Buckdog

There is a growing opinion in Saskatchewan that if you want to be elected as the government .... you should first see a medical professional about your delusional hysterics!!

More on Enterprise Saskatchewan ...

Alberta's Premier Ed Stelmach is reported to be considering dropping an election writ in the next few days that would see Albertan's going to the polls in early December.

Stelmach's Conservatives have been struggling in the polls lately, but his recent increase to Alberta's oil royalty rates is clearly popular with much of the electorate.

The oil industry, however, is not overly happy with Stelmach and an election could bring some sparks and interest to what is usually a bland affair in Alberta politics.

Stay tuned!

-Ottawa Citizen
-Regina Leader Post

Common wisdom in Saskatchewan politics is that every decade or so, the voters will totally nuke the government of the day and elect a new government with a massive majority. Examples of this can be seen over the last 40 years:
-1971 - Allan Blakeney’s NDP knocked Ross Thatcher’s Liberals out of power
-1982 - Grant Devine’s Conservatives blasted Blakeney out of office
-1991 - Roy Romanow’s NDP booted Devine out of the premier’s suite

In the lead up to the current election, knowledgeable pundits and rank amateurs both believed that history would repeat itself and the Calvert New Democrats would be knocked out of government and that Brad Wall and his Saskatchewan Party would win a huge majority.

Well ... that does not appear to be what is happening out there on the hustings! There is one small poll that has now been released by the Saskatchewan Weekly Newspaper Association (a group not overly friendly with the NDP). They polled a small sample of 650 voters and found that of decided voters:
-Sask Party 50%
-NDP 35%
-Liberal 10%
-Other 5%
Undecided totaled 20%

The key to interpreting this poll is to remember that in their rural stronghold, the Sask Party polls with very high support - 60 to 70%.

The NDP seem to be holding onto their urban base. Most of their former 30 seats are urban and the Saskatchewan Party is having a hard time making inroads in all but one or two urban constituencies.

The Sask Party may be doing somewhat better in these poll numbers but it is hard to tell if that will translate into seats. At dissolution there was only a 2 seat difference between the two major parties (NDP 30 - SP 28).

It does not look like a massacre is going to occur. If the Saskatchewan Party should win, it will be with a slim majority.

Why? ... Calvert has mounted a fairly well thought out campaign with balance between the positives of his record and the negatives of the 'free market radical' Saskatchewan Party.

The Saskatchewan Party, on the other hand, has been very disappointing for those who anticipated a big bold visionary statement and plan for 'a new Saskatchewan in the new West'!

Brad Wall seems content to let the voters go out and 'defeat' the NDP - while he just holds back and waits to take control of the government benches. This may turn out to be a huge strategic error for the Sask Party. Their low key campaign with no major promises and no exciting plan has everyone yawning.

I remind both Saskatchewan Party supporters AND Liberals, that the NDP were expected to lose the 1999 Election (THEY WON!) and they were absolutely expected to lose the 2003 Election (THEY WON!) .... so remember ... wishful thinking is NOT necessarily reality!

No one is getting blown out of the water in Saskatchewan on November 7th. It will be closer than expected!

UPDATE: October 30th, 2007 - Leadership Debate Tonight!
The leaders of Saskatchewan’s three major political parties will take part in the only scheduled ‘Leader’s Debate’ of the 2007 election campaign tonight.

RAW NOTES AS DEBATE UNDERWAY:
The overall format is not tight .... a bit of a verbal Donneybrook during the first 12 minutes.
Karwacki very aggressive and not allowing Calvert or Wall to get a word in edgewise. Almost too aggressive ... but this is his third election and he wants a seat!!
The host is very weak ... first 45 minutes pretty much a three way free for all ....
Calvert goes after Wall on ‘Enterprise Saskatchewan’
Karwacki putting the boots to Wall and his ‘I don’t know’ response to everything like the MLA benefits package and his candidate’s departure in Regina ...

"David Karwacki was an impediment to debate tonight"
John Gormley
Newstalk Radio
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Premier Lorne Calvert is facing his second race as leader of the New Democrats. Brad Wall is running in his first election as leader of the Saskatchewan Party. Liberal leader, David Karwacki is in his second general election as leader of the Libs, but has also unsuccessfully contested a by-election - he has never had a seat in the Legislature.

Composition of the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan at dissolution was:
-NDP 30
-Sask Party 28
-Liberal 0

Three networks will televise the debate province wide - CBC, CTV and Global.

Regina Leader Post

Banner courtesy of saskatoonhomepage.ca

Tucked away in the platform document of the Saskatchewan Party, is a section that describes the creation of a new agency of the provincial government. Their plan entails gutting the current Department of Economic Development and the creation of a new body of appointed individuals who would advise a future government on legislative, regulatory and budgetary requirements. In other words, the overall role of the government and the legislature would be moved to an unelected body known as Enterprise Saskatchewan.

Here is an excerpt from the Sask Party platform document:

"A Saskatchewan Party government will create Enterprise Saskatchewan,a new public-private partnership between government, business, labour, First nations, municipalities, post-secondary institutions and economic stakeholders. Enterprise Saskatchewan will be Saskatchewan’s central economic development agency.

-Enterprise Saskatchewan will act as the lead agency for developing a long-term provincial labour force development strategy to ensure Saskatchewan has enough well-trained workers to fill jobs and sustain economic growth in our province.
-Enterprise Saskatchewan teams will review key sectors of Saskatchewan’s economy, to identify barriers to growth and make recommendations to government for their removal.
-Enterprise Saskatchewan will consistently act to measure and report on Saskatchewan’s tax and regulatory environment to ensure that Saskatchewan’s economy remains competitive within the New West.
-A Saskatchewan Party government will ensure that Saskatchewan people reap the benefits of our energy resources by:
-Ensuring the continued, sustainable development of Saskatchewan’s conventional oil and oil sands resources;
-Working with the federal government to develop a national energy grid to increase provincial revenues from power exports; and
-Ensuring Saskatchewan is a member of North American and international energy and economic organizations.
-Facilitate direct partnerships between post-secondary institutions and industry to address training needs in growth sectors of the economy;
-Develop a long-term provincial initiative between First Nations, post-secondary institutions and industry to increase the number of First Nations workers in the labour force; and -Increase training and employment opportunities for apprentices, including reviewing the current journeyman to apprentice ratio in consultation with industry and labour.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

When you look at the 'role' of Enterprise Saskatchewan, it is pretty easy to see that it is the 'contracting out' of the responsibilities of the provincial government - giving responsibility to an appointed group!

