Canadian Government: what the hell is going on?

It’s been a while since I did one of these. I think that twitter got the best of me; anyway, here goes.

Over the last few months I’ve been commenting on the state of government on both sides of the border. Whether its municipal, provincial, or federal government it seems to have lost its way. Take a simple thing like “The Big Dig” in Ottawa. They planned for years to start this project (citywide light rail transit) and did absolutely nothing to accommodate drivers. The one reason given for the project in the first place is the congestion in the core, and yet nothing was planned for said drivers. Forget the fact that we spend tens of millions of dollars for planners, surveys, contractors, and communications people to work theses things out; its as if the car does not fit the government’s agenda, so lets not do anything to help them through the construction. Of course the popular theory is that nothing was done so people would be forced onto transit. Forget that we live in the 2^nd coldest capital on the planet thus rendering bicycles (the city’s choice for transit) useless six months of the year. Forget that they are building a tunnel without planning how to extend the route east and west. Does anyone see a pattern forming?

           

The provincial government is building power systems that have been rejected by EU countries as too expensive and too inefficient to continue. The money that’s being wasted on these projects is supposed to be going into healthcare, yet they cut physio to the elderly. It’s so bad that the upper echelon has erased the email records of the gas plant projects to seemingly protect themselves. Have you wondered where the emails for all the other scandals went, too? I have.

 

We have the government in the US embroiled in scandal after scandal that may be affecting the constitution itself. The document that is the basis for what is arguably the most successful country on earth. What is going on?

 

It seems that governments, in a bid to be kept in power, have sacrificed the needs of the people to further that agenda. Right or wrong, many citizens are coming to realize this.

 

Take the wind power program. Whether you believe in it or not, the thing is just too damned expensive. So what do you do if you have to feed the family? Do you sell the Porsche or do you ask the kids for their allowances to keep it? The government chooses to keep taking the allowance, cutting medical, increasing the cost of electricity, water, heat, all the things we need to survive just to keep the Porsche.

 

The worst part is that all levels have bought into the Leader Syndrome. You made me the leader so I know better than all of you. And you gave me this power for 4 years so I can do anything I want with impunity. 100 years ago, having 4 years to work your agenda seemed short but with today’s technology and legal system its amazing what can happen. The final straw is that the promises they give to get elected can be utterly ignored and a new agenda put in place that had nothing to do with the reason we elected them in the first place.

So what’s the answer? Well it’s simpler than you think. First: hold all prospective leaders accountable to their promises and their agenda. Make it law. Number two: build recall legislation to remove said leaders should they not follow rule one.  No more nonsense about “we didn’t know the country was broke” or “we promised but now we know better” we hold them to their promises. And if the country is broke and the previous government lied, then they are held legally accountable. (Now, if war breaks out or emergencies take place, there would be flexibility. Common sense flexibility.) Finally: the books and the contracts of all projects are made available to everyone. No more secret deals. If you want to do business with the big boys, open the books to prove you are worth it. Now this is the money contracts I’m referring to, not technology and patents that are protected. (Again, common sense.) The books need to be fully open to see how they spend our money. Believe me there are plenty of brilliant people who can hold the government to account. This will be painful at first (for governments) because they have built the way they do business on secrecy. But in the long run common sense will prevail. Think about it like a bank loan. You have to prove the project is viable before you get the money, right?

 

What do you think? What would you do if you were given the power over the special interest groups that drive today’s agenda and could introduce them to common sense? What would you do?

Christmas Is Canadian: standing up for Christmas

Canadians love Christmas. No matter how or why we celebrate it, Christmas is the holiday time! Of course Christmas is many things to many people. For some it’s just another holiday, for others its Santa clause and the giving of gifts. This one is very important because without it most businesses could not survive. Many retail businesses do over 90% of their sales during the Christmas season! Without it the economy would come to a grinding halt.

The true meaning of course is the celebration of the birth of Christ. For hundreds of years Christmas has been celebrated as a time of love and family and devotion yet this most wonderful time is under attack. There are those who feel that the meaning of Christmas should be all inclusive and because of that the name should be changed. This is happening right under the apathetic eyes of the very Christians whose celebration it is. My own Muslim friends think it quite strange that Christians would stand for such a thing. They say they would never allow such a thing in their religion.  

I must admit I too am ashamed at the apathy within the Christian churches but mostly with its people. Christmas has become a buying holiday and it’s because Christians are unwilling or afraid to stand up for their own beliefs. So I am standing up for Christmas.

Number one: I will say Merry Christmas to everyone I speak to in conversation.

Secondly I will refuse to purchase any product from any store that does not greet me or respond by saying Merry Christmas. That’s right. Christmas is not Festivous or Seasons greetings or the Holiday time, it’s Christmas. If the retail stores cannot recognise their major profit season and tell their staff to say Merry Christmas then I’m out of there. I have spoken to many sales people and they say the store actually forbids them to respond to Merry Christmas! These people who make their daily bread off of the celebration of Christmas should at least recognise it by name! Imagine if every Christian did this. The store would change their policy over night or go broke but more importantly Christians would maybe start to grow a spine about their beliefs. 

