Wasting no time the figures went into action, one forcing his way into the elevator tower while the other started to work on some kind of electric control panel.

“Com check” the first man said, his voice being picked up by the vibrations of his vocal chords on the vocal transmitter wrapped around his neck.

“This is Beta, I read you. Give me one more minute and I will have the video looped. It will take me a few more to extract the pin code for the office entrance,” replied the second man, at the panel.

“Good we have ten minutes before the chopper gets back, there’s no room for failure. I am going in, Alpha out.” Alpha man came back.

Alpha hooked up some support device to the elevator cables and slid down to the twelfth floor. “Video looped,” came the signal from Beta.

Alpha opened the elevator doors and slipped down the hallway that hid behind them. Timing was perfect, as Beta had the pin number info for him just as he reached the office security entrance pad. He popped in the code and the door buzzed open. Once inside he slipped a disk into a computer located in a large yet drearily decorated office that presented a meager scattering of mass produced art prints.

“How could anyone work in such a dull setting for 40 hours a week,” he spoke quietly through his com to help lower the stress of the situation.

Beta replied with a grunt, “Hey not all of them can have $19,000 plasma TVs on the walls, now hurry up, I am freezing up here.”

Alpha watched as the disk uploaded and a signal was sent to a remote computer whose operator soon had control of the host. Alpha watched as account information was swapped, sending money to secret bank accounts, erasing names from files, and in some cases whole reports. It continued working at lightning speed, creating false invoices and removing and replacing original electronic signatures on e-mails and documents with new false ones. This was big! Alpha looked around the room nervously as he realized that tens of millions of dollars of public money was being manipulated in ways that would shift the blame to the most unsuspecting members of parliament, and benefit those already of much wealth. The screen flashed “Complete” and Alpha wasted no time removing the disk and retreating by the same route out of the building, to be whisked away. As far as anyone would know he was never there. Now all he had to do was wait for “it” to hit the fan.

Fast forward two years:::.

It’s a typically windy and bone chilling night in February. A tall, stocky man walks along the Rideau Canal. Even though the days are getting longer, it was dark a few hours ago already. The only sounds are of a few ice blades cutting into the brittle ice as a young couple skates by, laughing and flirting with each other, their voices echoing along the otherwise quiet iceway. The man’s hands are deep in his pockets, the collar of his overcoat is up high around his neck as he approaches the bridge that connects Wellington and Rideau streets above, only meters from Parliament Hill. Through the spirals of wind whipped snow, he barely sees the outline of a man in a dark corner under the bridge. The red glow off a cigarette gives him away as the person the man is there to see.

Having now made his way into the corner shadows the smoking man speaks first.

“I hope there is a good reason for this meeting, I have box seats for the Senator’s game tonight and you know how bad traffic is on the Queensway on the night of a game!” he says, his voice deep and hoarse.

“Any ideas about who will take this game?” the first man asks, trying to break the ice.

The smoking man coughed a bit and gave a grin as the voices of the two skaters thundered through the tunnel as they passed through, now going the other way.

“Of course I do, you really think the outcome of these games is based on skill, or even chance? Now why am I here?”

The stocky man speaks now with sense of urgency, “The PM is onto us, he is going to expose the whole thing. We need a plan for damage control, fast!”

“Don’t be a fool!” the smoking man hisses, “everything is under control. Mr. Martin only knows what we want him to know. When, and if, we need to change courses I will let you know,” he says as he flicks his cigarette to the ground and snuffs it out with his foot while pulling out a new one from his pocket.

“But I don’t understand!” the stocky man says.

“Good, while knowledge is power, too much could be bad for your health,” the smoking man manages to say with his new cancer stick in his mouth. He turns away and starts off in the opposite direction the stocky man had come from. The stocky man watches as the smoking man walks away, his head briefly outlined by the glow of a match as he lights his cigarette.

——————–

Is this a fictional story of a group of sophisticated and shadowy figures, working to undermine the government and use our tax dollars to fund their own interests, or is it based on some semblance of reality?

