playfullfellow

This is fairly typical of the Canadian governments. They impose a larger tax or fee for the better of the Canadian people, then just create a department that uses this money to pay for some ministers office and travel times.. Look at fuel taxes, they are supposed to go back into building better roads. There is nothing wrong with increased security at our airports, there are a lot of nut cases out there and we need to stop as many of them as we can. There is also nothing that states that these nut cases are going to be al-Queda. They could be your local PTA who are pissed at the current government for something.

I seem to remember when I was in school, many eons ago, that it was the more well off families that had all the latest, pre-packaged cerals. The poorer families had oatmeal, make your own type of creals. I don't seem to remember too many of the "poor" kids being over weight. Besides, where I went to school, the poor kids were generally farm kids and had chores and work to do after school. I still assert that it is not necessarily a criminal aspect when kids are over weight. It has become a disease of society as a whole in Canada. Some people are overweight no matter what they do, some are skinny no matter how they eat. I still feel that a person can be overweight and yet be healthy. Of course there is also the extreme where weight becomes dangerously high but what "high horse" do we have the right to say this is criminal? We spend too much time looking at what is wrong with others when we should be concentrating on keeping our own lives in order.

This is a perfect example of why the government or any of it's agency's should not be able to go after parents with kids who are "considered" obese. I can remember there being some overweight kids when I went to school. Some were from hereditery problems, others health problems and some because they ate 3 chickens and a dozen eggs a day. But you know, they were generally fairly active, healthy and down to earth. What standards do we use to consider a kid obese? Who decides what is obese? What about kids that have other eating disorders, they are putting themselves at much more risk with binge dieting and popping pills and crap to keep themselves skinny. As parents, we have the duty to do the best for our kids that we can with what ever we have. Somebody else who has better financial resources can maybe do bigger and better things for their kids than I can but are their kids better off? No matter what, we will never have kids that fit one mold and thats the way it should be. As long as you feed your kids right, give them lots of love and be good parents to them, then the government can stay the heck out of your life. There are far more urgent problems than having parents watch dogged because their kids have a weight problem.

Physical activity is not the end all be all to solving the problem of obese chidren, yes, it is certainly a big help and a very necessary part of a kids life, but it is not the only solution. Every aspect from nutrition to exercise has to be balanced into a kids life. This includes how many hours of sleep they get, how much tv or video games the get to see and whether they get a ride to go a couple of blocks to do something. The worst problem is that as parents, a lot of us do not set a very good example. We eat like crap, drive every where and plop our big arses down in front of the boob tube every night while supper cooks in the microwave. Then we sit around at night eating chips and crap until we go to bed, usually too late so we don't get enough sleep. The kids usually don't get enough sleep either because we don't want to listen to them whine when we tell them to get ready for bed and they figure it is not time to do so. Kids learn by example. I grew up watching my folks work hard everyday on the farm. I learned to work hard and to live a decent life. We, as parents, have to set a good example for our kids, it is not enough just to preach the way to live life, we also have to show by example. If we don't, the kids will just ignore us, which they may do anyways but at least we will be trying to improve our own lives and theirs.

In case you haven't noticed, MS is just as quick to attack people on the right. Also in case you haven't noticed, I don't always disagree with MS. Some of his/her posts do make sense and I acknowledge that. Lighten up, a sense of humor will make life more bearable.

Personally I don't think going after parents with obese kids is a priority. There are more pressing issues when it comes to kids that we need to look after first. If you want to change the problem, you have to teach people that a bag of chips, kraft dinner and KFC are not a full course meal. The same goes for rotten ronnies, this is not food that is supposed to constitute regular meals. People have to learn how to cook proper meals again. This meals in boxes and cans just isn't good enough. Throw the frikken microwave out and learn how to cook a real meal.

It probably boils down to what facilities a company has here to begin with. Do they just have their head offices here or do they have the manufacturing or processing here? To move the main or head office is fairly simply. Pack up the computers and paperwork, then head out the door. As for manufacturing, it would boil down to what existing facilities they have and what would the cost be to build new ones somewhere else. Manufacturing or processing would also boil down to what resources are available the cost of bringing them to these facilities. As to the point about sanctions against companies that move abroad but still sell their products here, what s the point? They just need to be treated like any other foreign company wanting to sell their wares here.

That world just confuses me.

That world just confuses me.

Clifford Olson is definately at the top of the list. He is a lunatic killer with no conscience. Worse yet, the bastard will get out in a few years. He needs to be pushed in front of a moving bus when he is freed.

