Independence Day

Happy Independence Day to our neighbors to the south.

At a time like this it's a good time to remember that the United States of America is not only Canada's largest trading partner and most important military ally, but also our best friend.

So for today at least, let's put aside our past differences -- the American Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, the Fenian Raids, and the Carolina Hurricanes -- and extend a happy 230th birthday to the American Republic.

Happy Whatever Day

I would love to wish everybody out there a Happy Canada Day!!

I would love to but I can’t. I can’t because I just absolutely hate the name “Canada Day” for our national holiday.

It’s so boring, so generic, so blandly politically correct.

David Menzies makes a case in today’s National Post for bringing back the name “Dominion Day” which the Trudeau government scrapped in 1982.

He notes: "Dominion is synonymous with independence, freedom and free association."

You can even contact David and order “Dominion Day” or “anti-Canada Day” buttons for $10.00 a pair.

However, I don’t think Dominion Day will ever make a comeback because the vast majority of Canadians probably don’t even have a clue that Canada really is a Dominion or what Dominion means.

Maybe instead we could rename the July 1 holiday to something like “Confederation Day”. At least that has some sense of historic significance.

Oh well, no matter what you call it, I hope everybody has a nice long weekend.

Liberty Summer Seminar: Fun, Sun and Libertarianism

My friend Peter Jaworski will be holding another one of his wonderful Liberty Summer Seminars on the July 29-30 weekend, an event that’s becoming one of the premier liberty-oriented events of the year.

If you have never heard of the Liberty Summer Seminar just think Ayn Rand Meets Survivor and you will get idea as to what it’s all about.

First off the seminars take place in the wilderness. Well not really. Actually they are held on a beautiful 40-acre farmland property near Orono, Ontario, a property that includes a swimming pond, walking trails and tons and tons of trees.

And if you’re not a fan of trees don’t worry ---the real attraction isn’t the bucolic splendor; it’s the fact that Peter brings together prominent libertarian/conservative speakers with an energetic, enthusiastic audience.

The result: everybody has a great time.

I had the pleasure of speaking at last year’s seminar and I had a blast. It’s not often you get a chance to spend quality time with a bunch of like-minded friends, in such a gorgeous environment. (The meals were quite good too.)

So if you want to have outdoor fun while getting energized about your libertarianism, I recommend you register for this year’s get-together.

You will thank me later.

Attack of the Killer Mailboxes

Watch out for those killer mailboxes, apparently they can be quite hazardous.

In fact, Canada Post says it is suspending delivery to Roy Paterson, a, 81 year old Windsor man because it deemed his mailbox to be too dangerous.

Apparently it’s too high.

Mind you, Paterson says he has had the same mailbox at the same height for the past 46 years.

Not that he cares.

“I just say keep your damn mail,” Paterson recently told the media. “We’ve got e-mail, we got telephone, we pay our bills through the Internet. I don’t need Canada Post anymore.”

All this shows the difference between the public and private sectors.

Private sector companies seek ways to woo customers; public sector companies seek ways to alienate them.

U.S. Court Strikes Down Limits

Anyone who reads my blog knows I don’t like the idea of campaign contribution limits.

Well, now it looks like I have some company: the United States Supreme Court.

Yesterday the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Vermont’s campaign finance scheme, which included low contribution limits and mandatory expenditure limits, was unconstitutional.

The court ruled Vermont’s contribution limits --- $200-$400 – per election cycle were so low they prevented candidates from amassing the resources necessary to mount effective campaigns and only served to help incumbents.

The court also ruled the expenditure limits infringed on the right to free political speech.

Maybe it’s time somebody here in Canada challenged the federal government’s political contribution limits.

Loan Loophole

Election financing laws, limiting what individuals can contribute to political parties, are supposed to make our electoral system less beholden to wealthy interests.

But so far, if the Liberal leadership race is any indication, all these financing laws do is encourage politicians to find inventive ways to seek loopholes.

A lot of media attention, for instance, has focused on Joe Volpe’s little loophole, wherein 11 year old children, supposedly so enthralled with his vision, broke open their piggy banks and cut him $5,400 cheques.

But less attention is being paid to another possible loophole – loans.

Aside from Volpe, every Liberal candidate is taking out huge loans to help finance their campaigns: Scott Brison -- $200,000; Michael Ignatieff -- $125,000; Bob Rae -- $100,000, Ken Dryden, $100,000.

And interestingly out of all the Liberal hopefuls, only Carolyn Bennett, who borrowed $35,000, is taking a loan out from a bank. All the rest are borrowing the money from relatives, friends or from corporate executives.

Here’s an even more interesting point: Elections Canada says the lenders can “write off” any loan 18 months after the Liberal convention if they determine the loan is “truly uncollectible.”

NDP MP Pat Martin calls this a “loophole you can drive a Brinks truck through.”

He has a point.

What’s to stop a relative or a close friend from saying, “Well, I can’t collect the money so let’s just forget the whole thing.”

Wouldn’t that make the “loan” really a contribution?

Clearly, the system of finance laws is only serving to twist and contort the system, forcing our politicians to spend more time figuring out how to raise money than on coming up with policy ideas.

Why not scrap them? Why not let politicians compete for contribution dollars on an even playing field with no limits?

As long as the system is transparent it would work better than the system we have now.

Another NCC?

I always thought the National Citizens Coalition was a unique organization.

Turns out I was wrong.

There is another National Citizens’ Coalition operating in the African country of Zambia. It’s a political party that isn’t doing too well – in the last election its presidential candidate only got 2.2 percent of the vote.

I just hope our chairman never gets wind of this Zambian NCC. Who knows he may decide to transfer me there.

CBC and Reality TV

In case you missed it, here is a letter to the editor I wrote, which appeared in today’s National Post.

It’s about the CBC:

Dear Sir/Madam:

So the CBC will bump The National to make room for an American reality program.

Has it really come to this? Is the self-proclaimed guardian of our culture going to scrap its dignity in a mad grab for ratings?

If so, then I have a suggestion for the next CBC reality show.

It would be called The People's Network and it would feature a bunch of CBC brass going around explaining how they squander millions of taxpayer dollars to produce shows nobody wants to watch. In the final episode, the host would point to them and declare: "You're privatized!"

Now that would be must watch TV.

I also did interviews regarding the CBC on Adler Online and on Calgary’s The World Tonight. Will be doing an interview on it tomorrow on 570 News.

Better Sorry than Safe

Prime Minister Stephen Harper will get up in the House of Commons this week and apologize for a head tax imposed on Chinese immigrants from between 1885 and 1923.

Now I don’t think Prime Minister Harper had anything to do with that head tax, so I am not sure why he feels the need to apologize.

But as along as he is in an apologizing mood, maybe he should also express regret over other government misdeeds.

Here, in no particular order, is a list of things I would like a Prime Ministerial apology for:

The whole Trudeau era of the 1970’s.
Any CBC Show that starred Ralph Benmergui
The Participaction Program
The National Energy Program
Joe Clark
Health Care Waiting Lists
Almost every Supreme Court of Canada decision
The Gun Registry
The Wheat Board monopoly
Election gag laws
The Depression
Anything supported by the Canada Arts Council
Changing the name of the July 1st holiday from Dominion Day to Canada Day
The Durham Report
The GST

Now this is just the beginning of my list. The government, after all, has lots of reasons to be sorry for lots of things.

Maybe they should name a new Cabinet Minister in charge of apologies.

Just a thought.

Welfare for Politicians

It’s hard to believe the Marijuana Party, the Canada Action Party, the Communist Party and the Christian Heritage Party would have anything in common.

But they do.

They all want to jump into the government trough and get public subsidies from Canadian taxpayers.

In fact, all those parties will be in court today to argue that Canada’s political finance laws discriminate against them.

And in a sense they do.

Under the law, a political party gets $1.75 in public money for every vote they receive in the most recent federal election.

That means the Conservatives and the Liberals will pull in millions of dollars every year.

But here’s the catch: The funding is restricted to parties that obtain at least 2 per cent of the national vote or 5 per cent of the vote in the ridings where they ran candidates.

This clearly discriminates against the smaller fringe parties.

So I can understand why these parties are fighting this law in the courts.

Yet it’s a lose, lose situation.

If the smaller parties win this case it will cost taxpayers more money; but if the smaller parties lose, it will mean they will be discriminated against.

The answer, of course, is to abolish the public subsidy, which is really nothing more than a welfare plan for political parties.

No taxpayer should be forced to finance a political party, whether large or small. Political parties should rely on voluntary contributions. That’s the only system that’s fair for all parties.

