28 December 2006
black gold
Shortly before Christmas, Elections Canada served notice that we are soon to have another federal election.In a half-page newspaper ad headed "There are limits to what you can give," we have been informed that "only individuals can make federal political donations" in one of 3 ways or all @ $1,100 each (to the party, to the riding associations, or each independent candidate per election). The rules have changed so that "corporations, trade unions, associations and groups can no longer make political contributions."
The timing of that notice was rather interesting as corporate fiscal year ends may vary but personal income tax returns are based on a Jan to Dec fiscal year. Corporate accountants are likely busy right now declaring bonuses to key individuals in a position to make federal political donations before this year ends. (1)
Over the holiday lull, the federal Conservative party -- THE party who in the last election vowed to promote transparency and accountability-- admitted it failed to "publicly disclose hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of donations" as required by the rules. The monies involved total $2,903,625.Even our supposedly squeaky clean Prime Minister exceeded his personal maximum $5,400 annual allowable limit! Why the sudden confession? It appears that revised 2005 political donation receipts will have to be mailed out so that Conservative supporters can claim the appropriate credits on their tax 06 tax returns. (2)" I know that politicians are no better or worse than the population that sends them to Ottawa. I was not cynical about the political process, but I am, and was wary of the actions, and often the motives, of those who gain public office and acquire a taste for what is a remarkable amount of power." -- Adrienne Clarkson, Heart Matters (2006)
So, we're in election mode again this winter? a federal election whenever? followed by a provincial election on 4 October 2007. Time then to adopt a stance of watchful wariness when studying news, public announcements, legislation passed or proposed.
Herewith a sampling of images and news stories accumulated over this holiday season:1. Stephane Dion named runner-up Liberal leadership contender as the party's deputy leader saying, "We'll prepare for an election...We will have a dream team to put in front of Canadians, and it's my dream to have Michael Ignatieff as close as possible to me." (3) Accompanying the news report was a photo of an earnest Dion (Brutus?) with a brooding Ignatieff (Cassius?) gazing straight ahead. Ignatieff is the unknown factor here: his most recent book Democracy Lite, written while still a Harvard professor, was an apologia for 21st century American military empire-building.* Why Ignatieff's abrupt return to Canada?
"When a new leader[i.e. Dion] respects our symbols, he earns our respect.
When he puts environmental sustainability on the same footing
as economic prosperity and social justice, we say: 'It's about time."-- Kyl Chhatwal (4)
2. For his part, the Prime Minister has been maximizing his pre-election photo opportunities. Just before Christmas, he moved to colour himself Dion-like green (5)when he "signalled he will make major improvements to the much-maligned clean air plan he tabled this fall." Elsewhere concerned citizens learn that former Conservative Prime Minister Mulroney has advised that the environment will become the issue of the 07 election.* However, Mr. Harper in September 2002 discounted climate warming (the "greenhouse effect'')thus: "It's a scientific hypothesis, a controversial one and one that I think there is some preliminary evidence for. . . . This may be a lot of fun for a few scientific and environmental elites in Ottawa, but ordinary Canadians from coast to coast will not put up with what this (Kyoto accord) will do to their economy and lifestyle, when the benefits are negligible." (6)
3. Sharing the pre-election workload, Defence Minister Peter MacKay held a news conference with his US counterpart the Iron Maiden Condi Rice to assure us that Ms. Rice would look into the Arar affair. The two were all smiles for the camera. For those who may have forgotten, it was Ms. Rice who advised US President Bush to "punish those countries" that did not support the US invasion of Iraq in 2003. Ms. Rice moved her way up the political ladder through close connections with the Bush family and US Vice-President Dick Cheney, former CEO of Halliburton. Halliburton*** was losing money prior to the US invasion of Iraq in 2003, and then magically acquired all the contracts to supply the US military post-invasion & posted significant profits after that. Interesting this blooming friendship between our two countries now??? Who stands to benefit?
4. Ever the politician, this Stephen (not the other Stephane) made his public green conversion confession seated in front of a green Christmas tree decorated co-incidentally with Tory-blue Christmas lights. Totally staged with visual tactics borrowed from US presidential election advisor Karl Rove. Oh well, as soon as the Prime Minister doffs his black power topcoat and appears in a blue "man of the people" shirt with rolled-up cuffs cum Dubya Bush we will know the election call is about to be made. The Prime Minister was photographed with his family walking towards the government airplane ready to fly him "home" for Christmas to Calgary. Calgary, by the way, is the capital of Alberta's oil patch and as good a place as any to secure campaign donations. (Home? Harper hails from Ontario originally.)
"The Arctic becomes an increasingly important source of energy and raw materials.
There's potential for rapid industrialization.
