RoboCon Poilievre

"Thank you for your co-operation. Goodnight."

Monster in the Red Chamber

The monster Fair Elections Act, with its "sharper teeth, longer reach, and freer hands", is being fast-tracked to the Senate even before it passes in the House of Commons because Steve is in a huge rush to ram it - and its accompanying muzzling of Elections Canada's investigation into Con election fraud in the last election - through all the hoops in time for the next one in 2015.

If the senators here look fairly relaxed about having a monster in their midst, it's because they already know how this particular story ends. This is the same bunch, after all, who just three months ago voted 51- 30 against having Deloitte partner Michael Runia testify about a phone call he received from his contact Senator Irving Gerstein amid PMO interference in Deloitte's audit into Senator Mike Duffy.

Senator Claude Carignan, Con leader of the Red Chamber of sober second pre-thought, thinks it's "a very good bill" : 

“I don’t think the comments from the experts are appropriate,” he said. 

Some of the urgent changes "have to be adopted at the end of June if we want to have [them] in application for the next election.”

Yesterday Pierre Poilievre, addressed the Conservative senators in a private caucus meeting. CBC reported what the Con senators told them about it afterwards in what they termed an "Exclusive!" :

"Conservative sources in the Senate tell the CBC's Hannah Thibedeau and Rosemary Barton that Pierre Poilievre, minister of state for democratic reform, is open to changing the section of Bill C-23 that would eliminate the practice of vouching at polling stations."

Even if this second hand info is true - Big whoop.

Con Negotiating 101 : 

1. Stick way more than you expect to get passed in a real stinker of a reactionary bill that, in addition to killing off vouching, includes 

• gagging the head of Elections Canada; 
• refusing him the power to compel testimony from suspected fraudsters; 
• stopping EC projects to encourage voting; 
• moving the investigator's office under Peter MacKay; 
• giving national and local party winners of the previous election the right to nominate the returning officers and poll clerks for the next election
• not including fundraising to previous supporters as a campaign expense; and 
• raising campaign donation limits from $1000 to $5000 and $25,000. 

2. Be totally intractable about considering any changes at all - very important step.

3. When all the experts - including your own, international press, and even the editorial board of the Globe and Mail, which has endorsed Harper in every election, thinks the bill should be outright scrapped -

G&M : The Fair Elections Act: Kill this bill and If evidence voted, this bill would die -

it's time to simulate some good faith by giving way on one point to stem the outcry, thereby looking like you have caved a bit to opposition while still getting most of your boatload of backward bs past them.

Thursday Update : Hill Times : 

Mr. Poilievre indicated on Wednesday that reports might have been incorrect to indicate he was open to amendments—at least to replace vouching with a new system for electors without sufficient ID rather than offering no special measures at all.“I’ll let you know in a month when the committee actually reviews its amendments,” Mr. Poilievre told reporters. “And I think the bill’s terrific the way it is ...".

Toon monster in the Senate based on Ghostbusters character.

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Jason Kenney's math mojo

Employment Minister Jason Kenney explained that "none of us know exactly what is going on in the labour market of today" because ... math!!!  
The quest was made even more difficult by ignoring StatsCan's official statistics showing a declining job vacancy rate in favour of using data based on hiring "an outside software program that searches for online job ads" and adds them up.

This data showed the "job vacancy rate has been increasing steadily since 2009" - which, as it happens, turns out to be spectacularly useful for bolstering the Cons' corporate-friendly argument in favour of importing temporary foreign workers.

But why did the wonky Kijiji-based data falsely show an increase in labour shortage in Canada?

Chris Harris, Kijiji’s head of Jobs and Housing, provides a clue. 
He explained : "the job postings on the site are rising in part because the site itself has had major growth in terms of popularity."

Awesome. 
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Update : Good read from Susan Delacourt: Trolling the web for job data, Conservative-style

Shorter : The problem wasn’t fake ID in the 2011 election; the problem was fake phone calls. The same Cons who were outraged at the supposed intrusiveness of the gun registry and long form census have spent the last decade scooping up info on Canadians for their CIMS political database -- yet were strangely unfussed about the data breach of CIMS in the last election.
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Stephen Harper - tilting at windmills

No stats supporting a rise in crime? It's invisible crime! Steve will slay invisible crime for us. Ha!

No stats supporting a rise in anti-Semitism in Canada?  Never mind. Steve set up a special parliamentary committee to slay the invisible rise of anti-Semitism in Canada and give it a whole new definition that might include you.

No stats supporting public outcry against long form census? No problemo. It was an invisible public outcry. Long form census slayed, and bonus! -  cripple StatsCan's budget.