Days off really don't count for us self employed guys that have deadlines. No work, no pay.

No matter how you slice it, consumer demand will esatblish whether a store makes it or not. In the case of Walmart, just look at the chaos in store these days before Christmas. Lineups from open to close. People standing there in line like a herd cows being led to slaughter. Most people even look like they are being led to slaughter. If people do not like the store, they won't shop there. There are plenty of alternatives to Walmart but people have just gotten lazy and like Walmart because you can get most things in one stop.

Looks like MS is looking for another day off with pay!

A lot of the problem also stems from the fact that people have lost the art of cooking from scratch these days. A lot of meals come from a box or can. You ever read the kind of crap that is in that stuff? You need a bloody science degree to figure out what is on your Campbells Soup these days.So yeah, maybe we are getting too stupid to chose our own food. Maybe cooking classes in school should become mandatory again, for everyone. Maybe parents should teach their kids that Rotten Ronnies doesn't cover all the food groups. Maybe we should go back to the old ways where parents actually teach their kids how to cook and have a family meal.

Caesar has a point here, whats wrong with kids wearing seat belts on a school bus. They have to wear helmets while biking. Seat belts in cars, etc. As for monitors, its sad to say but the time has come for that too. The kids now a days are pretty close to being out of control deviants. There is not control anymore over our kids. There should be a zero tolerance policy for misbehavior on school buses. You break the rules, you walk. Parents also have to start taking responsibility for the actions of their brats. If your brat gets booted from the bus, deal with it, control your kid and let them walk to school for a while. Maybe that would get them under control.

If people want to unionize, then that is there personal choice. They should not be forced to do so. As for Walmart, can't really say that I am so much impressed by it anymore. Sure, there is plenty of merchandize and at resonable prices but the customer service is not there. I like to shop where I get good service. I don't even mind paying a little more for better service. I may not agree with Walmart's business practices but where does it say we can regulate every successful business? Every province has it's own labour standards regulations and as long as the company stays within those standards, then what say do you have in what they do? If you are not happy with the way things are, then you petition the provincial government to change those regulations. If you want to take it a step further, then you convince your friends and relatives to boycot Walmart.

Though I tend to agree that the First Peoples should get this money themselves, it has been shown there is too much corruption in the way they handle their own political affairs. There have been a few instances here in Alberta where the tribal council members have become rich while the rest of the tribe suffers. The current system sucks for sure but it should also be up to the First Nations people to want change. This does not mean just throw more money at the problem, that won't solve anything. I can agree with this statement but as with so many things, there are so many loop holes that there will be ways to get around it. The problem is that these rates can effectively wipe out smaller employers. If they have to pay those rates, they have to increase their rates or prices which in turn may make their products or services too expensive to the average consumer. If no one pays for their services, then they go broke and end up on the unemployment line. So now you have lost a job and a business plus now this product or service has increased in cost and price. We end up right back in the same boat. If you want to effectively help lower income people, then they need to be able to not pay taxes or a much lower percentage than anyone else. There also needs to be help for people who chose to have a stay at home parent. There is absolutely nothing to help people who want to go this route. To be fair, any family that wants to have a stay at home parent should get a tax break equal to the amount that the govenment proposes to spend for a child in daycare. You want to collect more taxes from these people, then impliment higher luxory taxes. But in one sense, they may pay more to have bigger toys but they also pay the taxes on these items.

Ummmmmmmmm, the quote sounded more like someone is looking for a scape goat. As usual you blame anything not left MS. Surprise surprise. Sheesh, it got hot, people died, this happens almost everytime there is a heat wave. Maybe in the future they can work together to have possible solutions in place before crap like this happens. As to the original line of this thread, what Europe has is a large segment of society that was not raised by their parents but by strangers. What Europe has is a whole generation of people who do not know their kids. The whole thing sounds good on paper but in reality, a lot of people in places like Denmark are starting to question the whole idea.

Yeah but it is money that I spend a lot of time and sweat earning. The key word here is earned. Why should I work 50-60 hours every week so someone else can sit on their duff and do nothing? The more taxes I pay, the less I have to spend on my family. If the money I pay in taxes actually went to do something decent instead of paying for wasteful crap in government, then this would be a non-issue but as things stand, there is too much waste in government.

