Ted Menzies Demoted

In the dead of the night, with the stroke of a web editor Ted Menzies has been quietly removed from being the unilingal, Enlish only speaking , parlimentary secretary for Le Francphonie, Duh Oh. Because of the outrage over such a blatantly clueless move by Harper.

MP must know how to speak: Godin CBC New Brunswick, Canada - 10 Feb 2006 An Alberta MP who doesn't speak French has been named parliamentary secretary to the minister for la Francophonie. Ted Menzies will ...

New parliamentary secretary to Francophonie can't speak French CBC News, Canada - 10 Feb 2006 Francophone groups and opposition MPs are raising concerns about an appointment within Stephen Harper's government after learning the parliametary secretary ...

New parliamentary secretary to Francophonie can't speak French
Vive Le Canada, Canada - 3 hours ago
Francophone groups and opposition MPs are raising concerns about an appointment in Stephen Harper's government after learning the parliametary secretary for la ...

Because of the outrage over such a blatantly clueless move by Harper. Sometime between Feb. 7 and today the PMO just changes their web page as if it never happened.

Shades of the The Stalin school of falsification! Wow just like that Menzies is no longer Le Francophonie secretary. Just like Stalin had pictures of Lenin and Trotsky together, erased.


Yes its true, here are the links to the PMO press release and the biographies for the parlimentary secretaries as published and revised, with no announcement that they had removed Menizies from his post as Le Francophonie.

Prime Minister announces Parliamentary Secretaries

NEWS RELEASE

February 7, 2006

Ottawa, Ontario

Ted Menzies
Macleod (Alberta)
Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of International Cooperation

TED MENZIES

Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of International Cooperation

Macleod (Alberta)

Ted Menzies was first elected to the House of Commons in 2004 and was re-elected in 2006. Most recently, he served as Critic for International Trade. Prior to this, he was the Critic for Inter-Provincial Trade, International Cooperation and the Canadian International Development Agency. Mr. Menzies was also president of the Canadian Agri-Food and Trade Alliance and vice-president of the Grain Growers of Canada. He has owned and operated a farm in Claresholm , Alberta , for over 30 years. Mr. Menzies was born in 1952 in Claresholm. He is married to Sandy and they have two children.

Unfortunately nobody bothered to inform Mr. Menzies of his demotion. So I guess he can cancel his French lessons.

Anglo MP to begin leçons
Toronto Star, Canada - 10 hours ago
OTTAWA—The Conservative government's contentious choice to help represent Canada with the francophonie says he'll get straight to work Monday morning ...

Unilingual anglo Tory says he's up to the job of representing ...
Canada.com, Canada - 23 hours ago
OTTAWA (CP) - A unilingual anglophone tasked by the Conservative government with responsibility for the francophonie says he's starting French lessons on Monday ...

A tip o the blog to Jason Cherniak for pointing this out... Ted Menzies - La Francophonie no longer?





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Ted Menzies

Medicare is Communist

So our healthcare system which allows for private mediclinics, public hospitals, specialists with direct billing and all that is paid for by a single payer system is now called communist.

Equal access health care slammed

'Fine for people living in communist countries' - fee-based service proponent

Equal access to health care is fine for communists but not Canadians, said a Calgary company pushing round-the-clock, fee-based medical services to those who can afford it.

Stephanie Ross, business manager for the Centre for Preventative Medicine said patients are demanding better service and are willing to pay for it.

"People are tired of waiting," Ross said, adding standard access to health care for everyone is "fine for people living in communist countries. But that's not the country we live in."

Yeah how dare poor people and working people demand the right to the same healthcare as the rich. Damned socialist idea.

Gee I didn't know that Canada was communist. So comrades rally round the red flag in defense of publicly funded healthcare. Cause dem anti-Bolsheviks will be making there stand for freedom in Calgary.

Have you noticed how Calgary is the home of all these right wing types who flourish this kind of red baiting rhetoric around. I know it sells papers like the Sun and the Western Standard, and makes for nifty press releases from the NCC and Fraser Institute, but it's as outdated a model T.

