charter.rights

Ah yes. Eagleson Road, Kanata..the new Arnprior...

The Liberals are holding close while Harper is on the campaign trail - using his parliamentary privilege no doubt for partisan purposes. However, an election has not yet been called and I suspect that a powder keg of information about the actual goings on of the PMO and Harper will be on the table when one is called. I'm a wait and see kinda guy but I know that the Conservatives are not on my radar. Perhaps the Rhinos are looking better everyday. At least they have an excuse for their stoned outlook - Harper doesn't.

Sure we could. He hasn't promised to gove us away to the US. His presence at Harvard was to teach Americans a little civility in politics and culture in a Canadian way. That is better than having a new Vive President Harper towing the line to the whims of the CIA.

With a bright purple Barney lunch pail, a Little Mermaid helmet and Smurf backpack. Ya that's him.

I'm pretty sure Mr. Canada went to a "special" school too....

The "merger" will have a 60 / 40 split with Brits holing 60% of the directors and Canada only holding 40% on the Board. That is simply a take-over...not a real merger...

The British North America Act that created a sovereign Canada was created in order to protect Canada's financial interests from an increasing attempts by the US to take over Canadian resources and take control of the economy, and as a measure to defend against a potential military invasion by the United States. Looks like after 145 years the US finally found a way around it and the people that would help them take over Canada. We are doomed to become US citizens if we let Harper stay as Prime Minister any longer!

I agree. Let's get rid of the Nazis and the religious zealots first. When are you emigrating?

The law is on their side. They are constitutionally allowed to sell smokes to anyone they want. So no they do not have to obey tax law or tobacco licensing laws. That's just the way it is. Now if we can only get the government to abide by the law.

Don't forget that Harper also lost the $13 billion surplus Paul Martin Liberals left them. That means Harper costs us about $70 billion a year in deficit spending.

http://www.markdalestandard.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2965204 Hudak should get a clue. In the article he complains that Ontario should work with the federal government and First Nation leaders to shut down illegal smoke shops. The Problem: There are NO "illegal smoke shops". FN smoke shops are fully legal and protected by the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Even the sale of tobacco products to non-natives off their traditional reserves is a legal and protected practice since all of southern Ontario constitutes "a reserve" under the Charter, as it was recognized that all land not surrendered to the Crown was "reserved for them". Southern Ontario remains the sovereign territory of Six Nations and there has never been a surrender as required under the Royal Proclamation 1763. Tobacco is a traditional native product and the trade in tobacco precedes even the Proclamation. Finally, the Supreme Court of Canad in Mitchell v. MNR established as precedent that Mohawks have a constitutionally protected right to trade with all First Nations in Canada in an east-west trade route. So not only are smoke shops legal but the sale of tobacco to non-natives is also perfectly legal. However, I know for a fact that smoke shops do not sell to under-age smokers. Those kids that have tobacco are obtaining it in the same manner as they have always obtained it - by asking older kids to purchase the smokes for them. So a man that engages in propaganda to sooth the button heads out there and then promotes ignoring the Charter rights of aboriginal people to do it is not suitable material for premier. Gawd if he is willing to sacrifice natives for his election, how is he ever going to look after our rights? And so he follows Harris in aboriginal policy - get those f'n Indians out of the smoke shops. Sound really familiar.

Sure. In other words how much do you owe your mother.

Believe it or not. The start up energy required to start all the ballasts on those florescent lights is more than leaving the lights on all night. It is cheaper and more energy efficient to just leave them on.

Try again. The federal government hold trust accounts belonging to First Nations that exceed $2 trillion. The Six Nation trust account amounts to over $1 trillion by itself and goes back with compounded interests to about 1701. That is the legal obligation we have to First Nations and the Supreme Court has made it clear it can't just disappear because we don't want to pay it. It is unlikely that we can ever pay it back. So in the modern negotiations underway with a number of First Nations the suggestion is to create perpetual care agreements - modern treaties that will provide free medical, free education and a yearly transfer (from the interests alone) forever - non-expiring. So you can go stick your head in the sand all you want. We owe it and native people are entitled to it.

The request by Bell / Rogers to the CRTC proves that they are not interested in the free market. They want to control it for their own benefit.

It isn't Canadian taxpayer money. It is actually taxpayer debt. From the time we are born we owe about $30,000 or $40,000 each just for the national debt. Add to that the fact that we First Nations trusts another $2 trillion or more and that debt from birth likely rises to about $100,000. On top of the trillions we owe those First Nations trusts accounts we haven't even paid for most of the land we use in Canada. We owe First Nations far more than we are actually paying. And BTW...your house and workplace are very likely on that land never paid for and never surrendered. Your personal debt may be much higher.

