Government Cuts: Neglect and cruelty obvious on Vancouver streets

Friday, Oct. 21, 2010 will be seared in my mind forever. It was the day I found a man dead in a wheelchair in front of the McDonald’s at Robson and Bidwell. He had passed away right there on that busy city street, while hundreds of people walked by. He had been sitting there for eight hours. I know this because I had

passed him around 1 p. m. that same day.

When I noticed him earlier in the day, he looked small and frail, almost dwarfed by the wheelchair, which was drawn up next to one of those grey garbage cans. Parked beside him was a power-line truck, its ladder at a 45 degree angle. The man was looking right at the two men sitting in the truck, but they seemed oblivious to him. I was on my lunch break and hurried back to work.

Later that evening, around 9: 15 p. m. as I walked back home, the man was still in the exact same spot. He looked asleep, but his dark grey pallor bothered me.

He had sunken down low in the chair with a blanket over his shoulders and seemed smaller and more fragile than earlier in the day. I went over to him and asked him if he was okay, but he did not respond. A woman named Jennifer came by and asked me if the man was all right. I told her he might have passed away. She went up to the man, tried to wake him, but said he felt stiff. A young man named Pascal came along, said he knew the man from the streets, and also feared the man was dead.

As I did not have a phone with me, I went into McDonald’s and asked the manager to call 911. The manager came outside with his cellphone and spent 15 minutes trying to convince the 911 operator that this man needed assistance. Twenty minutes later an ambulance arrived and the medics put the man in the ambulance, saying they would try to revive him. Soon another ambulance arrived with equipment and a fire engine too, so the intersection was completely blocked off as onlookers began to gather.

A woman who knew the man came over to talk to us and said his name was Ken, that he was a nice man and that he had been hoping to get into Sunset Towers apartments on Barclay Street.

Soon one of the paramedics came out of the ambulance and said the man had passed away. Within minutes, all the vehicles were gone and all that was left on the street was the deceased’s wheelchair, a blanket and a plastic bag with some belongings.

It struck me that Ken had received more attention in death than he had in life. I thought of how this city, my city, puts more care into providing bike lanes for urban professionals than for housing the homeless. Mayor Gregor Robertson’s election promises ring incredibly hollow. It is often said that a society can be judged by the way it treats weakest members. If such is the case, Vancouver scores shockingly low on the scale of providing even the basic necessities of life to one elderly homeless man who died on Robson Street.

Shame on Vancouver for ignoring society’s most vulnerable, for marginalizing them, the poor, the sick, the drug addicted. Shame on the number crunchers who justify this callousness as a social problem, a product of poverty and mental illness. Shame on all of us for not taking up the cause of our society’s most disadvantaged, the ones we go out of our way to ignore every day.

If Robertson and the city of Vancouver would put one ounce of the passion into putting a few roofs over a few heads as they do with providing surplus recreation for the over-privileged, there’s one old man who might still be here today.

I for one can say that I am not proud at the moment to be a citizen of Vancouver.

source: http://digital.vancouversun.com/epaper/viewer.aspx

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Note from Voting 4 Change Across Canada Editor:

I do not know what is worse in this nightmare that Ken faced;

- That he died in broad daylight alone?

- That out of the 5 who voted thru Vancouver Sun (the source of this story) as to

  whether it was written well or not, that 2 readers gave it a thumbs down?

- Or that 'Norman dePlume' in his comment at the foot of the story likely represents a greater portion of society in their thinking then what I would like to give them credit for when he wrote;

"Could it not be possible that this person quietly and peacefully expired out in the fresh air on a warm early fall day in the most beautiful city in the world? Not in a car or plane crash, not at the destination of a bullet, not on an operating table at the hands of an incompetent surgeon, not on an overdose of anything, and almost certainly not in pain (otherwise passers by would CERTAINLY have noticed). I hope when my time comes, I am so lucky!"