For more on the “Welfare for Politicians” plan see this article I wrote which appeared recently in Report magazine.

World Cup Lessons

Things I have learned about soccer from watching the World Cup:

* The game time clock goes in the wrong direction.

* BBC play-by-play men sound more like English professors than sports announcers

* Soccer uniforms are really boring

* Every team in the World Cup has at least one guy with a weird hair-do.

* Where are all the hooligans?

Forced Dues Blues

Sid Ryan continues to meet resistance for involving himself in international relations.

The Ontario CUPE boss, of course, was behind an anti-Israeli resolution that calls upon his union to boycott Israel.

This has led a University of Toronto teaching assistant to launch a lawsuit against CUPE Ontario, because he wants the courts to clarify how much money unions can spend on issues which are “irrelevant” to its members’ interests.

That’s an issue for lots of unionized employees both here and in the United States.

Indeed check out this fantastic ad, that the group Union Facts is running south of the border.

Apparently union bosses aren’t too happy about them.

Progressive Advice

About 150 people are gathering at a Mont Tremblant resort this week to figure out how to revive Canada’s “progressive” movement.

Progressive being the word, of course, that left-wingers like to use when describing themselves as if high taxes, bigger government and less freedom is somehow progress.

Anyway, one of the organizers of this conference had an op-ed in the Globe and Mail yesterday explaining what progressives need to do to win back power.

I replied with a letter to the editor which was published today.

Here it is:

Dear Sir/Madam:

If Matt Browne and Eugene Lang really want to see a “progressive” comeback in Canada, they will have to rethink the role of government.

Maybe self-styled “progressives” still see government as a “force for good in society” but an increasing number of Canadians see government as a force for something else, namely inefficiency, waste and corruption.

You won’t make inroads among these Canadians by continuing to trumpet the glories of big government.

Instead the Liberals should embrace the idea of giving Canadians the option of relying on the private sector when government isn’t working.

Why not, for instance, permit Canadians a private sector alternative to the failing government heath care monopoly?

Now that would truly be progressive.

Satire Site Punctures the Left

My favorite form of humour is satire – but you don’t really see a lot of satire from the right these days at least in Canada.

So that’s why I was delighted to discover the Iconoclast, a web site that features some brilliant satiric jabs at the left.

The Iconoclast’s “Top Headlines”, for instance, feature particularly biting attacks.

Here’s one hilarious item from that section which caught my eye:

GRIEVING CANADIAN LABOR UNION SENDS REPRESENTATIVE TO AL ZARQAWI FUNERAL
by Marni Malarkey for Iconoclast
TORONTO -- CUPE Ontario, the provincial branch of Canada's largest labour union that recently encouraged a boycott of Israeli goods in Canada, has announced plans to send representatives to Abu Musab al Zarqawi's funeral. "We were heartbroken to hear of his murder by Crusader forces," said Sid Ryan, CUPE Ontario's president, to reporters outside his office. Abu was a freedom-fighter, a man of the people, a man of peace. If it hadn't been for American imperialism, he would never have had to harm a fly." Ryan broke down in tears, describing the Zarqawi he knew and loved. "He sent me a telegram of encouragement, just last week, when I was receiving so much criticism for our boycott of Israel. That's the kind of guy he was. It didn't matter how busy he was. He never forgot his friends."

Union Bashes NCC

Earlier this month, the National Citizens Coalition ran a full page ad in the Yellowknifer newspaper to offset union boss propaganda.

The union leadership is telling striking workers at Ekati mines (300 kilometers north of Yellowknife) that they will be fined if they cross picket lines.

However, as the NCC ad explains, that’s an empty threat.

Anyway, we must have had an impact because a couple of days ago, the union bosses responded with a full page ad of their own, that’s essentially a smear attack against the NCC.

Here’s how I responded in a letter to the editor:

Dear Sir/Madam:

A couple of union bosses recently placed a large ad in your paper to smear the National Citizens Coalition.

To set the record straight, the NCC is a grassroots organization that stands for free enterprise, better government and individual freedom.

We also believe in defending democratic rights and freedoms in the workplace.

That’s why we ran an ad of our own a few weeks ago, an ad that offset PSAC propaganda concerning union “fines.”

In a classic case of misinformation, PSAC is threatening striking workers at Ekati mines with “fines” if they crossed the picket line.

The NCC ad let employees know the truth: Canadian law covering Ekati employees does not allow the union to use Canada’s courts to enforce the collection of its fines.

And so the union leaders are attacking the NCC through expensive ads paid for with the forced dues of employees.

Of course, the union ad does not challenge the NCC’s point about the legality of their “fines”.

Why?

Because they know the NCC is right.

Instead of smearing private organizations, the union bosses should admit the truth to the employees they are supposed to represent.

It’s time to stop the misinformation. It’s time to stop the intimidation.

Not sure if the Yellowknifer printed my letter, but if they do we can probably expect another full page union ad.

NDP Plot

Liberal MP, and former cabinet minister, Ujjal Dosanjh will announce today he is endorsing Bob Rae as his choice for the next federal Liberal leader.

This makes perfect sense.

Like Rae, Dosanjh is a former NDP Premier. Like Rae, Dosanjh lost his job as Premier in a landslide loss. Like Rae, Dosanjh defected to the federal Liberal Party.

Hmmm, in fact, come to think of it maybe there are too many coincidences here.

Maybe Rae and Dosanjh are part of some sinister and secret NDP plot to undermine the Liberals from the inside.

After all, what better way to doom the Liberal Party than by having it choose Rae as its leader?

Think about it.

Malkin Celebrates Psycho's Termination

Michelle Malkin has put together a nifty video that both celebrates the demise of psycho terrorist kingpin Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and puzzles at the left’s failure to celebrate.

Fox News’ Bill O'Reilly makes a cameo appearance

Harper the Moderate

I was just rummaging through some of my ancient files and I came across a Canadian Press story dated January 15, 1997.

The story was about then Reform Party MP, Stephen Harper dropping out of partisan politics and joining the employ of the National Citizens Coalition.

At one point in the article it says, “Harper, widely known as a Reform caucus moderate, was one of the early players in building Reform from a Western protest movement to a national party…” (Emphasis mine)

Did you get that?

Back in 1997, Harper was “widely” viewed as a moderate.

So why is it during the last election the Liberals and large segments of the media were tripping all over themselves in their attempts to portray Harper as some sort of scary, right-wing extremist?

I mean Harper was pretty much the same guy in 2006 as he was in 1997.

Maybe people just have short memories.

World Cup Prediction

The World Cup of soccer starts today and I know this has about six billion people real excited.

But I am not one of them.

Yes I will watch some of the games, but I must confess the appeal of this sport has always puzzled me.

Why?

Because even though I have no idea as to who will win the 2006 tournament here’s one thing I do know: the final score will be 1-0.

Update: Wonkitties tells why we should root for Iran to lose.

Alls Well that ends well

Well one good thing about our little misunderstanding with the Department of National Defence is that it generated lots of publicity for our "Support the Troops" trust fund.

Yesterday I did interviews on the Bill Carroll Show (CFRB, Toronto), the Dave Rutherford Show, (CHQR, Calgary), the World Tonight (CKNW, Vancovuer), Adler Online (Corus Radio),
Kevin and Trudie Show, (CJAD, Montreal), Windsor Now (CKLW, Windsor).

Plus I have intereviews later today on London in the Morning (CJBK, London) and the Afternoon Edition, (CFRA, Ottawa).

Kerry Diotte of the Edmonton Sun also has a terrific column on this.

Also officials in the Canadian military have contacted us and promisedtheir complete co-operation for our plan to aid military families.

So a very happy end to this story.

DND Now Says NCC "Support our Troops" Campaign OK

Note: I had a bit of a mix up on my blog where I meshed together my blog entry and a news release. Unfortunately the system crashed and I couldn't repair it.

It should have said this:

Here is a message I got from a DND spokesman regarding the NCC "Support the Troops" campaign:

Acting Chief of Defence Staff of Canadian Forces has apologized to Mr. Peter Coleman, President of the National Citizens Coalition and has indicated that we are very pleased to see Canadians supporting our troops and that we strongly support the kind of private endeavour for our men and women in uniform.

Lower level staff with the legal section of the Department developed a position that was communicated to the National Citizens Coalition.

Regretfully this was done prior to approval being received from higher command.

Senior officials reviewed the circumstances of this case and have informed the NCC that we support this particular campaign.

