While in Washington oildrumming up K-XL support with US senators yesterday, Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver plumped for the Keystone XL pipeline in his keynote address to the 4th Annual United States Energy Association (USEA) Energy Supply Forum. Here is the quote chosen by Natural Resources Canada "for broadcast use" :“The future of North America’s economy and our national security is inextricably tied to energy,” said Minister Oliver. “Clearly, it is in both of our interests to ensure that our future oil supply remains stable, secure and developed in an environmentally …
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Creekside: Hey Joe, where you goin with that gunk in your hand?
October 5, 2011 by
Creekside: Steve plugs for Harper Hudak Ford TeaCon trifecta
October 3, 2011 by
At a barbecue this summer at Toronto Mayor Rob Ford's house, Steve lays out his hopes for a federal provincial GTA TeaCon sweep :Flaherty endorses Hudak for premier; the National Post endorses Hudak for premier.US Tea Party consultant Michael Prell, who bills himself as a "strategist for the Tea Party Patriots," has joined the campaign of Tim Hudak. (h/t Sabina Becker)So how is Hudak's Ontario election campaign going? Oh, about as you would expect, as this Ontario Cons campaign flyer distributed across greater Toronto this last weekend …
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Creekside: Tony Gazebo’s new bizcard
October 1, 2011 by
Apparently Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird did not much care for the wordmark "Canada" being larger than his name on his business card so he had it deleted altogether and some goldleaf embossing added instead. We can hardly wait to see Tony Gazebo's response on his new Treasury Board bizcard. . …
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Creekside: The US State Dept. TransCanada Keystone XL Pipeline
September 30, 2011 by
The US State Dept. has outsourced much of its responsibility for determining whether to give approval to the TransCanada Keystone XL pipeline to TransCanada consultant Cardno-ENTRIX, including :1) the State Dept.'s TransCanada KeystoneXL webpage - see the tiny print at the bottom ,2) two Environmental Impact Statements(EIS) and Presidential Permits for international border crossing (Great commentary and an explanation on how EIS work from Scarecrow at FireDogLake), and 3) the public hearings held in the states along the length of the proposed …
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Creekside: And now a word from our sponsors …
September 29, 2011 by
Knock, knock. You Mr Smith? Delivery. Sign here please.Whoa! Massive box! But there must be some mistake - I didn't order anything.You are Mr Smith, apartment 1A...Yes, but ...No worries, it's prepaid. Just sign here.Alright - a present! So what is it? What's it say is in the box?Let's see ... a remote control plane.Really? I always wanted an rc plane. Who's it from? Bet it's my dad.If you'll just sign here, I'll be on my way.Oh sure, sorry ... here ya go and thanks. Wow, this weighs a ton - must be one massive plane. Say, what's this other stuff listed on here with the plane :"Six assault …
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Creekside: The NAFTA to TILMA to CETA race to the bottom
September 27, 2011 by
BC jobs go to Alberta; the profits go to Texas ...The public utility BC Hydro is spending $1-billion to upgrade its transmission lines.The Northwest Transmission Line contract - $364-525 million with 280 direct jobs per year - went to Valard Construction, based in Alberta and owned by Quanta Services from Texas. A BC company qualified as a bidder but were later told by Quanta to withdraw from the competition. The Lower Mainland Transmission line - $540-780 million with 543 person years of work - is going to Graham-Flatiron, who subcontracted the line work to another Alberta …
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Creekside: Say No to the Tar Sands/Ottawa Action today
September 26, 2011 by
Canadians are planning to risk arrest today on Parliament HillTony Clarke in the Toronto Star, excerpted :"On Monday I will be joining hundreds of fellow Canadians on Parliament Hill to demonstrate growing public opposition to the relentless expansion of the tarsands megaproject in northern Alberta. ... the Ottawa action will be carried out in solidarity with the more than 1,200 U.S. citizens who were arrested during a …
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Creekside: Occupy Wall Street – Day 8
September 25, 2011 by