Have we become so truly desensitized in Canada that any of us could think it is right to post such an ignorant statement; that a homeless elderly man who died outside and without any care in his final moments of life, in broad day light and passed by likely hundreds of people that day was lucky?

It is time for an overhaul across all political spectrums in Canada.

For a province and country that were able to rack up a deficit that even my grandchildren will still be paying in their generation, as the legacy to the 2010 Winter Olympics; how is it that people are still dying on the streets of our cities? How is it that the most vulnerable are the easiest targets by our respective levels of governments?

This is what you have elected. To bury your head and pretend it is not your problem, or to open your mouth and offer the rebuttal that this is the fallout from the last political party's doing, is cheap and pathetic! Bring CHANGE not rhetoric!

If you remain on the sidelines, no matter WHO you are, you are as guilty in the death of Ken and others that will certainly follow, no matter where they are in Canada.

You are guilty when you are silent and do not see it a priority to change the circumstance for the better!

Terrorism: Canada bans all direct air cargo flights from Yemen

Canada has banned all air cargo originating from Yemen just days after the discovery of two U.S.-bound parcel bombs from that country were stopped in Dubai and Britain.


"I want Canadians to be assured that they will be safe. We're not going to accept cargo from Yemen," Transport Minister Chuck Strahl said Monday. "We're examining the entire process in concert with our allies around the world."


While Strahl noted there are no direct flights between Canada and Yemen, he said wanted to be "absolutely clear" that the "interim measures" would ensure all cargo entering the country was safe and secure.


The precaution will be in place "for as long as it takes to ensure the security of Canadians and air cargo to Canada," added John Babcock, a spokesman for Strahl.

Britain and Germany have also banned cargo from Yemen in the wake of the security scare.


American authorities said Monday that the two bombs, hidden inside cargo packages addressed to Chicago synagogues, were meant to destroy the planes carrying them.


"Governments around the world are reacting similarly and, obviously, we have some grave concerns over what happened on the weekend," Strahl said.


"Public safety (and) security has to come first. . . . We're very concerned about that and share those concerns; (we are) working closely with our American counterparts who have taken similar actions."


The International Air Transport Association, which represents 230 airlines, including Air Canada and Air Transat, wants tougher measures to monitor cargo security following the incident.


It argues airports shouldn't be alone in trying to deal with security or terrorism threats. Instead, "supply-chain security" should be implemented long before a package is placed on a plane, said Steve Lott, spokesman for the North American branch of IATA.


"Every group that touches that piece of cargo needs to have responsibility for security, so airlines know no one has tampered with the product. Now we need to look broader, beyond what happens at the airport, because ultimately, the idea here is that the airport shouldn't be the first line of defence."


Inspections should take place each time cargo leaves a factory and each time it moves onto a new form of transportation, Lott added.


The IATA will present those arguments at an annual aviation security meeting Tuesday, when security heads from various airlines will meet in Frankfurt, Germany.


Liberal Senator Colin Kenny, former chair of the senate committee on national defence, said supply-chain security would be difficult to implement.


"Transport Canada cannot regularly check any goods being shipped; someone is named a secure shipper and that's it," he said. "People will take advantage of this and infiltrate these secured shippers."


Kenny said self-inspection programs should instead be replaced with a third-party organization conducting inspections and auditing cargo shipping.


"You can't have a system put in place and then forget it. Someone has to check that the system works and the facilities are secure," he said, suggesting Transport Canada is following a "slack system" with too few bodies to conduct routine inspections.


In May, the federal government announced a $95.7-million investment into the creation of a new Air Cargo Security Program, which would increase inspections and provide sophisticated equipment to scan cargo.


Andre Gerolymatos, a Simon Fraser University professor specializing in security and terrorism, said while he believes Canadian and American airlines share identical screening equipment, he thinks Canadian airports only conduct spot checks on cargo shipments.


He said current Canadian technology used can easily detect common explosives, but new screening equipment and protocols — which would be phased in over the next five years — will "considerably reduce" the risk of moving suspicious packages.

source: http://is.gd/gAMQv

Federal Immigration: Feds hold line on immigration for 2011

The federal government decision to hold immigration levels flat in the coming year reflects continuing concerns about the strength of the economic recovery, says Immigration Minister Jason Kenney.