But it cheers the cockles of the hearts of the Party of Calgary (PC) and of course that other party of Calgary under Stephen Harper who now rule's in Ottawa. Even if it is patently ridiculous.

So here we have it, the Alberta Advantage for the advantaged, first-class access to the public system, the beginning of Ralph's Third Way if Ralph had any idea of what the Third Way means.

Those working in this scheme, known by the most stylish handles of concierge medicine and retainer-based health care, admit there are no cost savings to the public purse and no reduction of wait times since the doctors on duty work out of a private clinic.

No matter. The people with an extra $5,400 sure see the benefit. They will be the ones escaping the consequences of the provincial Tory government's decade-long mess up of the medical system. All other unfortunates can take a number at the walk-in clinic and queue up for the chance to be shuffled off after seven minutes with the M.D

"This is what waits for us in the shadows," says Brian Mason, the NDP leader who has been riding herd on this file and doesn't get enough credit for being the top performing MLA on the Opposition benches.

Mason points out Calgary is perfect for the Third Way since there is a market of people with big oilpatch bonuses who will try and bully everyone else into believing this is good for all of us. And Calgary is the city where the health-care system was screwed up the worst because the public played passive. Wealth of ideas

Also see:

• Illegal Private Hospital In Calgary
• Private Healthcare Monopoly
• Naughty Naughty

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Illegal Private Hospital In Calgary

So it takes a lawyer in private practice to tell us this, Clinic contravenes Canada Health Act: lawyer While the Government of Alberta dithers. Naughty Naughty

Steven Shrybman says the Centre for Preventative Medicine violates the act by allowing people with higher incomes to jump the cue. "Timely care, is what the Canada Health act exists to ensure everyone has access to, regardless of their ability to pay," said Shrybman. The legality of the clinic has been in dispute since it came to the public's attention following a CBC news story Wednesday.



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Private Healthcare Monopoly

Our friends on the right like to talk about the healthcare monopoly when they refer to medicare in Canada. Well here is an example of how privatized health care is not the alternative.
CHR renews contract with private clinic
The Health Resource Centre is so far the only private facility in southern Alberta licensed to do overnight surgeries, and therefore faces no competition.


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Don't Count On That GST Cut Yet

While the Conservatives plan to roll back the tax cuts the Liberals introduced before the election, they do not plan to, and cannot, implement the GST cut probably until 2007. So while you and I will get our tax cut for 2005 we may face higher taxes in 2006 without a GST cut until a year after that.

Don't expect to get those promised tax cuts right away
But there's a problem with lowering the GST rate right away.The first income tax reductions announced by the Liberals have already passed into law. The Canada Revenue Agency has sent out millions of tax forms, incorporating the changes for the 2005 tax year."Can Harper change the GST rate midway through 2006?" Finn Poschmann, associate research director for the C.D. Howe Institute in Toronto, asks. "It's unlikely. He may propose looking at it in 2007 instead."The delay makes sense. With the Liberals' income tax measures in place for the first year, the Conservatives may not have the revenue needed to pay for their GST promise.

Which is why the Harper government has been deliberately vague on all of its economic promises, Flaherty promises federal budget after House resumes, except of course the July 1st start for their baby bonus, which is a sop to distract us from the fact they are going to be taxing us in order to pay for their GST cut.


For a good article on how the Tax Cut Tories will become the Tax Canadians "to pay for our promises " Tories see this progressive bloggers take on it: Hey Harper, get your hands out of my pocket!




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State Controlled Day Care

William Stairs propaganda oberfuerher for the Harper Regime in Ottawa denounced State Controled Day Care, on Don Newmans Poltics the other day. WTF is State Controled day care in Canada?

Is he refering to the fact that the Liberals gave provinces funds for their daycare portfolios, which are a hodge podge of programs across Canada. Which is why Harper can offer Quebec a special deal while telling the rest of the provinces to expect funding cuts.Harper offers Quebec 'extension' on child-care

Premiers want old child-care deals upheld

For instance Alberta has the lowest number of non-profit publicly funded daycares than any other province in Canada. We have more baba's babysitting and a huge private for profit day care industry that benefits from child tax credits.

