just between us girls

The gospel according to EZ

2010-11-10T10:13:00.000-05:00

Slip the first stitch.
On my wish list and available for some time now is Elizabeth Zimmermann's Knitter's Almanac: The Commemorative Edition .

A bit of a time suck but good fun

2010-11-09T15:37:00.000-05:00

It is after all hunting season.

Dalton to give $80 million to Reisman and Indigo Books

2007-10-08T19:04:00.000-04:00

Independent book stores were the first casualty of the book selling giant.

Depending on whom you ask, Toronto-based Indigo Books and Music has cornered at least 65 per cent and perhaps as much as 80 per cent of the Canadian retail book market. And now, according to some industry observers, it's positioning itself to become the dominant player in supplying non-text books to school libraries in Ontario and possibly the rest of the country.

Library Services look to be the next victim.

Members of the CBA and education wholesalers held an emergency meeting last Friday in Toronto to discuss the issue but are waiting for the results of the election before deciding what to do. This week they'll be arranging meetings with the Premier, the education and culture ministers and the Ontario School Library Association.

“What we really don't want is one supplier to our public libraries,” said LeFave, whose own store has sold books to more than 100 school libraries in Ontario. She and Ledingham are concerned that Indigo may lack the expertise in curriculum-related book selection and sourcing, invoicing, cataloguing and processing that wholesalers and community-based booksellers have developed over decades.

Related see backroom bombshell

The sense to pound sand in a rat hole.

2007-10-08T02:42:00.000-04:00

Dispatch from the trenches: It's a given that Dalton will lose seats in rural Ontario - eastern Ontario in particular. The race here is very close but we'll get the vote out and I expect win by as little as a 1000 votes. Cold comfort in the wee hours of the morning.

Clive is predicting that October 10th will be a very sad day for Ontario.

For me, this is the saddest thing I have learned in the last two months. That the country I have chosen to make my home is not really what I thought it was.

The Ottawa Citizen editorial board has largely endorsed every local PC candidate. Citizen columnist, Randall Denley asks, Will McGuinty fool us twice?

If McGuinty's record was simply one of mediocre performance, that would be one thing, but the Liberal leader has a difficulty telling the truth that is deeply troubling.

I can't speak for the electorate as a whole but he certainly fooled conservatives. At least for a time. I'm not as subtle as Clive. The saddest thing I've learned in the last two months is that many of the rank-and-file, in the party I've supported since I was a teenager, don't seem to have the sense to pound sand in a rat hole.

They believed the lies and innuendo seeded by Liberals on faith-based schools.

Secular education purists spewed indignant outrage - duped into believing their cause was somehow better represented by liberals. Others, who I'd just as soon not label, were blind to everything except the prospect of schools full of little brown children. Dalton McGuinty spoke of divisiveness and values but we all know what he was really talking about - Madrassa schools and little brown immigrant children.

John Tory should have known better you say. I'm not so sure. I didn't expect the knee jerk reaction of the conservative base to take such a hold. And I certainly didn't expect the Liberals to resort to out-right racism and get away with it.

In spite of the recent polls, this still feels like a horse race to me. Every campaign holds its surprises - it would be good if Clive were surprised to find that this is the country he thought it was.

McGuinty in the shameful company of PW Botha

2007-10-06T11:38:00.000-04:00

From The Trenches: The hypocrisy of McGuinty.

Forget for a second about Muslims, Jews and Hindus: Tory's pledge would also bring about fairness for the large majority of the independent faith-based schools in Ontario that happen to be - hold on to your rubber boots and tractor caps- Christian. Out of the 53,000 students attending privately funded faith-based schools in Ontario, an estimated 35,000 are Protestant Christians. Of those, the largest single group belong to schools owing much of their existence to farmers!

That's right, the same post-World War II Dutch immigrant farmers who played a vital role in reshaping this province's agricultural sector, who founded the recognized and respected Christian Farmers Federation of Ontario, also created their own Protestant Christian schools. Unlike their Catholic brethren from Holland, who were fortuitously greeted with publicly funded schools of their own faith upon arrival in Ontario, the Protestant Dutch farmers and associated small businessmen - resourceful and infused with a Calvinist work ethic - established Ontario Alliance of Christian Schools (OACS).

Read the rest of this column from agricultural writer Nelson Zandbergen, then ask yourself - can liberal bellies be any closer to the ground?

Dispatch From The Trenches

2007-10-05T17:20:00.000-04:00

There's a rumour in this riding that Dalton will be coming to Cornwall tomorrow. He may make time for the media but I'm waiting to see if he makes time for the man in the street. Or anyone not wearing a Liberal campaign button.

He's been sanitized ... or hosed off. Bad things seem to happen when they let him out with the common people.