One quarter of the world's energy reserves are estimated to be in the Arctic."--Bob Weber (8)
Sources: (1) website www.elections.ca and click on Federal Accountability Act; (2) Canadian Press,"Tories admit undisclosed donations," The Record 27 Dec 06; (3) "Liberals won't topple Tories over Afganistan, Dion assures," The Record 19 Dec 06. (4) Kyl Chhatwal, "Young voters like what they see in Dion," The Record 22 Dec 06. This young writer is eminently readable and extremely knowledgeable. (5) Canadian Press, "PM vows environmental action The Record 20 Dec 06 with this notable statement: "Stephen Harper says the environment is getting priority attention from Canadians these days because they don't have Liberal scandals and failures to fret over..." (6) Susan Delacourt, "PM does an about face on climate,"The Record 21 Dec 06 (7) Gwynne Dyer, "Mideast setbacks changed US policies," The Record 28 Dec 06. (8) Bob Weber, "Scientists, researchers will look North in 2007," The Record 26 Dec 06.When he puts environmental sustainability on the same footing
as economic prosperity and social justice, we say: 'It's about time."-- Kyl Chhatwal (4)
2. For his part, the Prime Minister has been maximizing his pre-election photo opportunities. Just before Christmas, he moved to colour himself Dion-like green (5)when he "signalled he will make major improvements to the much-maligned clean air plan he tabled this fall." Elsewhere concerned citizens learn that former Conservative Prime Minister Mulroney has advised that the environment will become the issue of the 07 election.* However, Mr. Harper in September 2002 discounted climate warming (the "greenhouse effect'')thus: "It's a scientific hypothesis, a controversial one and one that I think there is some preliminary evidence for. . . . This may be a lot of fun for a few scientific and environmental elites in Ottawa, but ordinary Canadians from coast to coast will not put up with what this (Kyoto accord) will do to their economy and lifestyle, when the benefits are negligible." (6)
"I believe in modernization, I believe in Candianization,
but I do not believe in Americanization."
-- Mme Adrienne Clarkson, Heart Matters (2006)
but I do not believe in Americanization."
-- Mme Adrienne Clarkson, Heart Matters (2006)
3. Sharing the pre-election workload, Defence Minister Peter MacKay held a news conference with his US counterpart the Iron Maiden Condi Rice to assure us that Ms. Rice would look into the Arar affair. The two were all smiles for the camera. For those who may have forgotten, it was Ms. Rice who advised US President Bush to "punish those countries" that did not support the US invasion of Iraq in 2003. Ms. Rice moved her way up the political ladder through close connections with the Bush family and US Vice-President Dick Cheney, former CEO of Halliburton. Halliburton*** was losing money prior to the US invasion of Iraq in 2003, and then magically acquired all the contracts to supply the US military post-invasion & posted significant profits after that. Interesting this blooming friendship between our two countries now??? Who stands to benefit?
"It is now clear that America's moment in the Middle East is coming to an end...
The catastrophic Iraq adventure is the main reason
the U. S. public is turning decisively
against further American military involvement in the Middle East."--Gwynne Dyer(7)
The catastrophic Iraq adventure is the main reason
the U. S. public is turning decisively
against further American military involvement in the Middle East."--Gwynne Dyer(7)
There's potential for rapid industrialization.
One quarter of the world's energy reserves are estimated to be in the Arctic."--Bob Weber (8)
* If the environment is to be the # 1 election issue, then the environmental costs of the Alberta's booming oil economy will certainly come into play-- the Fort Mc Murray tar sands operation has already caught the attention of the international environmental community this past year.
This blog's mental ramblings were prompted by a photo taken in Grande Prairie by an Ontario carpenter now framing houses in that booming town. Grande Prairie, Alberta owes its geographical significance as the most southerly point of the MacKenzie Highway running due north through Alberta's oil patch to end near the Ekati diamond mines in the North West Territories. The carpenter had taken tons of photos of the massive equipment being trucked north to the service the oil patch. What was new and noteworthy was one photo of a Halliburton (yes, read back-- US Vice-president's Cheney's company who continued to pay him a salary once he was vice-president!) truck on Alberta roads.
Forget Iraq's cheaper oil reserves as Canada's provides a much safer and more secure source of supply?
Postscript: Alberta's oil workers refer to crude oil as black gold.
Today's photos were taken some time ago in Alberta's oil patch --Rainbow Lake--and chosen to highlight some of the issues:
1) photo of the northern muskeg which overlays the permafrost--crilling and exploration are only undertaken when the muskeg (top wet layer) has frozen solid. The muskeg is an extremely fragile ecosystem and easily scarred by heavy equipment-- traces of which can still be seen some fifty years later.
2) photo of hunter's cabin in the northern woods-- although privately owned, these cabins are never locked and always stocked with food to serve as emergency shelters for anyone lost in the northern wilderness. Northern custom requires visitors to replenish the supplies.
3) photo of above-ground graves at the Dene reservation in nearby Habay (appears as Assumption on some maps) & reminds of many unsettled land claims still requiring resolution;
4) last photo of bear claws in the deep snow are to highlight damage already done to the northern climate by global warming. Just last night CTV reported that US is proposing to add the polar bear to the endangered species list. All photos copyright to Sandamara Images 1983-1984.
***Suggested background reading to Democracy Lite is this month's Vanity Fair: "Neo Culpa" by David Rose who interviews the neo-conservative thinkers who were the brains behind the invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan. The key document to google here is The Project for a new American Century. US Vice-president Dick Cheney and former Secretrary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld were part of that group. Then national security advisor Condoleeza Rice worked for one of the Cheney oil companies and was hired by George Bush, the father, to tutor the son, George W. Bush, on foreign policy. The rest is history-- since 2001, two countries (Afghanistan/Iraq) have seen their entire infrastructure demolished under the guise of bringing "freedom and democracy" to the Middle East.
This blog's mental ramblings were prompted by a photo taken in Grande Prairie by an Ontario carpenter now framing houses in that booming town. Grande Prairie, Alberta owes its geographical significance as the most southerly point of the MacKenzie Highway running due north through Alberta's oil patch to end near the Ekati diamond mines in the North West Territories. The carpenter had taken tons of photos of the massive equipment being trucked north to the service the oil patch. What was new and noteworthy was one photo of a Halliburton (yes, read back-- US Vice-president's Cheney's company who continued to pay him a salary once he was vice-president!) truck on Alberta roads.
