I can appreciate that any employer wants to protect its confidentiality, however what the Harper Government is imposing on employees of MPs is another thing altogether. Most people sign some kind of non-disclosure agreement with their employers. These are not usually any big deal. They usually contain some kind of
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The Cracked Crystal Ball II: The Assault On Knowledge Continues
The Harperites are continuing their assault on any source of data which might get between them and their dogmatic policies. The most recent chapter in the saga is the dismantling of the DFO’s system of reference libraries. If they were consolidating them, that would be one thing. For the Harperites,
Continue readingThe Cracked Crystal Ball II: If Nigel Wright is a "Hero" …
According to Christie Blatchford, Canadians apparently should revere Nigel Wright and his actions in the Senate Expenses mess. I don’t believe that Mr. Wright was acting in a knowingly criminal manner – I have always thought that he believed firmly that he was acting within the bounds of his job
Continue readingThe Cracked Crystal Ball II: Trickle Down Budget Cuts
Conservative governments love budget cuts. Look around you, and every time there is a “financial crisis”, the first thing that comes out of the conservatives is that they must cut program spending left, right and centre “because the government doesn’t have the income to support it”. Superficially, the public would
Continue readingThe Cracked Crystal Ball II: What Ford and Harper Have In Common
They both have problems with telling the truth. Yesterday, news broke that Rob Ford had been attempting to purchase the video of him smoking crack cocaine – before Gawker and the Toronto Star made the existence of the video public. In this morning’s news, we find Ford denying that he
Continue readingThe Cracked Crystal Ball II: Thought’s On Chong’s Reform Bill
Michael Chong’s Bill C-559 is a relatively short piece of work, but it has taken me a bit of time to go through it and start to understand the implications of the changes being proposed, mostly because it contains a series of small changes to much larger acts – in
Continue readingThe Cracked Crystal Ball II: How Shocking …
So, apparently the PMO has “found” a bunch of e-mails that they previous claimed had been deleted. The emails of Stephen Harper’s former legal advisor were not deleted when he left the Prime Minister’s Office, according to a letter sent from the Privy Council Office (PCO) to the RCMP. Benjamin
Continue readingThe Cracked Crystal Ball II: Alberta Bills 45 and 46
Others have spoke very eloquently about the problems with Bills 45 and 46. What I want to bring to readers’ attention is how the Redford Government is abusing not just legislative procedure, but democracy itself. It is not unusual for this government to limit debate on bills. What is unusual
Continue readingThe Cracked Crystal Ball II: The Rumbling Begins?
Harper’s leadership is becoming increasingly shaky in the wake of the Senate Expenses scandal. Rick Mercer’s Rant this week hit the nail on the head as far as Harper’s denials in the House of Commons are concerned: “Either he is psychotic or he was in on it” Perhaps more interesting
Continue readingThe Cracked Crystal Ball II: I’m No Expert On Aboriginal Issues …
But I’m pretty sure that the Harper Government(tm) isn’t doing it right. Carolyn Bennett has an excellent article on Huffington Post today on the subject in light of the most recent bunch of documents to be released from the RCMP’s investigation into the Senate mess: We now know the
Continue readingThe Cracked Crystal Ball II: More on Baird and Iran
People, even the media who watch such things, seem mystified by the Harper Government(tm) stance on Iran. It’s no big surprise, really. When I took this blog out from under wraps in May, I wrote a lengthy essay describing the “Modern Fascism” that Harper has been cultivating. On foreign affairs,
Continue readingThe Cracked Crystal Ball II: On By-Election Results
There were four by-elections in Canada yesterday. One in Quebec, one in Ontario and two in Manitoba. Nobody expected Vic Toews’ riding, Provencher, to change hands and it didn’t even twitch that way all evening. Similarly, the Quebec riding of Bourassa was expected to remain a Liberal safe seat, and
Continue readingThe Cracked Crystal Ball II: If Harper Wants To Be Skeptical About Iran …
Baird’s comments about the deal reached with Iran yesterday which theoretically is intended to prevent Iran from gaining nuclear weapons capability are somewhat laughable. “We’re deeply skeptical of Iran and its ability to honour its obligations,” he said. Baird added that Canada believes “every diplomatic measure” should be taken to ensure
Continue readingThe Cracked Crystal Ball II: In Harper’s World, Everything Is Partisan
Harper has turned everything into ‘partisan advantage’ in Ottawa. When Flaherty “asked” the opposition for “input” into the next budget, the letter was designed as less of a sincere request for input as a partisan attack. “I will not entertain the traditional ‘laundry list’ of new spending or subsidy programs
Continue readingThe Cracked Crystal Ball II: Societal Dysfunction and Why We Need Food Banks
A friend made the following, very perceptive, comment the other day, and it serves as the inspiration for this post. What is wrong with us/our governments that we either cannot or will not address the systemic issues that force so many people to rely on food banks? They were supposed
Continue readingThe Cracked Crystal Ball II: There Aren’t Enough Hours In The Day …
I’m suffering from a shortage of available hours. There’s way more going on than this writer has time for. Within 24 hours this week, there have been major revelations on three different tracks of news and events in Canada’s politics. FATCA came to my attention, Rob Ford’s self-immolation found new
Continue readingThe Cracked Crystal Ball II: Bill C-13 Does Not Address Online Bullying
In spite of the Harper Government’s public claims to the contrary, Bill C-13 has very little to do with online bullying. It talks about a whole lot of things, but only a small fraction has anything to do with online bullying. At its core, it adds a few changes to
Continue readingThe Cracked Crystal Ball II: Never Heard Of FATCA? You Should
Until recently, I had never heard of FATCA, in fact it was a program on CBC that brought it to my attention. FATCA is seriously troubling for Canadians. In theory, it should only affect people who have American citizenship. But, the law itself has enormous implications for countries outside of
Continue readingThe Cracked Crystal Ball II: On Bullying and Thuggish Behaviour In Canada’s Politics
As a human being, I see Rob Ford as a tragic character. The man is so obviously in over his head it’s not even funny. His closest advisors and family have enabled his proclivities for substance abuse, and I would go so far as to suggest that he may well
Continue readingThe Cracked Crystal Ball II: Harper … Linking Him To Ford
In the last two weeks, we’ve heard a lot about – and from – Rob Ford. He’s been, to say the least, prominent in the headlines – shocking most of the time, belligerent the rest. Of some consideration though is the dead silence coming from the PMO where Rob Ford
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