Well if you are to believe the Prime Minister, it is based on reality. In response to his government’s grilling on the federal sponsorship scandal he said as much. He said that while he was one of the most senior and influential members of cabinet, he had no clue about what was going on in his own backyard. Most shocking of course was the excuse he gave to prove why he could not have known. In his own words it was the work of a, “sophisticated” group of shadowy government employees.” Really Paul, this is the best you can come up with, “Shadow figures did it!” This excuse, seemingly torn from the pages of a lost X – Files script, does nothing to shelter him from this scandal. In fact it only serves to undermine his competence in the public eye. Yes folks, the great white knight of both the Liberal party and of Canada has arrived, and he is a dud. To top it off his speech writers seem to have experience as cloak and dagger authors.

He should count his lucky stars the opposition is in the middle of a leadership race and not quite operating with all resources aimed at this issue. While it is a favorite government fallback to blame things on public servants when all else fails, at least then they normally can nail it to certain people. The best the PM can do now is say it was some mystery people who may or may not exist. Maybe we should install more lighting in public offices to help eliminate the shadows and flush out these, “shadow people.”

In the last election the PM’s own party made a big joke out of one party leader’s belief that Dinosaurs roamed the earth with people at some point in history. Well heck, at least we can prove there were dinosaurs, where is the evidence of these “shadow bureaucrats?” The least he could do is produce a smoking gun to prove it, or even a smoking man in this case.

With the next election looming close, Liberals had better hope Mr. Martin can come up with some better, less comically fictional, responses to the issues of the day. For if this is an example of what will be, then the Conservatives may actually have a chance of winning. Take my advice Mr. PM, call a fall election rather then a spring one and take that time to defuse the self destruct sequence your predecessor set before he left, and while you are at it, you can start being the great Prime Minister you made yourself out to be, or you may find yourself with a Stornaway mailing address before the year is out.

Paul was the second chance for many that were becoming disillusioned with the Liberal party, and he is blowing it. If he does not pull through as expected, people will realize this party is bankrupt in all aspects and they should muster the fortitude and guts to make a difference in the next election.

Will Paul pull out of this scandal as clean as his old boss? Will Belinda Stronach shock the nation and win the Conservative party leadership? Will the Ottawa Senators ever win the Stanley cup?

Only the shadow knows!

PM battles scandal storm, Feb. 12 2004. Canoe.ca ,http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Canada/2004/02/11/pf-344166.html

Martin says he was in dark over scandal, Feb. 12 2004. CBC, http://www.cbc.ca/stories/2004/02/12/martin_040212

Internal auditor warned of sponsorship problems in 2000: Fraser, Feb 12 2004. CBC, http://www.cbc.ca/stories/2004/02/12/public_accounts040212

When I heard that the Prime Minister wanted to eliminate large corporate donations to political parties, something happened. I felt something I can’t say I had ever felt before: pride, pride in our Prime Minister, pride that he was willing to take a stand against the large corporations which sometimes use money to help manipulate the outcome of elections and then go running for handouts and special attention afterwards. The fact that he came up with this idea after he had benefited from the system is not lost on me, of course. But hey you know what they say, never look a gift Liberal in the mouth.

But then it happened, I let my guard down and I got blindsided. What looked like an attempt to even the political-funding-playing-field, turned out to be foreplay for what might become known as the most generous political reimbursement system in the free world; and the best part of it is, it won’t require as much time an d effort for the parties as the old brown nosing system did. On top of that, it could plausibly sour more voters and lower Canada’s already pathetic average voter turnout. Mr. Prime Minister is so hell bent on pushing this through that he has even threatened to try to hold the Senate back from summer recess, until the bill is given senate approval.

What does the new election financing bill entail? First, a ban on most corporate and union donations; sounds good so far eh? However, we then move on to the second part; it will see each individual MP and riding candidate receive 60% of their election expenses reimbursed in the next election and 50% in following ones. The old reimbursement was only 22.5%. Lastly, it will also see each party receive $1.75 ANNUALLY for each vote they receive, yes that’s annually! That means $1.75 for each vote every year for the four years until the next election. Just in case you are interested, if one applies the result of the 2000 election to this $1.75 formula each party would be getting the following each year, not including the 60% election expense refund:

Liberals: $9.2 million
Canadian Alliance: $5.7 million
Conservatives: $2.7 million
Bloc Quebecois: $2.4 million
NDP: $1.9 million

Adding these reimbursements to the bill will cost 5 million more per year to taxpayers, on top of the original bill’s estimated cost of $120 million over four years. And these are not opposition figures either, these are figures from within the Liberal party itself, from a senior Winnipeg Liberal MP.