It will allow an unelected body to determine if labour legislation is a 'barrier' to the growth of the private sector. It will allow an unelected body to determine if Saskatchewan's Crown Corporations are a 'barrier' to the growth of the private sector.

It's the ultimate in contracting out!

There is a growing opinion in Saskatchewan that if you want to be elected as the Premier, you must answer a skill testing question .... " Please spell the word, SASKATCHEWAN .... "!

"CBC News recently obtained documents containing allegations that Harder made inappropriate comments about others based on race, gender, marital status, weight and sexual orientation."
Yahoo News


The following appears on the Saskatchewan Party Election website:

Harder Withdraws As Saskatchewan Party Candidate
Saturday - October 27, 2007

Saskatchewan Party candidate Dan Harder has withdrawn his candidacy for the Regina Walsh Acres constituency in the November 7 provincial election.

The decision was made after Saskatchewan Party Leader Brad Wall learned the details of a 2006 complaint made by employees against Harder while he was the Executive Director of the Regina Big Brothers. The complaint involved allegations of inappropriate comments made by Harder to employees.

Harder responded to the complaint at the time and no further action was taken on the complaint by Big Brothers. However, after learning the details of the complaint and Harder’s response, Wall felt Harder could not continue as a Saskatchewan Party candidate.

Wall said he had been aware that there was a complaint against Harder, but only learned of the details of the matter today.


=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

There are still some unanswered questions as to when Saskatchewan Party leader, Brad Wall knew about the allegations. He claims on one hand that he knew a year ago, but only yesterday learned the nature and seriousness of the allegations. More ....

H/T to fellow Saskatchewan blogger Giant Political Mouse


-CBC Saskatchewan
-Saskatchewan Party Website

Prime Minister Stephen Harper is having some troubles trying to get the political leash back onto General Rick Hillier. The problem is self made. Back in early 2006, when they formed a minority government, the Conservatives were determined to ensure that they had the political benefits that a good ‘war’ could give them. Flag waving, troop 'supporting', junkets to the battlefield - all made for the optics that the Tories wanted as a backdrop to their whole ‘Canada’s new government' schtick.

As a result, they let General Rick Hillier have a huge amount of leeway in terms of the things that he said to the media. In my lifetime, I have never seen a Canadian military figure more quoted or interviewed in the press.

Rick Hillier felt emboldened enough to criticize the former government who, to his thinking, did not adequately finance the Canadian military. At no time did Hillier ever consider that the taxpayers of Canada were entitled to a ‘peace dividend’ as a result of the Cold War’s end.

Hillier is clearly doing what he thinks is right to ensure ‘job security’ for the military and hence his pronouncement that we ‘must remain in Afghanistan for at least a decade’.

Hillier is blind to the reality of public opinion. Even though reputable polling indicates that Canadians are not excited about being in Afghanistan or remaining there, Hillier simply dismisses the poll's reality with his own theory.

General Hillier is a servant of the Canadian government and thereby the Canadian people. He has had free rein to flap his lips far too much for my liking. He is NOT elected and hence it is difficult for citizens who oppose him to hold him to account.

Now he is even challenging his political masters. It’s time to give him a token Order of Canada, retire him and strongly advise his replacement to just shut the hell up!

-CBC
-Hillier Should Have Been Sacked Long Ago

"Running around like a madman with a razor blade, waving it around, is not the best way to resolve the situation."
Vladimir Putin

In no uncertain terms, Russian President Vladimir Putin has told George Bush to be very cautious about any plans to attack Iran.

Using an analogy of a 'madman waving a razor blade', he stated that concerns over nuclear development in Iran can be dealt with by patient talks.

-Ottawa Sun


UPDATE:
The White House has very quickly responded to Putin's warning ......
-Rice downplays differences with Russia over Iran sanctions

Premier Ed Stelmach bit the bullet and hiked Alberta's oil royalty rate this afternoon. In Calgary, it was reported that people could hear 'wailing and gnashing of teeth' from some of the oil towers.!

The new rate structure will allow the oil companies a timeline to adjust but will give Albertans an extra $1.4 billion by 2010.

The new royalty rate structure still falls about 1/2 Billion below the recommendations of the special panel.


-CBC has more...
-CBC Alberta has in depth ...

“In this case, it's all about history, beginning with what has become the annoying, disrespectful and sometimes downright dangerous habit of the Saskatchewan Party of implying scandal, fraud and corruption from within the safety of the legislative assembly when they have had virtually no evidence thereof.”
- Regina Leader Post: Mar 24, 2006


"Wall has become a leader more focused on blaming and criticizing than coming up with better ideas of his own."
- Regina Leader Post Jul 9, 2005


"What Wall doesn't seem to get is that governing is a multiple-choice test. There's no all-of-the-above box for the premier of Saskatchewan. Yet tax cuts have become Wall's predictable answer to everything. Where does his vision go beyond that?… that isn't a vision. It's simply polling results translated into easily digestible sound-bite policies."
- Regina Leader Post: Sep 9, 2005


“Wall's rant this week [...] goes beyond stale into the realm of unproductive political pot stirring.”
- Regina Leader Post: Sep 2, 2005