Forget Iraq's cheaper oil reserves as Canada's provides a much safer and more secure source of supply?
Postscript: Alberta's oil workers refer to crude oil as black gold.
Today's photos were taken some time ago in Alberta's oil patch --Rainbow Lake--and chosen to highlight some of the issues:
1) photo of the northern muskeg which overlays the permafrost--crilling and exploration are only undertaken when the muskeg (top wet layer) has frozen solid. The muskeg is an extremely fragile ecosystem and easily scarred by heavy equipment-- traces of which can still be seen some fifty years later.
2) photo of hunter's cabin in the northern woods-- although privately owned, these cabins are never locked and always stocked with food to serve as emergency shelters for anyone lost in the northern wilderness. Northern custom requires visitors to replenish the supplies.
3) photo of above-ground graves at the Dene reservation in nearby Habay (appears as Assumption on some maps) & reminds of many unsettled land claims still requiring resolution;
4) last photo of bear claws in the deep snow are to highlight damage already done to the northern climate by global warming. Just last night CTV reported that US is proposing to add the polar bear to the endangered species list. All photos copyright to Sandamara Images 1983-1984.
***Suggested background reading to Democracy Lite is this month's Vanity Fair: "Neo Culpa" by David Rose who interviews the neo-conservative thinkers who were the brains behind the invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan. The key document to google here is The Project for a new American Century. US Vice-president Dick Cheney and former Secretrary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld were part of that group. Then national security advisor Condoleeza Rice worked for one of the Cheney oil companies and was hired by George Bush, the father, to tutor the son, George W. Bush, on foreign policy. The rest is history-- since 2001, two countries (Afghanistan/Iraq) have seen their entire infrastructure demolished under the guise of bringing "freedom and democracy" to the Middle East.
My response is that the thing I know now that I did not know then is just how incredibly incompetent we would be, which is the most sobering part of all this... I think we're heading for a very dark world,
because the long-term consequences of this are very large, not just for Iraq, not just for the region,
but globally
—for our reputation, for what the Iranians do, all kinds of stuff."-
--Professor Eliot Cohen, Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced
International Studies
the entire article is available online at
because the long-term consequences of this are very large, not just for Iraq, not just for the region,
but globally
—for our reputation, for what the Iranians do, all kinds of stuff."-
--Professor Eliot Cohen, Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced
International Studies
the entire article is available online at
Labels: oil and gas, politics
24 December 2006
true north
Photos of the Madawaska Valley and the Canadian Shield copyright to Sandamara Images 2006.L to R: note the tree growing out of bare rock-- a perfect symbol of hope ever present even in the darkest, most difficult times? The Ottawa Valley has an impressive collection of historic log cabins and houses that are lovingly maintained and lived in by current owners. We too have some log structures dating back to our first settlers -- most have been covered up with siding and are undetectable to the naked eye. The photo of the lumbering truck and the boreal forest-covered Canadian Shield in Renfrew County reminds us of our tremendous wealth in natural resources as a nation.
Gentle reader, faithful reader, the blogpost trail of broken dreams (below)is the first step towards its sequel the blog margin notes-- which will have to wait until after Christmas--happening here today. Turkey is stuffed but still need to whip up today's dessert and paused only to thank all of you who have supported this blog now almost one year old. Most of you are anonymous to me but occasionally I do meet you in person.
Can we pause long enough for me to tell you how much your encouragement and support has meant over the past year? Thank you.
My wish for all of us as we pause this year is best expressed in this verse from "Dover Beach" written in 1867 by the Victorian poet Matthew Arnold:
Ah, love, let us be true
To one another! for the world, which seems
To lie before us like a land of dreams,
So various, so beautiful, so new,
Hath really neither joy, nor love, nor light,
Nor certitude, nor peace, nor help for pain;
And we are here as on a darkling plain
Swept with confused alarms of struggle and flight,
Where ignorant armies clash by night.
To one another! for the world, which seems
To lie before us like a land of dreams,
So various, so beautiful, so new,
Hath really neither joy, nor love, nor light,
Nor certitude, nor peace, nor help for pain;
And we are here as on a darkling plain
Swept with confused alarms of struggle and flight,
Where ignorant armies clash by night.
http://www.gober.net/victorian/dover.html
If you have time, the link takes you to the entire poem.
May you and yours be true to one another! Joy always, Rambling Rose
If you have time, the link takes you to the entire poem.
May you and yours be true to one another! Joy always, Rambling Rose
Labels: boreal forest
20 December 2006
trail of broken dreams
A few years back, Vaughn-based Magnotta Winery used the Inukshuk symbol in spite of cries of outrage expressed by the aboriginal communities. Since then Inukshuks have been sprouting up all over.