.Tell them where to stand, barracade them in, then pepper spray them in the face.Update : A slo-mo version of the portion of the vid showing the unprovoked sneak attack on the women.NY Daily News :"A video posted on YouTube and NYDailyNews.com shows uniformed officers had corralled the women using orange nets when two supervisors made a beeline for the women, and at least one suddenly sprayed the women before turning and quickly walking away."Among the 80 -100 arrests, a PBS reporter was arrested for interviewing the pepper sprayed women..#occupywall street ... …
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Creekside: The Conservative Dumb-on-Crime Agenda
September 23, 2011 by
CBC : Crime rates in Canada lowest level since 1973"Canada's national crime rate has been on the decline for the past two decades and has reached its lowest level since 1973, according to Statistics Canada. The total volume of crime, representing nearly 2.1 million Criminal Code incidents, fell five per cent in 2010 from the previous year, said the federal agency. The Crime Severity Index also dropped six per cent to its lowest point since 1998." And if you go to the original you can hover over the arrows for specifics.But holy crap - look at that big red arrow showing the increase in drug …
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Creekside: $93K a day for advice on outsourcing government
September 22, 2011 by
"Trained economist" Stephen Harper has given Deloitte, the world's largest accounting and consulting firm with $28.8 billion in profits for 2011 , a $19.8-million contract to advise federal cabinet and senior officials on how to trim $4 billion from government program spending in order to balance the books by 2014. The contract runs till March 31, with an option for a one-year extensionNew Conservative Party motto : You have to spend money to save money.Back in December, CBC ran a story on the ballooning of a parallel civil service made up of consulting …
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Creekside: North American Security Perimeter Law and Order
September 21, 2011 by
A week ago US Attorney General Eric Holder told the Northern Border Summit :"[T]here are areas in which the U.S. and Canada can enhance cooperation in criminal investigations and prosecutions. And I believe we must consider how extradition, and mutual legal assistance processes could be streamlined to avoid delays; and whether certain sentencing laws – and information sharing policies and practices – should be updated."He also announced a joint DOJ, DHS, Public Safety Canada and Justice Canada pilot project they hope to launch next year.Yesterday, despite a continuing 20 year decline …
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Creekside: Dear useless fucking Canadian media
September 19, 2011 by
Occupy Wall Street media coverage : Day 3The Guardian : The call to occupy Wall Street resonates around the world *New York Examiner : Protestors take Wall Street in "Day of Rage" against corporate cronyism .Wall Street Journal : Wall Street Protesters Plan to Stay Awhile .Business Week : Wall Street Areas Blocked as Police Arrest Seven in Protest .International Business Times : Occupy Wall Street Protest, Day 3Georgia Straight : Anti-capitalist protesters descend on New York City, but where's the coverage? .Good question, Georgia Straight. Let's see ...CBC, …
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Creekside: The revolution will not be televised … very much … at first
September 18, 2011 by
Watch live streaming video from globalrevolution at livestream.comProtesters invade NYC Financial District #occupywallstreet .... #takewallstreet ... #ourwallstreet. …
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Creekside: Homeland security perimeter
September 16, 2011 by
Listening in on : Border Security Challenges After 9/11: A Conversation With Three Commissioners of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Sept 9, 2011On Sept. 10, 2001, Robert Bonner tells us, he began his job as head of what is now the US Customs and Border Protection. The next day, in reaction to 9/11 events, he raised the border security alert to Level One, resulting in border wait times from Canada increasing from an average of 10 minutes to over 12 hours. It was at this point he realized security considerations would have to be addressed without "effectively shutting down our [US] …
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Creekside: 9/11 : A Conspiracy Theory
September 15, 2011 by
"Everything you ever wanted to know about the 9/11 conspiracy theory in under 5 minutes"From The Corbett Report, which includes a transcript and well-sourced links to all statements made in the vid.h/t Michael. Thank you..Bonus : Lloyd’s Sues Saudi Royal Family for Funding Al-Qaeda in 9/11 Attacks. …