“Simply saying you have ideas isn't enough. Nor is saying you oppose investing taxpayers' money in the private sector because it sounds good -- especially, when you then turn around and praise the government for doing the very thing you oppose.”
- Regina Leader Post: Jul 9, 2005


“After Tuesday's flip-flopping, why would voters see Wall as any more trustworthy than Hermanson?”
- Saskatoon Star - Phoenix: Nov 24, 2004


"Contrary to Wall's near-hysterical press release Wednesday forewarning Premier Lorne Calvert of another looming National Energy Program… no one has actually called for another NEP."
- Regina Leader Post: Sep 2, 2005


"The problem with the Opposition's criticism is that it appears to be driven more by politics and polling than sound policy planning."
- Regina Leader Post: Jul 9, 2005


“Less than a month after he rose in the house to suggest that SaskEnergy should hurry to lock in a contract at $5.56 a gigajoule until October 2002, Saskatchewan Party critic Brad Wall issued a press release that berates the company for failing to take advantage of prices that have now fallen to $4.61 a GJ for a one-year contract. Forget that Wall was wrong on June 5 about the $5.56 price he was tossing about in the legislature because he failed to include several costs, including delivery charges, that make the price considerably higher in Saskatchewan. Ignore that he's again conveniently leaving out these costs in citing a $4.61 price that applies only in Alberta. Wall's June 29 press release serves to underline why consumers are better served by having experts who know the natural gas market make SaskEnergy's purchasing decisions than to follow the whims of politicians trying to outguess a commodity market that's more volatile than the NASDAQ.”
- Saskatoon Star - Phoenix: Jul 7, 2001


“But what might be even more irksome about the way the Saskatchewan Party is now kowtowing to the SBC [Saskatoon Business Council] is that it suspiciously seems less about a sincere political philosophy than the game of political positioning that the Opposition has played since Brad Wall became leader.”
- Regina Leader Post: May 21, 2005


“An Opposition plan to embarrass the government went awry Thursday when a businessperson invited to the legislature to condemn the province's sales tax increase and threaten a move to Alberta found out he doesn't have to charge his customers the PST. During question period in the legislature, Saskatchewan Party MLA Brad Wall said the government's PST expansion threatens to put Stein out of business. However, following the scrum with reporters, Stein was invited to meet with Department of Finance officials. Less than an hour later, he emerged from the meeting a contented man.”
- Saskatoon Star - Phoenix: May 5, 2000


“After chastising both the NDP government and party for its secrecy, the Saskatchewan Party says it now finds some merit in being secretive, too [...] Wall denied that this makes past criticism of NDP policy debate and government programming hypocritical. ‘Some will say it's hypocritical. I say it's a change. You can characterize the way you like.’”
- Regina Leader Post: Oct 2, 2004


"For the Saskatchewan Party that campaigned in 1999 on a public sector spending freeze to now suggest that wage guidelines are somehow inappropriate seems something less than genuine."
- Regina Leader Post: Jun 17, 2005


“The Saskatchewan Party is blasting SaskTel for investing more than $13 million in two Internet companies, one of which may compete with an existing private business in the province.” [...] Brad Wall said SaskTel's newest company will clearly compete for IRON Solutions' business [...] However, it appears that there was no direct competition."
- Saskatoon Star - Phoenix: May 16, 2001


"Sure, the notion of removing the politics from the process sounds great, but it is still government that must determine tax cuts and utility rate hikes….Is fobbing these decisions off on another non-government body -- one that's actually less accountable to the public than a government sitting in the legislature -- really the answer? Or is it just a way of avoiding taking a position on issues that might make some voters a little uncomfortable? For that matter, what in Wall's paper goes beyond the same old Opposition criticism, delivered in slightly more academic tones?"
- Regina Leader Post: Sep 25, 2004


"Not only did the Opposition completely distort Sonntag's statement, but it did so to make the point that there needed to be a special legislative investigation of him for "lying to the legislature." That's not just irresponsible. It's contemptible."
- SaskatoonStar - Phoenix: Feb 26, 2003


“[It] makes you wonder exactly what Wall and his party really stand for.”
- Regina Leader Post: Jul 9, 2005

Brad Wall and the Saskatchewan Party are doing a lot of theatrics this campaign. In a News Release entitled, ‘No Balanced Budget Plan or Debt Reduction in NDP Platform - Wall Says NDP Plan Means Deficits or Tax Hikes’

In this release, Wall claims that the New Democrats have NO fiscal plan!

Well - well - well.
Here is what the National Bank of Canada had to say about the last 14 provincial budgets that the Saskatchewan NDP have delivered:

SASKATCHEWAN BUDGET - A FAMILY BUDGET
• Saskatchewan has brought down a 14th straight budget showing a surplus in the General Revenue Fund.
• A surplus is budgeted for 2007-08, achieved by a draw from the Fiscal Stabilization Fund.
• Total operating expenses are budgeted at $7.79 billion in 2007-08, an increase of 1.4% from the current 2006-07 estimate.

National Bank of Canada
March 22, 2007

The Saskatchewan Party has no credibility when it comes to financial matters. Their leader, Brad Wall, served as a ministerial assistant in the crime plagued Grand Devine government which never balanced even ONE budget during their nine years in power in the late 1980's.

OTTAWA - A small army of New Democrats has descended on the nation's capital to map out a new strategy to replace the Liberals as the main alternative to Prime Minister Stephen Harper's Conservative party.

Mike De Souza
CanWest News Service
October 24, 2007

-National Post

-Dion Liberals Prop Up Conservatives

Photo coutesy CBC

Yesterday, the Saskatchewan Party asked a valid question of the New Democrats - will they increase taxes if they are re-elected? That is a fair question, and Premier Calvert said, 'NO'!

So it is only fair to pose a question to the Saskatchewan Party. Since their platform is promising massive spending in Health Care, it is worth asking where all of the new money is going to come from. Brad Wall is going to great length to assure us that he is going to 'fix' health care by putting a LOT of money into new nurses, large increases in nurses salaries and a number of other initiatives.