The Royal Proclamation 1763 is included in the Charter as a definition of aboriginal rights. The native system that you see Chiefs getting 6 figure incomes is actually the Indian Act Band system invented by Canadians and fashioned after our own municipal systems. It is corrupt because Canadian governance systems are inherently corrupt and protect that corruption from democratic scrutiny. On the other hand taking the Haudenosaunee - Six Nations - Confederacy as example they have a constitutional right to recall any Chief that is not abiding by the community's direction on any matter. The assembly itself can eject any Chief not meeting decorum or protocol and election is by direct appointment by smaller community based clans, of which the Clan Mother holds title for. In community debate everyone has a voice and is given the opportunity to be heard - even children - and no Chief can take advantage of the system because everyone (including different clans) scrutinize and must agree with his political actions before they move forward. In our own system we vote once and have no way to scrutinize and recall our politicians. Just like Band elected Chiefs our politicians and their bureaucrats do as they please until the next election. They spend money recklessly and only have to offer excuses for account. They travel and expense on our dime, and their commitment to the electorate only goes as far as they need to get some votes, to win over the other corrupt candidates looking for the same payola.

It isn't a democracy when a monopoly like Bell can demand that the rest of Canada pay for over usage just because it is profitable for them. The practice allows Bell and Rogers to cram more users on a single IP giving them more profits on less bandwidth. The government represents US. If 1% of "us" are upset then the government should be using its power to investigate and rescind silly decisions like the CRTC made in support of the monopolies.

You can no more make Natives into Canadians than you can make Americans Canadian. Native people are not subject to the laws of Canada in the same way we are because of the Royal Proclamation 1763 and the Treaties. They have no reason to change. The Canadian system as it is applied on their reserves is far more harmful and corrupt than their own systems of government. And residential schools did not succeed in what they were designed to do.....

That might be true if they were Canadians, but they are not. They are First Nations and there has never been a case where they have capitulated to the Crown of Canada. And in fact the rights protected under Section 25 and Section 35 of the Charter are derived from the fact that they are independent peoples and the Crown made promises that the occupation of their lands by settlers would not interfere in their own sovereign and autonomous rights as independent nations.

Lighting, furnace blowers, appliances, electronic equipment and lighting only represent about 10% of your total energy consumption in the average house. The number one energy waster - the hot water tank - uses on its own about 40% of the total energy consumption, then the furnace (20%) and the dryer (10%). Want to save energy (and money?) Installing a direct vent gas on-demand hot water heater will cut the hot water consumption in half; an air source heat pump depending on the location can cut from 10% to 40% of the heating bill; and insulating the basement walls full height to R20 will save about 10% of the heating budget. What people don't consider is that CFLs may actually cost more to operate in the winter over incandescent bubls because the latter give off heat that is recovered in the heating of the home (100 watts = 341 BTUs: average house uses about 60-100,000 BTU/H in heating) Money wasters: 1. New windows even over single pane windows only save about 1000 BTU/H for the average house. 2. Geothermal units have a high capital cost that in most cases will never be recovered in the lifetime of the equipment. People end up paying for the privilege of installing that kind of equipment. What the heating guys often fail to mention as well is that they only have to size the equipment to meet 70% of your heat load. The other 30% comes from an electric coil back-up in the air handler. That means that on the coldest days of the year you are operating on pure electric heat. The other myth is that geothermal is completely free heat. The compressors and pumps use more energy than a standard gas furnace. Also ground and water freezes when you take too much out of it and the geothermals are prone to shutting down. Bad investment in my opinion. 3. Adding more than R50 to an attic. Although one thinks it might be a good investment the additional insulation after R50 on has about a 2-3% effect on the heat load of a house, where up to R50 can save upwards of 20% of the heating budget. Also for walls stuffing more insulation in an already insulated wall has a negative effect. 22% of the wall area is made up of studs and plates which only have an R-value of about 3. Good investments: 1. Air source heat pumps in milder climates is a good return on investment. 2. Adding 1 1/2" rigid foam (SM type) insulation to the inside or outside of exterior walls is the best way to add insulation. Not only do you add about R7.5 to the R20 insulated cavities but your change the stud/plate value to R10.5 from R3 AND reduce thermal bridging through the wood to the exterior. 3. 2 or 3 cases of acoustical sealant and a case of silicone caulking for the interior sealing of cracks and air leakages. In a pre-1970's house the heat losses due to infiltration can amount to more than 75% of the total heating budget. Post 1990 buildings reducing the leakage can save about 30%-40% of the heating budget. The goal would be to get the house to about 1.5 air changes per hour (can be measured by a blower-door test). Any less and you will have to also install a mechanical ventilation system to take care of excess moisture that will build up in the house. Best return on investment. Under $100 can save thousands on heating a year. CFLs are just part of the equation in an over-all energy strategy. But putting the good money on sure things works even better.

The media (as usual is making a big deal out it. Snow on the ground in southern Ontario...... is it really newsworthy or are the media simply using it to instill the kind of fear that keeps people glued to the TV and radio?

Nope. Canadians have access to venture capital, government grants and guarantees and other business / work incentives. You just have to know where to look. Welfare people have clunkers / other people's discards. Yes it moves on roads but I would hardly call it a car. However, those on welfare whom have been given their cars or been able to purchase them at really low cost often do not have the money for insurance and gas. So they don't get very far....

And lets not forget Timothy McVeigh. That clean-cut conservative home town boy would get by any security if looks were the only criteria. He possessed the know-how and that access to materials to take down a building the size of the World Trade Centre. And no law enforcement agency even had him on their radar. We could go on...Mark Lepine, Jim Jones and many more all had the thoughts and destructive force of any terrorist-looking traveler patted down in the airport.

Medical Examiner, Charles Smith.