Wilber

It's not politics so much as the change in the country. Some provinces (Quebec in particular) would go apoplectic if their number of seats was reduced so the only way to acurately reflect the change in demographics of the country is to increase seats elsewhere. Welcome to Canada.

That's it, I haven't heard anything so I am free to assume anything I want. The luxury of having no resposibility for a situation. I guess we all do it to some degree. My guess is it won't matter much from a political stand point but could very much from a legal point of view. The true Harper haters would be screaming just as loud if they had just fired the guy, claiming he hadn't been given due process.

Easier said than done, particularly when it is someone who is looking for a fight in public. You have to show cause and what better way than to show he has abused his position and broken the law. Let the cops handle it, then you don't take a chance of getting hit with a wrongful dismissal rap.

You will have to explain how something that has to go before Parliament before it can become law can escape becoming public.

Our waits are probably not out of line with most countries, but. A huge problem with our system is having to turn in your old passport when you apply for a new one even if it is still valid. Unless you are prepared to pay a bunch more for expedited service, you will have to go for 3 months or more with no passport. What's the big deal? I once asked them and they said it was a security thing. I replied that if I took a perfectly valid passport to one of their offices and and exchanged it for a new one when it was ready, if there was a security problem it must be in their office. I didn't get a reply to that note. That was when the Libs were in power but I don't think their attitude has changed one iota since.

I doubt the police took his word on it. They are the ones who have to provide the evidence to a prosecutor if charges are to be laid, not Steve. They don't like to look stupid in front of prosecutors and prosecutors definitely don't like to look stupid in front of judges. If a law had been broken, giving it to the police was the right thing to do. That's their job. This guy is obviously glorying in the publicity and there is no way he would have kept it confidential if he had been called on it internally. Better to at least have the law on your side if it comes to a public pissing match. And yes, perhaps a message does need to be sent to any others who may be thinking of abusing the confidence that has been entrusted in them.

I pity the person who may have to rely on your keeping a confidence.

No, are you? No, my suggestion is that he supports the government on this because he's not a hypocrite. On this issue at least, I agree.

No, are you? My politics aren't as polarized as yours. Maybe I'm just willing to think he understands the concept better than Cullen.

The concept may be foreign to you, but. When you take a job you do so on the understanding that there are conditions and standards of performance and behavior that must be met. Complying with them is called professionalism. If you also want to call that conservatism, I would think most conservatives would consider it a compliment.

Cullen is an idiot but then he will never have to rely on the integrity of the civil service because his party will never form a government.

Perhaps if he really is an anarchist, that was exactly his intention. Good point. Government and the people are the victims here. His actions have made the institution of the civil service more suspect in the eyes of ordinary Canadians. Can any of them be trusted to put my or the rest of the public's interest ahead of their own personal agendas? If I was a civil servant, I would be some PO'd about that. This guy has the protection of the laws anarchists profess not to believe in whether he is charged or not. It amazes me that there are those who rush to defend his actions. Do we really want a civil service where every member is free to act according to their own personal beliefs and agendas regardless of the wishes of the people and their government? That truly is anarchy.

It's not loyalty August, it's professionalism.

It amazes me that there are people who think it is OK for an employee to release an employer's confidential information to suit their own personal objectives. Damned if I'd hire any of them and they would be gone in a heartbeat if I ever did made that mistake.

Easy to identify, they are the ones with labeling in French and English.

Yes, it's most important that all members of the civil service be card carrying Conservatives. Better still, why not have them all be social conservatives so that Harper would know that they vote like him and think like him. It's important for civil servants to remember who they answer to and that is the elected government of the country. Releasing government policy is not at the discretion of the civil service. Releasing a company policy before your superiors give the go ahead would easily get you fired in the real world. It should in government as well. Any government. Illegal activities excluded of course.

Interesting, people are beating up on the Yanks on this yet their's is the first army in history to actually do a study on this subject. It was a US army study, not some independant watchdog. Go figure, they actually wanted to know and made it public yet. Those scumbags. Why would we be so arrogant as to think it could only happen to them?

As long as someone who aspires to be Prime Minister holds citizenship of an other country, it will be an issue whether it influences them or not. That is just a fact of life in today's politics. To think otherwise is just plain naive.

If it was an inside job, obviously the theater has no interest in enforcing a ban unless they are forced to.

You have to remember that the Federal government also profits from higher gas prices because GST is charged on the total. The price goes up 16% and government collects 1% more in tax. Governments have a conflict of interest whenever they charge a tax that is a percentage of a price, whether it is GST or any other sales tax. Their taxes are indexed to the cost of living. Wish my income was.

Then how did the air and water get dirty if there were no emissions going into them, or is CO2 the only thing that it is PC to call an emission these days?

Say what?

Wouldn't be surprised if those statistics weren't far off for most wars. It seems this is the first time that anyone has taken the trouble to ask those questions.

I believe it. Problem is that if you have a society where anyone can get a handgun, you also create a society where everyone must have one to even the odds. It may be effective in some cases but not particularly desirable IMO.

An argument goes beyond an assertion and provides supporting evidence for its claim. That's strike two. No, it is a fact. I have provided numerous examples. All you do is spout airy fairy, nice nice theories. You are the armchair quarterback blathering your dogma in the face of reality.