The Department will communicate in writing to Mr. Coleman. This communication will indicate the Department does not have issues with billboards, magnetic ribbons or the campaign to support Canadian forces personnel.

In addition, Chief Military Personnel will be calling Mr. Coleman to find ways we can work together on this project.”

I am quite glad this situation has been resolved. After all, we are on the military’s side.

This is also a victory for free speech.

Anyone wishing to contribute to the special trust fund the NCC is setting up to help the military families of fallen soldiers go here.

Patriotism is a Crime!

This is absolutely insane.

The Department of National Defence is ordering us (the National Citizens Coalition) to take down a “Support our Troops” billboard we put up in downtown Toronto.

The DND is also telling us to remove any reference to “Support our Troops” from our website and to stop handing out “Support our Troops” car magnets.

Why?

Because of some stupid and vague law.

Section 291 of the National Defence Acts states:

1) Every person who uses

(a) the words "Canadian Forces" or "Canadian Armed Forces" or the name of any component, unit or other element thereof or any abbreviation thereof or any words or letters likely to be mistaken therefore,

(b) any picture or other representation of a member of the Canadian Forces, or

(c) any uniform, mark, badge or insignia in use in the Canadian Forces,

in any advertising or in any trade or service, having been requested in writing by the Minister to cease that usage, is guilty of an offence punishable on summary conviction.

In other words, says the DND, it’s a crime for us to express gratitude to the men and women who are risking their lives to defend our freedoms!!

Something is very wrong here.

I can understand a law prohibiting improper use of military symbols for advertising, but citizens should be permitted to make what are essentially patriotic statements.

Could you imagine such a law being enforced in the United States??

What makes all this worse, is that the NCC was using these “Support our Troop” ads to raise awareness about a special trust fund we were setting up to aid the families of soldiers killed in action.

Either the government has got to stop enforcing this law so zealously or they should change the law.

Canadians should have the right to express thanks to our troops!

Betting the Numbers

This, of course, is one of those numerologically important dates -- 06/06/06.

If I was a betting man I would go to the race track tonight and place a $600 bet on horse number six in the sixth race.

But with my luck, my horse would probably end up finishing 6th!

Rabble Rousing Ryan

It looks like CUPE union boss Sid Ryan is getting too radical even for other union bosses.

According to media reports, the leaders of five CUPE locals are demanding the union’s national leadership rescind an anti-Israeli resolution Ryan supports.

The ridiculous resolution, which was passed by CUPE’s Ontario division, calls for a boycott of Israeli goods and likens Israeli policies to “apartheid”.

This has upset the leaders of CUPE locals who represent workers at Jewish social-service agencies, so they sent a five-page letter of protest to CUPE’s national president.

Part of the letter reads:

"Mr. Ryan is not behaving as a brother, but rather as an indignant, self-serving rabble-rouser. He has become an embarrassment to the dignity, equality, respect and goodwill associated with the CUPE name."

Of course, there’s nothing new about that.

Ryan has been a self-serving rabble-rouser for years. What’s worse, the law says he can use forced dues to finance his rabble-rousing.

It’s time to change the rules so that the Ryan’s of the world can’t use other people’s money to finance their extreme views.

Canada's War

The police say they have thwarted a possible terrorist attack in Canada.

That’s the good news. The bad news is we still don’t know if the planned attack was just a local scheme concocted by local nutcases, or part of some wider global Al Qaeda-inspired scheme.

Cuanas, quoted in The Belmont Club, argues for the latter scenario.

A week back the FBI and the Justice Dept announced that they were conducting "urgent" investigations into terror cells across the US, and in particular in NYC. The next day, British intelligence made a similar announcement.

Then, we had the London raid and the Toronto raid. Clearly, something massive is in the works, spanning at least three major Western countries.

But, if Canada is a target, why not France, Holland, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, and Germany?

My guess is they are also targets. An early report out of London also said that police had ordered a five mile no fly zone around the site of the bust. This might also indicate they suspect rocket launchers.

Let’s hope he’s wrong.

And even if he is wrong, however, his point still helps to remind us that like it or not, a group of dedicated fanatics is targeting not just Canada but Western civilization.

As Lorne Gunter wrote in today’s National Post,

“We are their (the Jihadis) targets not we have been insufficiently tolerant of Islam, but rather because in their minds we have been far too tolerant of non-Muslims. They are not at war just with Christianity and Judaism. So Canada cannot indemnify itself against attack by expunging its religious roots. Pluralism and secularism upset them just as much because those "isms," too, are an impediment to the creation of a worldwide Islamic empire.”

In other words Canada is at war.

And it’s a war we must start planning to win.

CUPE's Politics

Now that the police have foiled a possible terrorist attack in Toronto, I wonder how long it will be before Sid Ryan and the guys over at CUPE pass a resolution blaming it all on Israel?

Volpe Shows Folly of Contribution Limits

The Joe Volpe donation fiasco shows why limits on political campaign contributions are a bad idea.

For one thing they make our politicians act like idiots.

Take Volpe, for example.

He actually wants us to believe that two 11 year olds and a 14 year old each contributed $5,400 to his leadership campaign.

“Apparently,” Volpe told the media with a straight face, “I had seen the kids when I went to their school and gave a talk during the (federal election) campaign. They went back home and said `that’s a guy we want to help, we want to support.’ The parents told them there would be a good time to do that and here is the time.”

And he got back up from Steve MacKinnon, the national Liberal Party director, who also with a straight face declared, “Affluent families often have children who possess that kind of resource” to contribute to political parties.

Sorry guys that doesn’t even pass the giggle test. Do they really think anybody is going to believe that dopey story?

Apparently not because now they are returning some of the donations.

Of course, everybody knows what happened in this case.

Some rich guy is using a legal loophole to get around individual campaign contribution limits ie his wife and kids are making contributions.

And in a way you can’t really blame Volpe for taking the money.

After all, running a leadership campaign takes money – lots of money. But unfortunately, political contribution limits will make it more difficult to raise that money – much more difficult.

Something has got to give.

Right now, politicians and their backers are making use of loopholes but when they get plugged they might resort to less legal means.

And that’s the problem with campaign contribution limits. Rather than making government more honest, they make our political system more corrupt.

Check an article I wrote on this which appeared in the Globe and Mail web site a few weeks ago.

Media Update -- Will be discussing this issue on Charles Adler online at 2:15 PM Eastern time.

Me Conceited?

I got an email yesterday taking me to task for the claim in this blog’s “About Me” section.

Here’s what the writer pointed out:

Your ABOUT ME says, "He's one of the top five political minds in the country."

You think that doesn't come across as maybe just a little, oh, I don't know, conceited?

Now, if someone ELSE (preferably someone independent of your organization) is calling you one of the top five political minds in the country, then by all means you should give the attribution. It can only lend strength to the assessment, because then it will actually mean something.

Clearly this person has problems with arbitrary claims.

So I wonder if he takes offence with Disneyland’s claim to be “the happiest place on earth.”

I mean has this ever been verified by “someone independent” of the Disney Corporation?

Of course not.

So until someone sues Mickey Mouse, I won’t change my ranking among the top five political minds.

Right to Earn a Living

The National Citizens Coalition is doing what it can to offset union boss propaganda that’s being spewed at striking employees up in the Northwest Territories.

Public Service Alliance of Canada officials are threatening employees of Ekati mines (300 kilometers north of Yellowknife) with fines if they cross picket lines.

That’s quite a threat; except for one thing: Canadian law covering Ekati employees does not allow the union to use Canada’s courts to enforce the collection of its fines.

In other words, PSAC is using misinformation and scare tactics to stop employees from working during the strike.

What’s worse, PSAC knows its threat is legally meaningless.

A past PSAC official wrote a memo stating: “PSAC has a legal opinion that clearly and without ambiguity concludes that we have no legal ability to enforce the collection of fines.”

To help set the record straight and to help employees get the real facts, the NCC ran a full page newspaper ad in the Yellowknifer newspaper under the headline, “Here’s what PSAC Union Bosses Don’t Want Ekati Employees to Know”

You can read it here.

The bottom line is that PSAC has a right to call a strike, but employees should also have the right to work during a strike without threats or intimidation.

That’s how free and democratic societies are supposed to work.

Democratic Reforms

Yesterday the federal government announced a democratic reform package.

Here are my thoughts:

Fixed Election Dates: Probably a good idea, although it might not fit in a Parliamentary system whereby the government must have the confidence of the legislature. Still knowing ahead of time when an election is coming will certainly make it easier for us at the National Citizens Coalition to plot electoral strategy.

