Reader Tips

A quick and dirty roundup of reader tips, before I leave;
Another good article on the questionable actions of CNN in allowing Eason to “run wild” for so long, by Brent Bozell
DC Circuit Court recognizes bloggers as journalists.
Ezra Levant in the Calgary Sun;

“It is now clear that Canada could never have the kind of accountability first-rank countries demand of their leaders. We could never have a Watergate in this country, never an impeachment.
“Our leaders are above the law. The Gomery Commission would not have been born were it not for the permission of Martin, a witness and suspect himself. As Chretien demonstrated to the delight of our press corps, its an obviously powerless inquiry that exists to whitewash, not to get justice.“

Hydro-Quebec tries to block a broadcast that reveals they provide virtually no security for their major power installations. Somewhat surprisingly, a Quebec judge disagrees.
It doesn’t pay to be a whistleblower when you work for the federal government.

When I came forward and blew the whistle on the refugee board, a number of negative reactions occurred. They included an anonymous note that I received, calling me a troublemaker and telling me I should quit the refugee board. The executive director took a decision that my access to the office should be denied, and my access card was deactivated. The executive director then wrote me a letter and said, well, we told you that your access card was deactivated and we also told you how you could access the building. In fact, no such directions were given, and through the Access to Information Act, the Freedom of Information Act, and the Privacy Act, I received that information.
I was assaulted by the regional director in Toronto. I was subjected to a disciplinary hearing for seeking the advice and assistance of a lawyer. I was harassed by IRB managers when I was on sick leave. The IRB engaged in a cover-up sanctioned at the highest level of that organization. My health and dental benefits were cut off effective July 1, 2004, and I have not received any pay from the government since March 15, 2004.
I mention this to you because I thought about you committee members last night and about how important you are, because challenging unethical workplace conduct comes at a price. That price includes threats to one’s physical, psychological, and financial integrity. The current system and the proposed system for dealing with these matters are inadequate, and it is you, the committee here, who have an important role to play in terms of giving whistle-blowers who come forward meaningful protection.

A letter from a reader with experts from Hansard. Lengthy, so the rest is in the extended entry. Auditor Generals report on the Liberal government’s unaccountable foundations, recent gang violence and the fraudulent gun registry, and the lack of action on filling manpower gaps in the RCMP. The reader (who requests anonymity) comments;

The media don’t challenge the Minister on her veracity. It simply doesn’t add up.They only have aknee jerk, band aid approach to security for Canadians and she keeps pumping out the bilge. She claims that they are putting $8 billion into security and the media ,like sheep, buy it. How many RCMP and CSIS agents have been hired above those retiring with that $8 billion?
The Senate Report on National security pointed out all the gaps, yet the media sleep.The ports are undermanned, they are closing detachments in Quebec, every unit from white collar crime to drugs, to intelligence are undermanned ,yet she says all is well and the media believe her? The RCMP have 2500 fewer officers today than 12 years ago but everything is under control? The crooks and terrorists are laughing themselves silly.They keep reorganizing, redeploying,with fewer officers and she says that less is more? Where’s the media? or security of Canadians is not important.

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ORAL QUESTION PERIOD
Hon. Stephen Harper (Leader of the Opposition, CPC): Mr. Speaker, the Auditor General’s report you just tabled indicates the government has learned nothing from the sponsorship scandal. That scandal happened because the Liberals stashed millions away from the watch of Parliament. Now, even after repeated warnings, billions of dollars continue to be hidden away in these
unaccountable foundations.
When will the government learn and put foundation spending under the scrutiny of Parliament
and the Auditor General?
Right Hon. Paul Martin (Prime Minister, Lib.): Mr. Speaker, the foundations are available to
Parliament. The Canadian Foundation for Innovation, as an example, has appeared over 11 times in
front of parliamentary committees.
The fundamental point the hon. member seems to be raising is he is questioning the validity of
the Canadian Foundation for Innovation and other such foundations.
The Leader of the Opposition should go to the universities and the teaching hospitals in the
country and ask them what they think about the Canadian Foundation for Innovation. He will find
that they support it. They are supporting fundamental research in the country, and that is what is
important.
Hon. Stephen Harper (Leader of the Opposition, CPC): Mr. Speaker, I am only quoting the
Auditor General who says today, “Given the significant sums involved, I am concerned about the
lack of adequate accountability to Parliament”. It is for $8 billion.
The Prime Minister has just finished appearing before the Gomery commission where he could not
remember anything about finance in the last 10 years.
Will the Prime Minister promise the House that this time he will ensure in the upcoming budget
that more taxpayer money is not hidden away in foundations?
Right Hon. Paul Martin (Prime Minister, Lib.): Mr. Speaker, no money is hidden. Public reports
are made. All the hon. member has to do is read them.
If the hon. member would like to call the members of any one of those foundations in front of
a committee, he is certainly free to do so. In fact, I can tell the hon. member that those
foundations would like to appear.
If the hon. member is challenging what the foundations do, saying that the money is hidden,
then why does he not go to the hospitals, go to the universities and go to those who benefit from
what those foundations do and say that to them?
Justice
Mr. Peter MacKay (Central Nova, CPC): Mr. Speaker, Toronto Police Chief Julian Fantino said on the weekend that hard-core, gun-crazed gangsters were perpetrating a frenzy of violence and
bloodshed in Toronto on the weekend. When the smoke cleared, two were dead and six were injured. Seventeen of these 18 crimes involved guns.
Alarmingly, Chief Fantino made a damning assessment that criminals have no fear of the justice
system and that it neither deters nor rehabilitates. He and many others are calling on the
government to take action to crack down and restore safety on the streets. When will the
government legislate mandatory minimum sentences for the criminal use of firearms and end this
ineffective gun registry, putting the money into front line policing?
Hon. Irwin Cotler (Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, Lib.): Mr. Speaker, we
care no less than the opposition about the safety and security of Canadians. We made safety and
security a centrepiece of our meetings with federal, provincial and territorial ministers of
justice and we will continue to promote and protect the security and safety of Canadians.
* * *
[Translation]
Public Security
Mr. Peter MacKay (Central Nova, CPC): Mr. Speaker, the CBC is again reporting that the
Liberals are not taking terrorist threats seriously. Our borders are like sieves, and our major
dams are open to attack at any time. The Liberals are cutting back on the number of RCMP in Quebec and ignoring all the alarm signals.
The minister needs to wake up. She needs to tell us what steps she plans to take, without
further delay, to protect Canadians.
[English]
Hon. Anne McLellan (Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Public Safety and Emergency
Preparedness, Lib.): Mr. Speaker, as I have said before in this House, the redeployment of RCMP
officers in Quebec is not reducing the complement in that province. In fact, what the force is
doing is redeploying those officers to ensure they can provide better border protection; for
example, through the creation of more integrated border enforcement teams. In fact, we are
redeploying officers so they can work more effectively with the S�ret� du Qu�bec in the fight
against organized crime, drug trafficking, gun smuggling, people smuggling and so on.
We are redeploying to be more effective and more efficient in protecting the people of Quebec
and Canada.
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