Please tell me this is part spoof and part "truthiness" but the context sure fits our man Steve’s sense of his friend Dubya to a “T” (not Mr. T).
When the third largest US federal department is Homeland Security and that was accomplished in a mere 6 years you have to laugh and cry at this item. What can you say if and when the leader of the free world would see a return to better romantic comdies as a solution to American angst.
Gotta love The Onion!
Saturday, December 22, 2007
Friday, December 21, 2007
Has Calgary Sun Columnist Paul Jackson Been "Suspended?"
Tip of the Hat to RustyIdols for the links and the update.
It has been awhile since Mr. Jackson appeared in the Calgary Sun pages and based on this Fast Forward story out of Calgary, it has been a while since Mr. Jackson has shown up at the newspaper to talk to the Editor-in-Chief and face the music over his action.
We all have human flaws and foibles but the measure of the man, as my old man used to say, is to have the strength of character to take responsibility for ones actions and choices. We see a lot of cheap shots taken at politicians and Mr. Jackson is a “past” (sic) master at this written “art form.”
It has been awhile since Mr. Jackson appeared in the Calgary Sun pages and based on this Fast Forward story out of Calgary, it has been a while since Mr. Jackson has shown up at the newspaper to talk to the Editor-in-Chief and face the music over his action.
We all have human flaws and foibles but the measure of the man, as my old man used to say, is to have the strength of character to take responsibility for ones actions and choices. We see a lot of cheap shots taken at politicians and Mr. Jackson is a “past” (sic) master at this written “art form.”
I am not talking about commentary that is constructive criticism or opinion based on facts and honest and evidenced expressions of different perspectives. Readers of this blog know I take shots at politicians too. I even include a shot now and then at those politicians I really like. I try hard not to take cheap or personal shots. If political or personal ideology overrides intelligence, I will point it out. The key is to try and be constructive and informative and not merely partisan or ad hominem.
With Mr. Jackson MIA and presumable gone, and with the Western Standard effectively gone what will happen to the vitriolic voices of the anti-progressives and anti-liberals in Alberta?
I sure won’t miss the rants of the self-righteous right. But I am big on freedom of speech so I will still be avidly reading Link Byfield for my regular dose of the semi-Republican perspective of all things political.
It is Time For Alberta to Set Up a Comprehensive Volunteer Screening System
The media reports about child pornography charges against a school employee and volunteer involved with already vulnerable children are disturbing. The school system and the agency involved were quick to respond and did so effectively.
The question remains about how do we screen out people with inappropriate pasts and how do we continue to monitor changes in behaviours on an on-going basis that is cost effective and respects personal privacy?
The voluntary sector in Alberta under the leadership of Volunteer Alberta has been focused on this challenge for a couple of years at least. They have been advocating compulsory and comprehensive volunteer screening and police checks as part of the solution.
The question remains about how do we screen out people with inappropriate pasts and how do we continue to monitor changes in behaviours on an on-going basis that is cost effective and respects personal privacy?
The voluntary sector in Alberta under the leadership of Volunteer Alberta has been focused on this challenge for a couple of years at least. They have been advocating compulsory and comprehensive volunteer screening and police checks as part of the solution.
Full Disclosure…I had the opportunity to work with the voluntary sector on the issues and to study the practices and procedures in place for volunteer screening around Alberta. Here is a link to our report and recommendations.
The risks are to vulnerable Albertans who are served by the voluntary sector, the volunteers themselves and the agencies and directors who may face liability and will could become uninsurable for certain third-party liability risks without a government intervention to help ensure the safety and security of vulnerable clientele. Without insurance coverage these organizations will not survive.
Our report recommendations are as current today as they were in the summer of 2006 when the report was presented to government. This is a critical and complex public policy issue that ought to be undertaken by governments. A confidential, centralized comprehensive and authoritative volunteer screening and checking system should be designed, developed and implemented in conjunction with the Office of the Privacy Commissioner.