"Inukshuk (ee-nook-shook or ee-nook-sook) is an Inuktitut word that means to look like a person (an Inuk). It is a stone cairn which has been used by the Inuit people to mark high points of land, good hunting and fishing
spots or the way home." -- http://www.inukshuk.com/about.html
spots or the way home." -- http://www.inukshuk.com/about.html
The Inukshuk in the photograph is to be found beside an 1850's colonization road, The Ottawa and Opeongo Road that runs through the Madawaska Valley between Castleford and Barry's Bay. The area's first settlers were lured by free land grants in exchange for clearing the land and planting crops to supply the lumbering operations. As the forests were cleared, the lumbering operations moved out and the farmers lost their only market. Most settlers abandoned their lots and the wilderness reclaimed all of their hard work. The owner of this particular Inukshuk came to chat with Rambling Rose and told her story of life beside the trail of broken dreams. She and her husband had left the big city behind-- he to farm the stony ground here, she to run a cottage craft industry. After the farm and home business failed as did the marriage, she went back to the city to qualify as a nurse. She still lives on the Opeongo Road but commutes some 45 minutes to work at the hospital in Barry's Bay.
Next photo is of a statue erected to commemorate the Icelandic Settlement Disaster in Kinmount. In 1874, 352 immigrants arrived from Iceland in Toronto where they were offered work by the Victoria Railway Company to construct a line near Kinmount. The provincial government housed the Icelanders in log shanties nearby. poor ventilation, sanitation and diet allowed sickness to rage through their cold, overcrowded quarters. Within six weeks, twelve children and a teenager had died. By spring of 1875, the death toll had doubled and the Icelanders moved west to found the settlement of Gimli, Manitoba.--information provided on historical plaque mounted by the Ontario Heritage Foundation.
This is a cautionary tale at best. Our history books speak of settlement as process that belongs to the past; the reality is that settlement of this vast country is ongoing and that whenever we speak of development and urban sprawl we are really talking about settlement in a country that continues to grow. Perhaps the most useful insight acquired in the past year regarding political affairs is to pause to ask this question, "Who stands to benefit?"
The Opeongo line benefited the giant of the lumber industry in the Ottawa Valley-- John Rudolphus Booth. In his time, he was known as the lumber king of North America who worked 18,000 square miles of timberland in the Ottawa Valley and Alqonquin Park. He owned the largest lumber mill in the world, in Ottawa. His shipping business, in which the railway was an important link, tapped the lucrative grain markets in the west with steamships crossing the Great Lakes and the railway linking Georgian Bay to the eastern harbours and Europe.
The early settlers were merely pawns in a powerful game who were moved here and there by the national and provincial governments influenced by more vested interests. Today the Opeongo Road serves merely as a scenic backroad best travelled to appreciate fall colour in north-eastern Ontario. It is used primarily by lumbering trucks and city dwellers escaping to their cottages. Farming is non-existent in this portion of the Canadian Shield. And yes, logging operations continue in Algonquin Park.
Photo top right is of a mural commemorating the role of the railroad in the founding of Pembroke, Ontario. Pembroke is worth a visit if only to marvel at how this city has chosen to tell its history in a sequence of murals on the exterior of historic buildings in the downtown core. All photos copyright to Sandamara Images 2002.
Next photo is of a statue erected to commemorate the Icelandic Settlement Disaster in Kinmount. In 1874, 352 immigrants arrived from Iceland in Toronto where they were offered work by the Victoria Railway Company to construct a line near Kinmount. The provincial government housed the Icelanders in log shanties nearby. poor ventilation, sanitation and diet allowed sickness to rage through their cold, overcrowded quarters. Within six weeks, twelve children and a teenager had died. By spring of 1875, the death toll had doubled and the Icelanders moved west to found the settlement of Gimli, Manitoba.--information provided on historical plaque mounted by the Ontario Heritage Foundation.
This is a cautionary tale at best. Our history books speak of settlement as process that belongs to the past; the reality is that settlement of this vast country is ongoing and that whenever we speak of development and urban sprawl we are really talking about settlement in a country that continues to grow. Perhaps the most useful insight acquired in the past year regarding political affairs is to pause to ask this question, "Who stands to benefit?"
The Opeongo line benefited the giant of the lumber industry in the Ottawa Valley-- John Rudolphus Booth. In his time, he was known as the lumber king of North America who worked 18,000 square miles of timberland in the Ottawa Valley and Alqonquin Park. He owned the largest lumber mill in the world, in Ottawa. His shipping business, in which the railway was an important link, tapped the lucrative grain markets in the west with steamships crossing the Great Lakes and the railway linking Georgian Bay to the eastern harbours and Europe.
The early settlers were merely pawns in a powerful game who were moved here and there by the national and provincial governments influenced by more vested interests. Today the Opeongo Road serves merely as a scenic backroad best travelled to appreciate fall colour in north-eastern Ontario. It is used primarily by lumbering trucks and city dwellers escaping to their cottages. Farming is non-existent in this portion of the Canadian Shield. And yes, logging operations continue in Algonquin Park.
Photo top right is of a mural commemorating the role of the railroad in the founding of Pembroke, Ontario. Pembroke is worth a visit if only to marvel at how this city has chosen to tell its history in a sequence of murals on the exterior of historic buildings in the downtown core. All photos copyright to Sandamara Images 2002.
Labels: history
12 December 2006
peddling power for profit-- whose?
Photos copyright Sandamara Images 2006 L to R: east and north facades of former City of Kitchener Public Utilities Commission Building now in private ownership; building details highlight Art Deco lamp and gargoyle.
Today's photos, gentle reader, were chosen to pick up the theme introduced in a previous blog, pedalling for power 14 September 2006. That particular blog told the story of this building and three visionary community leaders in whose memory this building was dedicated. That blog's sequel, peddling power, has been in gestation for some time now and just refused to gel... until last night's bedtime reading suddenly made sense of a file of clippings and shed light on how far we have moved away from the ideal embodied in this particular building. The ideal? quite simply--cheap power for all in public ownership under a provincial crown corporation --Ontario Hydro.
