Messin' with the Conservatives

Michael Ignatieff says that he is going to "mess" with the Conservative attack adds that have been bombarding televisions. These attack ads, Ignatieff claims, are unnecessary. In Newfound land yesterday Ignatieff says that "If you mess with me, I will mess with you until I'm done." The Conservatives attack adds are attacking him in a personal manner, which is also unnecessary. "Don't trifle with me. Don't try this rough stuff with me," He continues on today. The attack ads say that he will go back to school because that is what he has been doing for 34 years of his life, in the US or Brittan, and he will go back to Harvard.

I think that it is completely wrong for the Conservatives to even think of these kind of attack ads. I think that one of these parties are just going to loose it one day. To attack a specific person is unorthodox and immature of the Conservatives. When ever I see any of these political attack ads on TV, usually before election time, I always demise the people that created them, because making that kind of ad makes you look like a little kid and I bet if one of them stands up and takes it and makes an ad that doesn't spend an entire 30 seconds making fun of the other guy and at the end says; "vote Conservative." The respect that one of these parties would achieve would win votes for sure. In my opinion the NDP earn the maturity award, there ads were great this past election. I think there should be a law put in place to control themselves but, one of them will hide the way to bypass the law. The bottom line is that Politicians are running a country and are some of the most immature people it is unbelievable. Period.

Reference:

http://toronto.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20090524/ignatieff_ad_090524/20090524/?hub=TorontoNewHome

Missing Passports

55 people have been told to look out for identity theft in Vancouver after a truck caring all the passports didn't have them. Passport applicants have been warned before that their applications could go missing. They can include things like bank account numbers, credit card information, and birth certificates. Canada post has taken action and as launched an investigation on the matter. Although now one really knows what has happened to these documents, they just could be lost in the mail and will show up again, there just assuming the worst. Canada Post is responsible fore delivering 40 million pieces of mail per day and is a very secure system, says John Caines, spokes person for Canada post. There is 61 applications that went missing so that means that there are 6 people that do not know that there application has gone missing.

I have done a passport application myself and have found no real threat that someone would steal my identity, but I do not have any credit cards or any information that would be a big deal if it went missing. Even though this is a terrifying incident why don't people look in the big issue here in mail delivery. These items sometimes get lost, and sometimes there are expensive things that are in those boxes. When one of these gets lost in the mail it is a big loss if they do lose something. This is why most people do not send cash in the mail because of the fear that someone will take it. These companies especially Canada post should take even more care than they already are when dealing with consumer belongings.

Reference:

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20090520/passports_090520/20090520?hub=Canada

Tamil Protest

For days now there has been a protest going on to get Canada involved in the war in Sri Lanka, and one civilian says that the Canadian government acted quicker in the events of 9-11 and twice as many people have died in Sri Lanka. The national spokes person for the Tamil congress said that it is now more than ever that the Tamil Canadians need our prime minister to step in and tell them what the judicial and human rights that all countries should abide by. Even though the military conflict is over they will not stop protesting on the issue. The goals of the group include to get medical aid, media, and independent monitors over to the conflict in the southern tip of India. The Sri Lankan Government has declared victory over the liberation of tigers of Tamil Eelam.

In my opinion I think that the Canadian government should take a stand on this issue and should treat it no differently that the events of 9-11. In not doing this this shows that the Canadian Government does not treat other countries as fairly. In this case the Government is saying how much it cares about other countries. I think that there are some countries that we definitely should care a lot more about. But there is a point where it is insulting to that country that you don't treat fairly. There is an issue that I don't think is right, meaning that the Protestors should give it up, they should realize that the conflict is not as bad as it was at all. This has some very important characteristics to their respect as a community and respect to Canada. Also there is no comparison to 9-11, those events are still being debated today. As I see it there isn't one good argument that the Tamil citizens have on why we should go to war.

Reference:

http://toronto.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20090519/Tamil_canadians_090519/20090519/?hub=TorontoNewHome

The Wheel Deal?

