Green Party Calls for MPs to Open Expenses to Auditor-General

Whooee! Well, friends an' foes, Earth Mother Lizzie May put out a press release this morning and she's on the money a hunnert percent's worth, sez I.

Greens call for transparency

17 May 2010 - 10:26am

The Green Party of Canada pledges full support for the Auditor General in her bid to increase the transparency of MPs' spending habits. Greens are calling for the release to the Auditor General of the last 10 years of MP expenses.

"The Green Party of Canada fully supports the Auditor General having a mandate to oversee MP expenses," said Green Party Leader Elizabeth May. "The Canadian public deserves accountability for the half billion dollars MPs spend every year. The fact that MPs are afraid to have Sheila Fraser examine their accounts suggests that it is probably long overdue."

Provincial governments and the government of Britain have been rocked by government spending scandals in recent years, adding to the disillusionment of citizens and mistrust of politicians.

"Given the declining voting record in this country, Parliament should be doing everything possible to encourage public trust and engagement in democracy," said May.

According to the Toronto Star, a Leger Marketing poll showed 88% of Canadians would like a deeper examination of politicians' expense accounts. Currently, details of any spending by MPs and senators are kept secret.

"For someone who campaigned on transparency, Prime Minister Harper is failing miserably," said May. "Shame on the Liberals and the NDP for agreeing that the public doesn't deserve to know how their tax money is being spent."

Dang right!

JimBobby

Elizabeth May's Nomination: Challenges and Opportunities

Whooee! Well friends an' foes, the gal I adore, Earth Mother Lizzie May, got the nomination to run out on Vancouver Island in the Saanich Gulf Islands riding. Green Party blogger Camille Labchuk wrote up a blog on it and there's some comment action over there. Commenter Mark Francis brought up a couplafew points regardin' Ignatieff's less-than-stellar environmental stance vis-a-vis the tar sands, incumbent Gary Lunn's vulnerability and the need for getting "boots on the ground." Here's my response recycled:

Mark makes some good points. Every candidate will have some baggage. For the Libs, Ignatieff’s environmental intransigence will be serious baggage for small-g green voters. He’s on record supporting nukes, too. His militaristic support for Bush’s Iraq invasion/fiasco doesn’t really speak well for his international savvy, either, and won’t play well with the stereotypical west coast flower children. Hetherington will be saddled heavily with her un-green leader.

Lunn is vulnerable on Chalk River. As Minister of Natural Resources, he was the guy who fired Linda Keen so ignominiously in the middle of the night. He was responsible for restarting the limping reactor that is now giving Canada an international black eye in the medical isotope department. So hapless was Lunn that he was relieved of that portfolio and it was handed off to the even more hapless Lisa Raitt.

Elizabeth May’s biggest piece of baggage seems to be the parachute label. If she can wrap herself in SGI issues and make herself visible enough between now and whenever the Cons get too unpalatable for Layton, she may be able to shake that off. Her environmental credentials and those of the GPC are impeccable. For small-g green voters, she should be able to capitalize on the Liberal leader’s poor environmental stance.

The Herzog flair-up will be seen by most as a sour grapes thing; internal, riding-level party power politics: no worse, better or different than what happens with every party. Elections Canada will not find anything amiss with the riding funding plan and despite some valid concerns regarding top-down party management, Herzog’s complaints will not continue to play a significant part in an election campaign.

Have the NDP nominated anyone? BC voters have the advantage of having had a provincial NDP government by which to judge the NDP’s commitment to the environment. Sure, federal NDP does not equal provincial NDP… except when the NDP wants it to.

I’m a longtime GPC member and EDA exec. I wasn’t too keen on the SGI choice but now that it is a done deal, I’ll be putting my support behind Elizabeth. The decision to run her wherever she is most electable wasn’t a top down decision but was endorsed by the rank and file. My biggest concern centres around the availability of SGI foot soldiers. When Elizabeth ran in London, the foot soldiers flocked in from Toronto and elsewhere in densely populated southern Ontario to knock on doors. I fear that sort of feet-on-the-ground support will be much more difficult to muster in SGI where the doors are further apart and the population nearby is sparser.

JimBobby

That's Why She's the Gal I Adore. Earth Mother Lizzie May, that is.

Whooee! Well friends an' foes, I gotta tell you I was glued to the dang TV set last night from 9 until 11. Well, I was mostly glued except fer one time when I started noddin' off an' Ma laughed an' roused me an' I seen it was Dion on the TV mumblin' some kinda sleep inducin' FranglaMerkan lingo. After that, I needed a little fresh air so I let ol' Spot out in the backyard and breathed in some. I managed to stay a alert an' bushy-tailed fer the rest of the debate.

I met Lizzie in person a coupla times an' I seen her talk in person a few times an' a few more times on the YouTube. I knew dang well she was gonna do good an' she did. I figger Lizzie Gal showed 'em she's right up there in the big leagues an' deservedly so. Knowledgeable and quick, our gal Lizzie. An' I see in the polls lotsa folks changed their opinion fer the better an' the Greens is up a point overall.

I hear-tell some is sayin' Lizzie was buttin' in too much but I didn't hear it that way. There was a few times when there was three or four voices all yammerin' at once and them times I was listenin' hard fer a female voice an' Lizzie weren't talkin' overtop of them baritone bossmen. I did hear our Lizzie gal mutterin' some when she disputed a coupla big whoppers ol' King Steve was blatherin' about. Sheesh! Stevie tried to make out like the whole dang dumbass House o' Comments voted to fire Linda Keen. That was Harper misleadin'. Not a leader.