For most of the twentieth century, local utilities boards purchased power wholesale from Ontario Hydro to sell at retail rates to their customers. All that changed with the coming to power of Premier Mike Harris who launched his common-sense revolution in the early 1990's. The debt-ridden and ill-managed Crown corporation was dismantled into separate parts (as revealed on your hydro bill):
1. Ontario Power Generation, which generates power;
2. The Independent Electricity System Operator, which administers electrical supply and demand;
3. Hydro One Networks, which looks after the transmission of power to local power companies;
4. The local companies, which get power to homes and businesses.
As part of Harris' plan, the elected utilities commissions that operated in almost every community were transformed into private corporations -- to be owned by the municipalities they served. The Harris government believed that municipalities would sell off these hydro companies to private investors, and reap a financial windfall. Not so, in the Region of Waterloo. The three utilities that existed before the transition simply became three new corporations, still owned by the municipalities -- but now run at arm's-length by independent, appointed boards of directors. The only link to the municipalities are the mayors, who sit on those boards.
"We're a private corporation that's run by the public sector,
but that doesn't preclude running it in a businesslike manner.
We are publicly owned, but we are a business, and
we are substantially different
than the public utilities commissions were years ago."-
- Ron Charie, President Kitchener-Wilmot Hydro (now retired)
but that doesn't preclude running it in a businesslike manner.
We are publicly owned, but we are a business, and
we are substantially different
than the public utilities commissions were years ago."-
- Ron Charie, President Kitchener-Wilmot Hydro (now retired)
"For now, the utilities firms are committed to keeping the lights on,
at reasonable prices, and exploring other business opportunities that come along
-- like high-speed, fibre optic cable...
The [provincial] government said we should look at our assets
and improve our returns."
--John Grotheer, the president of Cambridge and North Dumfries Hydro
Recently the Ontario Energy Board announced a rate decrease of 6% effective 1 Nov 06 equal to $6.60 per 1,000kwh -- thanks to lower gas prices, a milder summer, and an increase in power supply.
at reasonable prices, and exploring other business opportunities that come along
-- like high-speed, fibre optic cable...
The [provincial] government said we should look at our assets
and improve our returns."
--John Grotheer, the president of Cambridge and North Dumfries Hydro
Recently the Ontario Energy Board announced a rate decrease of 6% effective 1 Nov 06 equal to $6.60 per 1,000kwh -- thanks to lower gas prices, a milder summer, and an increase in power supply.
The energy crisis seemed to have abated until events of the past month put hydro issues back on the front pages of our local newspaper. First, there was the surprise sale of municipally-owned Atria that prompted this editorial: "Details of the transaction remain murky, and the municipal leaders involved in the sale remain disturbingly tight-lipped. This is public money, involving the providers of our electricity. The public is owed a detailed accounting of this sale." Shortly thereafter, the provincial auditor criticized Hydro One for poor spending controls, pointing out for example that managers approved $127 million in credit card expenses without proper receipts, and this week's firing of the Hydro One CEO.
What's going on here? For starters, let's look more closely at one sentence again: "We're a private corporation that's run by the public sector" cf. above quote. Private????? Kitchener-Wilmot Hydro is owned by City of Kitchener and Township of Wilmot taxpayers. Private corporations are owned by private investors and private shareholders who individually determine size of their investment and are paid dividends accordingly. Is it any wonder that employees hired to serve in the public sector get confused?
In The Ethical Imagination (2006)-- last night's terribly dense bedtime reading--, Canadian ethicist Dr. Margaret Somerville warns of the "danger of 'mixed ethical systems" which require special ethical safeguards. Somerville draws on Jane Jacobs' Systems of Survival which describes two different ethical systems: a) the guardian moral syndrome seen in universities and governments; and b) the commercial trader moral syndrome seen in industry and business. According to Somerville, "each system has its own internal safeguards. Problems arise when a ...mixed ethical system results from a combination of institutions, some of which are governed by the guardian moral syndrome and others by the commercial [trader} syndrome...In a guardian moral syndrome, the guardian must act in the best interests of others, while in a commercial moral syndrome one may act in one's own best interests as long as one acts honestly."... From there, Somerville advises, "Care is needed to avoid the negation of ethics that can occur in mixed systems-- for instance, the scandalous behaviour that results when government bureaucrats see their primary role as being entrepreneurs and 'doing business, ' especially to help themselves."
Postscript: “Like the Kitchener gas utility, Atria shows a huge potential to become a highly profitable
investment that would actually lower our taxes while improving our services. Kitchener Mayor
Carl Zehr and his rubber-stamp sidemen try to make the case that Atria needs major investment
to succeed and, therefore, should be sold off while it still is hot. With most of the
taxpayer-funded infrastructure already in place, it's no wonder that the buyer wants to keep the
sale quiet until it's a done deal.--Howard Bonnell, “Atria deal is dubious” letter to editor The Record 4 Nov 06
Sources: Dave Pink, “Players debate brighter ways of delivering power services, “ The Record 8 Jul 06; “Atria sale raises questions” (Oct 28, 2006) Record editorial.
Labels: Berlin/Kitchener history, energy, ethics
08 December 2006
the humble penny
I found a penny today Just laying on the ground,
But it's not just a penny This little coin I've found.
