Ignatieff Coming To Stratford Tomorrow

The Liberal Express with Michael Ignatieff & 10 other Liberal MP's will be in Stratford tomorrow. Sunday July 25th at 12 Noon.

His bus will stop in front of Stratford's City Hall (1 Wellington Street).

Hope to meet up with any of you supporters who live in the area at the event tomorrow!

New Head of Stats Canada

One Is Ok, The Other Is Not?

Here, again, another revealing view of Harper/Conservative priorities:

From the CP in CanadaEast:

The Harper government was expected to announce today one of the biggest military equipment purchases in history _ a controversial, non-competitive $16-billion contract to build a new generation of fighter jets.

And from Christine Dobby in The Telegraph-Journal:

The provinces need to rein in "rampant" growth in health-care spending says the federal minister of finance.

Jim Flaherty told the Telegraph-Journal's editorial board on Thursday that provincial spending on health care is growing at a rate that outstrips economic growth, a situation that is unsustainable over time.

"The provinces are going to have to look at their budgets and figure out ways of providing health-care services without rampant growth," Flaherty said.

The finance minister in Stephen Harper's Conservative government said he hopes provinces will adopt "best practices" to control the rate of growth of health-care costs.

So, $16 BILLION for 65 fighter jets we don't need versus our Health Care. I know which one is more important to me & most other Canadians.

For more on those fighter jets & the cost go to Impolitic who's done a great post on this issue.

EU Trade Pact & Our Municipal Water Services

This is something we need to keep an eye on as Harper negotiates trading deal with the EU. Water, & the lack thereof, will be the cause of future wars. And not too far off in the distance either as climate change rapidly increases.

By Bruce Campion-Smith in The Star:


OTTAWA – Foreign companies would gain unprecedented access to municipal water services and perhaps even a claim to the water itself under the free trade deal now being negotiated between Canada and the European Union, a new report says.

While the federal government has touted the economic upsides of the trade pact, a legal analysis claims it will likely have big implications for municipalities by forcing them to open their contracts to European firms.

Harper Trying To Make Exemptions In Detainee Deal

Here we go again. Did anyone REALLY think Harper was going to let the opposition see crucial, & critical, documents on the Afghan detainee issue?

From Steven Chase in the Globe & Mail:

The Harper government has been trying to insert a loophole in a deal that’s supposed to grant opposition MPs full access to secret records on Afghan detainees – a proposal that could derail negotiations if not resolved.

Opposition parties are fighting the attempted exemption that would let Ottawa withhold some documents on the grounds they are “not necessary or appropriate for the purpose of holding Parliament to account.”

BP Live Cam of Oil Gush

Here is a very clear view of the gush. It's no leak, wrong word, it's truly a gusher. Today is the supposed "Top Kill" plan. Let's hope it works!

I Didn't Know This - Did You?

I find this appalling. And is it really necessary to have ALL these perks for the Speaker of the House? Disgusting.

By Greg Weston in The Sun.

Live Webcam Of Oil Spill In Gulf of Mexico

Scroll down the page to watch the live cam.
Mind boggling!