I reckon Lizzie showed them kindergarten kids a thing or two about civility and stickin' with the issues. I was happy to see ol' Jack givin' Lizzie some credit now an' then. She returned the favour, too. They both come across like competent folks who could work together.

I gotta give young Steve Pakin a pat on the back, too. He was a good referee, mostly. I reckon that's a dang tough job refereein' a five-way jawfest an' keepin' it fair an' square.

Harper come across with what I'd call an air of paternalism. Kinda smug an' smirky like he's toleratin' these monkeys but he ain't got much respect fer 'em. I didn't find him to be credible but I reckon that's cause he was fibbin' an' exaggeratin' all the time. I figger what's doin' the Cons an' Harper the most harm is they ain't released a platform. I heard somebuddy say they was waitin' on the Aussies to get it deliverered.

I reckon if Harpoon don't release a platform an' still trounces the hapless Grits, it'll sure say somethin'. I ain't sure what. "Blind leadin' the blind" comes to mind. Don't worry. Be happy. I wear sweaters. I wonder where Sweater Boy keeps his thermostat set in the wintertime. I wonder if he starts in wearin' the long johns in the winter so's to save on the heatin' bill an' send out less so-called greenhouse gases.

Duceppe done okay, I reckon... fer a rotten separatist BlocHead. I figger he's a good feller doin' what he can fer his people. Only thing is, he figgers his people is Q-beckers an' not all Canajuns. Ma sez he seemed more like a Premier negotiatin' with Harper the PM. He's a dang good parlay l'anglais feller, sez I. Dion's got a lot better in the speakin' English department but he still sed a coupla things I didn't catch last night. Then, maybe it was just on accounta he was puttin' me to sleep.

My ol' Dad was a salesman. He's been dead fer 10 years, this year. He woulda had a good laugh at ol' Dion an' his hapless salesmanship skills. Dion could use some lessons from my ol' Dad. First off, Dion blew the sales job of the tax shift on day one way back in the springtime. He give hisself the entire summer to sell it and he had the perfect opportunity to sell it last night but he was lackin' in the lustre department.

He oughta been closin' the sale or closed it already. Last night, he looked like he ain't quite sure why he decided to sell this here vacuum cleaner he's callin' the Green Shift. He can't close the sale on accounta he opened it all wrong. That mighta worked if there weren't a few other vacuum cleaner guys standin' on John Q. Voter's doorstep. Poor feller dragged his party into a big hole. I figger he's sincere and dedicated. A fine Canajun. Useless in the sales department.

The worst part about it is Dion took a good Green Party policy an' turned it into political cyanide fer the next 10 or 20 years. I ain't sure Lizzie helped out Dion much, like they was tryin' to say she would. I figger she sold Green Party policy and not Liberal policy. I like that she talked about stuff other than the environment and had positions that differ with the Libs. Like on NAFTA and Afghanistan and the danged economy and health care.

Anyways, friends an' foes, I had a few people emailin' an' wondering where ol' JB's hidin' out lately. Don't worry, kids, this ol' codger-blogger's still up an' walkin' an' cheerin' on the gal I adore, Earth Mother Lizzie May.

JimBobby

Blair Wilson MP, Green Party of Canada

Whooee! Well friends an' foes, it's been a big 24 hours for the Green Party. As most followers of the Canadian political scene are now well aware, the Green Party has accepted independent MP Blair Wilson's offer to join the Greens, thereby becoming the first Green Party MP in Canada. I must admit I wasn't entirely overjoyed when I read that Wilson had been "turfed" from the Liberals in fall of 2007 due to financial irregularities under investigation by Elections Canada. Various bloggers, including me, took the assertion by Canadian Press and other MSM outlets at face value.

Yesterday, I spent some time defending the Greens' embrace of what I referred to as a questionable choice for MP. Today, I did what I should have done yesterday. I looked into what really happened in October 2007 when Wilson and the Liberal Party disassociated themselves from one another. It turns out Wilson was not turfed. He was not expelled. He was not fired. He was not ejected.

He resigned. He voluntarily stepped down when he was being investigated by Elections Canada.

At the time, Liberal leader Stephane Dion praised Wilson's action.

Vancouver MP Blair Wilson resigned from the federal Liberal caucus on Sunday, following accusations that he didn't disclose all his expenses during the 2006 federal election.

Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion confirmed the news in a written statement Sunday night.

"I have accepted Mr. Wilson's resignation from his position as national revenue critic, and as a member of our national caucus, effective immediately," he said.

Wilson denied the allegations and said in a written statement that he is confident his name will be cleared.

He has not suggested he is leaving his post as MP for West Vancouver-Sunshine Coast, which means he will have to sit as an Independent.

"I will collaborate fully with Elections Canada, and do whatever I can to help expedite its investigation into the allegations," Wilson said.

...

Dion praised Wilson for asking Elections Canada to investigate the matter. Dion said the allegations against Wilson are serious and that they raise questions that must be addressed immediately.

"I have instructed the Liberal Party of Canada to provide whatever assistance they can to Elections Canada as it reviews the allegations," Dion said in his statement.

...

Liberal MP Marlene Jennings said that Wilson did the right thing by stepping down "at the first hint" of any questions about his campaign expenses.
(Source: CBC.ca)

As he said he would, Wilson cooperated fully with Elections Canada. Recently, he was cleared of any serious malfeasance. Unfortunately, the damage had been done. The smear job that led to the investigation had sullied Wilson's reputation enough that, even after he was cleared, the Liberals refused to take him back into the fold. So much for doing the right thing.

