Monday, January 27, 2014

Canada in Crisis

The Prime Minister will entertain an emergency debate in the House of Commons when parliament resumes.  The debate will focus on the crisis in Ukraine where there their government essentially answers to Russia and not the people.  The crisis is now as much about human rights as it is political.  It is a tragic and immense conflict with dangerous consequences affecting the region and the world.  It is an interesting call.  What will the debate resolve?  Has Canada a place in this conflict?  Yes, Canada has a positive and significant history with Ukraine in past conflicts.  How does that play out in this conflict and these times of constant conflicts and demonstrations in numerous countries around the world?

How many emergency debates have we had in the House of Commons on Afghanistan, Iran, Israel, Jordan, Sudan, Libya, Palestine, Iraq, Syria, or the whole Middle East and Africa for that matter.  We even failed to have an emergency debate on the Senate scandal surrounding the Office of the Prime Minister.  There is more trouble for the Prime Minister, as Chuck Strahl had to resign as Chairman of the Security Intelligence Review Committee.  Deborah Grey elected in 1989, as the Reform Party’s first Member of Parliament will temporarily replace him.  I have no idea what these two individuals know about security or intelligence.

It is clear the Prime Minister has an abundance of problems at home in Canada, including the bulging national debt; consecutive deficits, the falling value of our Canadian currency and an economy speculated to fall short of the Government’s projections by the end of 2014.  It is unclear what a debate in the House of Commons over the Ukraine will resolve other than to divert attention away from the hot issues surrounding Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his government.

The Prime Minister has returned from his latest trip to the Middle East.  He committed funds to Jordan for education to assist Jordan with the influx of child refugees from Syria.  Funds for develop and security in Jordan resulting from the conflict in Syria and additional funds for humanitarian efforts to assist with the fallout from the Syrian conflict.  The Prime Minister also committed funds to assist in the destruction of chemical weapons in Syria.  Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced support in Jordan for the Learning Empowerment and Play project to help support children living in Jordanian communities most affected by the influx of child refugees from Syria.

Then he committed support for development and security reforms in the West Bank and Gaza and negotiations to expand free trade with Israel.  He also committed to a Canada – Israel strategic partnership Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).  The list goes on as the debt goes higher at nearly 50 million per day.

Now what are we going to do for the conflict in Ukraine?

Friday, January 03, 2014

CTV Pampers Ontario

The following is an email I sent to CTV today.

"When are you going to get over pampering central Canada in your news reports regarding the weather?  You carry on as if it is cold there when it is balmy compared to Saskatchewan or Alberta.  Saskatchewan has had more cold weather this year than Ontario.  If Ontario had our cold temperatures then you would have something to report.  You seem to think that it is cold at –20 in Ontario, but you never mention Saskatchewan when it is –30 to –40.  What is with that?  In addition, just a reminder unless you have forgot, Saskatchewan is in western Canada just west of Manitoba.  Moreover, for your information we had a storm roar through here today, so put that on the weather news.  I will watch the news tonight to see if you are still pampering Ontario.

Question: What do some Ontario residents and BMW’s have in common?

Answer: Food stamps."