Targets released Monday say the federal government intends to accept between 240,000 and 265,000 permanent residents next year, the same targets set for the current year.


"I think Canadians are generally supportive of immigration," Kenney told reporters Monday. "I don't, however, think they want to see huge increases beyond where we already are."


Kenney attributed the caution to the "fragile" economic recovery. "We're trying to reflect the fact that the economy is still somewhat soft," he told reporters after an appearance before the Commons immigration committee where he defended proposed new legislation to put "bogus" immigration consultants out of work.


Although the overall numbers remain the same for next year, there is a slight juggling of groups within those numbers.


The economic class of immigrants will still be the largest category, accounting for about 60 per cent of the total, but the actual number is estimated to drop by about 5,000.

This is to accommodate in part an expected climb of up to 3,000 from 2010 levels in the number of spouses and children who will be allowed to join economic class immigrants who have reached the stage next year when their families can join them in Canada.


Canada also is bumping up its intake of refugees by up to 3,000, an increase that reflects Ottawa's decision to accept more refugees from UN and other camps around the world.


Liberal Justin Trudeau, the party's immigration critic, said Canada should not raise immigration levels significantly until Canada does a better job of providing the services newcomers need to eliminate the current "success gap" that exists between Canadian-born residents and new immigrants.


New Democrat Olivia Chow said she is pleased the family category is getting a boost, but expressed concern that as many as 200,000 temporary workers will still be coming into the country next year. She said such high numbers are unacceptable when the jobless rate in Canada is more than eight per cent.


Kenney acknowledged that the possibility of more than 500,000 entering Canada next year as immigrants and temporary worker is a lot to absorb.


But he said the economy can handle the influx because it is in a "recovery phase." He also stressed the country is still experiencing labour shortages in some areas, and said that within the next five years, there is no growth projected in the homegrown labour force.


Speaking earlier in the day to a summit of 100 top employers in Canada, he urged them to be more aggressive in providing work experience to newcomers so they can get their foreign credentials recognized and upgraded.


"Our workforce will shrink without immigration and immigration will account for all our labour force growth within the next five years," he told his Toronto audience.


"If we don't begin to address the real barriers that prevent newcomers from entering their chosen profession in Canada, we actually risk a future where their current predicament could potentially have serious consequences for our country."

source: http://is.gd/gAMe6

Federal Justice: New rules expected to speed up mega trials

They're the kind of trials that go on for months, sometimes years — biker-gang trials, the Air India bombing case, the Willie Pickton serial-murder trial, and increasingly, routine murder and sex-assault trials.

With the justice system becoming more complex and sophisticated, Justice Minister Rob Nicholson will announce legislation Tuesday designed to reduce drawn-out "mega-trials" that he has said are consuming too much money and court time and "undermining public confidence in the law."

The legislation, promised in the throne speech opening Parliament last March, will be tabled in the House of Commons in response to several reports in recent years that have decried the fact that many criminal trials have taken on a life of their own.

The trend is attributed to more expansive and complex evidence, increased use of expert testimony, more aggressive courtroom conduct and the proliferation of preliminary applications involving admissibility of evidence, disclosure or Charter of Rights challenges.

Nicholson, in an August speech to the Canadian Bar Association, outlined many problems arising from mega-trials, including the risk of losing jurors, and even judges, and causing a mistrial. They can also infringe on a defendant's right to a speedy trial, leading to a stay of proceedings.

"Far from getting better, the problem is getting worse," he told lawyers. "Delays in bringing defendants to trial, combined with long, complex and sometimes fruitless prosecutions, have contributed to undermining public confidence in the law."

Mega-trials deal with serious offences such as organized crime, gang-related activity and terrorism. Proceedings can be exceptionally long because they often involve many defendants, multiple charges, complex evidence and lengthy investigations.