What do you think and more importantly what are you going to do about it? 

Oh, and for those who don’t believe in Christmas, stop being such hypocrites by celebrating and taking time off. Stay in your job over the season and refuse to partake in the holiday in any way. That would be the moral thing to do. And, to the rest of us, a very Merry Christmas.

Green Bin Folly: How Ottawa Can Win Back Our Trust

So let’s talk about trust in Government.

Sometimes you really believe that you are the last person on the planet that God gave common sense to. Ottawa city hall is a good example of what I mean. A year or two or ago we embarked on our green bin adventure. This was Ottawa’s bid to save our planet and we were sold on the premise that:

A)    it would expand the lifespan of our landfill by a few years

B)    it’s good for the environment

C)    it will save us money.

So our councillors go ahead with a 20yr contract knowing full well that they could not reach the target tonnage. They also signed that, whether we meet tonnage or not, the taxpayers will still pay the full tonnage weight. Brilliant. The first year is a complete failure. They bought expensive green bins and supplied them to all home owners, even though many actually have no pickup. The city bought special trucks and doubled the amount of trips to empty the green bins. They are so desperate to cover up their mistake that they divert yard waste and park waste to the green bin. Of course it costs ten times more to do this that the original yard waste program but they cannot be seen to fail. Even with this extra tonnage they barely make 60% of the requirements. So the next step is to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars advertising the program that the majority of Ottawans have no interest in.

Finally realizing that there is no way to reach their goal, they decide to cut regular garbage pickup in an attempt to force citizens to the green bin. Their premise is that this will lessen the amount of garbage produced, thus saving money. Except for one thing: if the city creates a million pounds of garbage, it produces a million pounds of garbage. No matter how many bins you divide it by, it’s still a million pounds. Of course they deny the real problem is the contract, and they try to sell the environmental benefits. They say this will lead to a decrease in costs even though they have added multiple truck trips. Unbelievable, isn’t it?

So let’s look at the three reasons for the green bin in the first place. First is the dump lifespan. The dump accepts 75% commercial waste, 20% or so home waste with a tiny percentage of organic material. Commercial waste is everything from construction material to new clothing that the stores won’t return. Now these inorganic materials do not break down so they make up the bulk of the dump. The organic waste is the only thing that breaks down and because it does it shrinks in size dramatically. It also heats up and helps things like wood break down more quickly. It also produces methane that can be used to heat and power the dump. Organics are not the problem.

Off course all these points are moot because the city has trucks coming from other cities to dump their garbage! That’s right, their stated worry is filling the landfill and they continue to ship in garbage.

Ok, the next argument is the environment. Part of the first issue helps with the second. But the main problem is the cost of hauling. We now have three fleets of diesel trucks on the road 12 hours a day. We have tens of thousands of plastic bins and we have a factory breaking the waste down that would have broken down in the dump.

The final one is money. The answer to this also lies in the other two issues. Plus, we have the added expense of $7,500,000 a year to Orgaworld. Here is the final nail in the coffin. We are about to start what we should have done in the first place: we are now going to burn the garbage with plasma and produce energy from it. No more dump issues and according to the company, biologicals wont hurt the process.

So why are we going ahead with this expensive unwanted folly of green bins? Because no one in the council is going to admit they were wrong. If they would just come clean and admit they screwed up, we could find a way to break the contract and start with a clean slate. It’s a matter of trusting us to accept their apology, and it’s a matter of faith for us to believe in the system again.

What do you think, and will you email you councillor to make this happen?

The World Needs More John Wayne: Honesty, Integrity, and Balls

Over the last few months trust has become an issue for Canadians. Trust in government, trust in people, trust in spouses, trust in churches, and even trust in themselves. Can you trust the guys at work? What are people saying about you? What ever happened to the strength we garnered from trust? My father said that you can tell the worth of a man (or woman) by the value they put on their word. If you say you will be there, then be there! Yet today I see kids who tell their friends they will meet at the shopping center and when the kid goes the friends don’t show up. Then when they call to see what happen the other kid will say “Oh I changed my mind.” It does not phase them that they went against their word and wasted their friend’s time.

What has changed? Why would our children not understand the value of their word? I have a theory. The school system, parents, and the media do not talk about the Golden rule any more. Take John Wayne. What made him the man we all wanted to be? When John told you something you could bet your life (literally) that he not only meant every word but that he would follow through. His quiet strength and full belief in what he said told you this is a man. How long has it been since you were with a person like this?

Another one of his great strengths was his common sense. You knew that his belief in common sense is what gave him his unshakeable sense of purpose. In El Dorado he is tough on Robert Mitchum who has become a drunk over a lost love. You know that he is Mitchum’s friend, but he won’t put up with anything but recovering the man he knew. It may seem simplistic, but common sense is simple. Right/wrong, needed/not, good/bad, first things first and the frills come second (something government has lost track of); it’s simple. How do you teach the golden rule? You make it the rule in your life and you prove it to others by being unwavering in your beliefs. Then you pass that rule on and you hold each person accountable to it. Finally you don’t deal or compromise on their word or yours. Period. What do you think and how important is surrounding yourself with people who share your beliefs?