Now that Wilson has joined the Greens, the Liberal long knives are out. BCer in TO Jeff contends that Wilson was asked to leave the Liberal caucus. Jeff may have some inside info that the CBC, Dion and Jennings didn't know about. Or he may be blowing smoke. Jeff rhymes off a litany of problems he says the Liberals have with Wilson. Among those, is a $1.9 million dollar lawsuit brought forth by Wilson's wife's stepfather. According to published reports yesterday, the amount in dispute was reduced to just $11,000. Let's not let facts get in the way of sour grapes, though.

Jason Cherniak also continues the smear job. Cherniak states that Wilson "(w)as kicked out of the Liberal caucus for allegations of financial and legal improprieties." Jason is Stephane Dion's number one blogging friend. I wonder how Jason squares Dion's October 2007 praise of Wilson stepping down at the first hint of impropriety with his own false statement that Wilson was kicked out. As a lawyer, I expect Jason to know the difference between allegations and convictions. As a lawyer, I expect Jason to grasp the concept of innocent until proven guilty. As a lawyer, Jason should know that those allegations were, for the most part, dismissed by Elections Canada after a lengthy investigation. Don't let the facts get in the way of a smear job, Jason.

Pogge also bought into the story that Wilson was kicked out of the Liberal caucus. So did a few others. I can't blame them. I thought that was the case, too. After all, that's the way it was reported by CP.

Now, however, I'm setting the record straight. As evidenced by Dion's praise and MP Jennings' affirmation, Wilson was not kicked out of the party. I left a comment on Jason's blog a couple of hours ago. I cited Dion's praise and quoted the CBC article. I am still waiting for that comment to be published and responded to, Jason.

I expect it's too much to ask every blogger who bought into the "he was turfed" storyline to recant. I'm going to make the rounds and try to set the record straight and I do expect some bloggers to admit, like I have, that they jumped to a conclusion without investigating whether or not Wilson had really been turfed or fired or expelled or disgraced. We'll see.

I just went back to the original Canadian Press story that said Wilson had been "turfed." The story has been edited. It now states that Wilson resigned.

After that, I'll try to post another boog story on this whole Blair Wilson thing. I ain't quite as obsessed as some bloggers are but I've spouted off in a lot of comments sections and I'm aiming to recycle some of my copious verbosity here on my own little boog.

JB

Elizabeth May Needs to be in TV Debates to Defend Against Dion

Whooee! Well friends an' foes, I been agitatin' to get the gal I adore, Earth Mother Lizzie May, into the TV debates when an election comes around. Up yonder at the top of my boog, you'll notice a yellow banner for Demand Democratic Debates. I'd be happy as Larry if you'd click it and sign the petition.

I was just leavin' a comment over to Jimmy Curran, the What Do I Know Grit's boog. It occurred to me that now, more than ever, Lizzie needs to be in the TV debates. Stephane Dion has set his sights on Green Party support. I wrote up a boog story about Dion wooing us treehuggers a coupla days ago. We need Lizzie up there on the TV remindin' voters that the real green party is the Green Party.

With Dion actively targeting us, it wouldn't be fair if we ain't got a voice defending us and tryin' to retain and build on the great support the Greens is experiencin'. The only party that has experienced significant growth since the last election is the Green Party. Now, Dion wants to scoop soft Green support away. I hope the fatcat TV execs on the Broadcast Consortium don't help him get away with it.

JimBobby

Green Party reveals detailed Green Tax Shift plan

Whooee! Well friends an' foes, Lizzie's released the details of the Green Party Green Plan. Here's the full press release.

Media Release
For Immediate Release
June 18, 2008

Green Party reveals detailed Green Tax Shift plan

OTTAWA – The Green Party today announced a detailed plan to implement a revenue-neutral carbon tax in Canada. After releasing an outline of the Green Party approach to action on climate in 2006 (Green Party Green Plan or GP Squared) and more detailed climate plans in 2007 (Averting Climate Catastrophe and Vision Green), the Green Party is now making public greater levels of detail on a fully-costed carbon tax plan.

“By taxing carbon at the rate of $50 per tonne, the Green Party will raise $40 billion for the federal treasury. Three quarters of this revenue will come from business and industry,” said Green Party leader Elizabeth May. “This will enable us to provide tax relief to Canadians by cutting income and payroll taxes, bringing in income splitting, increasing support to low-income and rural families and helping students with crippling student loans."

Ms. May said the Green Party’s revenue-neutral carbon tax is not designed to make Canadians pay more in taxes but will shift taxes onto undesirable aspects of society, like emissions and pollution, and away from desirables like jobs and income. Most Canadians will experience overall savings or stay at the same level.

“The principle behind a carbon tax is simple: stop taxing what we want and start taxing what we don’t want,” said Ms. May. “The Green Party’s carbon tax plan is a Robin Hood approach to solving the climate crisis – we take from pollution and give to the people. A Green Tax Shift will provide a Carbon Tax Holiday by allowing income taxes and payroll taxes to be reduced, income supplements to low income Canadians to be increased, student loans to be cut in half, and GST rebates to provide more relief to rural Canadians as society makes the transition to a low-carbon economy.

“The tax cuts we will be able to bring in as a result of carbon tax revenues will both save money for Canadians and stimulate the economy. As the cornerstone of our plan to combat climate change, a carbon tax will help make life better for Canadians while simultaneously reducing greenhouse gas emissions and pollution.”

Ms. May said the Green Party’s costing exercise shows how different types of families in Canada will be affected by a carbon tax. For instance, an urban, upper-middle-class family in Ontario would pay 1.2 per cent less income toward taxes while a low-income, rural senior would save 9.2 per cent every year.