Fixed Terms for Senators: A good step in the right direction. I hope this will trigger some much needed debate on the future of the Upper House. The status quo is no longer acceptable. For the sake of the country’s democratic integrity, the Senate must be either reformed or abolished.

Here is my disappointment:

The government made no mention of scrapping the notorious election gag law.

The election gag law, which was enacted six years ago, makes it a crime for citizens or groups to freely and effectively express ideas or opinions during federal elections.

Without free speech you don’t have free elections and if you don’t have free elections you don’t have democracy.

It seems to me any true democratic reform package would have to include restoring free political speech to Canadians.

But hey maybe that’s just me.

Questions About the TTC Strike

I liked the Toronto Sun’s editorial today on Monday’s illegal transit strike.

Here’s a snippet:

Premier Dalton McGuinty, Mayor David Miller and TTC Chairman Howard Moscoe have all said that TTC workers went on an illegal strike yesterday morning.

Ok, since according to all three of them, laws were broken, we have five simple questions:

Who’s going to jail?
Who’s going to be fired?
Who’s going to be demoted?
Who’s going to be fined?
Who’s going to pay?

The Sun asks the right questions, but unfortunately it won’t get any answers.

The fact is we let public sector union bosses get away with this sort of stuff all the time and it’s always taxpayers who end up suffering.

That’s why we need to do one of two things: either open up public sector services to competition so that unions can no longer hold the public hostage or we ban public sector strikes and aggressively enforce the law.

Taxpayers deserve to get the services they pay for.

The BetterWay?

Toronto transit riders got a surprise this morning.

No buses. No subways. No streetcars. No nothing.

Thanks to what the Toronto Transit Commission is calling an “illegal job action” the whole transit system shut down between 4 and 5 AM.

This means about 700,000 people had to find alternate ways to get to work.

Isn’t public sector service wonderful? Isn’t it great that a couple of public sector union bosses can throw an entire city into chaos?

Of course, this wouldn’t happen if we allowed private competition to government services.

But Toronto’s NDP mayor David Miller wouldn’t think of such a thing.

And why should he? He probably rides a bike into work.

Baseball Dilemma

Once a long, long time ago, I was a devoted Detroit Tigers fan.

I adored guys like Al Kaline and Mickey Lolich; cheered when the Tigers won the Worlds Series in 1968 (yes I am that old) and in 1984; I loved to watch games at grand old Tigers Stadium.

However, years of living in Toronto caused me to lose touch with my beloved Tigers, and slowly but surely I began to root for the Toronto Blue Jays, a process helped along by the great Toronto teams of the early 1990s.

And yes, I must admit it was hard to root for a Detroit team that had become absolutely horrendous by the mid-90s.

But now suddenly the Tigers are the hottest team in baseball. They are currently on an eight game winning streak, and boast the best record in the Major Leagues.

So now I face a dilemma: Should I stick with the Jays or go back to my original love – the Tigers.

Maybe I should ask Dr. Phil

Finding the "Inner Conservative"

The federal Conservative Party is surging in the polls these days.

But why?

George Koch and John Weissenberger have an interesting column in the National Post today, which offers one possible explanation.

Koch and Weissenberger essentially argue that a large number of Canadians have always held “conservative views” but for a variety of reasons never connected to the Conservative Party.

This, they say, is now changing.

Canadians are warming up to the Conservatives because now Prime Minister Stephen Harper is doing a better job of packaging conservative ideas on issues like day care, defence and taxes to the public.

In other words, instead of shifting the party to the left as the Red Tories have always wanted, Harper is helping Canadians discover their “Inner Conservative”.

This is similar to an argument I made last year.

I have always believed conservatives do well when they act like conservatives instead of like liberals.

End the Wheat Monopoly

The National Citizens Coalition is running a campaign opposing the Canadian Wheat Board monopoly.

For those who are not aware of how this monopoly operates think of it as a “Little Kremlin on the Prairie.”

Under the law, western farmers are forced to sell their crop to the Wheat Board even if they can get a better price elsewhere.

Some farmers have even been jailed for the “crime” of selling their wheat across the border.

The bottom line is the Wheat Board monopoly denies farmers their right to economic choice.

It’s time to shut it down.

Capitalism Vs. Terrorism

One of my theories concerning the war against terrorism is that the best way to beat the Osama Bin Laden’s of the world isn’t with missiles or tanks but with a far more potent weapon: decadent capitalism.

If we can get the people in the Middle East more interested in making money in this world maybe they will have less interest in blowing themselves to smithereens so they can get rewarded in the next world.

American author P. J. O’Rourke picked up on this theme in a speech he recently gave to a CATO Institute seminar, entitled "Conquering Terrorism with Capitalism".

As O’Rourke says, “Once people get rich, they just don’t like to fight as much anymore.”

Dentist Blues

I just endured my most hated of experiences: a trip to the dentist.

Since it usually takes me a while to get over such a trauma, I really can’t come with anything meaningful in my blog today.

So in the meantime, check out this great piece on anti-Americanism by noted academic and author Victor Davis Hanson.

If there’s anything I hate worse than going to the dentist, it’s mindless anti-Americanism.

Howard Vs. Union Bosses

Yesterday some union bosses decided to do what they do best: protest.

This time they were protesting the visit to Canada of Australian Prime Minister John Howard.

Why?

Well, Prime Minister Howard had the temerity to modernize and reform Australia’s labour laws, making them more flexible and granting more choice to employees.

Needless to say such moves are an anathema to Canada’s union establishment, which is still stuck in a class-war mentality.

Also needless to say, Canada’s labour laws need reforming as well. And Prime Minister Stephen Harper would do well to emulate his Aussie counter-part in this area.

For more on this check out John Mortimer’s piece which appeared yesterday in the Financial Post. John heads up a fantastic group called Labour Watch.

Have a great long weekend everybody!

Howard and Harper

Australian Prime Minister John Howard is in Ottawa today visiting with Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

Now I am no expert in international relations, but I do know Howard is one of the world’s most successful conservative politicians and that he has provided principled and courageous leadership in the war on terrorism.

And that little bit of knowledge came in handy a couple of days ago when an Australian reporter called me up to get my opinion on Howard’s visit.

You can read the resulting article here.

Clipping Canadian Content

In a column in Sun media newspapers, radio talk show host Charles Adler does a magnificent job skewering one of my pet peeves: Canadian content laws.

Writes Adler:

The rogue's gallery of groups lining up to line their pockets with your money is diverse. The most shameless are those representing Canadian recording artists, and their fellow travellers, who claim to represent public broadcasting. These groups won't admit they are trying to enhance their prestige, power and portfolios. Instead, they wrap themselves in the Maple Leaf and portray themselves as fighting for Canadian culture. You are supposed to believe that the Canadian recording industry is Hans Solo, making the Canadian private broadcasting industry Darth Vader.

And Adler has more good stuff:

The so-called artists who want to get their work on the radio have zero confidence in the free market. They don't trust you to make your own buying and downloading decisions. They feel that the only way you will support their music is to be attacked with it over and over and over again for long periods of time by radio stations. They accuse the radio station ownership of putting profits before people. But the people they are talking about are not consumers.

They are the small handful of people who want their records played. Just because the consumer buys all those products advertised on the radio doesn't mean that they are entitled to have their favourite tunes played. That sense of entitlement belongs exclusively to the phoney flag wavers who call themselves artists.

Exactly.

That’s why it’s time we scrap these dopey Canadian content laws and let consumers rule the airwaves.

Scrap the Gun Registry

Here’s a news release I sent out yesterday following the Auditor-General’s report:

NCC Says Scrap the Gun Registry
(May 16, 2006)The National Citizens Coalition says today’s Auditor-General report should sound the death knell for the gun registry program.

“On top of all the other massive problems associated with the gun registry, the auditor-general now reveals the Liberals tried to hide the true costs of this program,” says NCC vice president Gerry Nicholls.

Nicholls says this should be the final straw.

“It’s time to stop throwing good money after bad. It’s time to scrap the gun registry.”

Nicholls says the money used to pay for a poorly managed gun registry program could be better spent elsewhere.

“Rather than financing a poorly managed registry, that money could be used to toughen border security or to hire more police, or to improve anti-terrorism intelligence,” says Nicholls.

Nicholls says the government should act soon on this matter.

“Canadians need to know their money is being used wisely,” says Nicholls. “And they need to know the government is acting to truly protect their security.”

Bruce Willis and Capitalism

A while back I attended a libertarian-oriented conference and the question came up as to whether or not capitalism would survive.

To me it was the wrong question.