No stats supporting examples of voter fraud? Must be invisible voter fraud then, the kind only Steve and his minions can see. Best cripple Elections Canada investigations just to be on the safe side.

Are you starting to see a pattern here? Tilting at windmills and slaying invisible monsters seems to provide excellent cover for attacking whoever Steve as Donkey Otay perceives as opponents.

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The Fair Elections Act

First : Five things you need to know about "Fair" Elections Act.

then : Kady O'Malley :

"After giving MPs just two hours to debate the pros and cons of a bill that would radically rewrite Canada's election laws, the government has, it seems, heard quite enough from the duly elected representatives in the House. 

Yesterday afternoon, Government House Leader Peter Van Loan served notice that he intends to bring forward a motion that would force an end to the first round of debate, which will likely be tabled shortly after the Commons reopens for business later this morning, and -- barring a last-minute rebellion on the Conservative backbench, at least -- passed before noon."

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Steve & Bibi : Book burning and honorary degrees

You didn't really think he was going to stop at muzzling scientists and librarians and historians, eliminating their jobs, burning books, and closing down Fisheries research libraries, did you?

CBC :Health Canada library changes leave scientists scrambling

Main Health Canada research library closed, access outsourced to retrieval company

Health Canada scientists are so concerned about losing access to their research library that they're finding workarounds, with one squirrelling away journals and books in his basement for colleagues to consult.

"One group moved its 250 feet of published materials to an employee's basement. When you need a book, you email 'Fred,' and 'Fred' brings the book in with him the next day."

James Turk, executive director of the Canadian Association of University Teachers : "Scientifically, we are going to be a third-rate country."

 Tomorrow Stephen Harper will receive an honorary degree from Tel Aviv University :

"Mr. Stephen Harper will receive the honorary degree of Doctor of Philosophy for his exemplary conduct as a prominent world leader who promotes freedom, human rights and the rule of law; for his efforts to advance higher education; for his open and fundamental support of the State of Israel both as a private individual and as Prime Minister of Canada, and for his active and brave participation in the struggle against anti-Semitism and other forms of extremism.

“Mr. Harper has served as Prime Minister of Canada since 2006. Since Mr. Harper entered office, his government has promoted strict laws relating to public accountability; reduced personal and company taxation to the lowest level for forty years; introduced reforms in the criminal justice system; and strengthened Canada’s international reputation as a reliable ally in the defense of freedom, democracy and human rights."

Steve, Doctor of Book Burning, will join the company of previous Tel Aviv University honorary doctorate recipients Margaret Thatcher, Henry Kissinger, Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, Jimmy Carter, Angela Merkel, and Brian Mulroney. 
They give out about a dozen a year.

Wednesday update : Steve's acceptance speech :

"I am extremely flattered by the degree and the reasons for which it was awarded. Let me just say this - that I want to accept it not just on behalf of Laureen and myself but the entire Jewish Canadian community who have in our country - and really for both of our countries - merited this award a million times over."

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Toss another book on the fire

Yeah, it's an old toon recycled for Steve's Libricide :

CBC Fifth Estate : Silence of the Labs





I see Steve has also recycled Dimitri Soudas back into play.

I like how Dimitri's new rug really ties the room together.

Steve : "Justin Trudeau has shown poor judgement"

Trudeau's poor judgement ? Yeah, let's go with that.
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Hello? Budget Senate and Audit Rentals?

 G&M : "The Conservative Party of Canada initially planned to repay Senator Mike Duffy’s improperly-claimed expenses from their taxpayer-subsidized war chest but balked after learning the debt owed was nearly three times higher."

Apparently $32,000 in taxpayer and donor war chest funds to whitewash the audit and shut Duffy up was an ok deal, but $90,000 - not.
Thank goodness for Nigel Wright and his cheque - stepping up just in time to save the Senate the embarrassment of clawing back Duffy's wages like they are doing with Brazeau's.
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Noon update : Upon closer reading of RCMP Corporal Greg Horton's Information to Obtain, linked at "deal" in the post, I realize for the first time that this entire ridiculous saga - from Duffy becoming a PEI "resident" on the day he was announced to the Senate and his subsequent bogus expense claims through to the Stewart Olsen/Tkachuk Senate whitewash and Nigel Wright's cheque deal - this whole mess was predicated entirely on Duffy's mistaken notion that not being a resident of PEI would preclude him from being a senator. What a fucking prat.

Meanwhile, Paul Wells notes a prior in the Con record of buying inconvenient people off -a “binding agreement” for $50K with Harper in the loop to ditch unwanted Con candidate Alan Riddell in 2006.