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Creekside: Steve kicks off 9/11 blather week
September 8, 2011 by
with a CBC interview targeting "Islamicism" as the "major threat to Canada".Islamicism?"So what are we then?" respond the Unabomberanians, Norwegochristofarians, and McVeighlians. "Choppity liverers?""There are other threats out there, but that is the one that I can tell you occupies the security apparatus most regularly in terms of actual terrorist threats," Harper said.Funny you should mention what "occupies the security apparatus", Steve ..."Militant Extremists in the United States" : Council on Foreign Relations, Feb.7, 2011 :"Since September 11, the …
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Creekside: The liberation of Libya
September 5, 2011 by
WikiLeaks cable 07TRIPOLI967, Nov. 15, 2007, from the US Embassy in Tripoli :GROWTH OF RESOURCE NATIONALISM IN LIBYA1.(C) Summary: Libya has a long history of resource nationalism linked to the policies and rhetoric of the Qadhafi regime. Beginning in the 1990's, many of these practices were scaled back; however, the removal of U.S. and UN sanctions and Libya's attendant opening to the world have prompted a resurgence of measures designed to increase the GOL's [Government of Libya's] control over and share of revenue from hydrocarbon resources. End Summary.The cable goes on to laud …
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Creekside: Most Canadians totally cool with Canada-US security perimeter deal
August 30, 2011 by
according to this G&M headline yesterday : Nearly half of Canadians oppose greater integration with U.S. law enforcement.The headline refers to the Harper government release yesterday of its summary of the government website public consultation process about Steve and Barry's deep integration deal known as Beyond the Border: a shared vision for perimeter security and economic competitiveness. "Nearly half of Canadians oppose " ?So turning that headline around : more than half of Canadians approve of security integration with the US? How many actual …
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Creekside: And after they ran out of room on the wall
August 25, 2011 by
Photo : Jackman Chiu, Nathan Phillips Square, Toronto. August 23, 2011.. …
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Creekside: Creekside 2011-08-23 11:07:00
August 23, 2011 by
From Patrick Corrigan for the Toronto Star. h/t AntoniaFrom Your Heart's on the Left …
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Creekside: A letter from Jack to Canadians
August 22, 2011 by
A visionary Canadian, a fearless advocate, a principled politician, a fighter, a decent man. Honourable, passionate, eternally optimistic, the best prime minister we never had. Jack Layton was in it for the long game; that is his legacy to the rest of us now. This is his letter.Dear Friends,Tens of thousands of Canadians have written to me in recent weeks to wish me well. I want to thank each and every one of you for your thoughtful, inspiring and often beautiful notes, cards and gifts. Your spirit and love have lit up my home, my spirit, and my determination.Unfortunately my treatment …
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Creekside: Globe & Mail : Polling for pillocks
August 22, 2011 by
Yes, really. That's what it says.Tune in later in the week when the Globe & Mail asks :Poll : Who is the greatest Canadian ever?* Brian Mulroney - free trade, Ronald Reagan, opera* Kim Campbell - girl* NeitherVOTE. …
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Creekside: The price of doing democracy
August 19, 2011 by
In the 2006 federal election, Tony Clement won his won his Parry Sound-Muskoka riding by a mere 28 votes.In 2008, following election endorsements from local mayors on his G8 slush fund tailgate committee which he used to misdirect public funds intended for border infrastructure to gazebos and flower pots in his riding, he increased that vote margin to almost 11,000.Fun with math : $50-million divided by the 21,831 that voted for him in 2008 = $2,290 per vote.h/t DAMMIT JANET. …
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Creekside: Steve & Dimitri – Ethical Asbestos
August 18, 2011 by
Sooey Says : "The good widow taking our government to task for exporting asbestos to the third world – without warning labels on the bags of death dust – should just tell the bastards threatening to sue her (over using the Conservative Party of Canada logo on her petition) that she saw it on those cheques the Harper Government was handing out on behalf of taxpayers and assumed it belonged to all Canadians."Petition !Dear Prime Minister Harper: I support Michaela Keyserlingk, whose husband died from asbestos cancer and who is asking you to stop supporting the deadly asbestos trade and …