Considering that Conservative Alberta and Liberal B.C. both have health premiums for their citizens, I think it is a fair question to ask Brad Wall if he will implement the same in Saskatchewan.

So here is my question ... let's see if we get an answer before November 7th:

'Would a Saskatchewan Party government implement Health Premiums or user fees on residents of this province?'

"Conrad Black, the fallen Canadian-born media baron who could be sentenced to decades in a U.S. prison, has acknowledged the social "awkwardness" caused by his legal woes and his "regret" over giving up his Canadian citizenship to become a British lord, according to comments published in the latest edition of Men's Vogue magazine." [...]

"Lord Black, who might have faced a lighter sentence if he'd been tried in Canada, admitted to Men's Vogue that he wished he hadn't surrendered his Canadian citizenship -- after a public battle of wills with former prime minister Jean Chrétien -- to take up a seat in the House of Lords.

"I do regret giving up my Canadian citizenship," he said, "but I always said I would take it back."
Randy Boswell
The Ottawa Citizen
Tuesday, October 23, 2007

Ottawa Citizen

No one knows authoritarianism like a right winger and Stephen Harper knows how to use the heavy hand of authority when he wants to be a political bully. To prove my point, the Conservative constituency executive in northern Nova Scotia has been suspended by the party's national council because of its ongoing support for MP Bill Casey.

The Riding of Cumberland-Colchester-Musquodoboit Valley has been notified that they must resign or they must select a candidate acceptable to Mr. Harper. Bill Casey was ejected from the Conservative caucus for defending Nova Scotia's financial interests in offshore oil.

But the riding executive decided to do neither of the choices given to them, and have decided to hold an annual general meeting in November to let local members decide what action should be taken.

Globe & Mail

The following article appears in the October 20, 2007 edition of the Regina Leader Post:

"Rosalee Longmoore stands by her words, but she objects to her name and that of the Saskatchewan Union of Nurses being used for political gain.

The SUN president is upset that Saskatchewan Party candidate Bill Hutchinson recently sent out campaign literature using information that was published on the SUN Web site without attributing a source.

One of the points on the two-sided leaflet reads: "Nearly a decade of inaction by the Saskatchewan government is forcing our health care system into crisis.""We're not disputing that those (words) are part of our document," Longmoore said Friday morning. "What we are concerned about is that when they don't identify the source it looks like we're supporting a particular candidate or party."She's also concerned about another quote in the leaflet that appears to be taken from the SUN's Web site and attributed to SUN but which was actually written for a 1999 Leader-Post column and posted on the SUN Web site.

"This material makes it look like that was said in February 2007," Longmoore said.

Longmoore said neither she nor her union are endorsing any political party or candidate in the provincial election.

"SUN is a very clear non-partisan union," she said.

Regina Leader Post

Remember back in August when the Saskatchewan Party claimed that the NDP had placed 'subliminal messages' into their television ads???

At first most of the main stream media jumped on the Saskatchewan Party bandwagon and all started attacking the New Democrats for committing such a 'dastardly'act.

Well ... now the Sask Party is being VERY QUIET about this and many of their supporters are down right EMBARRASSED that they were sucked in by the Sask Party's adolescent behaviour!

Shame on Brad Wall and his supporters for crying Wolf every day of this election campaign!!!

"Our country, and the entire international community, cannot stand by as a terror-supporting state fulfills its grandest ambitions. [...]

"We will not allow Iran to have a nuclear weapon." [...]

"The Iranian regime needs to know that if it stays on its present course, the international community is prepared to impose serious consequences."
Dick Cheney
October 21, 2007

-Guardian.uk
-The White House

Admiral Michael Mullen, who assumed the role as Chair of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff three weeks ago says that the military has enough resources left that they could go to war with Iran and continue operations as well in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"There is more than enough reserve to respond (militarily) if that, in fact, is what the national leadership wanted to do".

At what point do you label someone a 'war monger'? At what point do you condemn a nation for having a 'war culture'? At what point do the American people say 'enough of this insanity'?

Telegraph.uk

On September 3, 2006, I posted a story entitled "We Should Nuke Iran" - Toronto Sun Article wherein Michael Coren demanded an immediate nuclear attack on Iran. Coren was widely criticised for making such an irresponsible and murderous pronouncement. I am still stunned that the Toronto Sun published Coren's insane article.

Well, today in the Toronto Sun, Michael Coren apologizes for his nuclear attack demands:

"A little over a year ago I wrote a column in this newspaper that caused a major controversy. I advocated a tactical nuclear strike on Iran's nuclear facilities. I did not, of course, call for all-out nuclear war, but I did support what would be a massively destructive campaign against the Tehran regime's military ambitions. Thirteen months later I feel obliged to say that I wish I had never written such an article. I was wrong."

Better late then never ....

AFTERTHOUGHT:
The final thought I have on this will be this .... let's say that the USA or Israel launch a military attack on Iran. You can be sure that Canadians will condemn it massively. I wouldn't want to be Michael Coren with my September 2nd, 2006 article hanging out there if an attack on Iran acutally DOES occur. Just call this - Michael Coren's insurance policy ....

Coren's Article in the Toronto Sun

“In the years following their 1991 political defeat as government in Saskatchewan, 14 Conservative Members of the Legislature and two caucus workers were convicted of fraud and breach of trust for illegally diverting hundreds of thousands of dollars from government allowances in a phony expense-claim scam. During inquiry into the scandal, many innocent party members were placed under heavy scrutiny. Jack Wolfe committed suicide when faced with the agony of possibly being scrutinized for wrongdoing himself, or having the testify against his former colleagues. The party was destroyed by this scandal, winning only five seats in the 1995 election, behind both the NDP and the Liberals.”
Wikipedia

From the day that the old P.C. Party morphed into the Saskatchewan Party, there has been sensitivity about the fraud of the 1980's and the New Democrats have never tired of reminding voters of where the Saskatchewan Party has its roots.