At first glance, one who doesn’t care how the government spends our money, might think, great, it sounds fair and even. I mean the theory looks sound; each party gets compensated according to their vote, can’t get much fairer than that can you? However the problem is, in the past, a poorly performing government may lose donations and henceforth the ability to run a good campaign, thereby losing the election as they rightfully should. Now, that same party will always have more money than even its closest competitor, therefore giving them an unfair advantage over the others (almost two times as much in the case of the last election) in the advertising and propaganda field that helps so many people make up their minds when they get to the ballot box. And guess what; they will not even have to work for it by hounding people for money, a process which is the most tedious and hated of all jobs in the political realm. But hey, now maybe those leaders’ dinners won’t have to be so darn pricey, and the common folk who can’t afford $300 a plate will actually get to see their country’s leaders. Don’t hold your breath, though.

Another thing that I feel I should point out to those 55% of you that care enough to peel yourselves from your couches and take 5 minutes to cast a ballot is this, your vote will now cost you $7 per voting family member, remember it’s $1.75 per vote each year after an election ($1.75 x 4 years). Yes you will now essentially have to pay for your right to vote. Just because no one collects the money as you walk through the door, you will still pay for it through your taxes; look at it as kind of a hidden tax on voting. Voting tax, darn I knew there was something they hadn’t taxed yet! What’s next a recycling surcharge to recycle the ballots after they are counted?

At any rate, I can’t think of a better place for that money to go then to the same people who can’t seem to handle it wisely in the first place. On the bright side maybe now people will make a more conscious and careful effort about deciding who they will vote for. I mean its $7! That can go a long way. I could buy a Happy Meal, a Slurpee, and still leave enough money to make a phone call. And that would go further to help and satisfy me than my present MP has. At least I get a toy with my happy meal; my MP has never given me any toys! Maybe I can use the money for the phone call to call and ask him if he has any. My guess is if enough people see it the way it is, paying to vote, our election turnout numbers from the past may actually start to look good.

So there it is! I have found a way to lower government spending and save the taxpayers money. It is simple – the less people who vote, the less money these guys will get, the less it will cost taxpayers, the more money we will save.

However, maybe it would be money better spent if we all paid the $7 and sent these monkeys packing next year, look at it as a positive investment in the country.

Reference
Rubec, Stephanie. PM promises public cash for financing, Ottawa Sun; Thursday June 5, 2002. Online Edition.

This brings up the question, will it receive the blessing or will the groom get tossed out into the street on his backside?

The groom in this case is clearly Stephen Harper. This is quite evident from his almost stalker-like pursuit of the bride, Peter MacKay and the PC party, over the last couple of months. And while some family members on both sides are sending in their RSVPs for a spot at the wedding, others are sharpening their knives and cleaning their unregistered firearms, ready to make sure this holy (or unholy – you pick) matrimony doesn’t make it to the alter.

In my mind, the bride’s family should be chilling the champagne and it’s the groom’s family that should be looking for a good oak tree for a lynching. Yet it seems the other way around! This just makes me scratch my head in awe; after all, it’s the Alliance that has given almost all the concessions to the PC party. The new party, based on its vague, loose, and top down statement of principles assures that 90% of the PC party’s members won’t know the difference between the new and the old. The only thing that might tip them off is the presence of more family members, and the more than normal sightings of cowboy hats at family get-togethers.

Not sure that it was the Alliance that sacrificed everything for this marriage, you say? Well first of all, I don’t recall, nor can I find any mention of, a time that Peter MacKay “actively sought out” Mr. Harper to propose a merger and to beg him to accept. “But wait” you say, the PCs are ready to change their party name. Yes right, now it will be called the PC party of Canada, that’s PC with a silent P. I mean up to now when someone said ‘the conservative party’ did you really think ¡¥Oh they must be talking about the Canadian Alliance?’ Heck Tories drop the term progressive from their name themselves when talking on the news etc. So no, I don’t really see this as a big concession on the Tories part. Let’s examine some principles set out for their parties by the two love birds MacKay and Harper:

:: “We will create a national force that reaches out to all Canadians, not just like-minded conservatives.”

