Samantha Bayard is a young journalist living and working out of Ottawa. She has been a contributor to the Straight Goods News family of websites since 2009. She is an avid cyclist and lover of animals.
Hundreds of scientists marched to Parliament Hill for a mock funeral on Tuesday, responding to an online invitation distributed by unnamed concerned Canadian scientists and their supporters. As scientists consider the end of programs like the Experimental Lakes Area, a metaphor does come to mind.
by Samantha Bayard
OTTAWA, Straight Goods News, March 21, 2012 — Federal public servants are speaking out against harsh expected budget cuts and the "sly" way the government is going about introducing them.
Canada's largest federal public sector union held a reception on Parliament Hill to illustrate the value of its members' work by showcasing public servants from across the country providing essential services to seniors and veterans and those who inspect food and orchestrate search and rescue missions.
"The government is hiding behind secrecy and mixed messages because it knows that the austerity agenda won't stand up to public scrutiny and we worry it is going to implement its austerity agenda with cuts by stealth," said PSAC national president John Gordon. "We are calling for an end to all this secrecy and for this government to implement an accountable, transparent plan that protects our economy and the public services Canadian's rely on."
by Samantha Bayard
Next in the Robogate scandal: awarding the Chief Electoral Officer the powers to investigate thoroughly. Both opposition parties wish to extend the reach of the CEO, allowing him to request documentation. The Conservatives preferred a more roundabout way of investigating using external auditors, probably in hopes of sharing the blame with the opposition.
Shockingly the Conservatives conceded — perhaps giving into the will of the public, after weeks of attacks and denial. "Are the wheels beginning to fall off their wagon? Are they finding some oxygen and figuring out what the right thing to do is? I don't know," said David Christopherson (NDP MP for Hamilton Centre).
MP David Christopherson says Harperites suddenly came to their senses
Bob Rae, Liberal interim leader, continued putting pressure on the government for the Robogate scandal by bringing up the Etobicoke Centre riding, one of the cases he feels drove Elections Canada to investigate. He also commented on the Air Canada lockout, critiquing the Harper government for interfering with an outside dispute. "All the steps they've taken have made a real farce of collective bargaining in the public sector," he said.
Bob Rae talks about Etobicoke Centre and Air Canada
Lisa Raitt, Minister of Labour, spoke about Air Canada, where pilots and machinists were nearing the end of their contracts. She referred the disputes to the Canada Industrial Relations Board, thus putting a stop to any looming March break strike. Her reason? "Given our fragile
Lisa Raitt squelches Air Canada workers' right to strike
Yvon Godin, NDP labour critic, protests that Raitt has stepped beyond the bounds of her role. He feels she should encourage the unions and employers to get back to the bargaining table and suggested that she is in the back pocket of big corporations.
MP Yvon Godin criticizes Labour Minister Lisa Raitt's choices
Early in the week, Megan Leslie, the NDP Environment critic, revealed that an Environment Canada
NDP MP Megan Leslie discusses conflict of interest at Environment Canada
On March 5, a 30 minute video by Invisible Children went viral. Through the power of social media, 55 million people learned about horrors which occurred at the hands of the Lord's Resistance Army in Uganda and other African countries. Overnight, Invisible Children made Joseph Kony infamous globally. Since then, the video has sparked controversy and discussion around the world.
Justin Trudeau, Liberal MP for Papineau, spoke about how the video demonstrated the power of social media, and how he feels the topic requires more research, thought and nuisance.
"I think this government is a lot more ready to pay attend to social media and people taking an interest in political affairs. I certainly hope that the Prime Minister will pay attention to this," said Trudeau in a scrum.
Justin Trudeau talks about the Kony 2012 viral video
Drug shortages have quickly have become a global problem. When the Canadian government failed to fix the problem, in recent days the American Federal Drug Administration (FDA) has stepped to help Canada cope. Why has our government been so lax: perhaps from fear of stepping on corporate toes?
"There have been warnings for the last year and a half about severe drug shortages, which many critically ill patients are now facing. What did the minister do in response? She created a website. That is cold comfort for those who need those prescriptions," said Libby Davies (Vancouver East) in the Commons.
On Thursday, Liberal Health critic Dr Hedy Fry put together a press conference and brought up the Conservatives' incompetence in not acting to prevent drug shortages and only requiring voluntary participation of drug companies. She said, "The Health Minister is responsible for the protection and the health of Canadians, not for the protections and the health of industry."
Dr Hedy Fry blames the government for global drug shortages.
The Harper Government was able to fulfill their promise to pass the Omnibus Crime Bill, Bill C10 through Parliament within 100 days. They silenced debate on tough Opposition questions like mandatory minimums, cost and a number of other factors. On Monday, Defence Minister Rob Nicholson sidestepped criticism about the cost to be shouldered by the provinces and touted proudly that with a majority, the power is in Harperite hands.
Defence Minister Rob Nicholson ducks questions about C-10's cost to the provinces
Jack Harris, (NDP MP for St. John's East) describes how the Conservatives never really fleshed out how much Bill C10 would cost. In fact, he says that Statistics Canada had to put together some last minute statistics based on information from the Parliamentary Budget Officer, because the Harper Government didn't request them any earlier. He feels the government has dropped the ball on the significant cost of Bill C10. "It's pretty obvious that the government didn't do its homework. When you make a submission to Cabinet on legislation I think you are supposed to tell the Cabinet how much this is going to cost the country. I don't think they did that," said Harris.
NDP MP Jack Harris criticizes the cost of Bill C10
Charlie Angus discussed the differences between the Liberals and Conservatives "dirty tricks" and highlighted the most important issue at hand — the widespread pattern that likely fingers the Tories as the culprits of electoral fraud. "Let's not lose sight of the more serious issue of people misrepresenting themselves as Elections Canada, telling you to go vote in the wrong place so your ability to vote is deliberately interfered with," said Angus.
Over the weekend, the Manning Centre hosted a convention where Conservative strategists discussed tactics and political process. The meeting discussed the idea of abolishing or at least no longer televising Question Period, which one Conservative backbencher described as "stunningly horrible, a complete waste of time and a public zoo". Charlie Angus understood why the Conservatives would want to be rid of it: "they seem to hate to be questioned to any capacity."
NDP MP Charlie Angus talks about Electoral Fraud and Question Period.
eMail: Samantha@straightgoods.com
Discussion paper would permit huge processing ships for inshore Atlantic fisheries.
by Samantha Bayard
The struggling Atlantic fisheries appear to be threatened by new policies proposed in January and February discussion papers from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans. At issue is the long-established concept of "fleet separation", which prohibits gigantic corporate ships that process fish as well as catch them. Fleet separation helps maintain the shore industry as well as the fleet industry, in the valuable in-shore fisheries.
NDP MP Jack Harris explained why the fleet separation is essential to maintain in his St John's East (Newfoundland) riding and across the region. "It's a simple separation of the harvesting from the processing," he said. "It is what allows the communities a connection with the fish in the sea."