While some rural families may not experience savings initially, the Green Party will provide income supplements to such families to ensure they are not treated unfairly by a carbon tax. In addition, the Green Party’s full climate plan will include some cap and trade measures for the largest polluters, stimulate the development of renewable energy, increase energy efficiency, assist municipalities to bring in mass transit and other energy saving infrastructure, and bring back passenger rail service.

“A carbon tax is just one piece of our plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but it is one of the most critical components,” said Ms. May. “Economists and environmentalists agree that putting a price on carbon is essential to combating the climate crisis. As countries in the European Union have shown, a carbon tax can help achieve emissions reductions with economic success and protection for low-income citizens. The government’s own research shows that a carbon tax can be implemented without affecting Canada’s GDP.

“It is time for political parties in Canada to advance bold, new solutions to the current climate crisis and the Green Party is prepared to do so.”

Here are some supporting documents

• Carbon Tax Plan - HTML - PDF
• Carbon Tax Plan Q & A - PDF
• Press Release - HTML - PDF
• Excerpts from Vision Green and Averting Climate Catastrophe - PDF

I like how they've outlined several different categories of Canadians by income and locationa nd they've shown what he tax shift will mean to their annual bottom lines.

JB

Elizabeth May Pens NatPo Article on Carbon Tax

Whooee! Well friends an' foes, the gal I adore, Earth Mother Lizzie May, has written an article for the dang National Post. I reckon she's gotta go where she can get readers and maybe win over a few converts or shore up some soft support.

The article's all about tax shiftin' and carbon taxin' and cappin'n'tradin'. Lizzie spells out some details of the Green Party plan. So far, Dion's been stealin' GPC policy so if anyone wonders what the Liberals might come up with, the Green policy oughta offer a dang good clue.

The Simple Solution

Elizabeth May, National Post
Published: Wednesday, June 04, 2008

"Pollution must have a price tag. It is currently too cheap to pollute and too expensive not to."

-Don Drummond, Chief Economist, TD Bank (March 7, 2007)

The debate on the various ways to put a price on carbon--a goal now endorsed by a wide range of think tanks and NGOs, from the National Round Table on Environment and Economy to the Canadian Council of Chief Executive Officers --needs to take place in a proper factual context.

A carbon tax is a policy response to two crises: higher energy prices brought on by declining reserves of conventional, accessible oil; and the gathering storm of climate instability. Before plunging into the rationale for carbon taxes, one thing needs to be clear: Doing nothing is not an option. Energy prices will continue to climb if we do nothing. And the ultimate costs of the climate crisis -- as estimated by Sir Nicholas Stern, former senior economist to the World Bank -- will be in the trillions. We are faced with nothing less than a catastrophic threat to our children's future.

In order to bring down greenhouse gases at anything like the rate recommend by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, we will need a wide array of programs and regulations. We will also need to harness the market to send a meaningful pricing signal to the economy. In this regard, the most popular mechanisms to harness the market are cap-and-trade and a carbon tax.

This need not be an either/or proposition. The Green party believes a cap-and-trade system -- of the type advocated by the NDP, for instance -- can help bring down emissions from the largest polluters. In particular, such an approach might be used in certain sectors -- allowing coal-fired electrical plants to trade carbon credits amongst one another, for instance, as the cap goes down on their collective emissions.

But to bring down emissions in the nation as a whole, and provide the fiscal flexibility needed to significantly reduce the tax burden and alleviate energy poverty, we also need a carbon tax.

A carbon tax has the advantage of minimal new bureaucracy. It can be implemented quickly, and most economists see it as the most effective approach. As The Economist magazine put it in a 2006 editorial: "Ideally, politicians would choose the more efficient carbon tax, which implies a relatively stable price that producers can build into their investment plans." In contrast, cap-and-trade has high transactional costs and a greater risk of fraud. It is likely best reserved for targeted sectors.

The essence of the Green party plan is the Green Tax Shift. We propose a tax of $50/tonne on carbon. This would be applied at the tar sands and at the pumps. Our carbon tax would bring in $40-billion to the federal treasury every year -- thereby allowing significant decreases in income and payroll taxes, as well as income-splitting within families.

The funds also would allow us to raise the minimum level at which our lowest-earning taxpayers start paying income tax, as well as increasing income supports to seniors and the poor. Any carbon-reduction plan also needs to exhibit regional sensitivity, for the benefit of rural Canadians who are reliant on fossil fuels as we also want to buffer effects for those who use fossil fuels to earn a living, like farmers and fishers.

It is nonsense to claim that consumers can be shielded from price increases under either cap-and-trade or a carbon tax. But the benefit of the tax shift I advocate is that cuts to income taxes and payroll taxes will reduce the pain of rising fuel prices. In fact, most Canadians will be better off. They will also make sensible decisions, such as getting a more fuel-efficient vehicle or a home energy audit.

Such a plan must evolve. Over time, a carbon tax would have to rise as the amount of carbon being used shrinks. Eventually, over decades, with carbon virtually eliminated, another tax shift will be needed.

As noted recently in these pages, some Canadians are skeptical that a government would ever keep the carbon tax revenue-neutral by returning the newly levied funds to the taxpayer. One advantage of the Green party approach is that, with the generation of $40-billion in new revenue, no government could get away with failing to use such an enormous cash influx to improve Canada's economy.

Overall, our Green Tax Shift is all about cutting taxes while cutting greenhouse gases.

It all makes sense, sez I. When Dion finally does unveil the Liberal tax-shift plan, I reckon it'll look a lot like what Lizzie's described.

JimBobby

Dion in Limboland, How Low Can He Go?