There needs to be due diligence procedures in place and training done in the voluntary sector to ensure the operational integrity and effectiveness of any policy. There needs to be a balance between public protection and personal privacy. There must be an on-going and confidential feedback loop to the voluntary sector agencies as the facts about the behaviours of volunteers may change over time.
There has to been reluctance that morphed into inertia at the provincial government level on dealing with this issue. If the government of Alberta is serious about health wellness and prevention, including mental health of potential victims, setting up a system for police checks and volunteers screening is a cost effective step in the right direction. It will not be fool-proof but it will discover inappropriate “volunteers” and tend to discourage and deter them from “volunteering” in the first place.
There are 19,000 registered not-for-profit organizations in Alberta who do great work in all kinds of service areas in our society. The management, directors and agencies themselves are at serious risk without proper police checks and volunteer screening policies in place. We can see, as evidenced by the recent child pornography charges, the systems can work effectively but they are no iron-clad guarantee of protection. Life is not that simple.
This matter of volunteer screening is a public safety and security need that must be addressed. It is a societal values issue that requires we also ensure adequate protection for the generous and compassionate good citizens who volunteer their time and skills to serve the greater good in our communities. It is a practical problem that will not go away or solve itself over time. It needs government intervention and some political will activiated now!
Premier Stelmach, please move immediately on the recommendation in this report on police checks and volunteers screening that commissioned by the not-for-profit voluntary sector about two years ago. Matching grant programs are great and welcome but this issue is one that, if left unattended by government policy and action, can undermine the effectiveness and even the existence of many service providers in the voluntary social services sector.
The risks are to vulnerable Albertans who are served by the voluntary sector, the volunteers themselves and the agencies and directors who may face liability and will could become uninsurable for certain third-party liability risks without a government intervention to help ensure the safety and security of vulnerable clientele. Without insurance coverage these organizations will not survive.
Our report recommendations are as current today as they were in the summer of 2006 when the report was presented to government. This is a critical and complex public policy issue that ought to be undertaken by governments. A confidential, centralized comprehensive and authoritative volunteer screening and checking system should be designed, developed and implemented in conjunction with the Office of the Privacy Commissioner.
There needs to be due diligence procedures in place and training done in the voluntary sector to ensure the operational integrity and effectiveness of any policy. There needs to be a balance between public protection and personal privacy. There must be an on-going and confidential feedback loop to the voluntary sector agencies as the facts about the behaviours of volunteers may change over time.
There has to been reluctance that morphed into inertia at the provincial government level on dealing with this issue. If the government of Alberta is serious about health wellness and prevention, including mental health of potential victims, setting up a system for police checks and volunteers screening is a cost effective step in the right direction. It will not be fool-proof but it will discover inappropriate “volunteers” and tend to discourage and deter them from “volunteering” in the first place.
There are 19,000 registered not-for-profit organizations in Alberta who do great work in all kinds of service areas in our society. The management, directors and agencies themselves are at serious risk without proper police checks and volunteer screening policies in place. We can see, as evidenced by the recent child pornography charges, the systems can work effectively but they are no iron-clad guarantee of protection. Life is not that simple.
This matter of volunteer screening is a public safety and security need that must be addressed. It is a societal values issue that requires we also ensure adequate protection for the generous and compassionate good citizens who volunteer their time and skills to serve the greater good in our communities. It is a practical problem that will not go away or solve itself over time. It needs government intervention and some political will activiated now!
Premier Stelmach, please move immediately on the recommendation in this report on police checks and volunteers screening that commissioned by the not-for-profit voluntary sector about two years ago. Matching grant programs are great and welcome but this issue is one that, if left unattended by government policy and action, can undermine the effectiveness and even the existence of many service providers in the voluntary social services sector.
Monday, December 17, 2007
Harper's Foreign Investment Review Policy Targets China
Here is our regular monthy column that we do for the LaPresse newspaper in Montreal. It was publised last week.