Where have I been the last few months ... working really hard to get this guy elected.
And today we're feeling very good.

A safe bet

2007-10-05T14:50:00.000-04:00

Nothing left to chance? I'd call it a safe bet - nine year olds don't vote.

When asked why those children were picked to meet Mr. McGuinty, Ms. Hart replied:
"That's what they said they wanted, Grade 4". The "they" of course was the Liberal campaign team.

Ottawa Citizen Editorial Board

2007-09-12T16:03:00.000-04:00

The Ottawa Citizen Editorial Board talks to provincial candidates in eastern Ontario.

Stop me if you've heard this one before

2007-07-04T11:45:00.000-04:00

John Tory's people sent out this media release today. It amused me. Would seem that Dalton McGuinty's $3 million, Thousand Defibrillators Program announced in London on Canada Day was a bit of a re-cycle. The program was originally announced back in March.

A new holiday tradition courtesy Dalton McGuinty

(Queen’s Park) – Unlike Thanksgiving and Christmas, Canada Day isn’t normally known for its reheated servings but Dalton McGuinty is doing what he can to change that.

McGuinty was in London today to announce the creation of a $3 million “Thousand Defibrillators Program.” The only problem is that this program was already announced last March. Indeed, whole swaths of McGuinty’s press release today were simply cut-and-pasted from the March 29, 2007, press release from the Ministry of Health Promotion.

March:
“The McGuinty government is providing $3 million to the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario for the creation of a ‘Thousand Defibrillators Program’ for Ontario’s recreational facilities.”

July:
“The McGuinty government is providing $3 million to the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario for the creation of a Thousand Defibrillators Program for Ontario's recreational facilities.”

March:
“This historic investment through the Heart and Stroke Foundation will provide Ontario’s communities with important life-saving assistance,” Watson said. “With access to this life-saving tool, public facilities will be safer places for Ontarians to gather and be active.”

July:
“This investment will provide London-area residents with important life-saving assistance,” said Health Promotion Minister Jim Watson. “With access to this life-saving tool, public facilities will be safer places to gather and be active.”

March:
“Using an automated external defibrillator combined with CPR within the first few minutes can improve survival rates from five percent to 50 per cent or more.”

July:
“It is estimated that early intervention using a defibrillator, together with CPR, can save lives and improve survival rates by up to 50 per cent.”

As Dalton McGuinty continues his pre-election campaign tour across the province this summer, Ontarians should brace themselves for Dalton’s special twist on the summer re-run season.

-30-

I'm feeling a bit nostalgic today.

2007-06-26T09:51:00.000-04:00

Revisiting Ontario's Common Sense Revolution.

Today, 12 years to the day that he was sworn into office, former Ontario premier Mike Harris will see his official portrait unveiled inside the provincial legislature.

hat tip

Conservatives losing their cooties in Toronto

2007-06-08T09:31:00.000-04:00

Willowdale Councillor David Shiner to run for conservatives in Toronto.

Shiner, a 16-year veteran of Toronto and North York council who sparred with former premiers Mike Harris and Ernie Eves when he chaired the budget committee, will be running on the team of their successor John Tory this fall.
In addition to being the first vintage 2006 councillor to throw his hat into the provincial ring, he's also only the second Toronto councillor since amalgamation to do so as a Progressive Conservative (Paul Sutherland, who represented Don Valley East in Ward 33, made a go of it in 2003).

The possibility of a Progressive Conservative government is making a few folks nervous.

And it's not to say that Shiner will get a hero's send-off from his colleagues - a number of them are already calling on him to step away from his office and take a leave of absence until the election decides his future.

But the fact is that for the first time in a long time, it looks as though Toronto voters won't be looking at just one viable choice this fall. Conservatives may or may not be the best choice, but they seem to finally be losing their cooties in this town.

Acetaminophen found in pet food

2007-06-07T10:43:00.000-04:00

at a Texas laboratory.

The pain medication is the fifth contaminant found in pet foods during the past 2 1/2 months and can be toxic or lethal to pets, especially cats. It is not known if any animals became sick with acetaminophen poisoning, or died from it.

"We were looking for cyanuric acid and melamine, and the acetaminophen just popped up," Donna Coneley, lab operations manager for ExperTox Inc. in Deer Park, Texas, told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review yesterday. "It definitely was a surprise to find that in several samples."

OPP use Facebook to bust bush party

2007-06-07T10:15:00.000-04:00

When I was a kid we had bush parties. Actually, as I remember, they were après first-cut hay field parties. Great fun, sanctioned by parents. One Dad in particular would haul the old two-seater out so the girls didn't have to pee in the fence row. The reasoning then was that if we were all going to get shit-faced at least they could keep an eye on us from the house. Thirty, perhaps forty kids stoking the bon fire, rolling in the clover (literally) and discovering just how much beer or Baby Duck it takes to make you puke. Important life lesson, that.