It isn’t will capitalism survive; it’s can capitalism be destroyed.

I wrote a column on this which appeared in Report magazine.

You can read it here.

Bush and Conservatives

It’s been well reported that U.S. President George Bush is having a hard time in the polls these days.

Less reported, however, is the growing disillusionment among American conservatives with Bush’s leadership.

This editorial from the Washington Examiner helps to explain what’s going on and why the Republicans should be concerned.

The Canadian Conservative Party should also take heed.
(H/T Powerlineblog)

Guns and Freedom

The Auditor-General will release her report next week on the much-maligned gun registry program.

The media buzz is that it will be another Ad Scam-like bombshell.

But the problem with the registry goes beyond just excessive cost and waste.

There are also important principles involved.

My friend Pierre Lemieux – a libertarian’s libertarian – has written extensively on this subject.

He makes a good case for freedom.

Union Facts

In 2004 American unions faced a total of 6,917 allegations of wrongdoing and more than 80 percent of those charges alleged illegal restraint and coercion of employees.

That’s just one item gleaned from a great site called unionfacts.com, which is the project of an American group called The Center for Union Facts.

The Center gathers a wealth of information about the size, scope, political activities, and criminal activity of the labor movement in the United States of America and then publicizes them through the internet and through some great ad campaigns.

It also provides information for workers so they understand their rights when it comes to American labour laws.

The Center says it has 12.5 million facts union officials want to keep secret.

I wonder how many secrets Canadian union bosses have.

Freedom and Democracy

Political philosopher and author William Gairdner has some interesting commentary on the speech I gave on Sunday regarding the NCC’s fight against the election gag law.

Gairdner raises some interesting points about the nature of freedom and democracy.

Check it out.

By the way, I have come up with a new name for my blog. What do you think?

Conservative Groups

What is it about conservative organizations that get left-wingers into such a tizzy?

During the last federal election, union boss Buzz Hargrove called my group, the National Citizens Coalition, a “secret society,” and now the Civitas Society is getting the same treatment.

Maybe they think we are all hatching some sort of “hidden agenda.”

Or maybe they don’t like the fact that conservative organizations tend to rely on voluntary contributions and grassroots support.

By contrast, many left-wing organizations subsist on either government subsidies or big union hand outs.

That means conservative groups are more independent, more representative of their members and more likely to come up with good ideas.

More Civitas Stuff

Here's me at the Civitas conference speaking with a former National Citizens Coalition employee. That's Al Gordon from the Canadian Coalition for Democracies in the middle.

(Thanks to Rondi for this photo.)

Post Civitas

Had a great time at the Civitas conference this weekend.

Some of the topics covered during the sessions included private property rights, the morality of war, electoral reform and the role of courts.

They were all quite interesting.

But of course, the best thing about meetings like this is that you get a chance to meet old friends and to make new ones.

I also had a chance to chat with several bloggers such as Russ Kuykendall, Stephen Taylor, Rondi Adamson, and Adam Daifallah.

On Sunday morning, despite operating on about two hours sleep, I gave a talk on the NCC’s fight against the election gag law. You can read it here.

Conservatve Movies

I always thought the term “conservative movie” was an oxymoron.

After all, it seems just about everything Hollywood churns out these days has some sort of left-wing message.

Yet, while attending the Civitas convention I met Govindini Murty who has set something up called The Liberty Film Festival, which is “liberating Hollywood one film at a time.”

The festival celebrates classic films, such as John Wayne’s The Searchers, while also giving an audience to conservative-themed documentaries and short subjects.

Murty says anyone with a digital video camera can make a documentary or movie and she encourages all conservatives to go out there and start filming.

That’s a great idea, and you know I always thought I kind of looked like Tom Cruise anyway.

You can also check out Murty’s blog here.

Harper Eating Baby Case Cracked?

Blogger Steve Janke says he may have cracked the “Harper Eats Babies” case.

Check his blog for all the exciting details.

Civitas Meeting

I am off to Ottawa today to attend the 10th annual Civitas Society meeting this weekend.

The Civitas Society’s official goal is to “promote and deepen understanding through the exchange of a wide range of political, economic, social, religious, cultural and philosophical ideas concerning the principles and traditions of a free and ordered society.”

I will be speaking at one session about the National Citizen Coalition’s fight against election gag laws.

If anybody out there reading this blog is also attending this meeting be sure to say hello.

Magna and the Unions

It’s not getting a lot of media attention but Magna International chairman Frank Stronach is holding discussions with major unions.

For Magna, which is a non-union business, this is quite a major development.

According to press reports, Stronach told a recent Magna meeting that “unions fulfill a very important role” and they balance the naked profit motive of corporations and promote social justice and fairness.

Bet the shareholders just loved that kind of talk.

I wonder why Stronach is suddenly so enamored with unions?

Could it have something to do with the fact that union boss Buzz Hargrove was in Aurora during the last election campaigning for his daughter Belinda?

Nah, that’s just a coincidence I’m sure.

NCC Welcomes Tax Relief in Budget

Here's a news release I sent out today on the federal budget:

(May 2, 2006)The National Citizens Coalition says the Conservative government deserves credit for keeping its election promise to provide tax relief for Canadian families.

“The government as promised cut the GST, cut corporate taxes and provided other tax credits to Canadians,” says NCC vice president Gerry Nicholls. “This is good news for over-burdened taxpayers.”

However, the NCC vice president says he was disappointed the government did not go further in cutting income taxes.

“I hope if government surpluses continue to mount, the Conservatives will provide more income tax relief for Canadians,” says Nicholls.

Nicholls also praised the government for pumping more money into Canada’s military.

“For far too long, governments have under funded Canada’s military,” says Nicholls. “In this dangerous world, boosting our defence must be a priority.”

Baby Blog Breakthrough

I finally did it.

My blog broke a story before the MSN, the dream of all bloggers.

I am talking, of course, about the “Harper Eating Babies” story which I first blogged about on Friday.

It’s now front page news in both the Toronto Star and the Globe and Mail.

And the Toronto Sun featured it in their “Best of the Blogs” section, writing:

“When Gerry Nicholls, VP of the National Citizens Coalition noticed a strange message on the advertising screens on the Go Train on Thursday, he didn’t just sit there, he asked questions. Turns out a hacker put up the phrase, “Stephen Harper Eats Babies” on the screens where it ran for four days. Nicholls broke the story and mainstream media picked it up yesterday.”

Of course, I had lots of help from Steve Janke over at Angry in the Great White North and it’s not exactly on the same level as the Rathergate/Bush National Guard story, but heck it’s still pretty good.

I wonder if I could win a Pulitzer for this?

Media Update:

I will talking about Harper's dietary tastes on Adler Online at about 2:05 PM EST and on the Gary Doyle Show (570 News Kitchener)

Also check out this story on CTV News and on the CBC website, 640 News and Reuters.

My friend Joel over at Proud to Be Canadian also has some insights on this.

Baby Eating Update

More news on the “Harper Baby Eating” front.

Earlier this afternoon I got an email from Exclusive Advertising, the folks in charge of advertising on the Go Trains.

Here’s what they have to say:

“We would like to take this opportunity to advise the public that these ads are the result of a hacker who has unlawfully tampered with the LED sign boards displayed by GO Trains. This message was in no way authorized by Exclusive Advertising or GO Transit, and is not condoned. We have taken measures to rectify this matter and are in the process of enhancing security.”

You can read the whole thing on their website. Look for the line: Stephen Harper LED Message.

I hope they do rectify this matter. The last thing I need to look at on the way home is socialist propaganda.

More on Harper and Babies

Steve Janke over at Angry in the Great White North has picked up my story about the “Stephen Harper Eats Babies” on the Go Transit ad and run with it.

You can check out his posting here. Among other things Janke dug around and found out the ads are put up by a company called Exclusive Advertising.

As for me, well I am too lazy to do any digging but my wife isn’t. She called Go Transit and they told her the Harper message was a result of somebody hacking into the computer system.

Fine.

But it would be nice if Go Transit apologized publicly for this incident through a news release or something.

And the ad company should be apologizing as well.

As Janke writes: “Exclusive Advertising should be concerned. GO Transit is their only customer, and if they can't control what goes up on those boards . . .”