Once upon a time in a life lived somewhere else, Rambling Rose measured happiness by the basic accounting equation. Quite simple really, total debits - (minus) total credits = (equals) $0.00. Distress occurred whenever that simple arithmetical process produced the following: debits - credits = + or - $0.01....that's right, one penny difference could consume hours upon hours work to backtrack and find the error. It was easy to locate dollar amounts, but that d_____ penny error would prove most frustrating of all. Herewith, a distressing penny's worth or two of thoughts:But it's not just a penny This little coin I've found.
1. City of Kitchener taxpayer dollars will be allocated in the January 2007 budget sessions. How? Well, this newly re-elected, re-formed Council (spelling? reformed?) is planning to ask local taxpayers for their input. Deadline for your input will be 19 January 2007. You will be receiving your homework package (12 pages total) in one of four ways: a) delivered to your house 28 Dec 06 with Jan/Feb edition of "Your Kitchener" ; b) at a public meeting: 9th or 17th January 2007; c) handed out on 13 January 07 at the YOUR Kitchener Market; or d) if you wish, right now on the Internet. Go to city's website, click on calendar, click on Monday 11 December 06, click on Finance and Corporate Services meeting, click on "Budget in Brief" and then save to file or just print out. Have fun?
Angels put them there That's what my Grandpa told me,
He said Angels toss them down. Oh, how I loved that story.
He said Angels toss them down. Oh, how I loved that story.
"It is well established that governments that are most effective
at incorporating citizens into the budget process are those that:
*use a strategic plan as the basis for budgeting and consultation;
*engage citizens early in the process at multiple times and in multiple ways; and
*seek to build community through inclusion and the building of trust."
--Pauline Houston, General Manager of Financial Services & Treasurer
FIN-06-054 attached to Monday's agenda package
He said when an Angel misses you They toss a penny down,
Sometimes just to cheer you up To make a smile out of your frown
at incorporating citizens into the budget process are those that:
*use a strategic plan as the basis for budgeting and consultation;
*engage citizens early in the process at multiple times and in multiple ways; and
*seek to build community through inclusion and the building of trust."
--Pauline Houston, General Manager of Financial Services & Treasurer
FIN-06-054 attached to Monday's agenda package
He said when an Angel misses you They toss a penny down,
Sometimes just to cheer you up To make a smile out of your frown
2. The promised blog about Bill 130 will be delayed indefinitely other than this brief summary of Rambling Rose's remembered notes. Actually googled it and did background research on the soon-to-be-declared-legislation (third reading early 2007 followed by royal assent) and then misplaced the notes. Basically the government has not increased a municipality's power to increase revenues through imposing taxes other than property; hence, one can expect increases in license fees, user fees*, and penalties. The new stuff dealing with issues of transparency and accountability has been covered in the blog "the public purse" following this one.
Why the detour to Queen's Park? well, City Staff had submitted a report on Bill 130 to the Council-elect in late November (Council was not sworn in until Monday 4th Dec 06) with request Council advise whether Kitchener should make presentation to provincial Committee dealing with this piece of legislation. Of concern in the draft legislation to the City's solicitor were two issues: 1) closed meetings and 2) structure of municipal Economic Development Corporations. ====> Come to think of it the general public still does not know particulars of the taxpayer-owned sale of Atria to a private corporation. Nor do we know campaign donations received by all municipal candidates.
** Don't delay. By Tuesday this information will vanish into cyberspace! :o((<<
Why the detour to Queen's Park? well, City Staff had submitted a report on Bill 130 to the Council-elect in late November (Council was not sworn in until Monday 4th Dec 06) with request Council advise whether Kitchener should make presentation to provincial Committee dealing with this piece of legislation. Of concern in the draft legislation to the City's solicitor were two issues: 1) closed meetings and 2) structure of municipal Economic Development Corporations. ====> Come to think of it the general public still does not know particulars of the taxpayer-owned sale of Atria to a private corporation. Nor do we know campaign donations received by all municipal candidates.
So don't pass by that penny When you're feeling blue,
It may be a penny from heaven That an Angel's tossed to you
* If you do visit City website, look for the schedule of user fees (also posted with Finance and Corporate Services Committee agenda) to be increased.** Example: single swim pass from $2.00 to $2.90. Parking rates to go up 5%. Deal with all of this in the New Year? time to enjoy Christmas?It may be a penny from heaven That an Angel's tossed to you
** Don't delay. By Tuesday this information will vanish into cyberspace! :o((<<
Photo copyright Sandamara Images 1998-2006: Miners' momunment, Kirkland Lake ON.
Labels: politics
the public purse
Photos copyright Sandamara Images 1998-2006: Kirkland Lake ON tribute to gold miners.
In the past month, three auditors-general (federal, Ontario and Newfoundland-Labrador) have filed their annual audits of government expenditures. Two local institutions (Grand River Hospital, Children's Aid) have responded with outrage and denial to portions of the provincial auditor's report. The issue involving the public purse and the auditor-general's responsibility deals essentially with matters of public trust and the public good. Here's a P3 acronym (public purse, public trust, public good) that sums up the basic principle: the tax-paying public trusts our elected officials and public servants to spend monies in the public purse for the public good.