The ZENN mortar car is a small electric vehicle that is 100% electric. Ian Clifford, a very smart business man has created this company after realizing the smog in the air one day, sitting in traffic in his SUV. The big hype to these cars is that they are really efficient, but the Canadian government is not allowing them to drive legally on Canadian roads. The bigger Hype is the Ultra Capacitor that EEStor Inc. has claimed to come out with and this is what will give ZENN its big break. This Ultra Capacitor is said to have a charge time of 5 minutes, is 300 lbs, and most importantly can make an electric car go 400km on a single charge. This sceptical item has been kept very secretive, and no one actually knows if it works. Clifford has invested almost $4 million in EEStor, and coming from a camera background knows exactly the capabilities of this item is. The basics of this capacitor is that it has the charge time of a capacitor and the discharge time of a battery, not tom mention it can be charged over a million times without deterring, and is way more environmentally friendly because it uses something that miners use to bore hole with as a lubricant. Barium titanate is this special substance that is hopefully going to replace lithium. Clifford says his goal is to have 1 million electric vehicles out on the roads, and only then will he of accomplished his goal.

I have heard of the ZENN car for a while now and as far as I am concerned there are two main issues for this situation, one is that the Canadian government isn't willing to let these very efficient vehicles on the roads because they are too small and can't travel at high enough speeds. This is no the way to a "greener" world by disallowing these very "green" vehicles onto the roads. I think that this law should be changed as soon as possible, and our society to accept them for being the slower, greener vehicle. Even though the typical mileage of these cars is about 30 - 50mi per charge, it is still enough to get from point A to point B. The other issue is that the makers of the Ultra Capacitor aren't releasing anything and are keeping it TOP secret. To me this is a bit over the top, and I think that it might be that there isn't one, when they say that there is. And even to me the specs of this capacitor is a bit out of reach. It's explainable but a bit controversial. I mean how much electricity could you store and put through your home wires in 5 min, to me being able to run 400 km on a 5 minute charge is sceptical but remarkable and unbelievable if they do pull it off.

Reference:

The Wheel Deal

By: Andrew Nikiforuk
Canadian business

March 30th 2009

LCBO Freebees

An ongoing problem in LCBO locations all across Ontario is that distilleries and breweries are offering freebees such as sporting event tickets, concerts and other entertainment for the store to put their product on the shelves. The Ontario liquor board has been allowing there employees to accept these for years. Employees report that they get at least one freebee a month, others as much as once a week. The board has not reported any face value of these freebees, nor made any estimates. Agencies said that these freebees are good for a company to improve their employee satisfaction and to promote a positive business relationship. A total 268 suppliers were reported to been giving away freebees to the employees. Ontario MPP's are also prohibiting these tickets from entering employees hands under the Members' Integrity Act.

I think that these tickets should be still available to the employees. Think about it, if you aren't paying anything and your employees are getting free tickets from another company why wouldn't you want this happening. It’s a good thing as far as I am concerned, the employees are getting rewarded with out the LCBO paying for anything. This also improves the relation between these businesses because they both benefit. The LCBO has allowed this to happen for years and I do not see a valid reason to stop this from happening. I think that this is not a logical decision, there are not many negatives, if any, and there are so many things on why this is a good thing for the LCBO.

Reference:

http://toronto.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20090511/LCBO_freebies_090511/20090511/?hub=TorontoNewHome

Balsillie offers $212.5 million for Coyotes

On Tuesday Jim Balsillie offered 212.5 million to the phoenix Coyotes to move to a location somewhere in southern Ontario. The Coyotes general manager Jerry Moyes who has now filed for bankruptcy. The only way that Balsillie will buy the franchise is if he can move it to Canada, there have been other offers but Balsillie's offer is by far the highest, mostly because he wants to move the team north of the boarder. He also said that he would give 17 million USD to keep the Coyotes in operation until he can take over. The NHL board of governors is questionable about this and even more is commissioner Gary Bettman who has shot down Balsillie down twice already, first with the Pittsburgh penguins, second with the Nashville predators.

I think that this is a great thing, first, why should Phoenix even have a team, I don’t think that they ever can fill a arena until it's sold out unless they are in the sanely cup final. Southern Ontario needs a team, Toronto can fill the ACC even with a team that is not eve close to making the playoffs. Intern this will enable more fans, more opportunities to see the games. I think that the commissioner is not doing the right thing, there are plenty of fans in the Hamilton area and there will be a huge area there to make money with a new NHL franchise. I don't see what the conflict is because clearly Phoenix is not making any money if they are filing for bankruptcy.