Federal changes have been in the works for six years, after a major Hell's Angels trial in Montreal in which 17 people faced various charges of murder, drug trafficking and organized crime came to halt after six months when the trial judge stepped down after he was reprimanded by the Canadian Judicial Council for insulting a defence lawyer in a bail hearing.

In previewing his plans at the legal conference, Nicholson said he will draw on the recommendations of several reports, including one last year from a federal-provincial steering committee. That expansive study called for numerous changes designed to streamline and bring renewed focus to mega-trials by giving them their own set of rules for judges and lawyers to follow.

One recommendation, which Nicholson noted he and his provincial counterparts have endorsed, would require any pre-trial motions for a case that ends in an aborted trial to be binding for any subsequent trials instead of going through the whole process again.

Other recommendations, for which there is a general consensus in mega-trial studies, include empowering judges to intervene earlier and more often to be on top of both pre-trial proceedings and lawyers' courtroom behaviour.

Ontario Attorney General Chris Bentley wrote Nicholson two years ago, following an endeavour to cut down on mega-trials in Ontario, seeking legislative changes that would allow a separate judge to handle pre-trial motions.

A 2008 report in Ontario, by academic Michael Code, who is now a judge, and Patrick Lesage — the retired chief justice of the Ontario Superior Court — called for legal aid to provide more generous "exceptional fees" for complex cases to attract more senior lawyers, and to appoint only the most respected Crown lawyers to preside over mega-cases.

Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin weighed in on the "increasingly urgent problem" of long trials in a Toronto speech three years ago. She noted that murder trials, which "not too many years ago" would be over in five to seven days, now last five to seven months and "some go on for years."

source: http://is.gd/gAJP1

Conservative Party: Harper's new chief of staff promises 'ethical wall'

Prime Minister Stephen Harper's incoming chief of staff has established an "ethical wall" that identifies how he won't be involved in certain issues — including discussion of the Canadian aerospace manufacturing industry — to avoid a conflict of interest.


The plan by Nigel Wright is laid out in documents provided to a parliamentary committee examining his appointment as Harper's top aide. Wright is on a temporary leave of absence from his job as managing director of Onex Corp., the Toronto-based private equity fund that manages billions of dollars in assets.


Opposition parties are concerned the temporary nature of his move to government could place the businessman in a conflict. Also, they note that Wright has worked on a wide range of issues for Onex in such areas as aerospace and defence. Critics say Wright will have to recuse himself so frequently from government discussions on those areas that he will be useless to Harper.


Wright, however, said his actions will be in full compliance with the Conflict of Interest Act, which he noted is designed to encourage "competent persons" to join government and also to "minimize the possibility of conflicts arising between the private interests and public duties of public office holders."


Wright started his leave of absence from Onex on Monday. He joins the Prime Minister's Office on Nov. 8 as a senior adviser and will become chief of staff on Jan. 1.

He said he has established a "conflict of interest screen," which he also calls an "ethical wall."


In the documents provided to MPs, he writes that he will "abstain from any involvement in the Canadian aerospace manufacturing industry."


Wright does not specifically say this would apply to discussions on the controversial F-35 fighter jet contract that has become a hot political issue, but the general wording of his promise likely means he will stay clear of the matter once in the PMO.


Furthermore, he writes that he will "abstain from any involvement in matters or issues" identified by Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner Mary Dawson as being subject to the ethical wall.


Dawson has identified several "matters or issues" that would be considered conflicts for him in government, says Wright.


They are:

- Any dealings that Onex Corp., its operating businesses, subsidiaries and affiliates may have with the federal government (Wright provides a list of the 40 Onex businesses affected);

- The taxation of the Canadian private equity industry and its participants, including tax treatment of carried interest;

- The tax deductibility of cross-border interest expense with corporate groups;

- Any other matter that Dawson later concludes should be made part of the ethical wall;

Wright says he will not access documents, attend cabinet or committees, be briefed orally or in writing, attend meetings or participate in discussions whenever these areas are on the table.