Media Alert:

I will talking about this incident on the Roy Green Show (CHML Hamilton) at 11:33 EST

Update:

For all you out there who doubted my story, I just got the following email from Go Transit:

Reference No: 2006002535
Mr. Gerry Nichollsgnicholl@ncc-on.org
Dear Mr. Nicholls:
Thank you for taking the time to contact us regarding your experience while travelling on the Lakeshore West Rail service.
Please be assured that GO Transit is aware of the electronic signage and is in the process of rectifying the situation. GO Transit does not endorse the expressed opinion.
Thank you for your concerns.
Sincerely,Trudy Taylor-SteeleCustomer Service Representative

Railroading Harper

While riding home on the Go Train last night and I saw something mighty peculiar.

Each Go Train car has one of those electronic advertising signs which usually urge you to buy tickets to some or other event.

But this time the sign had a definite political message.

It kept repeating the phrase: “Stephen Harper Eats Babies” over and over again throughout my entire ride home.

Now I wonder if somebody paid to put up this message or whether it was just the official viewpoint of Go Transit.

I sent them an email for clarification.

Can’t wait til I get my response.

Blogging Video

American syndicated columnist Michelle Malkin has taken blogging to the next level.

She has set up a site called Hot Air, which combines blogging and video to create what is essentially a conservative daily newscast.

The site also promises photoshop parodies and investigative reporting.

It sounds great, but don’t look for me to follow suit.

I don’t think the world is ready for a video of me on the internet.

The Story of Democracy

George Bernard Shaw once said, “Democracy is a device that insures we shall be governed no better than we deserve.”

Yet not everyone is so cynical about democracy. In fact, today democracy is almost universally recognized as the only legitimate form of government.

Not bad for an idea that was moribund for about 2000 years.

But what is democracy? Where did it come from? How has it changed? Why is it such a dominant force today?

John Dunn, a professor of Political Theory at Cambridge University, has written a book to answer those questions called Setting the People Free: The Story of Democracy.

Check out a review of this book by Patrick Basham of the Democracy Institute.

Teacher Fined for Respecting the Law

It’s hard to believe anyone could ever get into trouble for not breaking the law.

But that’s what happened to teacher Margaret Christopherson who crossed a picket line last year during an illegal strike in British Columbia.

According to her husband, Christopherson simply went to work because she didn’t want to break the law and set a bad example for her students.

Yet her union doesn’t care.

The Nicola Valley local of the B.C. Teacher’s Federation says Christopherson broke their rules and they placed her and three other teachers in “bad standing.”

As well, the union is demanding Christopherson pay the union the money she earned during the two-week strike.

Isn’t that dandy?

The union breaks the law and holds an illegal strike and they want a law abiding teacher to pay a penalty.

Christopherson has filed a complaint with the B.C. Labour Relations Board.

Let’s hope the Board uses some common sense and sides with the teacher in this case.

Union rules should not trump the rule of law.

Canada at War

Is Canada ready for war?

That’s the question we need to ask ourselves in light of the recent tragic deaths of those four Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan.

While the media reaction to those deaths was definitely “over the top” there is also no question they shocked the nation.

What is going to happen when more casualties occur in the weeks and months ahead? Is the country going to go into a constant state of national grieving?

Something has to give.

Either we must throw in the towel and surrender to terrorism, or we as a country have to get our heads around the fact that we are at war against a deadly opponent.

That means accepting the fact that in wars people die. It also means accepting the fact that this is a war we must win.

Canadian writer Rondi Adamson addressed this point in an article which recently appeared in the Christian Science Monitor.

Also see a good editorial on this in today’s National Post.

But it won’t be journalists who win over public support for the war.

That’s a job our leaders need to do.

Common Sense Evolution

It’s too bad Alberta seems to be backing off on plans to reform its health care system.

But sooner or later reform will come because the socialist model we have in place just ain’t working.

Had the opportunity to hear Dr. Brian Day, who has been nominated to head the Canadian Medical Association, speak yesterday at a Fraser Institute event.

In a powerful presentation, Dr. Day made the point that our health care system is too costly, too inefficient and causing unnecessary suffering.

It’s only a matter of time, he says, that politicians will bow to reality and allow private alternatives to the public system.

It might happen slowly at first and in fits and starts, but it will happen.

Bungled Bilingualism Bonus

Did you hear about this latest bilingualism fiasco?

It turns out the federal government is dishing out about $275,000 a year to pay 344 foreign affairs bureaucrats bilingualism bonuses even though they don’t qualify.

In some cases, the bureaucrats receiving the $800 a year bonuses haven’t mastered both official languages and in other cases they are working in posts not designated as bilingual.

Just one question.

Weren’t these non-bilingual government employees wondering why they were getting bilingualism bonuses?

I guess they just figured were part of some new government program.

Just like government sometimes pay farmers not to grow crops, maybe these employees believed they were being paid not to be bilingual.

One more sad example of your tax dollars at work.

Limit on Political Contributions a Bad Idea

A few days ago I posted a blog praising the federal government’s Accountability Act.

And overall I think it is a good plan to make government better and more honest.

Yet there is one part of the Act I really don’t like: the proposal to further restrict what individuals can contribute to a political party.

This restriction won’t mean better government, but it will stifle individual free expression.

I have written an op-ed on this topic which is a featured commentary on the Globe and Mail’s website.

You can read it here.

Book Takes on Activist Judges

Has the Charter of Rights and Freedoms failed Canadians?

Author and former political science professor Rory Leishman says yes.

And he has written a book called Against Judicial Activism: The Decline of Freedom and Democracy in Canada, to show why.

Essentially, Leishman argues activist judges and Human Rights adjudicators are using the power the Charter gives them to impose their own left-wing ideological preferences on the country.

He backs this up in his book, by citing case after case after case, which show how judges defy the popular will and sometimes common sense to push their own radical agenda.

And some of the cases cited are really quite bizarre.

For instance, Leishman recounts the story of a male transsexual who joined a club called the Vancouver Lesbian Connection.

This man considered himself a “lesbian” but refused to refer to himself as a woman or more properly a “womyn” because to him that word was a contemptible construct used by men to put down females.

Anyway to make a strange story short, the Lesbians did not appreciate this stance on the word womyn and opted to kick him out of their club.

The male lesbian promptly complained to the BC Human Rights Commission, who ruled the womyn lesbians had discriminated against him because he was a male-to-female transsexual.

Sheesh.

Other cases recounted in the book deal with how the Courts browbeat politicians into taking anti-family stances on same-sex marriage, abortion and free speech.

As Leishman puts it, “Many of the hard-won freedoms of Canadians are fast disappearing. Complacent Canadians should beware.”

Liberals Lurching Left

Ok so Bob Rae is going to announce he is running for the leadership of the Liberal Party next week.

That means another centre-left candidate.

Already Liberal leadership hopeful, Michael Ignatieff has said he wants to move the party to the left as well.

What’s going on here?

Do the Liberals really think the way to win the next election is to further embrace socialism?

Here’s the reality: Trudeau-style socialism is as good as dead. Capitalism – of some sort – is the wave of the future.

Any political party that thinks it can win election by calling for massive social spending programs or with higher taxes or by kissing up to union bosses will only doom itself to extinction.

The Liberals should know this.

In fact, throughout the 1990s they successfully sold themselves as good fiscal managers.

If they change their tune now it will mean Stephen Harper and the Tories will be in power a long, long time.

Accountability Act

Prime Minister Stephen Harper promised to provide better and more accountable government.

And so far, he is keeping that promise.

His Accountability Act will go a long way toward ending the kind of corruption that has plagued Ottawa in recent years.

Some of the things I like in the proposed Act:

Expanding access-to-information legislation to cover crown corporations.
Giving the Auditor-General more power
Ensuring government appointments on merit
Creating a more transparent process for awarding government contracts.

All good stuff.

One disappointment in the package, however, was the government’s failure to end the practice of giving public subsidies to political parties.

This is nothing but a welfare plan for politicians.

But overall, this is a good start.

Defending the NCC

As I noted in yesterday’s posting, Globe and Mail columnist Jeffery Simpson took a cheap shot at the National Citizens Coalition.

In response, I sent the Globe a letter to the editor which was posted today. Here is an edited version which appeared today:

Dear Sir/Madam:

Jeffery Simpson’s implication that the National Citizens Coalition is not a serious organization is ludicrous. (Ignatieff’s Unbearable Lightness of Absence – April 8)

In fact, Prime Minister Stephen Harper was president of the NCC for four years precisely because he realized it is helping to make a difference in Canada.

Representing thousands of Canadians, the NCC promotes free enterprise, individual freedom and better, more accountable government.

It has battled to protect free political speech, it has exposed and opposed wasteful government spending and it has waged vigorous media campaigns to protect economic and political freedoms.