Reference:

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/toronto/story/2009/05/05/spphoenixbalsillie.html

$4.5 Billion for Chrysler

Today the judge that is handling the Chrysler bankruptcy case is giving the company $4.5 billion. Fiat, the owner of Ferrari and Maserati has agreed to buy Chrysler's assets to stay in business. The biggest obstacle that is keeping Chrysler out of this recession is that the company's lenders currently hold almost $7 billion of the companies debt. This has come after the Ontario government said that they would own 2% of the company for a price of $3.8 Billion. The liberals are very confidant the seat at the boardroom table and the 2% share will make sure that the plants in Brampton and Windsor will stay open. When Ontario is doing this Washington is pumping in an 8% share in the company which is equal to $13 billion dollars.

Chrysler and all the other auto makers are not doing that well at the moment and right now I think it would be a good idea to give some of these companies bailout money. One of the big three automakers is going to be gone at the end of this depression and at the moment I do not know which one it is going to be, but it will either be Chrysler or GM because Ford is doing really well. While all this is blamed on the depression Audi, the German car company, has reported that there sales have jumped 14% since september last year. So maybe it's not the recession, it's just that people are realising that people can get more for less with these imported cars. Because I know for a fact that even 2 years ago there were not as many German and European cars on the road as there are today.

Reference:

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20090504/Chrysler_Bailout_090504/20090504?hub=World

H1N1: Swine Flu

The H1N1 virus is a new strand of the influenza virus. It started in México and has now made it to Canada with a total of 116 people that have contracted the virus in Canada. More commonly known as the Swine Flu, originated in Mexico and has spread all across the world. Over 1,000 people have been confirmed that they have the virus and 26 people have died from it. WHO (World Health Organisation) Has increased the pandemic alert to a 5 which means that a pandemic is inevitable and there is talk og it being raised to a level 6. There has been some drastic movements during the phase of this flu, including that Egypt ordered that all the pigs in it's country be slaughtered immediately. The swine flu isn't stopping anytime soon, the number of cases will continue to rise.

The swine flu to me was a bit over rated at first, I understand that over 1000 people in the world have it, but this is in a world with almost 7 billion people, that’s only 0.00000014% of the entire population, which isn't very much. I think that it is true to be said that this virus will start to spread very rapidly and I hope that I don't get it. Our school is taking precautions by putting a bottle of hand sanitizer and a sign that says: "please wash your hands upon entering and exiting the building". After doing this short blog I know more about this strand of influenza and that it is quite a serious matter and that more people will start dying. The fact that I didn't mention above is that it will take 6 months before a vaccine will be devolved since the virus has been identified, so I don’t think that there is a prevention but there are ways to get better, but if you have it your are immediately hospitalized and will eventually get better.

Reference:

http://toronto.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20090504/ont_h1n1_090504/20090504/?hub=TorontoNewHome

Pirates In Somalia

Richard Philips became a popular name 2 months ago when he was captured by Somali pirates and was taken hostage in a lifeboat. The situation in Somalia is getting worse and worse and there are no naval ships in that part of the world to give each ship that goes through that area the protection that it needs. Philips was kept hostage for five days in the life boat until U.S. navy seals snipers shot and killed the three pirates with three bullets. This was the order that president Obama gave to the commander in charge on the navel warship that was handling the situation. A 65 year old Canadian from aurora was on the ship when it was hijacked, this story mad many headlines in American press during the time of this incident.

This issue has to be resolved sooner than later, weather it be that the Somali government has to do something about it or the pirates have to be taken into custody. Obviously this issue won't go away as soon as is should and the pirates are taking more hostages as the days progress. Last year I heard a speech about this topic, and when I heard this story it was interesting that something would actually. Philips family suffered terribly through this incident and it should be prevented from happening again. These pirates are selfless and the bigger question is where are they getting their money from, sure they are making a lot of money through ransom but there has to be more than just right, it just doesn't add up.

Reference:

http://toronto.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20090502/sabga_pirates_090502/20090502/?site_codename=Toronto

School Finder

A new website was unveiled from the ministry of education. This site was meant for the new immigrants to Ontario the opportunity to decide where they wasn’t to live according to the demographics in the schools. For instance on the sit you can find information about the wealth of the people in that area, what race they are, and generally what the community is like. This site has had some controversy saying that now parents have the ease to access the information even easier than before and they can say that they don't want their child going to a school that has lower income levels and higher immigration rates. The Conservatives and the NDP do not agree with this decision that the liberals have made. The bottom line is that the website makes it easier for people to find out what is happening to an area and will make them go to the better schools and might, even overcrowd them.