Liberal MP Wayne Easter described Wright's plan as a "convoluted mess" that will require an "army of bureaucrats" to sort through documents to ensure he doesn't see policy areas that are supposedly blocked by the ethical wall.


Easter predicted the arrangement won't work well.


"I actually think it's an impossible task, in terms of the ethical wall and the connections that this individual has."


NDP MP Pat Martin agreed, saying Wright will be "useless" to Harper because he'll recuse himself so often.


"Mr. Wright would have to be outside the cabinet room more often than he is in. It's an untenable situation."


But Andrew MacDougall, Harper's press secretary, said Wright is pleased to talk to the MPs Tuesday about the ethical arrangements he has made to serve in government.

MacDougall said it's important to note that Onex and its subsidiary companies have never lobbied or approached the PMO.


"That will give you an idea of how often Onex is in the government's face," he said. "It hasn't been for the entire time we have been in office, so Mr. Wright will be fully able to manage his duties."


Also in documents given to MPs, Wright reveals that he has appointed deputy chief of staff, Derek Vanstone, to be the "supervisor" of the ethical wall. Vanstone will ensure other senior officials know of its existence so they exclude Wright from relevant discussions.

source: http://is.gd/gAJ8X

Economy: Business community fights for tax cuts as Liberals vow to end them

(Perrin Beatty is president and chief executive officer of the Canadian chamber of commerce.)

Canada's business community launched a full-scale lobbying effort Monday urging MPs to support corporate tax cuts, which runs contrary to Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff's plan to cancel them if he wins the next election.


Perrin Beatty, president of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, says there is concern Parliament might block the next cut to the corporate tax rate — scheduled to take effect Jan. 1 — and such a move would stifle Canada's economic recovery.


"Parliament voted for this," he said. "Some people are proposing they reverse course and rescind it; we're saying it's the wrong thing to do if you want to create jobs and growth in the economy and that Parliament should keep its word."


The Conservative government is on track to continue with the cuts promised in 2007 that are being phased in over five years. But Ignatieff has said he would freeze the rate at its current level of 18 per cent. The NDP is also opposed to lowering the corporate tax rate.


The Canadian Chamber of Commerce, along with its provincial counterparts, began running ads Monday that say cancelling the cuts is "a disastrous idea" that would "put the brakes on" job growth and investment by businesses.


The Liberals got wind of the campaign before the ads were released and clearly felt they were the prime target.


"It has come to our attention that the Chamber of Commerce will initiate a new advertising campaign opposing policies that are advocated by the Liberal Party of Canada. Specifically, our plan to cancel the Conservative government's tax breaks for large corporations, in order to reduce the deficit and relieve the economic pressures facing Canadian families," Liberal finance critic Scott Brison wrote in a letter to Beatty last week.


The Liberals say the corporate tax rate is already competitive and that it isn't responsible to reduce it further when the country is facing a $56-billion deficit. (More recent projections by Finance Minister Jim Flaherty put the current fiscal year's deficit at $45 billion.)


Cancelling the tax cut would add about $6 billion to the country's revenues and the party says that extra cash would partly fund some of its platform promises, including the recently announced Family Care Plan.


However, a spokeswoman for Flaherty said later Monday that the $6 billion the Liberals claim will be saved through reversing the planned cuts is wrong. Annette Robertson, Flaherty's press secretary, said in an email that "once fully implemented, the value of the business tax cut amounts to $4.5 billion."


By taking a policy position in direct opposition to the country's biggest business groups, the Liberals run the risk of opening themselves up to criticism that they are anti-business. Brison argued in his letter, however, that the party would do more than the Conservatives to help business productivity by "making investments in learning, innovation, families and clean energy," while fighting the deficit.


Beatty denies the campaign is directed solely at the Liberals and said he doesn't want to be drawn into a political debate.


"They hadn't seen the ad, they're not mentioned in the ad, the ad is addressed to all parties, all MPs. Yet they decided it was aimed exclusively at them," he said. "It wasn't; it's aimed at all members of parliament to say 'keep your word.'"


