Earlier this week, I joined the chorus of calls for Natural Resources Minister Gary Lunn to resign over his improper handling of the nuclear reactor situation in Chalk River, Ontario. It seems that the Conservative Cabinet is filled with nothing but incompetent and mindlessly partisan individuals (including the Prime Minister himself).
Stephane Dion has written a letter to the Prime Minister asking Harper to fire Helena Guergis from her position as Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs. You can read his letter at the following link:
http://www.liberal.ca/pdf/docs/080115_guergis_letter_en.pdf
She publicly discussed the visit itinerary for when Dion and Michael Ignatieff visited Afghanistan last week with the media. Her decision to discuss their security could have engaged their safety and even their lives. Perhaps, that's even what she wanted to do...
It is completely unacceptable for her to have endangered Stephane Dion's life and still remain a minister of the government. She must be punished by losing her position in cabinet.
The Harper government needs to learn that there are some things which are more important than partisanship, such as the safety and lives of others, particularly individuals who they work alongside in the House of Commons every day. Surely Stephen Harper and his minions would rather see Stephane Dion alive than killed by the Taliban. Although, knowing them, that's not necessarily certain...
January 17, 2008
January 16, 2008
Last week I wrote about the current controversy regarding the nuclear reactor at Chalk River, Ontario and the improper influence by Stephen Harper and his cabinet. Overnight, Natural Resources Minister Gary Lunn fired Linda Keen, the head of the nuclear regulatory commission. This is an absolutely unacceptable case of conservative interference into the affairs of an independent government organization.
Gary Lunn does not have the scientific and/or technical knowledge required to make such an important decision. She was fulfilling the mandate of her job to keep Canadians safe from a nuclear disaster, which I personally support.
Stephen Harper's government is very dangerous for Canada and Canadians. We need to know that our civil servants can do their job as according to their job descriptions, not in accordance with the political agenda of the Conservatives!
Gary Lunn does not have the scientific and/or technical knowledge required to make such an important decision. She was fulfilling the mandate of her job to keep Canadians safe from a nuclear disaster, which I personally support.
Stephen Harper's government is very dangerous for Canada and Canadians. We need to know that our civil servants can do their job as according to their job descriptions, not in accordance with the political agenda of the Conservatives!
January 11, 2008
Even Kim Campbell Sees Just How Anti-Women the Conservative Government Is
I just found an excellent new story on the Toronto Star website and I encourage every Canadian to read it! It can be found at http://www.thestar.com/News/article/292944
Former Prime Minister Kim Campbell, herself a Progressive-Conservative Premier, has called Stephen Harper on his exclusion of women from his cabinet, especially from high profile ministries. She said that the government was treating women as an unimportant afterthought by not giving any woman a prominent portfolio.
I have long complained to my friends and family about Stephen Harper's hostility towards women and it's very nice to see that important conservative women agree with me. This government has continually acted to impede women in life; for instance, they killed the child care agreement the previous Liberal government had created. Although the Conservative Party may not like it, women have the right to work and have jobs other than raising children and we need to have affordable and accessible child care options. Women are equal and we cannot allow our rights to be trampled upon so easily by our government.
Stephen Harper needs to go. No Canadian Prime Minister should be allowed to discriminate against women the way he does!
Former Prime Minister Kim Campbell, herself a Progressive-Conservative Premier, has called Stephen Harper on his exclusion of women from his cabinet, especially from high profile ministries. She said that the government was treating women as an unimportant afterthought by not giving any woman a prominent portfolio.
I have long complained to my friends and family about Stephen Harper's hostility towards women and it's very nice to see that important conservative women agree with me. This government has continually acted to impede women in life; for instance, they killed the child care agreement the previous Liberal government had created. Although the Conservative Party may not like it, women have the right to work and have jobs other than raising children and we need to have affordable and accessible child care options. Women are equal and we cannot allow our rights to be trampled upon so easily by our government.
Stephen Harper needs to go. No Canadian Prime Minister should be allowed to discriminate against women the way he does!
January 10, 2008
Why We Need Kyoto
This morning I was walking to my part-time job and I saw something very unfortunate. Traffic had been reduced to one lane in both directions for construction purposes, as it has been for at least a week now. There was a large buildup of vehicles on both sides for the road and traffic was moving very slowly. All this time that each and every car inched along the road, they were spewing untold amounts of greenhouse gas emissions into the air.
surely these drivers ought to have known that the road was blocked off and they ought to have considered alternative transportation methods such as walking, bicycling, taking the bus, or carpooling on order to reduce the traffic congestion. Not only would they have been able to get to work faster, they would have helped protect the environment and limit damage to it. However, it seems like no one actually opted to do so, instead they chose to drive at a snail's pace in environmentally-damaging cars.
