Whaddid I Tell Ya'

Not sure where I said this (maybe at SNN) but I was certain Harper would pull some goodies out of his hat shortly before the next election. Well lookie here:

"While in London, England last week, Prime Minister Stephen Harper told the assembled media that reducing personal income taxes was next on his government’s agenda."

Forgive me for being cynical, but that's timed for the next election.

Nothing To See Here, Folks...

...move along:

A Second Look at High Chief and Council Salaries

"...media have paid a lot of attention to a guy who made more than the salaries of President Obama, Prime Minister Harper and British Prime Minister David Cameron combined."

Cut 'em off, I say.

As Sighted On Facebook

"Be wary of strong drink. It can make you shoot at tax collectors... and miss." - Robert A. Heinlein

Oh Brother!!!

Now our most famous ambulance chaser is coming after all of us:

Regina lawyer Tony Merchant sues CBC for libel

It just doesn't get any worse: Ambulance chaser plus a taxpayer funded broadcaster. But perhaps there's a silver lining in all this. If this doesn't prompt the jokers in Ottawa to privatize the beast, I don't know what will. And God knows, Harper must to hoping for something that can boost his ratings

Faster Please

Revenue minister explores 'legal options' to get CBC tax haven list

Bill C-60: Tories Quietly Taking Control Of CBC, Group Alleges

When a tax supported media corporation no longer feels it owes accountability to its funders, it's time to pull the plug.

Wouldn't You Know It!!

The CBC is involved:

Jack Layton's story coming to the small screen

Mind you, with the Liberals no longer in first place, you gotta butter up the Dippers.

Our Tax Dollars at Work

Saskatchewan scientists discover key to drug-free hemp

"Researchers at the University of Saskatchewan have identified the process that marijuana plants use to create tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) — the active ingredient in pot that gets smokers high —and say it could help breeders create pot plants that contain no traces of the drug and can be freely used in fibres or pharmaceuticals."

Betcha they had a grand old time coming up with the secret of "tetrahydrocannabinol free hemp" too nor would they have had trouble finding students to assist in the lab.

Good Luck With That

Workfare for reserves: Tory plan ties benefits for aboriginals to job training

"The Harper government is planning a workfare program that would oblige young aboriginals on reserves to undertake job training in return for a welfare cheque."

This is just an old policy flipped on it's head. Many years ago, when I worked in Northern Saskatchewan, taking a post-secondary course at tax payers expense was just another way to live off the dole. Once the course was finished, none of the people I knew who took such courses entered the workforce or started their own businesses. They simply went back on regular old welfare.

"Ottawa wants to take young natives off welfare rolls before they become too used to receiving social assistance."

Too late for that. Welfare has become firmly entrenched on reserves. It started way back in the early post-WWII era. Young aboriginals today have been raised by people living on welfare, who in turn were raised on welfare and on and on back in time to the 1940s. When I taught school on an Indian reserve back in the mid-1970s, one of the old guys on the reserve used to tell me "Welfare spoiled the Indian." There's nothing new in this policy and it's waaaaay too late to be worried about aboriginal youth being unduly influenced by welfare.

"In the March budget, the Tories said they want to “better align on-reserve Income Assistance programs with provincial systems” in terms of compliance and program requirements. In provinces like Saskatchewan, income assistance is a program of last resort and requires able-bodied welfare recipients to look for work and take training courses when offered.

Yet, despite labour shortages across much of Western Canada, the number of aboriginals on income assistance remains stubbornly high.

Saskatchewan has an unemployment rate of 4.9%, yet 48.1% of natives on reserve are on income assistance. In Manitoba, which has an unemployment rate of 5.3%, half the on-reserve native population is on welfare.

There are pilot projects such as Active Measures in Saskatchewan — a tripartite initiative between First Nations and the federal and provincial governments — that aim to help people off income support by providing better access to career planning, literacy programs, training allowances, transport and child care."

Notice nothing is said about the dismal grade school attendance rate or the disproportionate rate of single teen motherhood, which are the cause of such problems to begin with. But, what the heck:

"Working with willing bands is crucial. While the feds are keen to introduce a degree of uniformity across the system, income assistance is actually distributed by First Nations to their band members.

The government would not confirm any such plan exists but sources suggest First Nations will be encouraged to sign up for the program, attracted by the enhanced funding, but will be encouraged to cut off welfare for those refuse to accept training."

There's money to be had, and where there's money to be had, there is where you will find Indian Chiefs stuffing it into their own pockets and a bleeding-heart justice system:

"The federal government’s ability to unilaterally make any major moves in the realm of aboriginal social policy is limited. A federal court judge in the Maritimes issued an injunction in April that will temporarily prevent Ottawa from reducing social assistance rates for First Nations.

The government wanted to align the rates for First Nations at provincial levels, which would have meant less money for recipients. The judge cited the absence of consultation with First Nations about the policy as the reason for the injunction."

I would say, it's high time we started looking at treaty provisions where breaking the law can be reason to consider the treaties null and void or, gasp, even promises made by Indians themselves that they did not want to be a burden in the future and were eager to learn how to live in the "Whiteman's" economy. Enough with exploiting our government's do-gooder mentality for all it's worth.