Mr. Simpson may not agree with the NCC’s political stance, but he should not shortchange its accomplishments.


As I said that’s the edited version. My original ending line was this:

“Mr. Simpson may not agree with the NCC’s political stance, but for him to shortchange its accomplishments is simply shoddy journalism.”

Simpson vs. The NCC

For some reason Globe and Mail columnist Jeffery Simpson decided to smear the National Citizens Coalition in his Saturday column.

I won’t bore you with the details, but Simpson’s general point was that Prime Minister Stephen Harper didn’t hold all that an important or serious position when he was with the NCC.

Well Harper certainly thought his work here was important.

In the February 1997 edition of our newsletter, when he had just resigned as an MP with the Reform Party to join our group, Harper explained why he wanted to work with us.

Here’s an extract:

“The truth is that, in the past decade, the political arena has begun to fill with politicians and political organizations struggling to implement the basic values for which the NCC has always stood, at one time very much alone. The agenda of the NCC was a guide to me as the founding policy director of Reform.

I have long supported and proudly defended the NCC and it has never given me reason to do otherwise.

Elected officials are constrained by the need for popularity every four to five years. The average one is consumed by the monthly opinion polls. The really bad ones worry about the approval of every group coming through their offices looking for a handout. Working with you in the NCC provides me with an opportunity to do much more --- to fight for basic conservative values of free markets and free elections, whether fashionable at that moment or not.

I am honoured to join you in your fight. The battle for political and economic freedom will have its victories and setbacks, as it has in the past.

It will never end . . . and we shall never surrender.”

And indeed as NCC president, Stephen Harper led many important battles for freedom.

That’s a fact Simpson chooses to ignore, meaning he is either a shoddy journalist or a biased one – or maybe both.

Question Period Fun

For the first time ever I actually enjoyed watching Question Period in the House of Commons.

Why?

Well it wasn’t because of the level of debate. And it wasn’t because there was any lofty rhetoric or informative exchanges.

I enjoyed Question Period simply because the Liberals were the ones asking the questions.

That sounds petty, I know.

But admit it.

Isn’t there something satisfying about watching the once smug and arrogant Liberals wallow in the Opposition benches?

A little humility will do them some good.

Self-Promotional Alert:

I will be on the Stirling Faux Show on CHQR Calgary to discuss Senate reform at 10:45 AM EST.

Senate Reform

One of the items mentioned in the Throne Speech was Senate reform.

Certainly, this is an issue that needs debating. Our current Senate is an archaic, undemocratic national embarrassment.

Of course, fixing it won’t be easy.

Here are my thoughts on the subject from my column which appears in Report magazine.

Self-promotional Update:

I will be discussing Senate reform on Charles Adler Online, at 4:03 PM EST.

Gag Law on Last Legs?

One interesting promise in yesterday’s Throne Speech was the bit about “electoral reform.”

“This government,” declared Governor-General Michaelle Jean “will seek to involve parliamentarians and citizens in examining the challenges facing Canada’s electoral system and democratic institutions.”

Media pundits seem to think this is about studying things like rep by pop.

But I hope it’s more than that.

I hope Prime Minister Stephen Harper is also thinking about scrapping the notorious election gag law, which denies all Canadians the right to free speech during elections.

Certainly, Harper opposed gag laws when he was president of the National Citizens Coalition.

As I noted a few postings ago, Canadians want better government.

And restoring free speech is the best thing a government can do.

Media Alert:

I am scheduled to be a guest on CHQR's Dave Rutherford Show at 11:30 Alberta time to discuss the Throne Speech.

Play Ball

I know this is blog is supposed to be about politics. And I know that means I should write something about today’s Throne Speech.

But Greg Weston, who covers the House of Commons for Sun Media, today writes “While throne speeches have the fancy-sounding purpose of setting out the government's agenda for the new Commons session, they typically rank high on the list of parliamentary traditions ordinary Canadians can safely ignore.”

Read his whole column here.

Anyway, I will take Weston’s advice and ignore the Throne Speech so I can concentrate on something much more important: Opening Day for the Toronto Blue Jays.

To get everybody in the proper mood for what should be an exciting season here is a list of some great baseball sites I like to visit:

Major League Baseball’s official site: This is a great way to get the season stats and standings and scores all season.

Baseball Reference: The best place to get the history of any major league player that ever played or any major league team that ever existed. Be warned this can be a real time waster for anybody who loves baseball history.

MLB Rumours: Want to get the latest trade gossip about your favorite player; this is the place to get it.

Baseball Think Factory: This section of the Baseball Think Factory is sort of a clearinghouse for links to baseball columnists across North America.

Puresim Baseball: This is a cool PC game I own. It allows you to simulate any year in baseball history or to create your own fictional leagues. Check it out.

Hope you enjoy these sites. Hope you enjoy the upcoming season.

That is unless you are a Yankee fan.

Self-Promotion Alert

Had an op-ed published in the Windsor Star on Saturday.

It's based on a blog I posted here a few days ago.

New Parliament for Canada

A new Parliament convenes today.

But Canadians want and need more than just a new Parliament; they also need a new attitude of governing.

That means we need government that is honest; government that is accountable; and government that is simply better.

Of course, Prime Minister Stephen Harper faces the difficulty of heading a weak minority government.

Yet all parties have an interest in bringing about reform.

Canadians want to turn the page.

And woe to any political party that fails to heed that message.

Coalition Fights for Democracy

Now that Canada’s foreign policy seems to be grabbing bigger headlines these days, it might be useful to check out a group called Canadian Coalition for Democracies.

The CCD is a non-partisan, multi-ethnic, multi-denominational organization of concerned Canadians dedicated to the protection and promotion of democracy at home and abroad.

And the main goal of CCD is to influence the Canadian political process and public opinion to achieve a more pro-democracy foreign policy.

That means urging Canada to support its democratic allies: such as the United States, Israel, India and Taiwan.

In this day and age, the forces of democracy need all the help they can get.

Politics and Policy

Last night author and columnist David Frum gave a talk to the McGill Campus Conservative Club in Montreal.

Thanks to a kind invitation from Daniel King, I was lucky enough to be there.

What Frum told the standing-room only crowd was quite interesting.

First, he made no bones about the fact that U.S. President George Bush is in trouble right now – and not just because of the war in Iraq.

Frum’s point is that Bush’s brand of “compassionate conservatism” may have been good politics but what it lacked was sound policy.

Hence, today the Bush Administration lacks coherence on vital issues like taxes, government spending and immigration.

The lesson for the Canadian Conservative government, says Frum, is that “bad policy is bad politics”.

The Conservatives need to come up with principled policies on key issues if they are going to be successful.

Politics, after all, is more than just about winning elections – it’s about governing.

Watch the Aussies

John O’Sullivan writing in the March 27 edition of National Review does a magnificent job of skewering the wishy-washy, Red Tory-style policies of the British Conservative Party under their new leader David Cameron.

Writes O’Sullivan: “The Tories are still a party in search of a political philosophy, an empty vessel that, these days, is making a little more noise.”

He then goes on to suggest American conservative politicians should not seek to emulate the British Tory model, suggesting they look instead down under.

"If the GOP is looking for an example of a conservative party that is robust philosophically and successful electorally, it need look no farther than John Howard’s Australian Liberal party. Howard has won four successive elections, introduced a series of major conservative economic reforms, presided over astonishing growth in the Australian economy, and won over sections of the electorate that until recently were wedded to the Labour party. There are many reasons for Howard’s success. Most frequently mentioned is his perseverance. But I will hazard one of my own: Howard would rather be right than nice.”

Good advice for American conservatives. Good advice for Canadian conservatives too.

Frum Speech in Montreal

Noted author David Frum is giving a speech tomorrow night in Montreal on the “Future of Canadian Conservatism.”

I will be in Montreal tomorrow and will be in attendance – watch this space on Thursday for my review.

The McGill Campus Conservative club is sponsoring the event and it’s open to the public.

Cost is free for students and $5.00 for non-students.

To learn more about this event contact Daniel King.

Hope to see you there.

McGuinty vs. the Left

Left-wingers in Ontario are feeling mighty betrayed these days.

It seems Premier Dalton McGuinty isn’t exactly the “progressive” leader they were hoping he would be.

Just consider the Birkenstock brigades’ reaction to McGuinty’s latest budget.

Noted left-wing propagandist Linda McQuaig, for instance, complained in a recent column that the Liberal budget “came up with almost nothing for the poor.”

In fact, according to McQuaig, “McGuinty has actually made the plight of the poor worse.”

