Ish Theilheimer and Samantha Bayard

Ish Theilheimer is founder and publisher of SG News and lives in Golden Lake, ON. Samantha Bayard is an Ottawa reporter and an editorial and administrative assistant at SGNews.

CFIA ordered to inspect beef bound for Japan, not for Canadians

Nov 302012

Hill report

Workers "were instructed to do it one way for a Japanese carcass and another way for a Canadian carcass."

by Ish Theilheimer and Samantha Bayard

OTTAWA, Straight Goods News, November, 29, 2012 — New evidence suggests that the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) safety standards are two-tiered, with one set of standards for Canadian consumption and another for those to be exported abroad. A September 2008 memo instructs inspectors to ensure all Japan-eligible beef has been 100 percent verified for removal of fecal, intestinal and spinal cord materials.

NPD agriculture critic Malcolm Allen told the House, "This memo was sent in 2008. We then saw 22 Canadians die of listeriosis and they resent the same memo. We then had the Weatherill report and they resent the memo.

"Was the minister really not aware front line food inspectors were being directed to ignore food safety procedures? Conservatives have lost all credibility on food safety, so will they now agree to an absolute audit of CFIA, as instructed in the Weatherill report, and do it now?"

Agriculture minister Gerry Ritz said the allegations were, "Totally unfounded. CFIA has the budgetary capacity, thanks to our government and not thanks to the NDP."

Later, however, Allen told SGNews he has been hearing from meat inspectors since the XL meat plant scandal came out. "What they’re saying is, 'Here’s what we were instructed to do. We were instructed to do it one way for a Japanese carcass and another way for a Canadian carcass.' So they don’t have to say it’s two-tier. We’re looking at a system that’s saying, 'Treat domestic cattle one way and treat export cattle totally differently.' And our view is they should all be treated exactly the same when it comes to fecal material that’s on cows and indeed spinal material that may be left in or ingesta that may be left on a carcass. It needs to all come off."

Malcolm Allen wants all meat to held to the same standard

As part of the inspection process any contaminated portions should be cut off, in the cases described here they were instructed to be washed off so as to not slow down or stop the line of production. Allen says veterinarians have suggested this is not an adequate option and could spread contamination throughout the carcass.

Harperites backpedal on F-35s

Nov 232012

Hill report

Ambrose hints at new criteria for $25 billion jet purchase.

by Ish Theilheimer and Samantha Bayard

OTTAWA, Novembr 22, 21012, (SGNews) — After months of denial, the Harper government appears to be backpedalling on the controversial sole-source purchase of F-35 jets that will cost taxpayers $25 billion or more.

Today, the NDP asked repeatedly if the government, in light of the tabling Wednesday of the public accounts committee's final report and of withering criticism of the plan from Auditor General Kevin Page, is changing its plans. Public works minister Rona Ambrose suggested, for the first time, that it might.

"Could the minister assure us that the requirements to replace the CF-18 have been changed?" asked the NDP's Matthew Kellway (Beaches-East York), in the House.

Ambrose replied, somewhat equivocally, "The options analysis is a full evaluation of choices, not simply a refresh of the work that was done before. That review of options will not be constrained by the previous statement of requirements."

Later, Kellway told SGNews, "If they’re not constrained by the current statement of requirements, then they’re back to free wheeling on this thing, because they haven’t confirmed that they changed or amended the statement of requirements, but they’re not being constrained by them either and so I think we’re at a point where the government is making it up as they go along now."

Matthew Kellway says the Conservatives are free-wheeling on the $25 billion F-35 purchase.

Kellway also said the Conservative-dominated public works committee's report doesn't respond to Page's recommendations. "It’s not dealing with the Auditor General’s report. If you put one up against the other, the AG’s report against what the Conservatives have produced, it is not responsive to the more fundamental criticism that the AG made and the point I raised today… Ultimately, if this government is going to undertake a real options analysis, they can’t do that until they confirm that there is a different statement of requirements and to ignore that criticism by the AG is to miss a foundational point of his report."

Trudeau and Grits suffer blows with anti-Alberta comments

Nov 232012

Hill report

Unearthed video clip combines with David McGuinty comments to damage Liberal prospects and leadership bid.

by Ish Theilheimer and Samantha Bayard

OTTAWA, November 22, 2012, (SGNews) — Federal Liberals and Justin Trudeau, resurgent in polls since Trudeau joined the party's leadership race, were dealt a double blow this week in the run-up to a prominent byelection in Calgary Centre. First, natural resource critic David McGuinty embarrassed his party with anti- Alberta comments and was censured by his own leader by having his critic portfolio yanked.