Whooee! Well friends an' foes, pore ol' Stephane Dion is doin' worse than ever. The Trawna Star's got a poll out that says he's only got a 10% approval rating. They say that's the worst ever for a Liberal leader and even John Turner never went below 14%.

If I was a Liberal, I'd be talkin' about how to raise up Dion's popularity. I'd be suggestin' the Liberals make dang good use of the summer BBQ circuit to explain the tax-shift. Trouble is, when you're explainin', you're losin'. Like I said yesterday, Dion made a bigass goof when he leaked the carbon tax instead o' leakin' the other side of the tax-shift coin, massive income tax reductions.

If I were a Liberal and tryin' to sell the tax-shift, I'd make sure the phrase "tax-shift" was used way more than the phrase "carbon tax." I'd also try to invent a catchy slogan that captures the essence of the tax-shift. Maybe somethin' like "Tax what you burn, not what you earn."

If I were a Liberal, I'd have my ear to the ground and I'd be lookin' for counterpoints to every piece of negative spin that the opposition parties and pundits and skeptics are tossin' around. Since the Grits ain't already divulged details, they got time to make 'em up to suit whatever mud's comin' their way. End o' June, we're hearin'. That gives the Grits 6 weeks to cram all the necessary details to counter all the pre-emptive attacks. It'll make the pre-emptive attackers look dang stoopid, too.

If I were a Liberal, I'd make sure they get their most eloquent and polished speakers out on the hustings deliverin' a simple, concise and easily-intelligible tax-shift plan. Bob Rae and Iggy and Goodale gotta be stumpin' hard. I'd have plenty of hypothetical examples showin' how the plan affects average families, single parents, rural folks, small town folks, city folks, farmers, fishermen, seniors and the disabled.

If I were a Liberal, I'd make sure Dion goes to his English classes every week and I'd coach the hell out of him. Anybody else got trouble understanding what Dion's sayin' on that Mike Duffy Live commercial? I heard it 4 or 5 times before I figgered out he's sayin' "Watch Mike Duffy Live." Ma seen it for about the 10th time the other night and she sez to me, "What's he sayin'?"

Then, I'd get Dion and his polished English out there makin' the news all summer long.

I ain't a Liberal and the gal I adore, Earth Mother Lizzie May, is already ridin' high on approval. If Dion'd just be more like Lizzie, he'd maybe turn it around. Then again, if voters like the tax-shift plan Dion adopted from Green Party policy, maybe they'd rather get the real thing along with a real dynamic, credible leader.

JimBobby

1000's of Lives at Risk? Tell me another one, Gary.

Whooee! Well friends an' foes, another day, another confirmation of lies and exaggerations by the HarpoonTossers. Along with the gal I adore, Earth Mother Lizzie May, a few of us bloggers been sayin' the so-called isotope crisis weren't really a crisis, at all. Even if it were a crisis, it was entirely manufactured and avoidable.

Here's another piece of evidence to add to the stinkin' heap.

Doubt cast on assertion that thousands of lives at risk in Chalk River fiasco

16 hours ago

OTTAWA - Doubt was cast Tuesday on the Harper government's assertion that thousands of lives could have been lost if it hadn't forced resumption of isotope production at the Chalk River nuclear reactor.

Dr. Karen Gulenchyn, a nuclear medicine expert who helped advise federal Health Minister Tony Clement during the isotope shortage last December, said it's "very difficult" to speculate on what might have happened to patients whose diagnostic tests were delayed due to the shortage.

"It's a very difficult question to answer," she told the Commons natural resources committee.

Pushed by committee members to elaborate, Gulenchyn finally added: "Could people have died? Yeah, they could have under certain circumstances."

Her cautious appraisal of the situation was in contrast to the bold assertions by Clement and Natural Resources Minister Gary Lunn. They have raised the spectre of massive loss of life to justify the government's decision last December to force the reopening of the reactor over the objections of Canada's nuclear safety regulator.

Clement has spoken of the "huge human health impacts" of allowing the reactor, which produces about half the world's supply of medical isotopes, to remain shut down.

And Lunn has justified the subsequent firing of Linda Keen from her post as president of the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission by arguing that she was "willing to put the lives of thousands of Canadians in jeopardy."

Isotopes are used primarily in diagnostic tests for cancer and heart disease.

If Gulenchyn was cautious, Dr. Thomas Perry from the University of British Columbia, was downright skeptical of the government's claims of a health care emergency.

Although not a nuclear medicine expert himself, Perry said he's spoken to many colleagues in his province who've told him the isotope crisis was "much ado about nothing." The former NDP provincial politician said he couldn't think of one diagnostic test that couldn't have been conducted in an alternate way without isotopes.

Gulenchyn said the group of experts who advised Clement during the crisis found that the impact of the Chalk River closure varied greatly across the country. British Columbia was the least affected while eastern Canada and small and remote communities, with the least access to alternative diagnostic equipment, were hardest hit.

Among patients awaiting diagnostic tests, she said the group found delay could result in serious harm for about 10 per cent and in delayed treatment and unnecessary pain for another 50 per cent. About 40 per cent of cases could be safely deferred.

Had the reactor not come back on line on Dec. 16, Gulenchyn said "we believe unmanageable shortages would have occurred within a week." She conceded that European reactors could likely have taken up the slack, had they been given enough advance notice to ramp up their operations, but that was not the case in December.
(Source - there's more and it's worth readin')

So, an adviser to Clement who is a nuclear medicine expert says, "European reactors could likely have taken up the slack, had they been given enough advance notice to ramp up their operations, but that was not the case in December." It was not the case in November, either. MDS Nordion was well aware that the supplies from Chalk River would be disrupted. They put out press releases in November to that effect.

