Reflections, Observations, and Analyses Pertaining to the Canadian Political Scene
Sunday, June 9, 2019
Saturday, June 8, 2019
If You Follow Ontario Politics
H/t Patrick Corrigan
If you need a bit of a primer, however, allow me to introduce the chief sheep:
We think it’s only fair that Ontarians can buy beer or wine at local stores like this one here in York-Simcoe and across Ontario. pic.twitter.com/Zt8IwCyNtq
— Caroline Mulroney (@C_Mulroney) June 3, 2019
We are giving the people of Newmarket—Aurora choice and convenience when buying beer and wine to enjoy responsibly. Ontarians should be able to support local businesses by buying beer and wine from convenience stores like Andrew’s Convenience. pic.twitter.com/LMSBwqcVk1
— Christine Elliott (@celliottability) June 1, 2019
(Parentetically, Ms. Elliott was promoting a store that was convicted of selling an e-cigarette to an underage customer.)
If you're picking up some chips and dip at Anthony's store on Highway 17 East of North Bay, wouldn't it be nice to grab some beer or a bottle of wine too? We hear you! pic.twitter.com/raiUhBbx37
— Victor Fedeli (@VictorFedeli) June 1, 2019
Those who have sold their souls to Dear Leader may very well be experiencing considerable psychic and moral pain; one hopes, however, that Ms. Mulroney, Ms. Elliott, Mr. Fedelli and all others in the sheep brigade seek professional help for their alcoholic preoccupations.
Thursday, June 6, 2019
This Is The Mentality We Are Dealing With In Ontario
They must have taught Grade 10 history a little differently at Toby Barrett's high school. #onpoli #BillionABeer pic.twitter.com/g9aNkfHZ79
— Nathan Sager (@n8sager) June 5, 2019
Tuesday, June 4, 2019
Shameful Self-Abasement
We think it’s only fair that Ontarians can buy beer or wine at local stores like this one here in York-Simcoe and across Ontario. pic.twitter.com/Zt8IwCyNtq
— Caroline Mulroney (@C_Mulroney) June 3, 2019
Here are some samples of the jeering responses by voters:
“Cannot believe they are back at their stupid photos. Thought the general mocking of the gas station selfies would have maybe taught them something?” said a tweet from Barb Hickey, a self-described “political junkie and rebel” in Toronto.Meanwhile, the province continues down its chaotic path. A mere year after its election, the Ford government has done much, much damage, aided and abetted by a coterie of supine cabinet ministers, of which the above Caroline Mulroney is but one. You can read more about the whole sorry set of collaborators in this editorial.
That was one of several references to a previous social media campaign in which Conservative MPPs pictured themselves filling up at gas stations before a federal carbon tax took effect on gas prices.
“Nope, not needed, won’t change my mind. Spend as much time on health care and education as you do on booze,” wrote Frances Mote, a human resources consultant.
Health Minister Christine Elliott came under fire from well known emergency physician and media personality Dr. Brian Goldman for tweeting a picture of Andrew’s Convenience in her Newmarket riding and touting the “choice and convenience” of wider beer and wine sales.
“What in the Sam Heck is a HEALTH MINISTER doing tweeting this,” Goldman said.
Thursday, May 30, 2019
Friends In High Places Are Good (For Some)
Having friends in high places is certainly something the wealthy must savour as they continue to hide money in offshore tax havens. Yes, the very same havens the Trudeau government promised to crack down on. And the very same tax havens that, as I recently posted, seem to inspire timidity in our Canada Revenue Agency.
A new report by the CBC/Fifth Estate suggests that timidity is deepening:
The Canada Revenue Agency has once again made a secret out-of-court settlement with wealthy KPMG clients caught using what the CRA itself had alleged was a "grossly negligent" offshore "sham" set up to avoid detection by tax authorities, CBC's The Fifth Estate and Radio-Canada's Enquête have learned.Apparently, who you are and what you are worth entitles you to special privileges, including a totally sealed record of your settlement with the CRA:
This, despite the Liberal government's vow to crack down on high net-worth taxpayers who used the now-infamous Isle of Man scheme. The scheme orchestrated by accounting giant KPMG enabled clients to dodge tens of millions of dollars in taxes in Canada by making it look as if multimillionaires had given away their fortunes to anonymous overseas shell companies and get their investment income back as tax-free gifts.