Heather Forsyth, Alberta's minister for children's services, said she wanted to hear details, adding she had not yet heard from Harper. "We need to know his plan versus our plan," said Forsyth. "We need to know when his money is kicking in and when we're losing our money so that we can start talking to Albertans and getting them ready for the changes."

Oh thats ominous isn't it. What changes? Less spaces? Wage roll backs? Job cuts for day care workers? Who knows what impact the Harper plan will have?

When Oberfuerher Stairs denounces the mythical State controled daycare he must be refering to Israel, not Canada.

But he is not alone in creating mythical beasts to slay. Other Tory apologists in the blogosphere and columnists in the MSM also claim that the Liberal funding did not create any more daycare spaces. Well that also is a lie.


Day-care workers, parents eye future of federal funding

"If we don't have that money, we're going to have to look at what kind of cuts we can make, and that would jeopardize the quality of the programs for the kids we have in the program," she said.Many day-care centres have already received their share of this year's money, and have used the extra funds to boost pay and create more spaces. Now, the centres' managers are left wondering if they'll be able to continue to afford the pay raises and new programming. The money Winnipeg's Beaumont Day Care has received so far has paid for wage increases for staff and 15 new spaces for children. Director Jen Grove says she will refuse to cut back on wages, but she worries that other areas may suffer if the Tories don't honour the Liberal agreement. Vince Stycke, who has a child in day care, worries that it will be impossible to keep quality staff if the recent wage increases are rolled back. "As a parent, we just want to know that if we are leaving our children, that they are being looked after, and the people that are doing that are treating them well, are educated and engaged in their profession," he said. "I just don't know if that's possible if we cut back the pay."Across the province, the new federal money was expected to fund more than 3,000 new day-care spaces; hundreds of them are already in place.

Yep the Tories and their syncophants are practicing Herr Goebels Big Lie on the Day Care issue. So beware of Tories talking about State Controled Day Care. No such creature exists in Canada.

Now on the other hand State Funding for Day Care does exist. And the Tories day care plan is also State Funding for day care, just not direct funding to public non profit day care centres. Which last time I checked were not State controled and were classic liberal capitalist enterprizes for the public good.

For My Day Care Stories Go Here:

Day Care

Defend Public Day Care

Also See:

The Tories Big Lie

Two Tier Alberta

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I Am Shocked

Province taken aback by Wabamun lawsuit
Provincial officials say they're surprised the government has been named in a multi-million dollar lawsuit over a train derailment last summer in Wabamun. The Paul First Nation is suing the Alberta government, CN Rail and the federal government for the disaster, where as much as 1.3 million litres of bunker oil was spilled beside and into the lake.

Because you dolts the Environment is a Provincial jurisdiction.Now how could you forget that little fact? Hmm? Since you make sure Ottawa knows what is Alberta's jurisdictions ad nauseum.

And lets see you didn't have an emergency disaster plan in place. And when the accident occured you threw up your hands and said it wasn't your problem, until the news coverage made you look stupid.

Robert Moyles, a spokesperson for Alberta Environment, says he believes the government took the appropriate action. "Minister Guy Boutilier established the environmental protection commission immediately after the incident to determine how we could develop a better response system," he said. "They've made their recommendations and the government has accepted those."

Yeah after the fact, only when push came to shove and the Minister was embarassed did he call for a study, the Klein Reich's way of dealing with most problems is to study it to death. Like Healthcare. In this case the report said that the Minister and his department weren't prepared with an emergency plan for any kind of predictable disaster like this. Well Duh Oh.

Because despite the clear responsibility of CN for this disaster the Klein governemt didn't sue them, take them to court ion behlaf of the citizens affected or fine them.

The Alberta government conducted an investigation into the derailment, but no charges were ever laid against CN.

Because thats business as ususal in Alberta, regulations and enforcement are just so much damn red tape. And besides they get in the way of business doing business, which is why the Government is out of business.