MDS Nordion also claimed that hey were working with their European competitors to obtain alternate supplies. So far, we've seen or heard zero evidence to back up that assertion.

I gotta go an' take ol' Spot fer his mornin' exercise now. I'll post more on this later.

JB

Winning Issues for a Spring Election

Whooee!

Well friends an' foes, I was yammerin' in a comments' section gabfest over to Scotty's boog and a feller commentin' as "Jim" left this choice morsel:

Jim Says:
January 26th, 2008 at 8:14 am

Yes Liberal MP’s, call an election on the issue of Muslim prisoners that try to torture, blow up and murder our troops. It is such a winning issue to go on.

Please do it, and do it now!

Pay attention to how he refers to the enemy as Muslim. When Elizabeth May pointed out that the Taliban uses the "Christian/Crusader" invasion as a method to bolster recruiting, that message is spun and deliberately misinterpreted. Ms. May was entirely correct that the optics of a North American Christian army is playing into the hands of the Taliban. As usual, the CPC chose to play politics with Canadian soldiers lives and decided to ridicule a suggestion that one of NATO's tactics might play into the hands of the enemy.

Meanwhile, we have dozens of BT's and commenters like Jim characterizing the enemy as Muslims and drooling at the prospect of their torture.

News flash, Jim: Canadians don't want our brave dedicated men and women in the Forces to be ordered to violate the Geneva Conventions. Canadians want to be proud of our good soldiers. Canadians want to help Afghani Muslims build a peaceful society. Canadians do not defend or relish the idea that our allies are torturing the prisoners we hand over to them.

I've been hoping we get a chance to tell Harper and his gang of muzzled ministers just what we think of their government. I've expressed disappointment at Stephane Dion's failure to allow his caucus to bring down the worst government in Canadian history. So, while I find Jim's comment offensive and counterproductive to our mission in Afghanistan, I do agree with one part of it.

Here's how I responded over at Scott's DiaTribes.

I hope Dion grows a pair and we go to the polls.

• A PM that continually lies to Canadians and to Parliament is a winning issue to go on.
  
  
• Ministerial incompetence in multiple ministries is a winning issue to go on.
  
  
• Embarrassment of Canada on the world stage is a winning issue to go on.
  
  
• Canada blindly propping up the corrupt, warlord-ruled, narco-state known officially as The Islamic Republic of Afghanistan is a winning issue to go on.
  
  
• The wedge-driving, divisive, region-versus-region tactics of the current government is a winning issue to go on.
  
  
• The mismanagement of the economy and failure to reduce personal income tax while doling out billions to the tar sand developers is a winning issue to go on.
  
  
• The reneging of the Atlantic Accords is a winning issue to go on.
  
  
• The lack of accountability and transparency from a government that was elected on just those issues is a winning issue to go on.
  
  
• The failure to make any improvements in healthcare waiting times is a winning issue to go on.
  
  
• The lockstep march with George W. Bush and the secret SPP talks aimed at eliminating Canadian sovereignty with a North American Union is a winning issue to go on.
  
  
• The lip service and inaction on the environment is a winning issue to go on.
  
  
• The failure of Canada to comply with the Geneva Conventions is a winning issue to go on.
  
  
• The blatant racism of CPC supporters who refer to the enemy as Muslims while deriding anyone who says the enemy is framing this as a holy war is a winning issue to go on.
  

How many more winning issues does Dion need before he does the right thing?

Change the climate in Parliament. Vote Green.

Let's put an end to this. Soon.

JimBobby

And then she hugged me. Earth Mother Lizzie May, that is.

Whooee! Well friends an' foes, ol' Scotty Tribe scored a boogin' coup by gettin' the gal I adore, Earth Mother Lizzie May, to post a guest piece on Scott's Diatribes. I hafta admit it's good to see a national party leader takin' the time to reach out to us Pergressive Boogers. But, ScottyBoy, I'll go you one better.

Yesterday, I personally met Lizzie May an' that ain't all. When I introduced myself an' told her she might know me better as "JimBobby," her eyes lit up an' a big smile come over her face.

And then she hugged me.

Anybuddy who's been readin' my boog stories or my yammerin' comments on other boogs knows that ol' JB is one o' Lizzie's biggest fans. Up until yesterday, though, Lizzie an' I had only corresponded by email. Despite my barely decipherable dialect, Lizzie replies to my emails an' we write back an' forth every so often. I gave her a little dressin' down when she chose to run against PeteyBoy MacKay an' I try to keep her up on what some o' the boogs are sayin' about her.

I reckon the Atlantic Accord debacle, the Bill Casey affair, the MacKay family ties to Karlheinz Schreiber, the Red-Green deal, the losses to Nova Scotia economy due to untendered military contracts and a general higher awareness of green issues are all comin' together to pave Lizzie's way to Ottawa. I was dead wrong when I doubted her wisdom in runnin' in CN.

I spent the weekend at Green Party Campaign School in Kitchener-Waterloo at Wilfred Laurier University. That's where I met the gal I adore. I also had a chance to meet my old friend Jim Harris, former GPC leader. And I met a few other GPC bigwigs like Deputy Leader Adriane Carr and a few behind-the-scenes federal party workers. About 150 treehuggin' GPC members and candidates were in attendance and I met a buncha them, too.

I went up to WLU with a few of my local riding association fellers an' gals, includin' our candidate fer Haldimand-Norfolk, Frank Nightingale. (I ain't asked him yet if he's any relation to Florence.) Frankie's one of the handful of Green Party candidates who actually stands a real chance of winnin'. Ol' Frank ran fer mayor of Norfolk County (pop. ~62,000) in the last municipal election. He came in second with 33% of the vote. He was endorsed by the outgoin' retirin' mayor. Frank's also the president of the Norfolk Federation of Agriculture and he's a director of the Ontario Sustainable Energy Association.