Not to be outdone, militant union boss Sid Ryan went so far as to suggest McGuinty was even worse than (horror of horrors) Mike Harris.

“The shocking reality,” wrote Ryan recently, “is that people on welfare and disability pensions were actually better off under the draconian Harris government.”

For a left-winger insults don’t get much worse than that.

But is McGuinty really all that bad? Or is spending more money on social programs really the way to help the poor.

No. See here for more on this angle.

It’s just that McGuinty is following the trail laid out by other left wing politicians like Tony Blair and Bill Clinton – forget about socialist dogma and make the Middle Class happy.

In short, the Liberals want Middle class votes more than they want the approval of anti-poverty advocates.

Sorry Linda, but your class warfare style politics are about as dated as mood rings and Nehru jackets.

Investment On the Move

In yesterday’s provincial budget, Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty announced the creation of a Move Ontario fund.

It’s all about spending tons of taxpayer dollars on things like subway extensions, on the TTC, on developing mass transit in places like Mississauga and Brampton and on road and bridge improvements in northern Ontario.

But as I was watching Finance Minister Dwight Duncan give the details yesterday, it occurred to me that the only thing this budget will move is investment right out of the province

After all, the budget did next to nothing about cutting Ontario’s high personal or corporate tax rates.

And until those taxes are cut, Ontario’s economic performance will suffer no matter how many subways and bridges McGuinty builds.

Corcoran On Budgets

Terence Corcoran, of the Financial Post, has a must-read column today on what he calls the balanced budget “hoax” provincial governments are pulling on taxpayers.

Writes Corcoran:

“If we needed conclusive evidence that the national fixation on balanced budgets and debt reduction has served no purpose except to lead Canadians into a government-spending free-for-all, this year's budget season should do the trick. Canadians have been hoodwinked by empty economic and political slogans about balanced budgets into a national spending extravaganza”.

Corcoran’s point is that governments across the country are awash in tax revenues and that makes it pretty easy for them to look fiscally responsible. In fact, they have so much money it takes some doing for them not to balance their budget. See Ontario for example.

And the problem is that all this news about balanced budgets and surpluses masks one important point: government are going on massive spending sprees.

Or as Corcoran puts it, “Fiscal responsibility acts and balanced-budget legislation are all the rage in political circles, a sort of joke on voters. Behind the facade of responsibility are spending rampages funded by rapidly rising government revenues.”

Sooner or later we are all going to have to pay for today’s reckless spending.

Fundraising Feudal Style

British Prime Minister Tony Blair is under investigation for allegedly selling seats in the House of Lords for secret loans to his Labour Party.

Don’t know if Blair is guilty or not, but just imagine how the Liberals here in Canada would have taken advantage of such a system.

Liberal bagmen would no doubt have handed out peerages like candy to their rich corporate buddies.

Of course, the rank would depend on the contribution with a scale like this:

Duke -- $10,000 contribution.

Viscount - $5,000 contribution

Earl - $2,000 contribution

Baron - $1,000 contribution

Knight - $500 contribution

In fact, this is such a lucrative concept the Liberals may just decide to make Canada a feudal system should they take power again.

But first they need to persuade us peasants to vote them in again.

Sex and the Single Squirrel

Premier Dalton McGuinty has gone on record defending his government’s decision to spend $150,000 in taxpayer’s money to study the sex life of flying squirrels.

Clearly Dalton must be running out of ways to waste our money.

Either that or he has developed some sort of weird fascination with the intimate lives of forest creatures.

Who knows, before long we could see government programs set up to distribute condoms to otters and woodchucks, or perhaps we will have a study on plight of gay porcupines or on the love life of the moose.

Let’s hope the animal rights groups take a stand on all this. After all, surely the state has no place in the bedrooms of our furry friends.

Meanwhile, the Sex Professionals of Canada are talking about the sex life of a different kind of animal: our politicians.

See here for a trenchant analysis of these rankings.

Of course, the real authority on sex is Woody Allen who once said, “Sex between a man and a woman can be absolutely wonderful - provided you get between the right man and the right woman.”

Wonder if it’s the same for flying squirrels?

Promoting Freedom In Windsor

I know it’s a little late to be posting this, but I want to mention the Windsor Liberty Seminar which I spoke at on March 11.

Congratulations to Matt Bufton and Janet Neilson who organized this wonderful seminar in the heart of NDP/Liberal country.

My topic was “Promoting a Freedom Agenda”.

That's a picture of me at the seminar trying to look like I know what I am talking about.

California Dreaming

Well I’m back from my southern California vacation.

I already miss the palm trees, the freshly picked oranges, the sunshine and of course, Disneyland.

What I don’t miss are the freeways (shudder).

But don’t worry; now that I’m back in the Great White North, I am not going to let the laid-back California life style change my hard-hitting take on Canadian politics.

In fact, I am already catching up on what’s happened over the past week so that I can provide some tough commentary.

First, however, I need a café latte.

Short Break

The blogging around here will be quiet over the next week.

Tomorrow I will be giving a speech on “Promoting a Freedom” agenda at the Windsor Liberty Seminar.

Then I am off to California for a week.

In theory, I could keep blogging while I’m away.

But you and I both know that isn’t likely going to happen.

Gairdner Blog

William Gairdner has an interesting new blog.

In case you don’t know him, Gairdner, besides being a former National Citizens Coalition chairman, is a one-time Olympian, the best selling author of the book The Trouble With Canada, and a brilliant political philosopher to boot.

And if none of that makes you want to read his blog, consider this: His latest posting is called, “Brain Sex”.

Now that’s political philosophy.

Brison Blunders II

When public figures are accused of wrong-doing, what often brings them down is not the deed itself but the covering up of the deed.

That might be the fate for Liberal MP Scott Brison.

Brison sent an email to a Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce employee on the eve of a crucial government announcement on income trusts. The former cabinet minister told his friend to expect good news.

Brison insists he did nothing wrong. He says he had no inside information.

Maybe.

But when confronted by Globe and Mail reporters a few days ago about this affair, Brison claimed he couldn’t remember sending the email.

Yesterday, however, he changed his story.

Now he admits to sending the email and says his earlier denial was made because he feared any comment would impede the police probe.

Yeah right.

Clearly, Brison’s bumbling of this whole mess has undermined his credibility.

Not that this turncoat had much credibility in the first place.

Brison Blunders

Former Liberal cabinet Minister Scott Brison’s continues on his Kamikaze career course.

Brison, who last year had to issue a groveling apology to the National Citizens Coalition for smearing us, and who once told a Liberal camapign worker to "kiss my a**" during a dispute in a public restaurant, is now, according to the Globe and Mail, under RCMP investigation in connection with the income trust scandal.

The Globe story alleges Brison sent an email to a Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce employee the day before Ottawa announced its policy on income trusts telling the recipient he would likely be pleased with the decision.

Brison, of course, is considered a front-runner in the upcoming Liberal leadership race.

And if that doesn’t tell you everything you need to know about the state of the Liberal Party nothing will.

I'm Back

I had a great time at the Liberty Fund.

Had lots of deep discussions about capitalism and socialism and freedom.

Also met lots of great people – all of whom were smarter than me.

Only blogger I met, however, was Sonia Arrison, a Canadian who works for the Pacific Research Institute in San Francisco.

You can check her blog out here. She has an interesting posting on possible plans to tax the Internet.

Also here’s some good news. I should soon be able to cross-post over at the Shotgun blog.

Fortunately, all that intellectual stimulation from the Liberty Fund seminars will give me all sorts of smart things to say.

At least that’s the theory.

Off to Vancouver

Good readers of my blog I am about to embark upon a hazardous and technically unexplainable journey into the outer stratosphere – otherwise known as Vancouver -- to confer, converse, and otherwise hob-nob with my brother right-wingers at a special conference.

I hope to continue my blogging while away but can’t guarantee it.

In the meantime have a good weekend everybody.

Compassion Liberal Style

It’s funny how words can mean different things to different people.

Take the word compassion.

To me compassion means feeling empathy for people who are enduring misery, or pain or suffering.

I, for instance, have great compassion for Toronto Maple Leaf fans.

For Ontario Liberals, however, compassion means something else.

Compassion for Ontario Health Minister George Smitherman means rejecting the lead of Alberta which is planning to give Albertans more choice when it comes to health care.

Compassion for Smitherman means patients suffering in pain must remain suffering in pain on long waiting lists.

Compassion for Smitherman means denying ailing Ontarians fast medical help, simply for the sake of socialist ideological purity.

In other words, Liberals are determined to be compassionate even if it kills us.