In the lead up to the 2007 election, the Saskatchewan Party has desperately sought some way to cast a light of ‘criminal’ behavior onto their opponents.

This last spring, the Sask Party raised a 16 year old NDP Caucus personnel matter wherein an employee in 1992 had inflated expense claims to the tune of $6000 but no criminal charges were laid in Canada in order to extradite her to the United States where she faced more serious charges. The Sask Party has demanded further police investigations of this matter and have gone to great length to try and damage the reputation of a sitting NDP Cabinet minister who was Caucus Chair at the time in 1992.

However, the Saskatchewan Party got egg on their own face when it was made public that they had stolen Regina City Police records of the original 1992 investigation in their possession. The police investigation into how the Sask Party came to be in possession of stolen police reports is still underway.

Now the Saskatchewan Party has found a difference in the way that tickets purchased for a political leader’s dinner are reported to the Chief Electoral Officer. The New Democrats and the Saskatchewan Party do it slightly differently, but the Electoral Officer accepts both methods of reporting year end financial activities of each party.

So now the Saskatchewan party is determined to convince the public that the reporting method of the New Democrats is ‘criminal’.

Don't forget, the Saskatchewan Party also tried to convince the public that the NDP was placing subliminal messages into television ads in an attempt to connect the Sask Party with 'porn'!

Voters are tiring of the Saskatchewan Party’s nonsense. This will backfire and blow up in their faces. Just wait!!

-Regina Leader Post

In a Buckdog post on September 26th, entitled Marc Garneau Kisses Liberal Party Goodbye, I reported that Marc Garneau was expressing frustration with the Liberal party and was not going to run in the next federal election.

Because Buckdog is a 'fair play' blog I am going to acknowledge that Stephan Dion has repaired whatever problems existed and to report that Marc Garneau will contest the next election as a Liberal candidate.

Buckdog would like to encourage all progressive bloggers to practice 'fair play' blogging. When I am wrong, I will acknowledge it.
Leftdog

I was very happy to see the Angus Reid Strategies poll of what Canadians think about the federal government's $64-million anti-drug strategy. While they do agree that penalties should be increased for major dealers and manufacturers, they are NOT pleased with the Tory bias against 'harm reduction' measures such as 'safe injection sites'.

"Vancouver's safe-injection site has been given an extension until next June, but Prime Minister Stephen Harper has said he opposes these kind of programs."

Stephen Harper is a typical right wing dinosaur who 'can't see' why drug addicts don't just 'say no' and quit their 'evil habit'. That is because individuals with a right wing world view tend to reduce very complex issues into simplistic black and white comprehensions.

Meanwhile, the Conservatives have also decided that those Canadians who use small amounts of cannabis are evil criminals as well and must be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.

At some point, Stephen Harper and his Conservative dinosaurs may listen to what Canadians are saying ... but don't hold your breath. The are hooked on their simplistic ideology.

London Free Press

History was made yesterday in Manitoba. A Russian ship arrived at the Canadian port of Churchill, Manitoba after travelling across the Arctic Ocean. This is a first! While it is an amazing event, it is tempered by the fact that global warming has melted so much of the Arctic that a new seaway has opened up.

(Footnote: - and the individual responsible for the extreme right wing blog, 'smalldeadanimals' continues to deny that global warming exists!)

-Globe & Mail
-Arctic Warming Continues

TULSA (AP) — Oral Roberts University president Richard Roberts has asked the school's board of regents for a leave of absence amid accusations of lavish spending at donors' expense and illegal involvement in a political campaign.

An Oct. 2 lawsuit filed by three former ORU professors says they were wrongfully dismissed and alleges the spending at donors' expense, including numerous home remodels and a senior trip to the Bahamas for one daughter on the ministry's dime.

It also accuses Roberts of illegal involvement in a local political campaign, which would violate the university's non-profit status. [...]

The amended complaint included details of an internal ministry report documenting Lindsay Roberts' contacts with underage males.

It claims she spent the night in the ORU guest house with an underage male "on nine separate occasions," among other allegations. The report was titled "Scandal Vulnerability Assessment" and was prepared by Stephanie Cantees, Richard Roberts' sister-in-law. In a statement, Lindsay said she lived her life in "a morally upright manner" and had never engaged in any sexual behavior with any man outside of her marriage as the accusations imply.

-CNN
-USA Today
-Washington Post

tag oral roberts university

It just keeps happening over and over. The Saskatchewan Party - who want to be the government at the end of the current election - simply cannot spell and refuse to use any form of 'spell checker'.

First we had the famous television commercial featuring party leader, Brad Wall in front of a backdrop which has the word 'Saskatchewan' spelled incorrectly!.

Now another election TV commercial is causing 'funny bone' responses from the electorate.

"Sometimes it's always best to use spell-checker. The Saskatchewan Party health ad currently running on TV contains a major spelling error. It seems the Saskatchewan Party is putting the Sask into Kamsask, or Kamsack as it should be known.

Confused? Well, the TV ad that highlights ER closures in rural hospitals has the communities affected rolling across the screen. But Kamsack is missing the c and has an extra s making it Kamsask. Brad Wall maintains it's an innocent error, but it's not the first time.

The Liberals spelt their party name wrong in 2003, as has the Saskatchewan Party spelt Saskatchewan wrong in the past. It's not known whether the ad will be pulled."
News Talk Radio - CJME

Over the weekend, someone with the Saskatchewan Party's campaign made a huge screw up. For a brief while, their entire 28 day campaign - planks, announcements and television ads, were left unprotected for all to see. The press got their hands on the entire package and the 28 day Saskatchewan Party campaign is now public knowledge.

First of all, there is nothing overly remarkable in the package. A little tax tinking here, a little there ... much less than what would have been expected considering the shrieking and theatrics the Party has utilized over the last year in the Saskatchewan Legislature.