So.....

....this qualifies as news?

8 Canadians to watch at the Cannes Film Festival

No doubt their trip will be covered by the taxpayer.

CBC Spends More...

...of our money on stuff a private company could do and probably most of us won't ever use.

Poor CBC...

...We feel soooo sorry for you:

Peladeau defends empire's right to probe CBC; says other media compromised

"Quebecor president Pierre-Karl Peladeau insists his company is not engaged in a vendetta against its CBC competitor, but is instead upholding a public duty to probe the affairs of a government-funded Crown corporation.

The media mogul appeared Thursday at a parliamentary committee hearing into why the CBC is fighting access-to-information laws in the courts.

The corporation says it has been swamped with hundreds of information requests, mainly from Quebecor's many media outlets, and suspects an orchestrated campaign to damage it.

But Peladeau denies that the quest for information is anything more than independent journalists doing their work."

[---]

"The two companies compete head to head in Quebec for television viewers. Quebecor's Sun Media division frequently publishes criticism of the CBC and has urged an end to its public funding.

Opposition critics suspect [Emphasis mine] Quebecor has allied itself with the federal Conservatives, who recently surveyed their members on whether the CBC provides good value for the taxpayer and are now eyeing budget cuts."

No, sweetheart. Quebecor has allied itself with the Canadian people, which ain't such a bad thing, considering how closely allied the CBC is with the Liberals.

Contradictions and Hypocrisy in the CRTC Mandate

I've never been clear on the role of the CRTC, soooo, I went looking. It's right here in the CRTC website: 

"Mandate

The CRTC’s mandate is to ensure that both the broadcasting and telecommunications systems serve the Canadian public. The CRTC uses the objectives in the Broadcasting Act and the Telecommunications Act to guide its policy decisions.

Broadcasting

In broadcasting, the CRTC ensures that all Canadians have access to a wide variety of high-quality Canadian programming as well as access to employment opportunities in the broadcasting system. Programming in the Canadian broadcasting system should reflect Canadian creativity and talent, our bilingual nature, our multicultural diversity and the special place of aboriginal peoples in our society."

Telecommunications

In telecommunications, the CRTC ensures that Canadians receive reliable telephone and other telecommunications services, at affordable prices.

But the CRTC’s role in telecommunications is evolving. In many telecom markets, several consumer choices are available. This natural competition results in better prices and packages for consumers. In these cases, CRTC allows competition, not regulations, to drive the market. The CRTC regulates only where the market doesn’t meet the objectives of the Telecommunications Act.

Activities

The CRTC supervises and regulates over 2000 broadcasters, including TV, AM and FM radio and the companies that bring these services to you. We also regulate telecommunications carriers including major telephone companies. This role involves:

* issuing, renewing and amending broadcasting licences
* making decisions on mergers, acquisitions and changes of ownership in broadcasting
* approving tariffs and certain agreements for the telecommunications industry
* issuing licences for international telecommunications services, whose networks allow telephone users to make and receive calls outside Canadian borders
* encouraging competition in telecommunications markets
* responding to requests for information and concerns about broadcasting and telecommunications issues

Boy, is that ever a minefield loaded with contradictions.

First of all, we see that:

...the CRTC ensures that all Canadians have access to a wide variety of high-quality Canadian programming...

which is defined as programming that reflects such PC nonsense as:

Canadian creativity and talent, our bilingual nature, our multicultural diversity and the special place of aboriginal peoples in our society.

But nowhere does it say how it expects to force Canadians to watch such stuff, in other words, there seems to be no expectation that such programming should actually have, you know, an viable market.

It also admits:

"In many telecom markets, several consumer choices are available. This natural competition results in better prices and packages for consumers. In these cases, CRTC allows competition, not regulations, to drive the market. The CRTC regulates only where the market doesn’t meet the objectives of the Telecommunications Act."

But, not so with respect to programming, which:

"...should reflect Canadian creativity and talent, our bilingual nature, our multicultural diversity and the special place of aboriginal peoples in our society."

 In its Telecommunications role it admits

"natural competition results in better prices and packages for consumers."

So why not allow for competition in programming?  We could begin with allowing actual market share of Canadian viewers to be the driving force behind funding and regulation. If Canada's broadcasters, such as the CBC, are losing viewers by leaps and bounds, why should we be forced to pay for that which we do not watch?

I presume the telecommunications arm refers to carriers, such as cable companies. But what's the point of regulating them, if the programming they offer has little appeal to Canadians, or if we are forced to purchase piles of crap, just to get the handful of good stuff spread out throughout so many tiers at the upper end?  Something has to change here and I suspect it's the Telecommunications Act and the Broadcasting Act.  And I'm also sure that the Harper government won't touch that with a ten foot pole, since he is accused on a daily basis by the CBC and Canada's creative and artistic community of having a hidden agenda.  Ironic, ain't it. Their agenda is as plain as the nose on their faces and it sure isn't to "serve the Canadian public".