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Creekside: The Treasury Board President of Gazebos and Funny Funneling
August 16, 2011 by
Steve was evidently so pleased with ShamWow Tony Clement's ability to put one over on Auditor General Sheila Fraser by leaving no paper trail of the funneling of $50M of our tax dollars through his own riding office - money purportedly intended for G8 border security - that right after the election Steve made him the boss of all our money - President of the Treasury Board - responsible for ethics, transparency, accountability, and the financial and administrative management of government.Collateral damage : the compromising of public servants from the …
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Creekside: Steve & Dimitri do some ethical oiling of a government website
August 14, 2011 by
And that's just what they did.On August 10th I noticed some Privy Council Office googling for "suncor third largest investor in Syria" that landed on the June 1st Creekside post Ethical oil in Syria explained.Hmmm, I thought, better check to make sure that Canada government website I linked to is still good. Yup, still there : "Canada is now the 3rd largest foreign direct investor in Syria due to a $1.2 billion Suncor/ Petro Canada gas project."The next day that offending sentence was gone from their site. Here's their new page dated Aug 11, 2011. It mentions "an embargo on certain trade …
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Creekside: Steve & Dimitri – Canadian potty
August 11, 2011 by
Yesterday in Colombia, Harper attacked the critics of his Canada-Colombia free trade investment agreement who object to the deaths of a couple hundred unionists and the displacement of 4.9 million people in the struggle for control over land for the development of resources that over 70 Canadian extraction companies are heavily involved in. Steve : "We can’t block the progress of a country like this for protectionist reasons, and (they’re) trying to use human rights as a front for doing that."If that line sounds familiar, yes, it's the same "human rights …
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Creekside: "Harper went to the bathroom for ‘regular reasons’ "
August 10, 2011 by
reports Brazilian Foreign Ministry official Carlos de Abreu, hoping to refute an earlier story in the local Brazilian press that Steve had locked himself in the bathroom in a hissy fit over press arrangements not to his liking and wouldn't come out till they were changed.Personally I think the revised explanation of Steve's actions on the world stage lacks a certain gravitas.. …
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Creekside: CSIS recycles old leaks slagging Abdelrazik, Charkaoui
August 7, 2011 by
A leaked 2004 CSIS report from LaPresse on Thursday purports to be a summary of a conversation between Abousfian Abdelrazik and Adil Charkaoui in 2000 in which they plotted to blow up an airplane enroute between Montreal and France. It has already been enthusiastically repeated across our national press :CBC : CSIS file reveals plot to bomb plane: La PresseGosh, CBC, your previous nice pix of Abdelrazik and Charkaoui are now replaced by scary onesG&M : Abdelrazik and Charkaoui plotted plane bomb: report AFP : Two Canada terror suspects plotted France attack: reportetc. …
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Creekside: Steve & Dimitri on loyalty to Canada
August 4, 2011 by
.Firewall Steve plays the bash Quebec card; dumbass corporate media eats it up..Pogge ... Sinister Greg ... Thwap ... Dr. Dawg .... …
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Creekside: Canadian media : It can’t happen here.
August 2, 2011 by
We're getting a lot of stories from our media who are at pains to assure us a Canadian equivalent to the Rupert Murdoch scandal of cozy incestuous relationships with British politicians and illegal phone hacking/dirty tricks couldn't possibly happen here in Canada.Really? No cozy incestuous relationships? No dirty tricks?On March 30, 2009, Stephen Harper, PMO staffer Kory Teneycke, Rupert Murdoch, owner of Fox News, and Roger Ailes, president of Fox News and former communications adviser to Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan and George Bush Sr., all sat down to lunch. We know …
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Creekside: Hello … hello? Is this thing on?