But there's an earlier precedent still : Alliance MP Jim Hart stepped aside for Stockwell Day in Okanagan-Coquihalla in 2000, also for $50K, originally to be split 50/50 between the Party and the Office of the Leader of the Opposition. Hart had to sue for payment and signed the non-disclosure. Pushed to the Left and Loving It, a blog I really miss, quotes the relevant passages on this one from Preston Manning's book.
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Steve and Barry have a little chat

Really excellent background from The Tyee on the outing of the numpty non-issue of charity speaker gig fees that the Cons used to waste the last week of the House of Commons before summer recess.
Tyee Bonus : Spot the Lickspittle

And as Dammit Janet asks : Why did no other media outlet but that one tiny paper, the Barrie Advance, realize that the real story here was the PMO sending out partisan trumped-up *anonymous* leaks on the taxpayers' dime?
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DILBIT : "Every plant and tree died"

9.5 million litres of industrial waste water, the 10th largest spill of its kind in Alberta in nearly 40 years.

Houston-based Apache Corp, with a project based on Haisla reserve lands in the Douglas Channel, also wants to export LNG from the eastern Rockies to China via an expansion of its Pacific Trail Pipeline.
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DILBIT : Propaganda

More money for government ads in budget supplement

More DILBIT.

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DILBIT does Neanderthal

CBC : Top U.S. climate expert calls Conservatives 'Neanderthal'

Former NASA scientist James Hansen fires back at Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver

Foreign special interests and their deep pocket puppets

Previous DILBIT toons   

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Cartoon Ethics

Go on - click it.

Ottawonk provides us with this, um, refreshingly simple example of cartoon ethics right off the government's Public Service Human Resources Management Agency website.

Uh huh, it really is a cartoon extolling the public service employee's obligation of whistleblowing.

And just in case said public service employees are unable to grasp the cartoon in all its mindblowingly awesome simplicity, the Office of Public Service Values and Ethics also provides a little transcript of it as well.

Here at Creekside, we would like to make one or two small adjustments to that transcript, in keeping with the Con gnogov's recent record on whistleblowing :

Panel 1 : An Environment Canada employee sees John Baird virtually stealing money for Alberta's oil industry in his upcoming Environment Canada legislation.

Panel 2 : Yo, public service employee! People should know about this! Do da right thing!

Panel 3 : Lulu looks on as the hapless Environment Canada employee is persuaded to reveal Baird's regulatory shenanigans to the Canadian press and public, here rather aptly represented by a somewhat small and insignificant-looking figure way off in the background.

Panel 4 : Not shown. Hapless Environment Canada employee led off in handcuffs by the RCMP.

Our new transcript more accurately reflects the experience of Can Enviro employee X, arrested and handcuffed at his Environment Canada desk for his act of whistleblowing. He was released a couple of hours later without charges, presumably because he had not broken any laws.

We eagerly look forward to the government's next "Window on Values and Ethics" cartoon and strongly suggest it should be about employee intimidation. They could include this handy reaction to the day's events from John Baird, as caught by1337 hax0r :

“The arrest is a signal to other government employees that future leaks of information won't be tolerated," suggests Environment Minister John Baird.”

Conservatoon ethics.

UPDATE : CBC : The EnviroCan employee is Jeff Monaghan, news reader temp at EC, member of a collective that recently opened an anarchist bookstore in Ottawa, and the drummer in a punk band :

My NewGov Fitness Technique is Unstoppable

"Active kids are unstoppable!" says the gnuest useless addition to the other totally useless gnugov pages.

Ottawonk figures it's a page designed by and for 3-years-olds, but I'm thinking you'd need to be at least 4 to crayon healthy parents Bob and Dave taking little Popeye and their groceries for a nice healthy walk.on the Physical Activity Colouring Page - oops, sorry, Coloring Page.

Personally, we at Creekside are pleased to see that the Getting Things Doners™ have finally recognized colouring as a valid physical fitness activity.

But wait! There's more!

Has someone you know you recently lost a loved one? Did you forget to send that special someone in your life a Valentine?

A click on a sidelink takes you to a choice of four gnugov Healthy Lunches e-greeting cards where you can even add a special message of your own. "Sorry your dog died - Eat more broccoli" is just one fine example of the kind of greeting your tax dollars could send to a loved one today.

And don't forget - if your kid colours outside the home, be sure to apply for that $500 per kid fitness tax credit. Bob and Dave, who may or may not be rich enough to afford to lay out $500 on little Popeye's fitness classes, would want you to have it.

Getting Things Doners™ - Mes Amis

With apologies to mnftiu-Get Your War On.

P.S. Is that girl skipping rope in the background really topless? See Ottawonk for details.

UPDATE ; Link to Public Health Agency of Canada fixed.