So what now? Well, it looks like Brad Wall and the Saskatchewan Party are going to soldier on without any element of surprise or timing for the next three weeks.

It does leave one to wonder how well they would run the government of the province when they can't even run a website!

CBC Saskatchewan

Here is the full text of the RBC New Release on the Saskatchewan economic outlook:

Royal Bank Of Canada Says Diversification Key To Saskatchewan's Strong Economy

TORONTO, October 12, 2007 — Saskatchewan’s economy continues to strengthen and is expected to grow by 4.8 per cent in 2007, and 4.3 per cent in 2008, according to a provincial economic outlook released today by RBC.

“Saskatchewan has diversified its economic activities over the past several years, so that it is now vying with Alberta for the title of Canada’s growth leader,” said Craig Wright, vice-president and chief economist, RBC. “Nationally, the province ranks second in oil production and third in natural gas production and its list of economic achievements continues to broaden by the minute.”

Activity in the uranium and diamond mining sectors has dominated the province’s surge in mineral exploration and development spending over the past few months. Saskatchewan’s resources sector will continue to accelerate early next decade when the flooded Cigar Lake mine opens in 2011 and two large diamond mines swing into production.

According to the RBC report, much of the province’s economic strength is also spilling over into increased consumer spending and a hot housing market. This is especially true for Saskatoon, as the introduction of direct chartered flights to and from Fort McMurray has made the city a more viable housing option for oil sands workers.

However, Saskatchewan’s economic excitement must be put into perspective, notes the report. There are a number of risks to consider such as a decline in potash and grain prices, slowing global demand for biofuels; strained housing affordability conditions that may price first time buyers out of the market; a potential correction to overvalued oil prices; and a growth picture that remains as vulnerable to agricultural conditions today as in the past, despite some progress toward diversification.

Across the provinces, Newfoundland and Labrador is expected to be the growth leader this year, with Alberta moving into the lead in 2008, rivaled only by Saskatchewan. Manitoba’s steady growth and inflation rates will keep it in the middle of the western provincial pack, and B.C.’s growth rate will move slightly downward. RBC’s forecast for Ontario’s economy has been revised downward to the bottom of the pack among all the provinces.

It appears that the Saskatchewan Party may have had their entire election plan, including advertisements, up on their website for a brief time over the weekend.

"When asked about the advertisements Sunday, Wall said it was possible some party ads may have been prematurely posted for a time on the website, potentially due to a "supplier" error. He also confirmed he would be unveiling ideas with respect to the education portion of property tax and education funding today."

-CBC Saskatchewan
-Regina Leader Post

A poll by Durex shows that Canadians may not be as frisky as they would like:

How often do you have sex and how often would you like to have sex?

Almost daily:
-Currently have 4%
-Would like to have 16%

2-3 times/week:
-Currently have 20%
-Would like to have 39%

Weekly:
-Currently have 26%
-Would like to have 25%

Monthly:
-Currently have 14%
-Would like to have 6%

Rarely:
-Currently have 18%
-Would like to have 4%

Never:
-Currently have 6%
-Would like to have 1%

Ottawa Sun

"Harper is one of many conservative Christians in Canadian politics, Mackey says, who have been striving to downplay the public's fears about evangelicals being "scary." [...]

"Harper could suffer politically if he were more open in largely secular Canada, or publicly embraced the beliefs of his denomination, the Christian and Missionary Alliance (CMA).

"If Harper came out and said those who don't know the Lord are `lost,' (that they) are doomed, he'd be held up to ridicule," said Bruce Foster, head of policy studies at Mount Royal College here. "In a multicultural, diverse, relativistic country like Canada, that's toxic stuff for most voters."
Douglas Todd
Religion News Service

I need to know if my Prime Minister believes that the Earth is only 8000 years old and that an Armageddon event will take the lives of most persons in the world. What about you?

Pewforum

"... 24 hours after calling the election for Nov. 7, Premier Lorne Calvert dropped his bombshell announcement that another NDP government would extend the seniors' $15 prescription drug plan to everyone. [...] Clearly, the NDP seized the momentum in 2007 election campaign Thursday. [...]
And there are a lot of other nagging questions. Why should we be paying for drugs for millionaires? "
Murray Mandryk
October 13, 2007

Caught completely off guard, the Saskatchewan Party and their sympathizers are reeling in the wake of a universal prescription drug plan revealed by the NDP at the start of this election campaign. In fact the best counter they can come up with is that it will provide 'free drugs for millionaires?'

The right wing in Saskatchewan is going to have to come up with a better argument than that! Those who have been advocating that is time for a change (and I include those in the media who lead that parade) just got a punch in the nose on day one of the campaign!

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

UPDATE: A spooked Sask Party says ... 'We have a drug plan too'!
Talk about desperation ... overnight, the Sask Party has patched together a Prescription Drug Plan of their own!

Firing the first volley in the Saskatchewan election, the New Democrats have promised a universal prescription drug plan for all residents of the province. Currently, Saskatchewan has a plan for all persons over 65 years of age who pay only $15 for each prescription on the provincial formulary.

If re-elected, the NDP will implement universal prescription drug coverage for every man, woman and child in the province on July 1st, 2008!!

-New Democrat News Release
-CBC Saskatchewan

Political junkies who never get enough politics can breath easy now that the Ontario (as well as Newfoundland & Labrador) elections are over. Today kicks off the Saskatchewan provincial campaign and it is going to be a wild one!

With the New Democrats having been in power for 16 years, there is a mood for change in the province. But change to what many ask? Saskatchewan's old 'conservative' party never recovered from the disastrous Grant Devine government of the 1980's and have morphed into the Saskatchewan Party. As usual, the Liberals are scampering after the big players hoping that someone will listen to them.\

Get a front row seat for the campaign by bookmarking Buckdog's Saskatchewan Election Blog. I'll keep you updated throughout the day on the twists and turns of this struggle!