Beatty will be pushing that message when he appears at the House of Commons finance committee Tuesday as part of pre-budget consultations.


He said businesses have been planning on the upcoming tax cuts when making decisions about hiring and spending accordingly, and need to feel confident while continuing to grow their operations, thereby stimulating the economic recovery.


Ken Kobly, president and CEO of Alberta Chamber of Commerce and another scheduled witness, said the government is going to be facing some tough budget decisions and he hopes it will resist any pressure to change its mind on the tax cut.


He also wants the opposition parties to support the measure, saying "every vote counts" on the budget during a minority Parliament.


"The message to Mr. Ignatieff is that we're coming out of a major downturn in the economy," he said. "There are some trends in the economy that are showing that it's going up and the best way to stimulate an economy that is coming out of a recession, in our opinion, is the reduction of corporate taxes."

source: http://is.gd/gAI8e

Environment: Enbridge refines best-laid pipeline plans

Pushing the proposed Enbridge Inc. Northern Gateway pipeline across the environmentally sensitive Morice River will involve drilling a 1.7-kilometre tunnel deep beneath the stream bed, according to project documents made public Friday.

The Morice, a tributary of the Skeena River, is one of 10 rivers on the proposed line's 1,172-kilometre route that Enbridge has proposed to cross using a technique called horizontal, directional drilling (HDD).

And Enbridge's initial plans for those crossings have been made available on the National Energy Board's website as part of the company's application for federal approval of the $5.5-billion project.

For the Morice, Enbridge picked directional drilling because of concerns raised by community groups and aboriginal communities about the project's impact on salmon in the river, according to Jason Harris, a fisheries biologist with Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipelines, the entity Enbridge formed to build the project.

"Some of the things we're looking at are [salmon] species present and the timing of their life stages, spawning for example," Harris said.

He said the plans Enbridge has filed are only preliminary and the scope of the Morice project will change in terms of the crossing length or depth of the drill based on detailed geotechnical engineering.

However, the preliminary plan is for the line to cross the Morice at a spot 50 kilometres southwest of Houston, which lies west of Prince George.

The length of the drilling path would be 1,772 metres, according to the plan, and, at its deepest, 95 metres below the Morice River's stream bed.

There would be two tunnels drilled, one for the 914-millilitre oil pipeline, and one for the 508-millilitre condensate pipeline that is part of the project.

However, the deep-drilled method does little to mitigate the concerns of project opponents who fear the possibility of a rupture of the oil line, which is being designed to pump 83.5 million litres of oilsands bitumen per day from a spot just north of Edmonton to Kitimat on B.C.'s coast.

"It's not so much the crossing or style of crossing, it's what's downstream of the crossing which is important," said Greg Brown, who speaks for the Friends of Wild Salmon, a coalition of conservation groups in the northwest.

Downstream of Enbridge's crossing, the Morice is braided in a warren of side channels and eddies, Brown said, where log jams form that are important rearing habitat for juvenile salmon.
He added that the area is an important spawning habitat for steelhead, pink, chinook and coho salmon.

"A Kalamazoo River-style rupture would be just disastrous for the Morice," Brown said, referring to the July rupture of an Enbridge pipeline in Michigan that spilled 19,500 barrels of oil into the stream.

Of the nine other stream locations that Enbridge has proposed to cross using horizontal, directional drilling, five are in B.C.

The first is at Hook Creek, a 672-metre crossing 602 kilometres into the route, on the east slope of the Rocky Mountains; the next is a 576-metre crossing of the Parsnip River 671 kilometres farther along.

The others are a 696-metre crossing of the Stuart River near Fort St. James; a kilometre-long crossing of Hunter Creek 1,099 kilometres along the route; and a 1.2-kilometre crossing of Wedeene River, 1,145 kilometres into the route.

The Northern Gateway pipeline route crosses 773 streams in total.

source: http://is.gd/gAFfq