... tax court documents obtained by CBC News/Radio-Canada show two members of the Cooper family in Victoria, as well as the estate of the late patriarch Peter Cooper, reached an out-of-court settlement on May 24 over their involvement in the scheme.Quite understandably, many are outraged by this:
Details of the settlement and even minutes of the meetings discussing it are under wraps. A CBC News/Radio-Canada reporter who showed up to one such meeting this spring left after realizing it was closed to the public.
Toby Sanger, executive director of the advocacy group Canadians for Tax Fairness, says the CRA should never have agreed to settle the case.
"I think it's outrageous," he said. "We've had a lot of tough talk and promises from this minister [National Revenue Minister Diane Lebouthillier] about how they will crack down on tax evasion by the wealthy and corporations, but unfortunately we've seen no evidence of this so far."
The Trudeau government's previous tough talk on the so-called KPMG sham had come after a document leaked to The Fifth Estate/Enquête showed the CRA itself had offered a secret "no penalties" amnesty in May 2015 to many of the other KPMG clients involved in the scheme.Apologists for the Trudeau government will insist that the CRA was acting independently of the government, but that clearly flies in the face of reality, given Trudeau's promises in 2017 to do a "better job of getting tax avoiders and tax frauders."
The CRA offered to have them simply pay the back taxes owed — but with the condition they not tell the public about the offer.
Like their attempts to influence the course of justice in the SNC-Lavalin affair, this latest report is yet one more arrow indicating where the sympathies and loyalties of our federal government really lie.
Tuesday, May 28, 2019
Too Good Not To Share
Reminds me of the old "Niagara Falls" sketch, where the words trigger violent outbursts. Similar to the reaction from LPC partisans when you dare criticize PMJT.https://t.co/MWwFFJk8et
— Mike Vlasic 🛶🎣 (@MikeMcPickles) May 28, 2019
Monday, May 27, 2019
UPDATED: You're A Mean One, Mr. Ford
In a move that will surely swell the tiny hearts beating within the breast of Ford Nation, the Ontario government is eliminating a benefit that helps children of the poor, especially those claiming refugee status:
The cut, buried in April’s provincial budget, will end the Transition Child Benefit which provides up to $230 per month, per child in families on welfare who are not receiving the Ontario and Canada child benefits, such as refugee claimants.Those who favour tighter refugee and welfare rules will likely be exuberant over the deprivations they cuts will wreak. Others, with their humanitarian instincts intact, are horrified:
The move, scheduled to take effect Nov. 1, will affect an average of 16,000 children a month province-wide, according to the government.
“To me, this is the nastiest cut,” said Toronto Councillor Shelley Carroll, a member of the city’s economic and community development committee, responsible for the local welfare system.
It is part of an estimated $177 million in provincial budget cuts to the city that threaten child care subsidies, school nutrition programs and free dental care for low-income children, among others services.
In Toronto, the loss of the Transition Child Benefit will mostly hurt kids in families making refugee claims, said City Manager Chris Murray in a memo to councillors earlier this month.One such victim will be Eritrean refugee claimant Samu Abdel, 37,
who has three young sons, including one with spina bifida, the benefit has been critical to her ability to support her children.But such concerns seem to matter not to those wielding ever-sharper hatchets as they seek to cut the deficit, insisting that they are actually improving the system:
“I don’t know what I would do without it,” says the single mother who fled her war-torn homeland in 2017. “I have a disabled son. I can’t work. I need this money to buy food and diapers.”
“We are replacing parts of the social assistance system that provide complicated and unequal support to those in need, with simpler rate structures for everyone,” said Derek Rowland [spokesperson for the provincial ministry of children].Increasingly, Ontarians are seeing through the facade that the Ford regime has tried to erect. The question that remains, however, is whether, this early in their mandate, anyone in the Ford government is paying attention.
“The government believes that all Ontarians should have equal access to children’s benefits, regardless of whether they are or are not receiving social assistance.”
UPDATE: Hmm, it appears someone in the Ford administration has been listening.