Voters in Saskatchewan will go to the polls on Wednesday, November 7th for a Provincial Election. At dissolution of the Legislature, the makeup of the House was:
-30 New Democrats
-28 Saskatchewan Party

CBC Saskatchewan

NOTE: -Buckdog will be operating a special Election blogsite during the campaign.

BOOKMARK THIS SITE: Buckdog's Saskatchewan Election Blog

As a resident of Saskatchewan, I have stayed out of the Ontario Election on this blog. However, with Bob Rae flapping his lips on the subject, I have to say something. How dare Bob Rae, who totally screwed up his term as Premier of Ontario DARE to lecture Howard Hampton and the Ontario NDP.

Hampton said it best yesterday when asked by a reporter ... "Bob Rae is a Liberal. What do you expect?" Rae badly hurt the NDP brand in Ontario then ran off to become a Liberal. Well he is a Liberal, was a Liberal and should stay a bloody Liberal!

Bob Rae has no business saying anything to the New Democratic Party - all we ever hoped for Rae was that the door would not hit him in the ass on the way out!!!

-CBC
-Ottawa Citizen

A group of American right wing bloggers are criticising Google for commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Sputnik launch last week. Talk about thin skinned and mean spirited. Google is known to modify their famous logo for certain holidays and days of note - but right wing blog types feel that Google should be slammed for not having a logo commemoration for 'Veterans Day' while they have one for 'a Soviet accomplishment'.

I think Right wingers must sit up late into the night dreaming up crap to be outraged over!

-vnunet.com
-Telegraph.co.uk
-portfolio.com

The government structures in Afghanistan are so corrupt and so dysfunctional, the Canadian Military has to oversee and administer the salaries paid to serving Afghan police members.

"The Canadian military has begun paying the salaries of Afghan police directly, following reports that impoverished police officers weren't receiving money owed by the Afghan government. "The money did not get to these guys," Brig.-Gen. Guy Laroche said in an interview with the Globe and Mail published Tuesday. "Somebody is taking 10 per cent here, 10 per cent there, and at the end, the poor guy is left with nothing."
CBC News

"The territory is more secure now today, here in Kandahar than it was a year ago,"
Foreign Affairs Minister Maxime Bernier
October - 2007

"The security situation in Afghanistan is assessed by most analysts as having deteriorated at a constant rate through 2007,"
UN Department of Safety and Security
August - 2007

Canada's new Foreign Affairs Minister, Maxime Bernier, is going out of his way to try and convince us how much safer it is in Afghanistan lately even though United Nations assessments are not as optimistic!

The Conservative Government of Canada is determined to continue with their war in Afghanistan and that is all that there is to it! They will even lie in their attempt to try and convince Canadians that we should continue fighting.

Globe & Mail

The more I think about it, the more I am convinced that the downfall of the 'Right' in Canada will be their inability to comprehend that the public does not embrace their dogma as much as they would like. A good example of this was the inability of The Western Standard to make a go of it in the publishing world. To understand what I mean, listen to editor Ezra Levant's beliefs on climate change:

" ... the global warming debate is a scam to begin with. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the UN's official group of climate change scientists, states that even if every country in the world followed the Kyoto Protocol to a 'T' for 100 years, the world would not cool off at all. So while global warming hypocrisy is fun to point out, it really doesn't matter, since mankind's impact on climate is negligible."
Ezra Levant
July 30, 2007

In spite of all of the scientific evidence, Ezra and the Right have decided that they must fight reality because it may hurt 'business'. What nonsense! Ezra states that 6 Billion human individuals on the planet, pumping literally tons of CO2, carbon and other polluting substances daily into the atmosphere is negligible.

Opinion polls show that a majority of Canadians do not share that sentiment. Even Stephen Harper and his Conservative Party have had to adjust their rhetoric - but essentially they still believe the same nonsense that Ezra was spouting. This is why the Conservatives have only a minority government and likely the prospects are for another minority should we go to the polls any time soon.

The passing of the Western Standard is a symbolic victory for those of us who are trying to counter the angry, nasty idiocy that the Right is all about at this point in our history. The Right in Canada feels aggrieved and they are angry. They are also stupid. Just go read smalldeadanimals if you need confirmation of the retarded idiocy that the Right currently subscribes to.

Here's the good news. The majority of Canadians quietly go about their day to day business and are not embracing hard right wing dogma.

That is a good thing. The demise of the Western Standard is a bit of good news. It demonstrates that there are big cracks in the Canadian Right.

I have come to accept that there is a fair bit of negativity involved in right wing thinking processes. Michael Coren's 'Thanksgiving Day column 'Thanks For Nothin' indicates to me that he may have gone beyond the limits of even normal right wing negativity.

After reading his October 6th piece, I sent him the following comment:
"Such unrelenting negativity is a sign of serious emotional or mental illness. I think you need professional help. These words sound like something Kimveer Gill would have written in his online diary before he went nuclear! Please sir, get some help!"

Ezra Levant is shutting down the Western Standard print magazine:

"We were unable to generate a financial rate of return, but we had an enormous moral rate of return." [...]

"Over the course of those 82 issues we printed 150 million pages of great conservative news and views, plus 40 million page views on our website, plus hundreds of hours on our various radio shows. We were also truly national -- with 20% of our readers in Ontario, and 19% in B.C. Those are impressive numbers, but it was the independent, tell-it-like-it-is quality that I'll remember.