Basically my point is that Canadians are seemingly not willing to make the sacrifices required to save their planet on their own. Canada needs the Kyoto Protocol in order to ensure that change actually happens to lower our greenhouse gas emissions.
surely these drivers ought to have known that the road was blocked off and they ought to have considered alternative transportation methods such as walking, bicycling, taking the bus, or carpooling on order to reduce the traffic congestion. Not only would they have been able to get to work faster, they would have helped protect the environment and limit damage to it. However, it seems like no one actually opted to do so, instead they chose to drive at a snail's pace in environmentally-damaging cars.
Basically my point is that Canadians are seemingly not willing to make the sacrifices required to save their planet on their own. Canada needs the Kyoto Protocol in order to ensure that change actually happens to lower our greenhouse gas emissions.
January 9, 2008
Keep Canada Safe - Fire Minister Gary Lunn!
I hope everyone had a good Christmas/Hanukkah/winter break and a happy New Year!
Although I took some time away from blogging recently in order to relax at home with my family for the holidays, and many days i didn't have access to the Internet, be assured that I am back now and will be sure to give you my thoughts on the important issues with which we are faced in today's world here in Canada.
For my first post-Christmas break post, I would like to comment on the situation which has recently come to light regarding the nuclear reactor in chalk River, Ontario and the Conservative government of Canada. This whole incident was completely mismanaged by Stephen Harper's conservatives who ignored this issue from the beginning! Why were they seemingly unaware of the problems this reactor faced? Should they not have been aware of the issue before it became an issue???
It has recently been made public that Natural Resources minister Gary Lunn had threatened to fire or punish the head of the regulatory commission, simply for doing her job to make sure that any nuclear plant in Canada is safe to operate!! Today, I saw that Liberal leader Stephane Dion has called for him to be fired from his cabinet post for his egregious and offensive actions and I firmly support this course of action. Gary Lunn has no right to attempt to pass the blame onto the regulatory commission when it firmly belongs squarely with him for failing to anticipate this unfortunate situation. He must resign now.
Personally, I am uncomfortable knowing that something so serious and potentially disastrous as Canada's nuclear power plants are under the domain of someone so incompetent and offensive as Gary Lunn appears to be.
Although I took some time away from blogging recently in order to relax at home with my family for the holidays, and many days i didn't have access to the Internet, be assured that I am back now and will be sure to give you my thoughts on the important issues with which we are faced in today's world here in Canada.
For my first post-Christmas break post, I would like to comment on the situation which has recently come to light regarding the nuclear reactor in chalk River, Ontario and the Conservative government of Canada. This whole incident was completely mismanaged by Stephen Harper's conservatives who ignored this issue from the beginning! Why were they seemingly unaware of the problems this reactor faced? Should they not have been aware of the issue before it became an issue???
It has recently been made public that Natural Resources minister Gary Lunn had threatened to fire or punish the head of the regulatory commission, simply for doing her job to make sure that any nuclear plant in Canada is safe to operate!! Today, I saw that Liberal leader Stephane Dion has called for him to be fired from his cabinet post for his egregious and offensive actions and I firmly support this course of action. Gary Lunn has no right to attempt to pass the blame onto the regulatory commission when it firmly belongs squarely with him for failing to anticipate this unfortunate situation. He must resign now.
Personally, I am uncomfortable knowing that something so serious and potentially disastrous as Canada's nuclear power plants are under the domain of someone so incompetent and offensive as Gary Lunn appears to be.
November 21, 2007
Solving Youth Crime Requires More than Scare Tactics
This week, Stephen Harper's Conservative Government tried to solve the problem of youth crime in completely the wrong manner. Rather than addressing the root causes of youth crime, like poverty and a lack of affordable, high-quality youth programs, he has decided instead that the best way to solve the issue is to lock young offenders in prison.
Criminologists have said that jail does not act as a deterrent for young offenders who mostly commit crimes in the 'heat of the moment' spontaneously. Teenagers think differently than adults, and as such, they need to be treated differently than adults. Instead of recognizing this, the Conservative Government has decided to engage in fear-politics and scare voters into supporting their policies without logical regard to the facts of the matter.
Rather than more jail time, we need more alternative sentencing. Rather than locking children away behind bars, we need to engage in more dialogue. Rather than frightening Canadians into believing that youth crimes are lurking behind every corner, we need to increase support to unemployed and working-class Canadians. Unless we look at the reasons why teenagers commit crimes, we will never be able to solve the problem whatsoever.
Criminologists have said that jail does not act as a deterrent for young offenders who mostly commit crimes in the 'heat of the moment' spontaneously. Teenagers think differently than adults, and as such, they need to be treated differently than adults. Instead of recognizing this, the Conservative Government has decided to engage in fear-politics and scare voters into supporting their policies without logical regard to the facts of the matter.