Then on Wednesday, the right-wing media empire Sun News aired a clip of Justin Trudeau two years ago in a French interview, in which he said, in French, "Canada’s in bad shape right now because Albertans are controlling our community and social democratic agenda. That’s not working."

Then he was asked if he thought Canada was "better served when there are more Quebecers in charge than Albertans." Trudeau replied, "I'm a Liberal, so of course I think so, yes. Certainly when we look at the great prime ministers of the 20th century, those that really stood the test of time, they were Mps from Quebec… This country, Canada, it belongs to us."

Although Trudeau's campaign team says the comments were taken out of context, observers see this comment as a body blow both to Liberal aspirations in Monday's byelection and to his own leadership bid. Even though the comments were from two years ago, they will be used repeatedly against him to by those raising judgement or arrogance as issues.

Immigration Jason Kenney was all smiles over the clip and seized the occasion to make himself available for a scrum with reporters, which Conservative Cabinet ministers rarely do. "This is another reflection of the arrogance of the Liberal Party, its divisiveness," he told reporters. "Yesterday Mr. Trudeau said that essentially David McGuinty was being divisive and that his campaign, the Trudeau campaign, is based on bringing Canadians together from all regions. And so we would ask, if that’s true, why was he on Quebec television criticizing Albertans for being involved in national politics, in our Parliament, for taking an active role in our country’s future?"

Jason Kenney pounces on anti-Alberta comments by McGuinty and Trudeau in a rare scrum.

Toews “beneath contempt” on Ashley Smith death

Nov 072012

Hill report

Minister makes political hay over death of mentally ill teen.

by Ish Theilheimer and Samantha Bayard

OTTAWA, Straight Goods News, November 6, 2012: Justice minister Vic Toews used the in-prison suicide of mentally-ill teenager Ashley Smith to score partisan points in House debate today.

When questioned by NDP MP Randall Garrison (Esquimalt-Juan de Fuca, NDP) about the correctional investigator's recommendations to prevent such tragedies, Toews lashed out. "I wish New Democrats would take a more balanced view about what it means to have a safe society, not simply the individuals in the prisons but those who are abused outside of the prisons."

NDP leader Tom Mulcair responded with shock. "Mr. Speaker, is that minister capable of understanding that she was the victim here?"

Again, Toews hit back, "Why is it that he is always silent when it comes to victims outside of our prisons?"

Later, NDP leader Tom Mulcair told reporters that what Toews said "shows a cold-heartedness and a partisan streak that simply fails to recognize that we’re dealing with a human being who was abominably treated by the system and who wound up dying and instead of showing compassion and care and responsibility for that, he turned it into his typical partisan rant and it’s beneath contempt the way the minister answered this afternoon."

Liberal leader Bob Rae told SGNews Toews' comments were "Completely unacceptable. I think he’s lowered the tone. I think by choosing to turn it into some kind of a partisan issue he shows that, frankly, he just doesn’t get it. And it shows that he doesn’t really understand to what extent Ms. Smith really in this particular case is clearly the victim."

Bob Rae and Tom Mulcair say Toews doesn't understand that Ashley Smith was a victim.

Harperites evasive on uranium exports and India’s weapons

Nov 072012

Hill report

Mulcair wants guarantees Canada won't again arm South Asia.

by Ish Theilheimer and Samantha Bayard

OTTAWA, Straight Goods News, November 6, 2012 — In the House today Tom Mulcair asked for but did not receive guarantees that the Prime Minister's nuclear agreement with India will only be used for peaceful purposes.

John Baird sidestepped the question saying Canada, "will honour all of our international agreements to ensure that Canadian nuclear material does not make its way into a weapons program."

Mulcair told SGN, "It’s quite clear that Canada was responsible for providing the nuclear material that went into the first bombs and that we’re going back 40 years. So Canada has always taken the position that we’re going to have our own ability to control what we would be sending to India in terms of nuclear material. Our question this afternoon was whether we'd got the guarantees that we require.

"What I got from John Baird was an ambiguous response. He said we were going to respect international agreements. But he never answered the question whether or not Canada's longstanding demand that before we treat again with India in matters of nuclear material that Canada would have the ability to check and to verify. We don't have that clearly from Mr Baird. He tried to divert the question."