Thank you to our entire extended family -- staff, subscribers and investors -- for an amazing project, the effects of which will continue to echo for years to come."
Ezra Levant, Publisher
Posted by Ezra Levant on October 5, 2007

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Canada's Alberta based, 'far right' (Harper - Manning - Kenney - Day - Levant) are under the delusion that their views are 'mainstream' - that the average Canadian embraces their ideological schlock. Ezra's vehement, often frenzied, denials of climate change, demonstrate the depths of the delusion. Canadians don't embrace the extreme free market values that the Western Standard has been flogging since the day it first appeared. So ... the Western Standard's going out of business. - LD

Western Standard.ca

Don't let anyone tell you that Saskatchewan's dispute with the Conservative Government in Ottawa is complicated. It is not. Stephen Harper's utter contempt for the New Democratic government of Saskatchewan is such that he has broken his election promises and has told Saskatchewan to 'sue me'! Okay - we will!

-When the Federal Government calculates the equalization amount that Nova Scotia is entitled to, oil and gas royalties are REMOVED as revenue from the calculation.
-When the Federal Government calculates the equalization amount that Newfoundland & Labrador is entitled to, oil and gas royalties are REMOVED as revenue from the calculation.
-When the Federal Government calculates the equalization amount that Saskatchewan is entitled to, oil and gas royalties are ADDED as revenue to the calculation.

Premier Calvert believes that the Province of Saskatchewan deserves the same consideration. Here is what Stephen Harper said before he broke his election promises:

“The Conservative Party of Canada will alter the equalization program to remove all non-renewable resources from the formula, as well as move the program to a ten-province standard.”
Conservative Party Platform 2004 ('Demanding Better')

“A Conservative government will also revisit the equalization formula. We will move towards a ten-province standard that excludes non-renewable resource revenues from the equalization formula, and do so in a manner that ensures no provinces receiving equalization will receive less money during the transition to the new formula than the current formula provides.”
Conservative Party Platform 2006 ('Standing Up For Canada')

Bloomberg

"Court documents filed in Regina show that Calvert intends to pose two questions to the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal related to the issue.

The first deals with whether the act governing equalization payments denies Saskatchewan ownership of non-renewable resources and interferes with its ability to manage those resources.

The second question centres on a constitutional argument.

The documents were filed in the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal in Regina on Wednesday."
CBC News

Background On Stephen Harper's Broken Election Promise On Equalization

Be afraid ... be very afraid ... Stephen Harper is going to protect Canadians from the criminal use of small amounts of cannabis!!!

Oh thank God for Stephen Harper and his Conservatives!

Tomorrow in Winnipeg they are going to announce their plan to save you and those you love from the evils of 'reefer madness'!

There is nothing like returning to failed public policies from the 1930's for Canadians in the 21st Century!!!

"Since the Conservatives took office, the number of people arrested for simple possession of marijuana has skyrocketed. Toronto, Vancouver, Ottawa and Halifax all reported increases of between 20 and 50 per cent in 2006 of arrests for possession of cannabis, compared with the previous year.

As a result, thousands of people were charged with a criminal offence that, under the previous Liberal government, was on the verge of being decriminalized."
CTV News

-A Message To Canadians From Your Conservative Government!

It seems that the Conservatives are not sure if they are going to retain General Hillier or not.

I have been calling for General Hillier to be replaced for months. The man has no perspective at all of what his role as a servant of the nation is. He is NOT a politician, yet he courts public attention like a politician.

He paints a glorious picture of war that is contrary to the vision that most Canadians have of world affairs.

He is not accountable to the public in that we cannot go out and defeat him in an election.

Hillier has had his moment in Canadian history - I want him sacked!

-Gen Hillier Insists Canadians Support Afghan War

-Stop Misinformation About Afghanistan

-Are You Ready For 10 Years in Afghanistan??

-Is It Time For General Hillier To Step Down?

-General Hillier MUST Go!

-Someone Should Stick A Cork In General Hillier's Mouth

-Who's Watching The Generals?

-General Hillier Getting More And More Political In His Speeches


tag general hillier

Faced with a number of vacancies and the looming retirement of a number more, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police has decided to lower their entrance requirements to up their numbers.

The RCMP Wants You!

"The deputy head of the European and Eurasian Affairs office at the State Department, Kurt Volker, said Washington welcomed President Hamid Karzai's bid to sit down with radical Afghan groups, as long as they rejected violence.
"Those who formerly were fighters who want to return to society ought to be able to do so," Volker told reporters during a visit to Berlin."

So ... guess what ... even the war mongers in the USA State Department think that it is time to talk to the Taliban.

So can we get all of the Canadian right wing extremists at the Blogging Tories to shut the hell up! We don't want to hear any more of the Conservative Party's policy for perpetual war!

AFP

Since the Conservative Government of Canada has decided that they need to make criminals out of the 16.8% of Canadians who use cannabis by going to 'war' against them, it is only fitting that they start at home.

So here is a challenge to ANY member of the Blogging Tories, who occasionally uses marijuana or other cannabis product - turn yourself into the police IMMEDIATELY!

If you firmly believe that the use of cannabis by Canadians is a crime or a moral deficiency, then you have a moral obligation to either pay your debt to society (OR) speak out against your government's 1930's approach to the issue!

Put it on the line Blogging Tories ... any honesty going on in your ranks?

Buckdog's Challenge to all 'toking tories'

Stephen Harper is about to declare another 'War on drugs.'

Statistics show that roughly 16.8% of Canadians use marijuana / cannabis. You therefore have to assume that there MUST be a couple of Conservative Members of Parliament who fit into the 16.8% number.

Well, here is their opportunity to lead by example and to show their commitment to their Leader and his new policy.

We should challenge CONSERVATIVE Members of Parliament who use cannabis to turn themselves into the police immediately whether or not they support Harper's new initiative.

Any Conservative staffer or Ministerial Assistant in Ottawa who uses cannabis should be expected to turn themselves into the police immediately whether or not they support Harper's new initiative.

It is time for every Conservative Party Riding Association President who uses cannabis to turn themselves into the police immediately whether or not they support Harper's new initiative.

It is time for EVERY card carrying member of the Conservative Party of Canada who uses cannabis to lead by example and turn themselves into the police immediately whether or not they support Harper's new initiative.

Globe & Mail