The biggest newspaper in the county, the Simcoe Reformer, says Frank's got a real chance to unseat the do-nuthin' absentee MP Diane Finley. The Grits got a star candidate in Eric Hoskins but the locals think he's a parachuter who's got way more ties to Ottawa than to Haldimand-Norfolk.

Frank thinks he might be the first GPC MP elected. I think he'll be at least the second one. Nova Scotia's Central Nova riding is in a different time zone and Lizzie's gonna be elected an hour before Frank.

Now, I ain't some unrealistic, idealistic neofightin' Greenie. I been a GPC member fer quite a few years an' I voted GPC a few times before joinin' the party. I've seen how our first past the post (FPTP) electoral system has consistently robbed Green supporters of Parliamentary representation. I've watched as the cabal of TV execs known as the Broadcast Consortium have barred the Green leader from televised leaders debates. I've watched as the old-line, entrenched parties have dismissed the Green Party as a one-trick pony out on the fringes.

Things are different this time.

Canajuns have woken up to the impending doom if we don't get off our asses and deal with climate change. The Harper Con's have aptly demonstrated their disdain fer Canajuns and fer ol' Mother Earth herself. First, they tried to foist airhead Rona Ambrose on us. When everyone seen what a know-nuthin' Rona was, Harper put a pit bull into the portfolio. The teeth-gnashin' Baird has embarrassed Canada on the world stage and worked hard against real environmental progress.

Voters are also tired of the kindergarten antics they been seein' in the House o' Comments. Name-callin', incivility and insults are all we see. Voters want civilized MP's workin' together to solve the greatest threat mankind has ever known. We been gettin' stall tactics and outright lies from our so-called leaders.

On Saturday, Adriane Carr used a phrase that us Greenies are adoptin' as our battle cry:

"Change the climate in Parliament."

In March, Toronto Centre Green candidate Chris Tindal is gonna be in a bigass by-election campaign an' he's goin' up against Bob Rae. I don't live in TO Centre (thank God!!) but I'll be takin' the train to the big smoke and knockin' on doors to help young Chris whip Bobby Rae's flabby ass. I know it's flabby on accounta he showed it to everybuddy on national TV with Rick Mercer. Bob Rae's got baggage and I ain't just talkin' about junk in the trunk.

I don't reckon the Grits can afford to sit on their hands much longer. There's a budget comin' down I think on March 28 and I figger the rotten Con gummint'll fall on its face an' we'll be goin' to the polls around the end o' May or the first o' June. I hope it's May. I like the sounds of "a May election". I think they call that a double entendre.

JimBobby

Kiss my ass, Rex Murphy. You ain't the language police.

Whooee! Well friends an' foes, ol' JimBob's pissed-off. Rex Murphy come on The National last night an' dressed down Lizzie May over her appeasement sermon. Rex is s'posed to be a smart feller. He's a Rhodes Scholar, after all. If he's as smart as he thinks he is, he'd know that politicians been invokin' the memory of Neville Chamberlain fer 60 years.

Go read Maclean's, you dumbass.

Murphy sez any reference to Chamberlain and even any use of the words "appeasement" and "deniers" are reprehensible and off-limits. Kiss my ass, Rex. You ain't the language police.

Murphy ain't the only ignoramus who can stand in line to kiss my green ass. Steve Harper, Peter MacKay, Stephane Dion, Jack Layton an' any other kettle in this here pot and kettle mudfest.

What's really got my goat is that Lizzie May sed what she sed in a church sermon an' she's gettin' raked over the coals by these numbnutses who sed the selfsame thing in Parliament for the official record.

Do these hypocrits want to monitor all church sermons lookin' fer inapporopriate historical references?

There's a few boogin' pundidiots I seen who ain't content just to blast Lizzie over the appeasement reference. They don't like it that Lizzie has religion. Here's a coupla quotes from the comments over at Accidental Deliberations -

JimBobb, you go on ad's site, take a swipe at Layton, and then the rest of your post was defending May's Lord, Jesus Christ moment of Godly all knowing creationist fundamental bull.

She even pulled off a Tammy Faye Baker 'shed a tear' moment as the profit.
janfromthebruce 05.01.07 - 6:16 pm #

and...

As for the implosion, the Chamberlain comments probably have been blown out of proportion. But it's the other factors that seem more damaging to me - both May's religious fervour and her inability to control her emotions over her own prepared speech seem to bode poorly for her in the political arena, even if they wouldn't be problems elsewhere.
The Jurist Homepage 05.02.07 - 11:30 pm #

Go an' read the whole thing. The Jurist has some dang good ideas about how deals between parties oughta be made. An' he's right about the comments bein' blown out of proportion. Good tactic fer the Jurist to change course now that it's been pointed out how many other MP's have used the same analogy.

I ain't a religious person. In fact, I'm an atheist. Organized religion, IMHO, has done a lot of damage over the centuries an' continues to do damage today. Do I think that all organized religion is bad and that churches have never done anything good? Of course not. Are all religious people peterfilin' priests or residential school apologists? No.

While I don't believe in a supreme being or attend church, I recognize the right of others to do so. Sometimes, like when I'm at a funeral, I envy the believers who truly believe that the dead guy's in a better place. One thing I try not to do is mock people for their religious beliefs.

