Trudeau meant a majority was theirs. The Conservatives realized their government was as dead as Monty Python's parrot -- kaput, defunct. And the NDP leadership believed it was going to win easily, at least in Quebec.

Both Tom Mulcair and his team revelled in this expectation. The leader waxed excitedly about the huge turnout for his meetings in Quebec, surely presaging the NDP's second successive sweep of the province. A senior adviser assured anguished New Democrats that 50 Quebec seats were in the bag. Since virtually every public poll agreed the NDP was by then chopped liver, partisans listened but more plausibly believed the campaign was now totally delusional.

SEE FULL STORY ON RABBLE.CA

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Broad support for federal Liberal priorities

Timothy Gillespie — Wed, 02 Mar 2016 13:49:10 +0000

Abacus Data recently completed an in-depth nationwide LIFE IN CANADA’S COMMUNITIES study for the Federation of Canadian Municipalities. Tuesday's news release from the study is the third in a series based on this study.

Abacus asked people to react to recently announced federal priorities that relate to cities and communities. All six items tested found majority support (ranging from 58% to 74%) and very little opposition (no more than 10% on any item).

There appears broad support for the federal government investing in infrastructure, clean technology, public transit, and affordable housing, according to an Abacus poll published Tuesday. According to the poll, there is broad agreement with the idea that municipalities should have more say in the choices of what infrastructure to prioritize. And, 64% agree while only 10% disagree with the idea of putting a priority on reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

"In an era when some issues show sharp partisan divisions it is worth noting that the tendency across all major parties is to support rather than oppose these priorities," says the Abacus web site.

Conservative voters appear less enthusiastic about investments in clean tech, affordable housing and public transit, but are still more supportive than opposed.
When it comes to reducing carbon, more Conservatives agree (40%) than disagree (28%) with putting a priority on this. Worth noting, in Alberta, 58% agree, and 17% disagree.

Support for the priorities appears fairly consistent across a broad range of groups in Canada. On a handful of items there is more support among those on the left and centre of the spectrum than on the right, but these are more differences of degree than of direction.

SEE ABACUS WEB HERE

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Opinion: Liberals should exercise caution when it comes to deficits

Timothy Gillespie — Tue, 01 Mar 2016 11:21:49 +0000

A return to budgetary deficits carries risks.
From The Hill Times - IAN LEE, SEAN SPEER | The government has committed to running budgetary deficits for the short-term in order to promote economic growth. This was at the heart of the Liberal Party’s election platform and few can argue that it does not have a clear mandate to carry out its policy.

Last week, Finance Minister Bill Morneau confirmed that the government projects deficits of more than $30-billion over the next two years, largely because revenue is now expected to be considerably lower than it had been last April, and even before any new stimulus spending is undertaken. Consider that total revenue for 2016-17 is projected to be 5.6 per cent lower than was set out in the 2015 budget. And this does not account for the government’s high-priced platform commitments such as doubling federal infrastructure spending, increasing child-care benefits by $4-billion per year, and launching major new spending in aboriginal communities.

SEE FULL OP-ED ON THE HILL TIMES WEB

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Opinion: Don't confuse Peter MacKay's pipeline claims for facts

Timothy Gillespie — Sun, 28 Feb 2016 11:42:09 +0000

Elizabeth May on Rabble: There is a catechism of the fossil fuel industry, with oft-repeated claims that seem by repetition to escape examination. Peter MacKay's recent opinion piece on pipelines was a veritable greatest hits compilation of such claims.

He writes that "pipelines are by far the safest means of transporting oil." The first muddying of facts is the notion that we are talking about shipping oil. All the current pipeline proposals, including Energy East, are primarily about shipping unprocessed bitumen. Bitumen is in a pre-crude state and can only be casually referenced as "oil" if one accepted the idea that grain should be referred to as "croissants" when discussing markets.

The second problem with this much-repeated claim is the notion that it is "safest." The claim is not challenged because everyone recalls the tragedy of Lac Mégantic and the unsafe transport of North Dakota Bakken crude by rail. No doubt that shipping highly volatile and explosive Bakken crude is dangerous, by pipeline or rail. Here's the surprising thing: when shipping raw bitumen, rail is the safest mode of transport.