More CN Stories

Also See

Corporate Watch

Health and Safety

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Storm Clouds Over The US Economy

The reliance on consumer and government debt to produce and maintain the American economy has put that nation under a veritable storm cloud of trouble. It is the equivalent of Hurricane Katrina, and like Katrina America is ignoring their debt crisis until it actually hits home.

Soaring U.S. trade deficit a cloud over robust economy

By Paul Blustein

The Washington Post

WASHINGTON — The U.S. trade deficit soared to a record in 2005 for the fourth year in a row, according to a government report released Friday that provided a reminder of the dangers hovering over a generally robust economy.

The United States imported $725.8 billion more in goods and services than it exported last year, the Commerce Department said. That is up 17.5 percent from last year, and it is an all-time high not only in dollar terms but also as a proportion of the economy; the figure is equal to 5.8 percent of gross domestic product.

For December alone, the trade gap increased to $65.7 billion from a revised $64.7 billion the month before. That is the third highest monthly deficit ever.

In some respects, the trade deficit reflects the strength of the U.S. economy, at least relative to other major trading partners.

Ah there is always a silver lining in those economic storm clouds.......but wait till the levee breaks.

Because U.S. economic growth has been rapid in recent years, U.S. consumers are snapping up foreign goods of all kinds — autos, electronics and clothing being some of the biggest categories.

At the same time, relatively sluggish growth in economies such as the European Union and Japan has dampened demand for goods made in the United States. Thus even though U.S. exports rose 10.4 percent last year to $1.27 trillion, imports surged 12.9 percent to nearly $2 trillion.

The gap worries many economists because it means the United States must borrow heavily from overseas.

The dollars that Americans spend on imports are typically invested by foreigners in the bonds of the U.S. Treasury and mortgage agencies such as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, so the more the trade deficit widens and persists the greater U.S. indebtedness becomes.

That is why some analysts fret about a scenario in which foreigners would sell off U.S. securities en masse, causing interest rates to soar and the global economy to fall into recession.

America's economy is not driven by production, hence the less than devastating economic impact of the Ford and GM layoffs and the companies pending collapse into debt, but by credit card capitalism.

As Herr Dr.Marx formulated it M-C-M (Money-Capital-Money), money is making money in the casino capitalism of the American economy, that is until those who have invested decide to cash in their chips and go home.

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The World According to Adam

The new generation Tory Turk Adam Daifallah has weighed in on the Conservatives scandal and crisis with this. Emerson / Fortier, the Energizer bunny story

Where he says this about his elders; I fail to see how anyone can make excuses for what happened. I was particularly surprised to see two rock-ribbed conservatives whom I respect greatly, Ted Morton and Ezra Levant, engaging in excuse-making for these incidents on TV yesterday and today. They appear to have bought into the "it's for the greater long-term good" argument, the line the Harper people are trying to sell.

But Adam is from Ottawa and these guys are from Calgary....as I said before with the Calgary Gang in power at last it's the politics of Alberta that are being played in Ottawa.



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Five days and Counting

Here are my Blog articles on topics around this first week of our new Conservative government which is doing politics differently (sic). The last few articles were written during the week after the election. But the majority have been written since Monday. Has it only been five days. My gawd.

And it's still fifty days till Parliment recovenes, will the Conservativeslast that long? Or will their heads explode?!

And then watch the fireworks in Question Period. Ah this is delicious. It's the country bumpkins go to Ottawa.

• Emerson another Grewal
• Why Rob Anders Supports TheFalun Gong
• Salt Spring News
• Don't P.O. Garth
• Monte Gone
• William Stairs
• A Week of Scandal
• You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet
• You Are Paying For This
• Will Tories Goose Workers\
• Vic Toews Lied
• A One Day Wonder
• Not Your Daddies Conservative Party, well maybe...
• Recall
• Coyne Nails It
• Defense Lobbyist Now Minister
• Harpers Accountable Government NOT
• Small C Liberal
• What took so long
• Forget Dingwall Let's Talk Pallister
• The Asian Tribune on Harper
• Derek Burney Voice of America

• The Tories First Scandal

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Canada, Harper, Emerson, Pallister, Toews, Burney, Fortier, Mulroney, Government, Cabinet, MP's, Solberg, Anders