Thursday, September 29, 2005

News | canada.com network

News | canada.com network: "Dingwall to resign, wants to clear his name

Alexander Panetta
Canadian Press


September 28, 2005



CREDIT: CP, Tom Hanson
David Dingwall, president and CEO of the Canadian Mint and former Public Works minister.

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OTTAWA -- The head of the Royal Canadian Mint has resigned amid allegations of ethical misdeeds, making him the fifth Crown corporation boss to leave in controversy since Paul Martin became prime minister"

Wednesday, September 21, 2005

National Post

National Post: "Canada taxes business investment more heavily than any other competing nation except China -- and taxes on Canadians' personal investment income can reach 80%, according to a study released yesterday"

Tuesday, September 20, 2005

Macleans.ca | Top Stories | Politics | Federal health minister tiptoes around Alberta's study of private insurance

Macleans.ca | Top Stories | Politics | Federal health minister tiptoes around Alberta's study of private insurance: "Federal health minister tiptoes around Alberta's study of private insurance
JUDY MONCHUK
CALGARY (CP) - Canada's health minister refused Monday to be drawn into a debate over Alberta's examination of private health-care insurance.
'Alberta has basically said they are reviewing the situation and I don't think it's appropriate for me to make any pre-emptory comments,' Ujjal Dosanjh said Monday. Dosanjh - buoyed by a new poll which shows Liberal fortunes soaring over Stephen Harper's Tories federally and even rising in traditionally anti-Liberal Alberta - did not seem to want to say anything that might rock that boat."

Sunday, September 18, 2005

winnipegsun.com - Editorial - Registry shooting blanks

winnipegsun.com - Editorial - Registry shooting blanks: "In late 1994, when then-justice minister Allan Rock unveiled the gun-control program, he declared, 'this tough new gun-control program will improve public safety and send a strong message that the criminal misuse of guns will not be tolerated.' Eleven years later, the Liberals are suddenly worried about gun crime because their electoral heartland has been blitzed by gun violence.
In a more sane country, Toronto would realize the gun registry has been exposed as an expensive waste of money and would punish the Liberals for lying to them by voting them out. And the Grits would shut down their useless registry and put the money into actual police officers fighting crime.
Sadly, neither of these things is going to happen. These lessons will go unlearned."

Saturday, September 17, 2005

winnipegsun.com - Editorial - A miserable failure

winnipegsun.com - Editorial - A miserable failure: " political wag once described former federal Conservative leader Robert Stanfield as the 'greatest prime minister Canada never had.' It was an acknowledgement that, while the quiet Nova Scotian possessed the intelligence and the acumen to lead the country, he was done in by political manoeuvring and never had the chance to prove himself. "

Wednesday, September 14, 2005

Hamilton

TORONTO -- The dozen years an Ontario man has languished in jail for raping and killing a four-year-old girl is just one more painful reason Canada needs a better system to deal with wrongful convictions, his supporters said Tuesday

"It's very upsetting after the number of wrongful convictions that have happened in this country," Dalton said.

"The list is getting very long."

Lockyer said Canada needs an independent tribunal to review claims of wrongful convictions such as one set up in the U.K. eight years ago.

It has already found more than 50 murder convictions were unjustified.

"All we have now is a sort of a piecemeal examination of a case here and case there primarily brought forward by our organization," said Lockyer. "It's just not good enough."

Lockyer said Ontario has been "the worst province" when it comes to dealing with such cases and that promises made after the notorious wrongful murder prosecution of Guy Paul Morin have gone unkept.

© Canadian Press 2005

Friday, September 02, 2005

winnipegsun.com - Editorial - About that gas tax ...

Sometimes it's just plain sickening to watch how the oil and gas industry works. It will be weeks or months before the full devastation of Hurricane Katrina is felt and oil production in the ruined Gulf of Mexico area can begin to get back on track.

But the resulting gas price hike? It happened instantly, hitting us here in Canada faster than Katrina did -- and harder. This, even though the gas being sold was refined and distributed long before Katrina developed.

True, in light of the horrendous human misery in New Orleans and throughout southern Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, gas prices may seem a small matter, and griping about them rather unseemly.

No more unseemly, however, than the fact that the tragedy of Katrina has been a bonanza for gas companies -- and government coffers.

There's little we can do about the market forces now driving the price of oil. But the sudden windfall in taxes -- particularly for Ottawa -- is another story.


As Canadian Taxpayers Federation federal director John Williamson noted this week, one-third of the price of a litre of gas is taxes -- and the GST is charged on top of all the other taxes, meaning a sudden spike like this is highly profitable for the feds.

The CTF has repeatedly called on Ottawa to reduce fuel taxes three ways:

1. End the GST tax-on-tax -- a savings to the consumer of, on average, 1.5 cent/litre.

2. Scrap the dishonest "deficit elimination" tax (the government hasn't had a deficit in eight years, so why are we still paying this?), for another 1.5-cent reduction.

3. Cut the federal gas tax itself by 2 cents, bringing the total price reduction to 5 cents/litre.

Cynics argue, of course, that a nickel per litre either way won't make much difference. Finance Minister Ralph Goodale himself has refused to cut gas taxes, suggesting gas companies would just hike their prices accordingly anyway (which they deny). Meanwhile, the feds now portray their gas gouging as noble, saying big cities need their new gas tax transfer (only a fraction of the billions raised).

Nonsense. The CTF is right on this. It's blatant overtaxation, and the feds' excuses don't wash anymore. Our roads and infrastructure may be crumbling, but the feds are rolling in gas tax revenues -- up 18% over a decade ago. Small wonder they have no intention of helping consumers fight high gas prices.

Talk about sickening.