SEE FULL STORY ON RABBLE.CA HERE

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Will pot confusion affect Nova Scotia medical marijuana push?

Timothy Gillespie — Fri, 26 Feb 2016 12:23:40 +0000

No Nova Scotia firms licensed yet
A feisty exchange during Question period in the House Thursday, indicates confusion by some of what the implications might be from the recent BC court decision for medical marijuana producers in Canada.

There have been more than 1000 applications for Marijuana for Medical Purposes Regulations (MMPR) licenses from Health Canada with twenty-nine firms given the OK to date. Although there are no licensees yet in Nova Scotia, there are three or four firms which have made applications to Health Canada to grow and distribute medical marijuana. A Canadian subsidiary of US firm Vida Cannabis has purchased a former factory in Stellarton, but, after failing to obtain a license to date, is facing concern and complaints from investors about missing several important deadlines.

The Herbal Company (THC) in Truro has plans to build a 16,000 square foot facility with 22-foot high ceilings on 2.5 acres of land. Company president Evan Price says his firm is in the "later stages" of the application process.

AtlantiCann Medical Inc. has applied for a license for a facility in Shelburne at the former reform school there. AtlantiCann is headed by pharmacist Christine Halef, whose real estate developer father owns the Shelburne property.

South Shore-St. Margarets MP Bernadette Jordan recently told public officials in Shelburne that there was also a firm in Liverpool vying for a license, but her staff declined to reveal information about the firm.

Nova Scotia has the highest per-capita use of marijuana in Canada, at fifteen per cent.

With Tory MPs accusing the new government of seeking to give children access to marijuana, the NDP's Thomas Mulcair calling for immediate decriminalization of the drug and Bill Blair, the parliamentary secretary to the minister of justice saying a "hazy fog" had descended over Parliament.

Blair, a former Toronto police chief is the government's point man on the legalization file responded to an NDP question about the Federal Court ruling Wednesday that medical marijuana patients are entitled to grow their own marijuana, "Will the minister of justice respect this decision?"

Blair said that the ruling only concerned medical marijuana and is under review and the pot prohibition remains.

Murray Rankin, NDP justice critic, accused the Liberals of "sowing confusion left and right on marijuana" by offering no timeline on legalization.

Blair said the current approach of criminalizing people for possession is failing but the government is still going to continue the current approach indefinitely, according to Rankin.

"Why doesn't this government clear up the confusion and simply decriminalize personal possession of marijuana immediately?"

Kamal Khera, parliamentary secretary to the minister of health, said it was "vitally important" that those who need marijuana for medical use can have access. She reminded the House that the case in B.C. is not about recreational use of the drug.

When asked what the Liberal plan was to keep marijuana out of the hands of children, Blair said "The science and the evidence is overwhelmingly clear, that the best way to protect our kids, to get organized crime out of the business of selling marijuana in our communities, and to ensure a robust public health response, is through strict regulation."

When asked whether the court decision might affect the customer base for medical marijuana, AtlantiCann vice president Ed Cayer said via email, "We expect that the judicial decision will focus the government's efforts to better regulate the production for sale of medical marijuana and clarify the authority of individuals to produce medical marijuana for personal use."

Evan price, president of Truro-based THC told SCT in an interview that he anticipated no adverse market effects from the court ruling. "The demand for high-quality product is huge," he said, indicating that recently there were more than 50,000 users of medical marijuana and that there are more than 2000 additional registered prescriptions per month. Price said that he has spoken to several people in the department and with the chairman of the Standing Committee on Health and all have assured him that the court ruling will not impede the MMPR licensing application process.

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Trudeau Liberals could look radiant compared to train wreck about to unfold in U.S.A.

Timothy Gillespie — Mon, 22 Feb 2016 14:51:56 +0000

Burning down the Harper legacy serving Trudeau well

As the Stephen Harper years piled one onto another, debate grew in the capital over how much of his Conservative legacy would become a fundamentally ingrained part of Canada.

Would successive governments be unwilling or unable to lift the rocks and get at the philosophical underpinnings of almost a decade of Harper?

Turns out, a lot of the Conservative agenda can be overturned, and rather quickly.

SEE TIM HARPER STORY IN THE STAR

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