Rather than more jail time, we need more alternative sentencing. Rather than locking children away behind bars, we need to engage in more dialogue. Rather than frightening Canadians into believing that youth crimes are lurking behind every corner, we need to increase support to unemployed and working-class Canadians. Unless we look at the reasons why teenagers commit crimes, we will never be able to solve the problem whatsoever.
November 16, 2007
It's time for Stephen Harper to come clean...
It's time for Stephen Harper to come clean to the Canadian public about what exactly he knows about the Schreiber-Mulroney allegations that have been in the media lately. As Prime Minister of Canada, it is his responsibility and his duty to publicly announce everything he knows about the whole affair and for how long he has known it.
This scandal has cast a dark shadow onto the Canadian government and we demand answers!
This scandal has cast a dark shadow onto the Canadian government and we demand answers!
November 14, 2007
Tackling Poverty Should be a Priority for Canada
Last week, I saw that Stephane Dion released his plan on how to fight one of the greatest social problems we have here in Canada: poverty. I really think he ought to be commended for tackling this important issue and standing up on behalf of some of the most vulnerable Canadians.
His plan really focuses on those Canadians who are, regrettably, often overlooked by society and the government, particularly working class Canadians, seniors and children. I like that the plan is not aimed at handouts to the people but instead it helps make sure they aren't overlooked and we help them out of their dire situations.
I think it's especially shameful that in a country as rich as Canada, we have 3.4 million Canadians living in poverty, including 788,000 children (according to the CBC.ca story I read). Something must be done about this, and I strongly believe that Stephane Dion's leadership on this issue will really make a difference.
His plan really focuses on those Canadians who are, regrettably, often overlooked by society and the government, particularly working class Canadians, seniors and children. I like that the plan is not aimed at handouts to the people but instead it helps make sure they aren't overlooked and we help them out of their dire situations.
I think it's especially shameful that in a country as rich as Canada, we have 3.4 million Canadians living in poverty, including 788,000 children (according to the CBC.ca story I read). Something must be done about this, and I strongly believe that Stephane Dion's leadership on this issue will really make a difference.
November 9, 2007
how small-minded can people be???
It never ceases to amaze me how stupid, intolerant, and small-minded some people are! How can any decent human being ever be so hurtful!
Just a few minutes ago, I was walking back from class to my res room and a homeless man came up to me and asked for some money so he could get a hot meal for the first time in a week. I gave him a couple of dollars, and then after I walked away I saw him ask a guy for the same thing. He just had this total look of disgust on his face, sneered at the man, and you'll never guess what he said... He said, "yes, I have money, but you're not getting a cent of it. If you really want some drug money, go get a job - although maybe you should have a shower first".
I can't believe that I actually heard that - I was so offended as a human being, and yelled at him for what he has said. he just shrugged his shoulders and told me I was such a stupid socialist! What a jerk!
I will never understand how someone could be so cruel to another human being, but then again, I will also never understand how someone could be conservative at all. Should we not care about one another in society? Should we not help those who are obviously less fortunate than we are?
I certainly think it's our responsibility.
Just a few minutes ago, I was walking back from class to my res room and a homeless man came up to me and asked for some money so he could get a hot meal for the first time in a week. I gave him a couple of dollars, and then after I walked away I saw him ask a guy for the same thing. He just had this total look of disgust on his face, sneered at the man, and you'll never guess what he said... He said, "yes, I have money, but you're not getting a cent of it. If you really want some drug money, go get a job - although maybe you should have a shower first".
I can't believe that I actually heard that - I was so offended as a human being, and yelled at him for what he has said. he just shrugged his shoulders and told me I was such a stupid socialist! What a jerk!
I will never understand how someone could be so cruel to another human being, but then again, I will also never understand how someone could be conservative at all. Should we not care about one another in society? Should we not help those who are obviously less fortunate than we are?
I certainly think it's our responsibility.
November 7, 2007
First Post
So, I've had some other blogs before, but usually they were of a more personal and friends-related nature. I now feel that the time has come to use this medium to reach out about the political issues which are nearest and dearest to my heart.
I want a place where I can write freely about my beliefs without being made fun of. Many of my friends here at university are really conservative, and they never let me express my views without being shouted down and dismissed entirely. As a matter of fact, it's really like the singleminded and hostile type of attitude that Stephen Harper constantly displays. I guess all those Conservatives really are the same...
I want a place where I can write freely about my beliefs without being made fun of. Many of my friends here at university are really conservative, and they never let me express my views without being shouted down and dismissed entirely. As a matter of fact, it's really like the singleminded and hostile type of attitude that Stephen Harper constantly displays. I guess all those Conservatives really are the same...
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