How large is the public purse? For starters, the revenue flowing into the public purse (federal, provincial, municipal) accrues from taxpayer dollars from many sources. David Voth in his best-seller The 10 Secrets Revenue Canada doesn't want you to know lists 19 sources of tax revenue: federal income and estate taxes, provincial income taxes, corporate income taxes, payroll taxes, GST and provincial sales taxes, personal property taxes, school taxes, business taxes, gasoline taxes, import duty taxes, sin taxes (cigarettes, liquor), travel taxes, excise taxes, road taxes, utility surcharge taxes, environmental levy taxes, air travelers security taxes, and the list goes on." A pretty fat purse that is measured in trillions of dollars. How about your wallet, gentle reader? Pretty thin with Christmas almost here?
Herewith, the highlights from some of these reports:
1) Frank Etherington," No SUVs, no cruises for local FCS boss," The Record 7 Dec 06 quotes local FCS executive director who said, "he's concerned about the auditor general's "blinkered approach" ...and that [the provincial auditor-general]"should address the cause, not just symptoms, of problems found at children's aid agencies across Ontario. " ====> an auditor with his/her red ink is doing his/her job to flag the abuses, it's up to the government and relevant agencies to deal with the problem.
2) Record editorial of 7 Dec 06, "Nice job, if you can get it,": Based on a news report that "Auditor General Jim McCarter was withering in his criticism of the agencies [i.e. three Family and Children's Services Agencies ] for misspending public money...and [declared] "all this an intolerable abuse of public money and public trust," The Record issues a scathing indictment of such a "culture of entitlement" and advises the free-spending FCS executive, " the money isn't there to give you a luxury ride to the office in the morning or feed some bloated sense of entitlement. It is there for some of Ontario's most troubled and needy children. The money is there to help them -- not for you to help yourself."
3) Canadian Press, "Hydro chief's bills under fire," The Record 8 Dec 06: Premier Dalton McGuinty warned that "expensive perks for senior executives and millions of dollars in credit card charges without proper documentation are examples of a culture of entitlement at Hydro One that will no longer be tolerated. But McGuinty admitted there's little chance chief executive Tom Parkinson will be fired after a scathing auditor's report also found the executive put more than $45,000 in charges on a secretary's corporate card." ====> no consequences? just encourages those who can get away with it?
4) Canadian Press, "Recover constituency funds, auditor tells legislature," The Record 8 Dec 06: "Newfoundland's auditor general delivered a report to the provincial legislature yesterday urging it to recover $1.6 million in excessive constituency allowance payments given to five politicians implicated in a massive spending scandal." =====> different province, different culture, different value system? not really....perhaps our Premier needs to talk to the Newfoundland/Labrador premier?
What about local municipal spending? Who audits and reports back to local taxpayers? For now, no one. However, that could change with passage of Bill 130, "The proposed Municipal Statute Law Amendment Act, 2006 focuses on replacing prescribed, or very specific, powers with broad permissive powers. The intent is to provide municipal governments with more flexibility in meeting their communities’ expectations and fulfilling their responsibilities." The bill is intended "to promote accountability and transparency, municipal councils would have the power to establish codes of conduct for members of council and members of certain local boards. They could also, at their discretion, appoint an integrity commissioner, an ombudsman, an auditor general and a lobbyist registrar."
Gentle reader, care to read the entire 196 page document? It can be found here: http://www.ontla.on.ca/library/bills/382/130382.htm
Labels: ethics, leadership, politics
03 December 2006
patchwork quilt preamble
For most of her lifetime, RR has subscribed to the conventional wisdom that insists that the Canadian socio-cultural experience is comparable to a mosaic whereas the American approach is that of the melting pot. The photos of the quilts on display at the 2004 Wellington County Fall Fair offered up a new metaphor for the essentially Canadian experience. This country is made up of a highly diverse population spread across many varied regions in a vast landscape united by a shared dream of an impossible country we call Canada.The aha! is this: we resemble the patchwork quilt stitched together out of scraps of various origins into an integrated whole by many hands -- at first, a rough crude blanket to provide warmth but over centuries which over time becomes a work of art. Note the photo of Grand Craft Guild's quilt that assembles images of Wellington County heritage structures.
Contrast as well the photos of the quilts with the photo (below) of fine imported linens from Germany and you can trace different sensibilities at work. However, this is not a question of either_____or____ but more a juxtaposition that is best phrased thus: _____ and ____ existing side by side and visually illustrates the Canadian way of multiculturalism.
Words can be tricky, slippery tools-- especially in the mouths of politicians looking over their shoulders at the next election down the road. In the meatier blog following upon this one, RR takes one single word nation as used in two different contexts in the media in the past month. For another take on who we are as Canadians, RR is currently reading Adrienne Clarkson's Heart Matters (2006).
Mme Clarkson observes, "Our political system is very vulnerable, and tinkering with it out of ignorance or attempting to make radical change in it for vainglorious reasons would require a whole rethinking of our structures, our Parliament, our judicial system."
RR pauses on this sentence to wonder if either Stephen Harper or Michael Ignatieff actually watched all of the 1970's televised federal-provincial conferences chaired by then Justice Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau that brought about the repatriation of our Constitution and the Charter of Freedom and Rights in 1982? and marvels at how glibly the present House agreed to the words "a nation within a united nation" and then wonders what expectations have been thereby created?
Further musings lead to this: it is sovereign nations who negotiate treaties as did France and England after the decisive battle on the Plains of Abraham. RR must admit to ignorance of the name of that treaty and the clauses which granted certain rights to Quebec/Lower Canada--it's been decades since she studied that in school--- when note this-- most of the compulsory history course was devoted to American history than Canadian. RR does have more recent notes on the individual treaties negotiated with Canada's First Nations and in particular, the exact wording of the Royal Proclamation that defines the relationship between the Crown and its aboriginal peoples.