Oh here's a final gem from Mr. Wayne.

"I won't be wronged, I won't be insulted, and I won't be laid a hand on. I don't do these things to other people and I expect the same from them." 

Simple right?

Quebec Separation: The Spoiled Teen Province

Canadians hate spoiled children. There is nothing more aggravating than watching a teenager stomping their feet and whining about how misunderstood they are. Then, when they get what they want, they rest only long enough to find a new set of demands. The

justice comes when the parents finally say enough is enough and they show the kid the door. Of course the kid thinks that it’s a bluff. Mom and Dad have given in every other time right? Only this time the kid went too far. The locks are changed, the visa is

cancelled, the cell phone is cancelled, and the allowance is done.

QUEBEC NEEDS TO GROW UP.

This is the tipping point that Quebecers find themselves at today. Too many demands, too many racist laws, too many times ignoring who pays for their nonsense. This time they will be alone. The Cree won’t side with them. I heard a Cree chief comment once about the chance of separating. He said the Cree control the lands with the hydro lines. He said you would be surprised what two Cree, a pickup, a case of beer, and a box of dynamite can do to bring a province to its senses. He wasn’t smiling. Labrador isn’t coming and

that cuts of the last of the hydro and the last of the export dollars.

Does Quebec remember the mass exodus of businesses the last time things got this close? Business does not want extra costs and regulation and they certainly don’t need laws that restrict the labour pool. Oh, the federal employees shouldn’t forget that they will not be Canadians and therefore will not be able to work in a foreign government. Of course this will lead to an employment boom and bilingualism won’t be a factor, so all Canadians will have an even shot—not a bad prospect after the oppression of false bilingualism.

HISTORY REPEATING.

The last time we faced the possibility of separation, it was Canadians that put their hearts on the line and pulled us from the brink. That will not happen this time. Even if separation is averted Canadians are in no mood to acquiesce to more demands. The Quebec separatists have crossed the line. I believe that the Prime Minister needs to explain Quebec what really happens when they leave. Explain the agreements that were signed about lands that revert to Canada should they separate. Explain that separation means just that: separation. Just like the heartbroken parent he needs to be firm no matter how much it hurts. I know Canadians are ready to support the hard truths.

So where do we go from here? Does the teenager grow up? Do the parents change the

locks and wait? And when they do leave, what do we do with all the Quebec refugees?

What do you see happening and what would you like to happen?

Playing the Odds: Ottawa's New Casino and How Council Could Screw It Up

Ottawa. source: morguefile

I hope you don’t mind me discussing this but Ottawa seems to run out of commons sense sometimes. I  always find it funny that if you get three friends together over dinner and a beer, they always seem to come up with the answer to life’s questions. That is how we came up with the solution I’m going to present to you for Ottawa casino the province is considering for the city. Let’s walk you through it.

A CASINO FOR OTTAWA

Tired of watching millions upon millions of dollars going over to the Gatineau casino across the Quebec  border, the province has decided they want their piece of the pie: let’s allow a casino to be built in Ottawa. Our mayor seems behind the idea and has set a few criteria. One, it must be downtown, and two, it must be on our new rapid transit way.

Unfortunately there is no space right downtown. Any big-time Casino corporation is going to want space to build a hotel and conference facilities because modern casinos make 60% of their money from such facilities. The Bytown Market business association has already expressed their distaste for having it anywhere near the Market.

THE ELEGANT SOLUTION

 

Conference space, hotel space, event space:
all part of a casino's success.
source: morguefile

However, there is one location that fits all the requirements. That location is at the corner of Booth Street, Scott St. and the MacDonald (River) Parkway, or what is affectionately known as LeBreton Flats. As it stands today this location is a huge multi-acre empty field. The casino would sit directly on the transit way and could even have it run through the building. Booth Street runs virtually in a direct line to the Queensway, and it runs straight into Gatineau. The Parkway allows vehicles to come from the west of the city; it also allows fantastic access to the center of the city and the existing hotels. A shuttle such as they use in Las Vegas could bring people from the hotels to the casino. The land itself is a weed field and has been for fifty years so there will not be complaints of a loss of park space or tree canopy. The new water system

recently installed in the area gives it good infrastructure.

WIN-WIN

What else would we gain? Well, the corporation that takes the project on would have to do upgrades to any other infrastructure they need. It would pay huge tax dollars and profits to the city and the province, including paying some of the costs of the new transit way. We won’t have to tear up the downtown core and that means less traffic havoc. It physically won’t affect our downtown tourist area or force us to tear down culturally relevant buildings (heritage stuff). The National Capital Commission’s parkland in front of the War Museum, located right across the street, will benefit from the facilities, restaurants, shops, etc. making it a  true tourist area. The city will get its much-needed new hotel. This is pretty much a win-win for everyone.

LET'S DO THIS THING.

So what do we need to do to move this forward? First, send this blog to everyone on your lists; share it over facebook and twitter; post it on Reddit. The more people thinking about it the better.

Second, talk about it. We will get one chance to do this right. Do you want to leave something this important to city councillors and the Province? I sure don’t. Let’s get our say in now.