“Not just like minded Conservatives!!!!” Does this comment mean that they should consort with communists if it suits their purposes? Not that I have anything against Communists, while their dream has yet to be proven, some would argue so has democracy’s. The question here is, will this kind of thinking be a big trait of the new party? Consort and sell out to whomever helps advance their march to 24 Sussex Drive? Actually this is already an unspoken PC party principle (reference Mulroney) so nothing new for them here. I remember the Reform days when the motto was “we will not sell out to big business and vocal minority groups to come to power.” It’s amazing how over a decade in opposition will change one’s perspective.

:: A balance between fiscal accountability, progressive social policy and individual rights and responsibilities;

Progressive social policy!? I am not sure just what this vague statement entails but you social conservatives in the Alliance better get clarification on this before you vote for this merger. Sounds more like they conveniently missed a word there and it should have read, ¡¥Progressive CONSERVATIVE social policy.’

:: Build a national coalition of people who share these beliefs and who reflect the regional, cultural and socio-economic diversity of Canada and, Develop this coalition, embracing our differences and respecting our traditions, yet honoring a concept of Canada as the greater sum of strong parts

That’s darn right, the East wants in on the Alliance’s success, and we Tories are tired of your Western influence. Join us and we will see to it that this gets neutralized ASAP.

:: “The Leadership will be conducted on a One-Member, One-Vote Point System: It is very similar to one-member, one-vote, but allows for each riding to be weighted equally, thus giving each riding access and importance in the process.”

“It is very similar to one-member, one-vote, but¡K”, yeah but, it isn’t in any way. A one member one vote system is in no way like a “disregard the number of members in a riding” percent based vote weighting system.

:: “Each riding is worth 100 points (i.e., 100%). Leadership candidates are assigned a point total based on their percentage of the vote in each riding. For example, if Candidate A received 50% of the vote, he or she gets 50 points. If Candidate B received 20% of the vote, he or she gets 20 points.”

This assures that 1000 people in a riding of 4000 in Alberta get the same weight to their vote as 10 people from a riding in Weed Hedge Newfoundland with a membership of 40. Ah fair enough!

:: “To win, a candidate must obtain a majority of points from across the country. Preferential ballot (single transferable vote) will be used.”

Ah yes! “Preferential ballot,” this ensures that at least 25% of the people in both parties will not understand how the vote tally works.

You PCers should note, there is no mention of parliamentary reform so there’s a good chance you will still be able to appoint your friends to the senate. Oh and don’t worry, only one sentence made an indirect reference to grassroots rule in the party but they made sure not to use to word “Grassroots,” so you will still have no real say in policy development within the new party. Plus Mike Harris is toying with running for leadership. If this happens and he wins you will even have an eastern Tory leader like you do now. Since all party funds will be merged, the Alliance’s surplus will help to cut down your seemingly unmanageable debt, and assure that the new party starts off in the red, just like you “red” Tories like it. Plus based on recent polls 47% of Canadians would vote for your new party (1). If this is true it means you can finally start repaying those old promises and favors that have been stacking up in your basement.

Considering all the things that will remain unchanged or in the favor of the PC family with this merger, they are the ones who should be ready to celebrate. For they, with smaller numbers, weaker influence, and less cash are about to take over a larger, more powerful, and richer party. Don’t they see the coup they are about to pull off? I mean the Alliance members don’t; for I can assure you, after giving away everything some of them spent over a decade working for, they will, on December 12th, eagerly join the same party they left years ago.