Mulcair wants guarantees on India agreement

Reporter allegedly fired for too many questions about Nexen

Nov 072012

Hill report

The government has just badly messed up on this file – NDP's Peter Julian.

by Ish Theilheimer and Samantha Bayard

OTTAWA, Straight Goods News, November 5, 2012: Today the House debated the case of Manitoba reporter Jill Winzoski, who appears to have been fired for asking a Conservative MP embarassing questions over things like the takeover by Chinese interests of the Nexen oil company.

At issue was an email Conservative MP James Bezan (Selkirk-Interlake) sent to Winzoski — and later retracted — in which he said he did not support the Nexen deal. She was fired from her job at the Selkirk Record shortly afterward.

NDP energy critic Peter Julian told Straight Goods News: "I think it’s very disturbing that a journalist has lost her job after we had a backbencher in the Conservative Party telling the truth on his opinion as far as the CNOOC takeover of Nexen is concerned."

Science minister Gary Goodyear dodged all questions about Winzoski in the House.

Peter Julian says the Conservatives have botched the Nexen file

The NDP has repeatedly asked for a clear defininition of the "net benefit" to be considered for all major foreign investments in Canada. They want these terms clearly set before the Nexen deal is finalized.

"The government has just badly messed up on this file," Julian said. "There’s no other way to put it. We now have potential investors who are concerned because they’ve no clarity around net benefit."

With all the negative feedback they're getting on this, Julian thinks the Conservatives may try to finalize the deal quickly before the holiday break. "If they try to rubberstamp it around Christmas time and they think the public won’t be attentive to that — I think they’re deceiving themselves — because I think that Canadians will react very badly," said Julian.

MPs question Ashley Smith death

Nov 022012

Hill report

Solutions begin with changing how the system treats people who self-harm.

by Ish Theilheimer and Samantha Bayard

OTTAWA, Straight Goods News, November 1, 2012: Interim Liberal leader Bob Rae said today that the tragic case of teenager Ashley Smith, who committed suicide at Grand Valley Institution for Women in 2007, shows the Harper government wants to sweep the mistreatment of young people with mental health problems in Canadian prisons under the rug.

"Governments have a responsibility to get to the bottom of it and rather than doing that what we’ve seen is this government has done everything it can to prevent information from coming out," said interim Liberal leader Bob Rae.

Bob Rae says Ashley Smith's death should never have happened

NDP public safety critic Randall Garrison (Esquimalt-Juan de Fuca) was not as critical of the government. "I think there’s some value in the coroner’s inquest," he told reporters, But it’s really a rear view mirror and arguing about jurisdiction at the inquest isn’t going to solve the problem."

Garrison said solutions come from the Correctional Investigator, who, "Made very clear recommendations that we have to change the way the system treats people who self-harm in prison. So if you break your leg, you go out and you get special treatment to fix your leg. What we’ve traditionally done is people who self-harm are treated as acting out or misbehaving and they go into segregation so very clear recommendations that we not use prolonged segregation for people who do self-harm, that we get outside medical assistance for those people if it’s not available in the system and the CorrectionalInvestigator said we need an outside clinician to evaluate how we’re treating people with self-harm."

“Invasive” bill will hobble unions

Oct 312012

Hill report

C-377 divides Harper backbenchers, called unenforceable.

by Samantha Bayard and Ish Theilheimer

OTTAWA, October 30, 2012, Straight Goods News — The NDP today attacked a private
member's bill intended to hobble trade unions with costly paperwork and invasive demands.

Harperites remove protection from lakes – except in Conservative ridings

Oct 312012

Hill report

Bill creates exclusive club for environmental protection: Charlie Angus.

by Samantha Bayard and Ish Theilheimer

OTTAWA, October 30, 2012 — Straight Goods News: Among the top surprises in the latest Harper government omnibus budget implementation bill are changes to the Navigable Waters Protection Act.

News broke Tuesday that although most of Canada's lakes and rivers will lose protection under the changes, about 90 percent of the waterways that would remain protected would be in Conservative ridings.

Always navigation, never the environment

Oct 262012

Hill report

Opposition hammers transport minister about changes to Navigable Waters Protection Act.

by Samantha Bayard and Ish Theilheimer

OTTAWA, Straight Goods News, October 25, 2012 — the Harper government's newest omnibus bill includes changes to the Navigable Waters Protection Act that critics claim will help big corporate polluters by ignoring environmental concerns and tossing aside longstanding rules.

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