I think that the government should not make this information this readily available to the general public. I think that this decision could lead to some schools being overcrowded and that some parents might not use the site for what it is suppose to be used for. Instead the parents might not put there child where they belong, but in the school where the demographic base is wealthy and a good learning environment instead of where the child would feel more comfortable. I don’t agree that this information should be this accessible, this information can be accessed before the website came out and all people have to do is look for it. I think that this privilege will be heavily abused by at least 50% of parents.

Reference:

http://toronto.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20090406/edu_website_090406/20090406/?site_codename=Toronto

Sunshine List

The list of people working for the government making over $100,000 was published today on a C.D. instead of paper. The premier says its an effort to save paper, oppositions say its an effort to make the list look smaller. What ever the case there are over 10,000 more names than last year of people making over $100,000. This is a lot of extra money that is being spent in an economic recession. The premier says that the people with the names on this list says that it is an achievement that most people think that $100,000 is a lot of money to be making in one year. So what did the list say? Well at the top is Ontario Power Generation CEO and president Jim Hankinson making 2.5 million a year. While the reporter did say that the people that are making this much money have very important jobs, after all you can't leave a nuclear power plant in the hands of just anyone.

While I didn't know such a list existed but probably could of figured it out, I think that the this is an interesting thing to recognise people that make so much money. It is a good thing to know where our money is going, especially large amounts of it. The way I see it is that the C.D. is a way to save paper, It's a good thing that more people are making more money, although this is questionable in this economy. When this report came out I even wondered how it was possible that people are making more money than this time last year, and haven't felt anything due to the recession. Now I sort ok know where some of the Defecate dollars are going, this is the only thing that I don’t agree with. The government can have an infinite amount of money and doesn't care as much as some people do about where that money should be spent.

Reference:

http://toronto.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20090331/sunshine_list_090331/20090331/?hub=TorontoNewHome

Chrysler - threatening to leave

Yesterday chairman of Chrysler spoke to a parliamentary committee, regarding the economic crisis. The bottom line is that if Chrysler does not get the money that it wants from the government that it will pack up and leave Canada and go to the states. Of course this will affect tones of jobs and unemployment will probably hit another high. The details are as follows: seeking 2.3 billion in loans, break on taxes, and major sacrifices from the Canadian auto workers. The government is willing to help Chrysler but has to be assured that the investment will be returned. The Chrysler has cut 1,200 jobs just last week in Windsor, and is sounding like blackmail for some people.

The Decision that Chrysler is making is a huge decision for the government. Because there are ups and downs depending on what they do. But no matter what they do some people will disagree. I think that the government should give Chrysler the money that they want, because it isn't worth having so many jobs being taken of the market. I don't totally agree with Chrysler because I don't think that black mailing the government is a good way to get money from them and if the government doesn’t accept than things will get worse in this already unstable economy.

A kick start to Afghanistan

Prime minister Harper says that his version of victory is to push back all the Taliban until the point that NATO can take over the crisis. He said at a news conference on Friday that the situation should be in the hands of Afghanistan's themselves. This message even made it to the major CNN station in the states. The other parties didn't like this and basically said that they wanted to do the opposite. The article goes on to say what has happened in the past years in Afghanistan; Harper said in 2006 that the war would be extended until 2011 two years more that the original date, and that over 2000 soldiers are in Afghanistan and 111 of them have died since this date.

This whole war isn't a good thing, war is never a good thing. When Canada decided to get involved in this situation I though that it was a bad idea, and why should we fight a war that isn't ours. Since then I have understood that we have a relationship with the us, it is an unwritten code. I think that Harper has the what but not the how. Recently I have noticed that for a lot of politicians and other people that are high up there. They will say what they are going to do but never mention anything about the important part of how it is going to be implemented and the what happens if, they are never truly honest which is why In my opinion that the only time that I get into politics is when there is an election, because most of the time it is just a bunch of babbling kindergartens.

Reference:

http://www.thecanadianpress.com/english/online/OnlineFullStory.aspx?filename=n030635A&newsitemid=636529025&languageid=1

Second best ally

According to a recent survey Canada was ranked the second best ally to the united states, Great Brittan being the first. About 29% of Americans in this survey said that Canada was the top ally. The rest that made the top five were Israel, Japan, and Germany. The poll was released yesterday when the British prim minister visited Barack Obama since he was inaugurated. Among the article more democrats said Canada is their most important ally than republicans.