When someone refers to "May's Lord, Jesus Christ moment of Godly all knowing creationist fundamental bull," I interpret that as mockery of religious beliefs. Like I sed over in that comment gabfest, that sorta mockery is small-minded, petty and cruel. If references to Neville Chamberlain are off limits, mockery of a person's deeply held religious beliefs are way off limits.

Regardin' the emotionalism aspect, I thought we'd got beyond the point where a public figure was not allowed to shed a tear. Back in 1972 in Merka, there was a presidential hopeful by the name of Edmund Muskie. He got all emotional on the stump an' shed a tear. His presidential chances were scuttled. I thought we'd moved on and grown since then but it seems that the "shrill hysteria" label is alive and well.

True confession time - I get choked up about things that concern me deeply.

Back when my dear departed Dad was in his fifties, I started to notice how emotional he'd become. He'd get all teary-eyed over somethin' he'd remember from back when he was in WW2 or when he was a kid in the depression or even over some dumbass TV show. I remember bein' a little embarrassed when Dad would choke up over what seemed like nuthin'.

Now that I'm an old codger goin' on 60, I find myself embarrassed at my own emotionalism fairly often - 'specially, when I'm tellin' somebuddy about somethin' I feel strongly about. Maybe the Jurist is right when he sez Lizzie's too emotional. Maybe them guys who mocked Ed Muskie were right, too. Maybe, but I don't think so.

Anybuddy else wants to get in the kiss JB's ass line-up, just join in the comments with some pot'n'kettle hypocrisy.

JimBobby

Potvin Will Not Be Green Party Candidate

Whooee! Well friends an' foes, as if we didn't need any further proof of Lizzie May's leadership, here's the latest --

Transmitted by CNW Group on : April 15, 2007 12:25

Green Party says Potvin will not be its candidate in Vancouver-Kingsway

OTTAWA, April 15 /CNW Telbec/ - The Green Party of Canada has announced that Kevin Potvin will not be its candidate in Vancouver-Kingsway following the revelation that he wrote a magazine article expressing approval for the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.

"Non-violence is one of the Green Party's fundamental principles," said party leader Elizabeth May. "Our members declare their commitment to strive for a culture of peace and cooperation between states and between people.

"I spoke with Kevin and realize this has been difficult for him. He is a community leader, a father and an engaged citizen. He plays a very helpful role in his community.

"However, his views are antithetical to Green Party values. We have irreconcilable differences. I will not sign his nomination papers and he will not be a Green Party candidate."

Lizzie May's a classy gal. She took decisive action an' disavowed the Greenies from this quick and without any unneeded nastiness or character assassination.

JimBobby

May vs MacKay - Why?

Whooee! Well friends an' foes, the gal I adore, Earth Mother Lizzie May, sez she's gonna run against Petey MacKay in the next electionvote. When Ma an' I was havin' coffee this mornin', Ma read it in the newspaper an' sez "Why would she do that?"

I ain't asked Lizzie, yet, but I might ask about the decision next time we email back'n'forth or if I see her at a Green event.

Here's a coupla reasons why she mighta made that choice.

1. She's a Nova Scotia gal. That's where her family landed an' lived after they moved here from the USA. I don't think Central Nova is her home ridin' on accounta she's from ol' CeeBee -- Cape Breton.

2. Free publicity. In 2006, the Green boss was Jimmy Harris. He ran in Trawna in the Beaches ridin'. He ran against Jack Laydown an ' Dennis (Rollin' Stones) Mills. He didn't stand a chance. The only advantage I seen at that time was the press. If Harris ran in some low-profile ridin', he'd probbly lost but he wouldn't have so much coverage like when he ran against a coupla big names who the press was followin'. I figger Lizzie'll get a lotta press by runnin' where the big MSM fellers an' gals is reportin' on PeteFeller.

3. Plannin' t' lose. Okay, I ain't sure I'm buyin' this one but I've heard it enough that I'm sayin' it's a possibility. FPTP means that we might not elect any GPC MP's. Even 25% of the popular vote won't elect an MP if the Cons or Grits get 26%. By runnin' against a popular local incumbent cabinet minister like PeteyBoy, there's a built-in excuse fer losin'.

Even though Lizzie's the gal I adore, she ain't what I would call a "consummate politician." If she were, I probbly wouldn't like her so much an' I doubt that many others would, neither. I think she made a polytickle mistake on this one. Time'll tell an' upsets are possible but the signs all point t' Lizzie losin' t' Pete.

The PR advantage of runnin' against a bigass cabinet minister mighta been a good idea if the cash-poor Greenies were as invisible as in 2004 an' 2006. That ain't the case now. I don't figger the benefits outweigh the clear electoral disadvantage. The latest polls show the Greens doing as well as the Dippers. We don't need the added free publicity. The MSM'll follow Lizzie pretty close no matter where she runs.

If she wants t' run in NS, a gotta wonder why she didn't go fer a Cape Breton seat.

I'm always yammerin' on about polyticks-as-usual an' how the Greens an' LizzieGal ain't polyticks-as-usual. I reckon this decision might be on accounta that. So far, Lizzie an' the Greens has done pretty good by marchin' t' the beat of a different polytickle drum. This is more o' the same, sez I.

I ain't sold on the idea fer Lizzie May t' run against MacKay. I hope she does well. I even hope she wins but I hope I win the lottery, too. Hopes ain't votes, though, an' elections is about gettin' the most votes -- not havin' the best hopes.

I'll support Lizzie an' I'll send her a few bucks like I done when she ran in London. I'll probbly write up a campaign song or two. I'll vote Green an' I'll cheer all the Greenie candidates an' I'll be hopin' at least one of 'em will get elected. I'm sad t' say, it probbly won't be Lizzie.

JimBobby