There are no easy final answers or solutions to this process of growing a country/nation. Mme Clarkson notes elsewhere, "Living in a democracy should mean more than just going to the ballot bax every four years to say whom we like or don't like...For Canada, to be a true democracy, citizens must exercise their abilities, their actions, their ideas in such a way that we are continually aware of the kinds of questions that a truly enlightened society should be posing to itself. The right questions make for wise decisions."
02 December 2006
patchwork quilt
Photos copyright to Sandamara Images 2004-06 L to R: display of Christmas linens from Germany at Christkindl Markt, taking place this week in the Rotunda, Kitchener City Hall; display of Canadian quilts at the 2004 Wellington County Fair, Fergus ON.
- Today's photos were chosen to highlight various aspects of culture and heritage as stepping stones to a much larger issue dominating the national agenda for this past month. The Canadian Press defned the issue in an article headlined, "What exactly is meant by nation?" In that article, two key points are made:
- a) In 1918, US President Woodrow Wilson "advocated for the self-determination of nations, or the idea that peoples or nations have the right to a sovereign state."
- b) In 2006, "Liberal leadership hopeful Michael Ignatieff....[said] that Quebec is a 'civic nation,' not an ethnic one" and speaks of "civic nationalism as 'a community of equal, rights-bearing citizens, united in patriotic attachment to a shared set of political practices and values." (1)
- c) in the run-up to the Liberal convention this past week, the House of Commons passed a motion worded thus: "the Quebecois form a nation within a united Canada."
- (d) Former Prime Minister Jean Chretien issued a passionate warning to the Liberal leadership convention yesterday that "we must be clear with out words" and provided a more unifying vision of the values that make Canada a remarkable country: justice, tolerance, generosity, and diversity in unity as he pleaded for the formation of a new team to build Canada on a solid foundation of fiscal responsibility, social programs, balance growth, and a renewed commitment to Kyoto. His words were echoed by Stephane Dion, the new leader of the Liberal party who declared that the most significant issue of our times is sustainable development. (6)
a) Treaty negotiations with First Nations in British Columbia bogged down, with not a single treaty signed as costs skyrocket to $426,000,000 since 1993.
b) Health Canada badly mismanaged the contract to provide First Nations with health benefits. ( Standard treaty clause usually described as the medicine chest clause; this particular clause is key component of Treaty 9 which covers health care for northern Ontario First Nations and includes Kaschechewan's tainted water supply.(check spelling?)
Closer to home, the Six Nations' outstanding land claim of 1992 with its legal basis in the Royal Proclamation likewise became stalled. However, some progress has been made requiring ongoing consultation with the Six Nations by governing bodies in the Grand River watershed:
a) Paul Emerson, CAO of Grand River Conservation Authority advised the GRCA planning and operations committee:
1) the provincial government had advised that "the duty to consult" would likely apply to conservation authorities:
2) the Supreme Court of Canada has ruled that federal and provincial governments have a duty to consult First Nations on land where there are outstanding land claims;
3) specifically, this duty to consult is required whenever there are environmental assessments taking place (i.e. construction of a dam in Elora, water-quality station in Kitchener, and water gauge near Caledonia).
In spite of this advice, initially the GRCA board decided to proceed without consultation.(3)
However, Waterloo Regional Councillor Jane Brewer recommended that "the authority to consult with the Confederacy Council and the decision was reversed. Wes Elliott, spokesperson for the Six Nations Confederacy noted, "We have so much experience and knowledge not being used by the GRCA." (4)
===> RR has in her files a document between the City of Brantford and the Six Nations of the Grand River entitled "Grand River Notification Agreement Renewal" dated 3 October 1998 and wonders why/how the duty to consult seemed never to apply to GRCA and Region of Waterloo?
As of 1 Dec 06, Region of Waterloo Council plans to consult both the elected and traditional councils of the Six Nations re building bridges over the Grand River. Why now? The official reason appears to be that the Six Nations' elected council ceded ownership of the Caledonia issue to the traditional non-elected council, the Haudenosaunee Confederacy. Chair Seiling is quoted, "We don't want to create any unnecessary confrontation here." (5)
"The more we realize that our country is winter,
the more we can understand ourselves and know what our strengths and weaknesses are.
We have to work hard for our food, for our shelter.
Nothing is given us in this harsh land.
We know that the parameters of our society are fixed by climate and geography.
We know we have to look after each other,
because someone might come to our door when it's minus twenty outside and ask us for shelter.
We would bring them in because we know that we might someday be in the same position."
--former Governor General Mme Adrienne Clarkson, Heart Matters(2006), p. 186.
In effect, Mme Clarkson has described for us the essence of the patchwork quilt in the photo above-- the prudent thrift of the first settlers found its expression in the warm blankets needed against our winters.
the more we can understand ourselves and know what our strengths and weaknesses are.
We have to work hard for our food, for our shelter.
Nothing is given us in this harsh land.
We know that the parameters of our society are fixed by climate and geography.
We know we have to look after each other,
because someone might come to our door when it's minus twenty outside and ask us for shelter.
We would bring them in because we know that we might someday be in the same position."
--former Governor General Mme Adrienne Clarkson, Heart Matters(2006), p. 186.
In effect, Mme Clarkson has described for us the essence of the patchwork quilt in the photo above-- the prudent thrift of the first settlers found its expression in the warm blankets needed against our winters.
Labels: aboriginal, Canadiana, politics
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