I think that this is a good thing for Canada because to have one of the most powerful countries at your side is a very good thing. I think that Canada could of made it to the #1 spot if our population was only a bit bigger. I think that the relations between Canada and the us have been getting stronger over the years. And now the us is wanting to have a similar health care system, more tax, "free" health care. I think that the more that we help the us the more they help us and the more similar we become. Although I do like Canada's way of doing things better that the U.S., they are a solid neighbour.

Reference:

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20090304/gallup_poll_090304/20090304?hub=Canada

Hospital wait times

Hospital wait times in Toronto are some of the longest in Ontario, reaching up to 32 hrs. At Toronto East General Hospital, there is one person coming into the hospital every eight minutes. Wait times are great because most of these Problems are minor and can be fixed easily by their family health care provider or a Walk in clinic. This isn't the only problem but the rehab centers that the doctors need so that the patients can get out of the hospital and get some specialized care. One man was emitted to hospital and had to wait for a month to be emitted to a rehab center, this one hospital bed could have been used over and over during that time.

So the obvious thing that I think that everybody will agree on is that the hospital wait times are way too long. This is caused by a few things which I think need a solution. A person comes into a hospital every eight minutes, this is unbelievable. Most of these people are suffering nothing more that a cold or something that it treatable at a walk in clinic. even thought we do have one of the better health care systems a 32 hr wait is simply not right. I think that we should start to use some of the computer systems that our society has to offer, so that we would be able to check the wait times online. I think that some of these things could drastically improve out health care system.

Reference:

http://www.healthzone.ca/health/article/589793

The new RCMP says that Tasers are lethal.

The taser is a very good alternative to a real gun, shocking you with 10,000 volts and immobilizing you. The RCMP has now claimed that these tasers can cause death, especially to the "acutely agitated" Now all uses by an rcmp or any threat to use have to be reported on, and provide a reasonable reason for doing so. The taser training for the rcmp is now to be done every one year instead of every two. The taser is a growing safety device and is a new technology that has to be used with caution.

Earlier this year I was hearing that the rcmp was using the taser a lot more often than they should have been. I think they did this is because they wanted to take the easy way out instead of trying to handle the situation normally. In my opinion the taser is a weapon and should only be used when it HAS to be used, like all weapons. I think that some people have things in there system that have different things in there system that can make the taser even more controversial when they are used. The taser is a good idea, and I think that it is a good idea for the officers to be trained more often. One mistake by someone using this device could end up in death as now known and these training sessions should be held to the highest standard.

Reference:

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20090212/rcmp_taser_090212/20090212?hub=TopStories

Helmets Not Mandatory

The Ontario premier is not going to allow the proposal to go through about having to have helmets on ski slopes in Ontario. This comes after a 13 year old crashed into a tree at snow valley last week, and later died. McGuinty says that after the accident he has bought himself a helmet but is not going to go as far as forcing others to do the same. Helmets are getting more and more common and even though parents force their children to wear them they often don't do as they are telling their kids. The urge for more people to wear them is becoming apparent, these accidents are just more wake up calls of what we should be looking for.

I my self wear a helmet when I am skiing, even though I'm better than most, I still do. I have been skiing for almost all of my life and in the past few years have started racing, I see people on the weekends with and without helmets, often the people that don't know how to ski, or are beginners are not wearing them. I think that people have the right to not wear helmets but it is strongly recommended. But why wouldn’t you wear a helmet? There comfortable, affordable, warm, and not to mention look good and most importantly are safe. I'd personally wear a helmet than anything else when I am skiing. This is the advise that I would give to all people weather they ski or not, wear a helmet in what ever sport where it is advised, and who knows it might even save your life one day.

Reference:

http://toronto.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20090224/McGuinty_helmets_090224/20090224/?hub=TorontoNewHome

Caledonia Dispute

The premier has decided not to call an inquiry for the land dispute that has been going on for the last three years. McGuinty says that it is a matter of federal jurisdiction and it is not his job. There will be a public inquiry on the 28th of February if the call to the opposition forces one. The premier also says that he agrees with the O.P.P. fully and agrees with the residences that have come under fire by the police. This is telling the home owners that the Canadian government doesn’t care for them and wants nothing to due with them. The main reason that the people want an inquiry is because they want more land and with out the inquiry they don’t get their land. For the last months the residences have been signing a petition and have come under fire for doing so especially the MP of that area. There has been many outrageous fights between the homeowners and the aboriginals.