MS, my point is that you do not make a living as a truck driver so you do not understand the very basics of what it entails to be one. As for small cars having more rights over trucks, why is that? Truckers are earning a wage by being on the roads. Trains can not move loads or cargo to various locations around the citities thus your scenario would entail people having to drive further for their goods thus creating even more traffic on the roads. As to truckers not being union, most of them are whether they want to be or not. There are a lot of loading docks that are union and will not load a truck unless it is a card carrying driver behind the wheel. Though you might have a somewhat legitimate concern, you have shown no viable solution to the situation at all, just ban the trucks. This is no solution at all. As with many of your ideas, you show no decent ideas in solving the problem. Show some creativity and come up with some ideas that a feasible to teh situation.

This might also be a good time for the lumber industry to start advertising the benefits of allowing cheaper Canuck lumber into the US to lower the price of building a house. Though the higher dollar may offset some of these benefits, there will still be a pay off for both sides for a while. Sure, it may seem like we a kicking someone when they are down but this is business, not a feel goos session. Does anyone out there have any links to show the current cost of building a house in the US. I would be interested to do some further research into this matter.

Strange as it may seem, I have to agree with MS here. Though I may not fully agree with 100% government funded childcare, I prefer to see stay at home moms/dads get a tax break so they can chose to saty home and raise their kids. Under the current system, it is the kids that suffer no matter what choice parents make unless they make a whack of money each year and can shop around for the higher class childcare. Institutional childcare does not work, Denmark tries this in the 70's and it did not go over very well. Now they have in home childcare where people, generally women can apply to be a childcare giver, get certified and then get paid by the government to look after other peoples kids. The limit is 5 kids per home (not certain about this number) nad their are time limits that a kid is allowed to be left in childcare each day. Though not a perfect system, this system does basically eliminate the potential for corporate take over of the childcare institution and it allows women who's kids are grown to earn money without leaving the home. This also allows people to have their kids in a home enviroment childcare system. I would still prefer to see a situation where people can benefit from keeping their kids at home and raise them to school age. This can be easily be done through tax rebates but alas, as MS says, this country is largely anti child these days.

Hmmmmmmmm, so you want the rest of the trucking industry to suffer because some idiot/thief may have killed some innocent people while comitting a crime? If you want to eliviate some of the problems, start petitioning your local government to set up decent truck routes in the cities. Like I said before, spend a week in a truck driving for a living and then see if you still have the same attitude towards truckers and trucks. Just keep in mind, you have to take some classes for your air ticket. Then drivers training for your class one is highly recommended too. Then once you have spent a couple of thousand bucks on the courses, get a job driving a truck between Edmonton and Vancouver. If you still have the same attitude at the end of a couple of weeks I would be very surprised.

Of most of the drivers I know, the majority of them really dislike Vnavouver, not because it is a bad city or anything but an absolute nightmare to get around in. MS, you are rightt to a point when it comes to driving through residential areas but unfotunately, a lot of shipping companies do not load at night. Set delivery deadlines also wreak havoc with drivers. Any driver that has a choice will wait in Chiliwack until 8 PM before he heads for Vancouver to avoid the majority of the traffic. If Vancouver wants to alleviate a lot of the problems with big trucks, then they need to set up central shipping yards in the lower mainland where trucks can drop off and pick up loads and local drivers can deliver it around the city. This would alleviate the problem of drivers who do not know where things are going down the wrong streets in Vancouver. Another problem is that a lot of the shipping is by the water, you have to go from one side of the city to the other if you are coming from the East to pick a load. This has to be alleviated also by maybe one designated lane for trucks. But as long as you want to enjoy cheap products that are delivered on time and in good shape, you will have to put up with the current situation.

MS, your distatste for large trucks on the roadways should be directed at the current federal government who spends only approximately 16% of our fuel taxes on our roads while other countries spend closer to 60%. You ever drive a big rig? I highly doubt it, it doesn't pay more than the monthly cheque from the government. It is not always the fault of the rig driver either. People in small cars drive too close, cut off rigs at an astounding rate, drive in the blind spot continually and cut off trucks on a regular basis. Besides, it is not economical for the rail system to haul everything that large trucks haul. The logistics would be a nightmare. Before you start laying the blame, spend a few weeks, heck even a week doing long distance hauls and then get back to me and see if you have the same attitude. I do however agree with you to a certain extent about jail time for truckers that kill in an accident but only if they were driving an unsafe truck. If that is the case, then they should be locked up. But then again, how many people drive a car that is unsafe?