(1) http://www.ipsos-reid.com/media/dsp_displaypr_cdn.cfm?id_to_view=1928

An “Agreement in Principle” between the PC and Ca party can be found on the PC party web site under the quick links section. http://www.pcparty.ca/

But then it happened, I let my guard down and I got blindsided. What looked like an attempt to even the political-funding-playing-field, turned out to be foreplay for what might become known as the most generous political reimbursement system in the free world; and the best part of it is, it won’t require as much time an d effort for the parties as the old brown nosing system did. On top of that, it could plausibly sour more voters and lower Canada’s already pathetic average voter turnout. Mr. Prime Minister is so hell bent on pushing this through that he has even threatened to try to hold the Senate back from summer recess, until the bill is given senate approval.

What does the new election financing bill entail? First, a ban on most corporate and union donations; sounds good so far eh? However, we then move on to the second part; it will see each individual MP and riding candidate receive 60% of their election expenses reimbursed in the next election and 50% in following ones. The old reimbursement was only 22.5%. Lastly, it will also see each party receive $1.75 ANNUALLY for each vote they receive, yes that’s annually! That means $1.75 for each vote every year for the four years until the next election. Just in case you are interested, if one applies the result of the 2000 election to this $1.75 formula each party would be getting the following each year, not including the 60% election expense refund:

Liberals: $9.2 million
Canadian Alliance: $5.7 million
Conservatives: $2.7 million
Bloc Quebecois: $2.4 million
NDP: $1.9 million

Adding these reimbursements to the bill will cost 5 million more per year to taxpayers, on top of the original bill’s estimated cost of $120 million over four years. And these are not opposition figures either, these are figures from within the Liberal party itself, from a senior Winnipeg Liberal MP.

At first glance, one who doesn’t care how the government spends our money, might think, great, it sounds fair and even. I mean the theory looks sound; each party gets compensated according to their vote, can’t get much fairer than that can you? However the problem is, in the past, a poorly performing government may lose donations and henceforth the ability to run a good campaign, thereby losing the election as they rightfully should. Now, that same party will always have more money than even its closest competitor, therefore giving them an unfair advantage over the others (almost two times as much in the case of the last election) in the advertising and propaganda field that helps so many people make up their minds when they get to the ballot box. And guess what; they will not even have to work for it by hounding people for money, a process which is the most tedious and hated of all jobs in the political realm. But hey, now maybe those leaders’ dinners won’t have to be so darn pricey, and the common folk who can’t afford $300 a plate will actually get to see their country’s leaders. Don’t hold your breath, though.

Another thing that I feel I should point out to those 55% of you that care enough to peel yourselves from your couches and take 5 minutes to cast a ballot is this, your vote will now cost you $7 per voting family member, remember it’s $1.75 per vote each year after an election ($1.75 x 4 years). Yes you will now essentially have to pay for your right to vote. Just because no one collects the money as you walk through the door, you will still pay for it through your taxes; look at it as kind of a hidden tax on voting. Voting tax, darn I knew there was something they hadn’t taxed yet! What’s next a recycling surcharge to recycle the ballots after they are counted?

At any rate, I can’t think of a better place for that money to go then to the same people who can’t seem to handle it wisely in the first place. On the bright side maybe now people will make a more conscious and careful effort about deciding who they will vote for. I mean its $7! That can go a long way. I could buy a Happy Meal, a Slurpee, and still leave enough money to make a phone call. And that would go further to help and satisfy me than my present MP has. At least I get a toy with my happy meal; my MP has never given me any toys! Maybe I can use the money for the phone call to call and ask him if he has any. My guess is if enough people see it the way it is, paying to vote, our election turnout numbers from the past may actually start to look good.

So there it is! I have found a way to lower government spending and save the taxpayers money. It is simple – the less people who vote, the less money these guys will get, the less it will cost taxpayers, the more money we will save.

However, maybe it would be money better spent if we all paid the $7 and sent these monkeys packing next year, look at it as a positive investment in the country.

Reference
Rubec, Stephanie. PM promises public cash for financing, Ottawa Sun; Thursday June 5, 2002. Online Edition.

Well could you blame him? The sequencing of this virus is fundamental for vaccine development, a vaccine that could stop this worldwide killer in its tracks. It is definitely time to celebrate – celebrate a possible cure, celebrate Canadian science, and celebrate our health care system. Well no one could blame him, except the PM was risking a coronary in excitement about a golf championship.