The whole Aboriginal thing I don’t agree with. They should pay taxes to use publically owned roads, they should have to obey by the law, they have to keep up with the up with the future. In my opinion everybody in Canada should have the EXACT same writes and freedoms, in saying that I'm sure that some aboriginal won't agree that they should pay taxes because the Europeans took their land, but look at all the other ethnic communities. They are all gaining in with the program and we should not have to pay for things that they are using. I'm positive that if I were an aboriginal I would not like this very much but If I wanted to be normal and not stuck in the 1800's that I'm sure that they would abide by it.


Reference:
http://toronto.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20090218/caledonia_inquiry_090218/20090218/?hub=TorontoNewHome

Property Tax Up 4%

A 4% property tax increase was introduced today by mayor David Miller. That and many other tax grabs came in this years $8.7billion budget. The city expects that this tax increase will generate $83 million from house holds and $26 million from businesses. The property taxes now generate 39% of the budget. The people with low income will be able to apply for cuts or cancellation of this increase in their property tax. Other things that are expected to me increased are services, like the TTC will see an almost 4% jump. Adult aquatic lessons will jump by $3.50 to $98.00. The Mayor also is investing money for planning for the future, $24 million will be invested in this area. Although these taxes jumped a lot of the others had just stayed still, like land transfer tax and personal vehicle tax.

Although tax jumps are nothing new I don’t think that this is a good time to be introducing an increase. Things are already expensive enough and if the whole economy is in the dumps wouldn't the government want us spending our money some where else other than to them? The government dose not want to run a defecate, but I think if they just do the same thing as they did last year until we are out of this economic state it would be better. After that the taxes can start going up again. There are some different thoughts I have about this, we could either spend our way out of the depression or just wait until everything goes back to normal. Really all we can do is to just wait and see what happens.

Reference:

http://toronto.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20090210/Toronto_budget_090210/20090210/?hub=TorontoNewHome

Unemployment In Canada

In the month of January in Canada 129,000 do not have their jobs anymore. The unemployment rat is now up 0.6% from the month of December. This drop in Canada is the most that it has ever been in the last 30 years. Most of these jobs were lost from the manufacturing sector with a total loss of 101,000 jobs. This is the most that it has ever been, ever! With all these jobs lost the health care gained 31,000 jobs. These affects were faced by mostly people from there mid twenties to mid fifties. These jobs were mostly lost in Ontario with 71,000 than in B.C. they lost 35,000.

Unemployment is an issue in the house of commons and needs to be resolved. There are many things that the government could do about this issue. They could pay the auto makers or give them a tax break on a condition that they keep their employees. We are paying the government money to resolve our problems and come up with solutions an in order to do that they have to come up with some decent solutions. There's a thing that needs to be done about this issue and I think it needs to be don sooner rather than later.

Reference:

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20090206/Flaherty_jobless_090206/20090206?hub=TopStories

Listeriosis Outbreak

After last years Listeriosis out break in Canada the company has decided that $27 million will be given to those affected. For the 20 people that died they will receive $120,000 and substantial amounts to the immediate family members. For the people that are still alive and have log lasting or serious injuries they are able to qualify for up to $125,000. The people that were only sick or had minor pains will receive $750 for a 24 - 48 hour illness. The listeriosis outbreak occurred last summer and affected 220 people, the president of the company said that he would take full responsibility for the outbreak.

The bigger problem here other than the lawsuits that are being made is that the listeriosis outbreak occurred last summer out of the same plant, which all leads back to the health and safety regulations. I don’t know how often that these check ups are but they have to be either more through or more often. We have these ministries for a reason and if they're not working than what is the point of having them. Health and safety regulations have to be strict and when you are dealing with peoples lives you cant make a mistake. The people that are in charge of theses types of things should be fully qualified and on a 1 strike you're out system. The bottom line is that these regulations have to be set at the highest standard.

Reference:

http://toronto.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20090124/maple_listeria_090124/20090124/?hub=TorontoNewHome

2009 Budget

Earlier today the 2009 federal budget was released after the house of commons was suspended six weeks ago. Minister of finance, Jim Flaherty, said many things as to the deficit that the Harper is going to run. In the budget the main things include: $85 billion dollar deficit in the next 5 years, $20 billion in personal tax cuts, Improved financing for Consumers and businesses for support up to $200 billion. Also there will be $12 billion for infrastructure, and 2 billion for "green" infrastructure and clean energy research. $7.8 billion will be spent on a new renovation tax credit and households are eligible for up to $1,350 a year and $2.7 billion spent on short term loans to the auto industry. In this budget there is a bit of everything, but it is the opposite of what the conservatives were thinking of doing before the election. 2009 is going to be in interesting year for the financial side of Canada and it will be interesting to see what will happen.