The Broken Equilibrium of the Canadian Economy
Satya Das et Ken Chapman
Surging oil prices and the rising Canadian dollar will profoundly alter Canada’s equilibrium. The short-term volatility in commodity and currency markets this week is a blip on the way to $100-oil. Rising oil prices drive the dollar’s strength, as does Canada’s fiscal stability and its falling national debt.
The Canadian economic balance – relatively cheap energy prices, a weak dollar, a flourishing manufacturing industry – has been under threat throughout the early years of the new century. Now, it is definitively broken. The contrast is ever clearer between the energy-fuelled boom of Alberta and British Columbia, and the manufacturing economies of Central Canada reeling with higher input costs and reduced export revenues from the United States.
The Bank of Canada faces the difficult – if not impossible – demands of reconciling these two economies under a single fiscal policy that works to the benefit of each. Politicians aren’t likely to be satisfied with the Bank’s logical response – to concentrate on its core mission of controlling inflation, thereby preserving the intrinsic value of the currency.
The realistic answer of what to do about expensive oil and the high dollar is: get used to it. While this may be no comfort to a manufacturing sector in turmoil, the only viable strategy is to adapt to this new reality, no matter how painful this may be in the short-term. Canada, with the world’s second largest oil reserves, is the only stable democracy with a secure and abundant hydrocarbon supply. Despite the high costs of energy production in Alberta – and a recent announcement of higher royalties beginning in 2009 – the “democracy premium” is seen as well worth the price to a world thirsty for more and more oil and natural gas.
This trend is unlikely to change soon, according to the International Energy Agency, despite a growing and justified public unease about climate change and the sustainability of the hydrocarbon economy. In fact, preliminary findings from research being conducted by our firm show Albertans deeply committed to protecting habitat and capturing carbon emissions as the oil sands are developed to feed the world’s energy hunger.
Yet rising oil prices are not necessarily a disaster for Quebec and our other Canadian partners. More than half of the government revenue from oil sands development goes to the federal government. In 2006, the federal share amounted to $12 billion. This goes a long way in equalization payments, and amounts to more than a third of Ottawa’s transfer payments for health and social services.
Moreover, compared with Alberta, Quebec enjoys significant economic diversity. Quebec is home to Canada’s largest money pool, the $240 billion Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, and the tens of thousands of families it benefits. (By contrast, Alberta’s Heritage Savings Trust Fund, set up by Peter Lougheed to house petrodollar revenue, only has about $15 billion saved because government kept on diverting the interest income for general expenses). Despite recent revelations regarding its investments and fiscal performance in La Presse, the very existence of the Caisse and its clout in international markets is an asset that is the envy of other provinces.
Aerospace, the financial services sector, biotechnology, health and of course tourism are major contributors to the Quebec economy. More than 100,000 highly skilled Quebecers work in the IT industry alone. The concentration of skilled workers is surely a result of widely available and reasonably priced higher education – Quebec tuition fees are typically less than half of what college costs in Anglophone and Allophone Canada. Indeed, one can assert that Quebec is strongly placed to compete globally in the knowledge economy, precisely because it doesn’t have the “easy” money of Alberta’s petrodollars.
The challenge for Canada is to wisely invest the economic benefits of the energy boom – remember the federal share is greater than Alberta’s – in building an even stronger knowledge economy. And to apply that knowledge to “greening” our collective future by making environmental sustainability and stewardship the essential precondition of developing our energy resources.
The Broken Equilibrium of the Canadian Economy
Satya Das et Ken Chapman
Surging oil prices and the rising Canadian dollar will profoundly alter Canada’s equilibrium. The short-term volatility in commodity and currency markets this week is a blip on the way to $100-oil. Rising oil prices drive the dollar’s strength, as does Canada’s fiscal stability and its falling national debt.
The Canadian economic balance – relatively cheap energy prices, a weak dollar, a flourishing manufacturing industry – has been under threat throughout the early years of the new century. Now, it is definitively broken. The contrast is ever clearer between the energy-fuelled boom of Alberta and British Columbia, and the manufacturing economies of Central Canada reeling with higher input costs and reduced export revenues from the United States.