August 1, 2011 by
Only 660 signatures so far in support of Canadian artist Franke James - whose tour Steve is trying to shut down?Seriously? That's all the support we can muster?"The Government of Canada is trying to shut down an international tour by artist Franke James because of her criticism of its environmental record. Top officials are using intimidation tactics to prevent her from being supported by any Canadian embassies or agencies. They pressured her corporate sponsor into dropping its offer of $75,000 in support. They tried to coerce Nektarina Non Profit in Croatia into rescinding their …
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Creekside: Canadian Parliamentary Coalition for a New Battlefield
July 30, 2011 by
Avi Lewis interviews MP Scott Reid, Chair, Canadian Parliamentary Coalition to Combat Antisemitism; Jonathan Kay, Editor, National Post; Irwin Cotler, Chair, International Coalition for Combating Antisemitism; and Amir Gissin, Israeli Consul General.Excerpted from "Fault Lines - Canada-Israel: The other special relationship" December 2010Lewis : "There's no wave of anti-Semitism in Canada?"Reid : "No no no, no, absolutely not. No, it's funny I've heard people who have criticized us, saying that we think this, but no, there is absolutely no spike in the kinds of anti-Semitic incidents …
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Creekside: Ethical Snake Oil
July 28, 2011 by
Alykhan Velshi's wee blog Ethical Oil, named after Ezra's book, has relaunched today with an expensive new look and some spiffy ethical oil pop-up campaign ads to greet you when you enter the site. You can choose either good or evil - you know, conflict oil = woman being stoned to death vs ethical oil = woman becoming a mayor.Velshi : "When petroleum reserves were deposited around the world, it is unfortunate that they were all given to the world’s bastards. With the exception of Canada, most of them are with the world’s bastards. You need to recognize that when you are …
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Creekside: Feds mistake motor oil for heroin, jail granny for 12 days
July 27, 2011 by
There's just so much wrong with this news story about Canada Border Services Agency arresting and jailing a 66 year old woman for 12 days for trafficking, possessing and importing heroin because their swab-test of a jar of motor oil in her vehicle incorrectly identified it as heroin. Why wasn't she allowed a phone call? Why did it take 12 days to get a lab report? But the explanation from CBSA spokesy Lisa White is the weirdest :"CBSA officers are trained to look for clues or multiple indicators before referring someone for secondary inspection. CBSA officers consider many …
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Creekside: Stockwell Day on the tragic shootings in Norway
July 23, 2011 by
CBC Power & Politics at noon Friday , editedEvan Solomon : This raises again.the spectre of international terrorism. Stockwell Day : As recently as July 8 in Norway there was a dragnet for al-Qaeda suspects related to the Manchester bombing. Whether this group is tied to them we don't know ... Solomon : A suspect has now been arrested. This looks like a multiple series of attacks that are going on. Now remember Norway did have a small number of troops in Afghanistan.It's a very very fluid situation but it does raise all sorts of security issues about - this is a hackneyed phrase …
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Creekside: Feds unveil "world class" tarsands PR monitoring plan
July 22, 2011 by
This week saw our federal, provincial and territorial energy ministers, minus Ontario, trot out a joint communique describing the tarsands as "sustainable and responsible", even as the Cons were simultaneously slashing the federal Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency budget by 43% and its staff by 33%. Then yesterday Enviro Minister Peter Kent announced "a world class environmental monitoring plan" for the tarsands, based on recommendations from Bruce Carson and the Independent Oil Sands Advisory Panel.The Toronto Star :Environment Minister Peter Kent hopes a …
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Creekside: The NAFTA CETA TILMA SPP Beyond the Borders Security Perimeter deep integration corporate globalization bunfest
July 19, 2011 by
Under NAFTA, provinces retained the right to administer their own government procurement contracts as they saw fit - water, power, highways, garbage, and local cultural/environmental/job stimulus programs. In fact most of the regulations in Canada are provincial and municipal - which rather got in the way of the federal government's ability to cede whatever the US wanted under the massive deregulation program called the SPP, because the federal government's power to do so was always constrained by the provinces' authority over those regs. TILMA was supposed …
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Creekside: Why the Canada-EU free trade deal is a bad deal for Canada.
July 18, 2011 by
Economist Jim Stanford deftly savages the economic model behind Steve's promotion of the Canada-EU free trade agreement. A $12-billion gain in our GDP? Would you like to see my pet unicorn later?His original lecture "Out of Equilibrium" appeared here. Too long for either Blogger or Youtube, I've merely split it into two parts.. …
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