You see the PM was celebrating a Canadian Golfer’s victory at the Masters golf tournament in Augusta Georgia only moments before. He wasted no time making the congratulatory phone call, and he wasted no time in popping the cork on the bottle of champagne he was probably saving for the day his legacy showed up. The priority, it would seem, when it comes to Canadian achievement, is sports and not medicine; although this should be no surprise looking at how the Liberals have handled our health care system.

Don’t get me wrong, I am not anti-sport or anti-golf, I love walking around in nicely groomed parks as much as the next guy. What does bug me is that there was no mention of The Michael Smith Genome Sciences Centre getting a toast, there was no mention of the PM “jumping around” in joy, there was no mention of a phone call on the same day telling the scientists “You’re so cool.” It seems to me that sports and things that give us a testosterone rush and make us want to beat our chests and grunt often overshadow the real achievements in this country. I mean really, what would usher in the end of civilization sooner, a lack of golf and professional sports, or a lack of medical professionals and scientists? The mainstream media does not help much in this area either. The Ottawa Sun had the Masters story ahead of the SARS sequencing accomplishment, and even gave it extra coverage on pages 48 and 54; sorry no extra room available for the SARS accomplishment unfortunately.

So while it may seem that the PM’s priorities are misplaced, maybe we should all examine ourselves when it comes to national pride. If you don’t think the PM, the media, or even Joe Canadian are victims of misplaced priorities when it comes to national pride then tell me, what’s the name of ANY of the Canadian scientists who helped discover the SARS sequence? What’s the name of the Canadian golfer who just won the Masters?

If you knew the name of a scientist then kudos to you; I am guessing that most could only come up with the golfer’s name, Mike Weir. If you could guess none, you may want to consider getting out a little between study sessions.

My point is this, some say Canadians need a deeper, more tangible sense of national pride. I would say there is a lot more to be proud of than sports championships, you just have to look for it; often mind you, after the third page.

BTW, Dr. Marco Marra is the laboratory director for The Michael Smith Genome Sciences Centre in BC. Congratulations Dr. Marra and staff, the rest of us toast you!

Quotes and references from the April 13th and 14th 2003 editions of the Ottawa Sun:

Canadian Press Report, Canadian lab cracks virus code, Ottawa Sun. April 13, 2003 Volume 15 Number 33 Page 3.
Canadian Press Report, Weir at the top of the sports world, Ottawa Sun. April 14, 2003 Volume 15 Number 111 Page 2.

Teachers’ wanting better working conditions and smaller classes is a legitimate position. That is until they say that a pay raise will solve the problem. This an old, overused and transparent union tactic of tugging on the public hart strings with stated objectives that are not in line with there actual objectives which would gain them little ground in the battle for public support. Frankly the public should feel insulted at the unions attempt to deceive. I mean it’s time to at least come up with a better smoke screen strategy for heaven sake.

Far be it for me to tell others what road they should take in their professional careers. However if you are not happy with the conditions you work in and you can not change them then you have two choices, buck up and live with it or change jobs. I say this because I am living the advice. The whole reason I left a $45,000 a year job at 27 to go to AU is because I did not like my working environment for health and social reasons. I tried to change some things but many are out of my control. I came to the same two choices that I mentioned before. I chose to change jobs. I did this knowing I would probably not start working in a new chosen career at the same wage as the job I left. The opportunity cost of not having to work in the environment I had been and still am in part-time will be in the tens of thousands by the time I am done my degree. I did this so I could work in better conditions knowing full well that higher wages would not fix my conditions. I feel it will be worth it.

It should be obvious that more money diverted to higher wages from areas that could help improve the conditions will only allow conditions to erode further. If working conditions were really a matter of principle for the teachers, then more money would not even be an option. In closing, I would like to remind teachers they are not Nurses or Doctors, I have lived in Alberta, Manitoba and now Ontario and I have yet to hear of a teacher shortage on the same level as our health care professional shortage. To ask for a big wage increase because a group in an entirely different field and environment got one really makes me ask the question, “these people are teaching our kids?” Oh I forgot it’s not the unions’ job to care about the kids. It’s to bad the teachers are more loyal to the union then the kids. Who fights for the kids?

Trevor Siwak
Ottawa