The story in this weekend’s Connection about Block 9 underground parking incorrectly suggests council is doing something right when it was actually trying to do something wrong. But they tried to take credit for doing good when their efforts at malice failed. I expect mistakes like this from the Enterprise-Bulletin because
Continue readingTag: ethics
In-Sights: Socialist hordes at the gates, this time for real
Merriam-Webster:“Socialism: a way of organizing a society in which major industries are owned and controlled by the government” For years, leaders of the BC Business Party (AKA Social Credit or Liberal) echoed W.A.C. Bennett’s 1972 warning, “The socialist hordes are at the gates of British Columbia.” Maclean’s Magazine reported in
Continue readingIn-Sights: Remembering the desperate nineties
Much of British Columbia’s recent political history has been written by a Liars Club sponsored by beneficiaries of corrupt public administrations. One fable claims that BC Liberals rescued the provincial economy in 2001 after a decade of socialist mismanagement. Yet facts assembled by Statistics Canada paint a different scenario. I’ve
Continue readingBlast Furnace Canada Blog: No notwithstanding clause on assisted suicide
In the three months since the Supreme Court of Canada handed down its decision on assisted suicide in Carter v. Attorney General of Canada, there has been a lot of thumb twisting about what to do. The Court gave Parliament a year to come up with something new before the
Continue readingBlast Furnace Canada Blog: No notwithstanding clause on assisted suicide
In the three months since the Supreme Court of Canada handed down its decision on assisted suicide in Carter v. Attorney General of Canada, there has been a lot of thumb twisting about what to do. The Court gave Parliament a year to come up with something new before the
Continue readingBlast Furnace Canada Blog: No notwithstanding clause on assisted suicide
In the three months since the Supreme Court of Canada handed down its decision on assisted suicide in Carter v. Attorney General of Canada, there has been a lot of thumb twisting about what to do. The Court gave Parliament a year to come up with someth…
Continue readingdaveberta.ca - Alberta Politics: What the NDP platform said about ethics in government
After 44-years of one-party government, Alberta voters stampeded to the polls to remove the Progressive Conservatives from office in the May 5 election. The defining narrative of the election was accountability and ethics in government and on this issue voters coalesced around Rachel… Continue Reading →
Continue readingScripturient: Blog & Commentary: The Not-My-Fault Dance
There’s a story in this weekend’s Collingwood Connection about the PUC board meeting this week. The board confirmed that council’s dumping unexpected costs on the utility will mean an unplanned increase in the cost of your water this year. One of our council representatives tried to dance around it as if he wasn’t among the causes of that
Continue readingNorthern Insight / Perceptivity: "You cain’t pray a lie" – H. Finn
Canadian Press, April 7, 2013: [Premier Christy] Clark told a Vancouver Island economic summit her government’s highly touted September 2011 jobs plan — with its focus on increased trade with China and Asia and promoting liquefied natural gas exports, new mines and exploring innovations in technology and agri-foods — was
Continue readingNorthern Insight / Perceptivity: Myth busting
Andrew Nikiforuk wrote advice for Albertans in his recent article Eight Steps to Reform the Broken Petrostate: Behave like an owner: Alberta’s oil and gas resources belong to Albertans. The Tories’ “strip it and ship it” approach was not only wasteful, but also environmentally destructive. …Governments that run on taxes
Continue readingScripturient: Blog & Commentary: The Four Books
For many centuries, the core of Chinese education was focused on four classical works from the Confucian school: The Analects, The Great Learning, The Mencius, and Maintaining Perfect Balance. This didn’t really change until the arrival of the West and the industrial era was forced onto China in the 19th century.
Continue readingDead Wild Roses: The DWR Sunday Religious Disservice – Cows! Milk! Rape! RPOJ! – Christian “Morality” On Display
Usually we get to watch loopy christians say loopy stuff in support of their sincere belief in magic here on the the Disservice. Not so much fun today as we are going to look at how belief in magic can warp the moral fibre of people into condoning rape and
Continue readingBlast Furnace Canada Blog: You don’t have to take income splitting. At least one guy hasn’t …
The income splitting option is not mandatory for those who qualify for it. Like any other tax credit, it’s optional. Tax software will flag credits to make sure you get every loophole you’re entitled to – problematic if you still do it manually. One guy in the 15%, a labour
Continue readingBlast Furnace Canada Blog: You don’t have to take income splitting. At least one guy hasn’t …
The income splitting option is not mandatory for those who qualify for it. Like any other tax credit, it’s optional. Tax software will flag credits to make sure you get every loophole you’re entitled to – problematic if you still do it manually. One guy in the 15%, a labour
Continue readingBlast Furnace Canada Blog: You don’t have to take income splitting. At least one guy hasn’t …
The income splitting option is not mandatory for those who qualify for it. Like any other tax credit, it’s optional. Tax software will flag credits to make sure you get every loophole you’re entitled to – problematic if you still do it manually. One gu…
Continue readingScripturient: Blog & Commentary: Not Getting It
In a recent opinion piece in the Enterprise Bulletin titled “Swayze overused by council?” EB reporter/editor Paul Brian comments, I think the overuse of Swayze is outlandish and it is not congruent with the tough financial situation of the town.* Like much of the EB’s increasingly vague reporting since former editor Ian
Continue readingBlast Furnace Canada Blog: The Senate and transgenders
To my knowledge, I have never met a transgendered person in my life. That does not mean I don’t have respect or compassion for those who live the sex opposite of the one they are by birth, or for those who decide to take it to its logical conclusion an…
Continue readingBlast Furnace Canada Blog: The Senate and transgenders
To my knowledge, I have never met a transgendered person in my life. That does not mean I don’t have respect or compassion for those who live the sex opposite of the one they are by birth, or for those who decide to take it to its logical conclusion and
Continue readingBlast Furnace Canada Blog: The Senate and transgenders
To my knowledge, I have never met a transgendered person in my life. That does not mean I don’t have respect or compassion for those who live the sex opposite of the one they are by birth, or for those who decide to take it to its logical conclusion and
Continue readingScripturient: Blog & Commentary: We Need a Different Integrity Commissioner
Monday night’s council meeting again underscored why the town needs someone new in the role of integrity commissioner. Lawyer Robert Swayze presented his report about a complaint filed against councillor Deb Doherty and it was accepted by council in a recorded 6-2 vote*. But his report shared the same flaws his
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