The Bank of Canada faces the difficult – if not impossible – demands of reconciling these two economies under a single fiscal policy that works to the benefit of each. Politicians aren’t likely to be satisfied with the Bank’s logical response – to concentrate on its core mission of controlling inflation, thereby preserving the intrinsic value of the currency.
The realistic answer of what to do about expensive oil and the high dollar is: get used to it. While this may be no comfort to a manufacturing sector in turmoil, the only viable strategy is to adapt to this new reality, no matter how painful this may be in the short-term. Canada, with the world’s second largest oil reserves, is the only stable democracy with a secure and abundant hydrocarbon supply. Despite the high costs of energy production in Alberta – and a recent announcement of higher royalties beginning in 2009 – the “democracy premium” is seen as well worth the price to a world thirsty for more and more oil and natural gas.
This trend is unlikely to change soon, according to the International Energy Agency, despite a growing and justified public unease about climate change and the sustainability of the hydrocarbon economy. In fact, preliminary findings from research being conducted by our firm show Albertans deeply committed to protecting habitat and capturing carbon emissions as the oil sands are developed to feed the world’s energy hunger.
Yet rising oil prices are not necessarily a disaster for Quebec and our other Canadian partners. More than half of the government revenue from oil sands development goes to the federal government. In 2006, the federal share amounted to $12 billion. This goes a long way in equalization payments, and amounts to more than a third of Ottawa’s transfer payments for health and social services.
Moreover, compared with Alberta, Quebec enjoys significant economic diversity. Quebec is home to Canada’s largest money pool, the $240 billion Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, and the tens of thousands of families it benefits. (By contrast, Alberta’s Heritage Savings Trust Fund, set up by Peter Lougheed to house petrodollar revenue, only has about $15 billion saved because government kept on diverting the interest income for general expenses). Despite recent revelations regarding its investments and fiscal performance in La Presse, the very existence of the Caisse and its clout in international markets is an asset that is the envy of other provinces.
Aerospace, the financial services sector, biotechnology, health and of course tourism are major contributors to the Quebec economy. More than 100,000 highly skilled Quebecers work in the IT industry alone. The concentration of skilled workers is surely a result of widely available and reasonably priced higher education – Quebec tuition fees are typically less than half of what college costs in Anglophone and Allophone Canada. Indeed, one can assert that Quebec is strongly placed to compete globally in the knowledge economy, precisely because it doesn’t have the “easy” money of Alberta’s petrodollars.
The challenge for Canada is to wisely invest the economic benefits of the energy boom – remember the federal share is greater than Alberta’s – in building an even stronger knowledge economy. And to apply that knowledge to “greening” our collective future by making environmental sustainability and stewardship the essential precondition of developing our energy resources.
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Will the Alliance and Wildrose Parties Bring Down Ed Stelmach?
I see Grog commenting on this Blog and I found that he resides at The Cracked Crystal Ball II Blog. I recommend you visit him and daveberta for more updates on amazing political adventures of Craig Chandler.
I wonder if the polls referenced in the Chandler Fundraiser Letter at CTV Calgary and the Calgary Herald were those much abused and laughably unscientific web based “polls” that can be invaded by self-selecting and self-interested trolls. My guess it they were.
I wonder if the polls referenced in the Chandler Fundraiser Letter at CTV Calgary and the Calgary Herald were those much abused and laughably unscientific web based “polls” that can be invaded by self-selecting and self-interested trolls. My guess it they were.
The line that I liked most from the Fundraising Letter was "Alliance, the Wildrose Party, Independents and many from the Alberta Progressive Conservative Party who are organizing to insure that Ed Stelmach is not supported in his next leadership review."
So Alliance and Wildrose members will get together with independents and some PCs, all under the Craig Chandler as martyr banner and conspire to take Ed Stelmach out as Progressive Conservative leader?
They obvously need a common enemy in order to have something they can agree on! Sweet!
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