When I first saw some of these numbers I was in aw on how big they were but after you divide them by 32 million it starts to seem like allot less. There is something for everyone in this Budget but I don't know how both the NDP's and the Liberals will agree to it. It is not what either of them wanted although the liberals did like the Social policies. After 6 months the conservatives could of come up with something way better than this instead of sleeping and watching TV. Over all I don't agree with what the conservatives have done although they do have some good ideas. Well the only way to find out or not if it is or not is to wait a year or so and see if things get better.

Back to Work Bill

As many people know York university has stopped classes for around 2 months now. The striking teaching assistances have been wanting better wages and more notice on what classes they are getting and when. On Saturday the premier Dalton McGuinty called an emergency meeting with the mpp's to pass the back to work bill on Sunday. In that meeting on Sunday the premier needed all of the parties to agree with the idea; 60% did the others from the NDP's did not, the NDP said that York is just stalling the strike until it gets so serious that the government steps in to resolve the issue. The NDP goes on to say that York university refused to negotiate with the Teaching assistances and it is up to the university to get them back to work. The Bill will be passed and classes will resume late this week or early next.

The Premier is right, the striking workers have prevented classes for long enough and if I were a student there I wouldn't be very happy with the university. Although the NDP's do have some good points, the university should of negotiated better instead of waiting for the government to step in. I think that the Teaching assistances demands were to high and that they shouldn’t get exactly what they asked for. Further down in the article it says that the teaching assistances account for over half of the teaching staff and only get 7% of the budget, this is wrong. The bottom line is that the students have been out of school way too long and need to go back to school.

Related Artical:

http://toronto.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20090125/strike_vote_090125/20090125/?hub=TorontoNewHome

Ban on Smoking In Cars With Kids

"Weed less Wednesday" has now started in Ontario. Yesterday the new law that says that you can't smoke in a car with a child present has been enforced. If a person in the car is smoking with a child 16 or younger in the car can face fines up to $250. Many other states and provinces have enforced similar bans in places like New Brunswick and P.E.I., and also places in the states like California and Louisiana. Many people have arguments saying that there will be very few people charged by this law and it might be considered useless. Others have said that the Ban is just another thing that keeps the thought about quitting in the back of smokers minds. This is just another step to a smoke free Ontario that had started in 1977.

I think that this is a great thing that the Ontario government is doing. Although if you do go on to read the whole article I do agree with the NDP's that it would be more logical to make it enforced if there are people that are under the age of 19 in the car, when it is legal to buy cigarettes. I know that the smoking market is huge and the government will never take cigarettes of the shelves and ban them completely because of all the tax money they get off them. We have to give the government some credit though they are trying to influence the general public to cut back on smoking. I don't think that this law will work that well but if the people are caught than they are less $250 and I bet that after that moment it will never happen again.

Related artical

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20090121/smoking_ban_090121/20090121/

Obama Bus

With the upcoming of Obama's Presidential Inauguration Many Canadians especially African Americans are going all the way to Washington to watch this event. Itah Sadu is one of those many people that are commuting all the way from Toronto to Washington on one of the several buses that are going to the event. A typical travel time to Washington from Toronto is about ten hours, This was about to change when they got to the U.S. Border. The ten hours that it took to get to Washington were now spent with U.S. Border officials. Sadu says that they took all the a African Americans off the bus and interviewed, questioned, fingerprinted, and held at the border for ten hours. Sadu said that there was no doubt about it that it was racism and she heard that the officers were concerned that they even asked a few of the people if they were terrorists to kill Obama. This was said even after homeland security had said that there are no terrorist threats against Obama.

When I first heard this on the radio I was astounded that not only that they would even think of interviewing innocent people that were on the bus. I don't agree that the Guards only took the "Black" people from the bus to interview them. I think that this is wrong in every way. The guards have no right to only take the black people, to interview them and question them for 10 hours is a waist of time. These officers disobeyed the advisement of homeland security. I disagree everything that the officers did at the U.S. border on the days before the Obama inauguration to completely innocent people.