In these parts the fun stopped when the city kids discovered bush parties. Six hundred kids is not a bush party. It's anarchy.

Thanks to the wildly popular social networking site, OPP uncovered a huge bush party planned for this Saturday near Tillsonburg -- some 600 teens were expected -- and last night issued a stern warning to its organizers.

Fighting for a free press takes courage.

2007-06-06T14:06:00.000-04:00

For Afghan women it also means sacrifice. Radio station owner shot dead.

Zakia Zaki was shot seven times, including in the chest and head, as she slept with her 20-month-old son at her home north of Kabul, officials say.

The governor of Parvan province, where the attack took place, told the BBC he did not know who killed her. No one has admitted carrying out the attack.

Her murder came just days after a woman newsreader was killed for reasons which were described as "family-related".

I'll go out on a limb here and suggest "family related" means the men in her life didn't like the way she was leading hers.

hat tip:Bourque

Former head of Chinese food and drug agency sentenced to death

2007-05-30T21:48:00.000-04:00

Zheng Xiaoyu, former head of the State Food and Drug Administration, was convicted on charges of taking bribes and dereliction of duty, Xinhua news agency reported, citing the Beijing Municipal No. 1 Intermediate People's Court.

The sentence, which was unusually harsh, could still be reduced on appeal. But it reflects the weight China's top leaders are giving to the issues of corruption and food safety as they grapple with the fallout overseas after a series of safety breaches involving toxins in food and other products.

Full story here.

Rainy Day Tales of Bruce and Mary

2007-05-27T00:30:00.000-04:00

... on the Thunder Road to the river.

Samsung Donates Suicide Bomber Detection Dog To Iraq

2007-05-22T21:47:00.000-04:00

Pyeonghwa, a small Lab is trained to prevent suicide bombers from detonating their devices. She not only detects explosives but analyzes human body language.

She is trained to pick up facial signals and body language and then covertly investigates that person, giving a passive signal to her handler, who then tackles the potential bomber.

Agility is not breed specific.

2007-05-21T09:48:00.000-04:00

Good dog.

Couple more here and here.

And the buzz word for today is ...Eastern Loggerhead Shrike

2007-05-17T10:22:00.000-04:00

From Eastern Ontario AgriNews.

Landowners in the Stittsville area resorted to bulldozing after city officials arbitrarily designated large privately owned tracts as protected wetlands without ever setting foot on them. The action forced the city to back off.

Who pays for the Endangered Species Act ?

2007-05-16T23:08:00.000-04:00

Warren Kinsella, with his DAILY HILLIER™, would like you to believe that, except for the odd mouth-breather and knuckle dragger, all is well for the provincial Liberals in eastern Ontario. All is not well. Not here nor any of the other rural ridings in this province where many of the relevant issues are the same issues that brought Mike Harris to power in 1995. After more than a decade, the Common Sense Revolution has been replaced by the Rural Revolution.

Shawn McRae is a farmer and president of the Glengarry Landowners Association. His Op-Ed piece on land stewardship and property rights appeared in the local paper today. It appears here, in its entirety, until I can find a link.

Thanks to Mayor Jim McDonell and Deputy Mayor John Warden of South Glengarry for their attendance and committed moral support, as well as Conservative MPs Guy Lauzon and Pierre Lemieux and Conservative MPP candidate Chris Savard for their supportive e-mails. These active and prospective politicians have lent their support because they understand that this is not a pro-environment vs anti-environment struggle. A review of my farm's environmental stewardship record would
quickly put that to rest.

My father was a conservation-tillage pioneer - one of the rare guys who took a welder to a planter and seed drill to make them work in high-residue, no-till conditions long before you could go out and buy a machine to do the job. Our farm's managed woodlots, meadows, wetlands, grassed buffer strips and contoured drainage basins exist due to our conscientious awareness of the environment within and beyond the boundaries of our farm.

I'm a 35-year-old cash-crop farmer who has never learned how to plow. Bare, exposed soil is subject to the erosive kinetic energies of wind and water, so we've adapted to a five-crop rotation and a once-in-five-year spring-tillage event. We apply manure once every five years in that rotation to maintain fertility elements, and have not applied phosphate or potash fertilizers (excepting periodic experiments) in the past quarter century. We also capitalize upon various integrated pest management techniques to reduce pesticide applications to a small fraction of what has been used in the past. My ongoing scientific study of symbiotic and mutualistic associations amongst crop plants and soil biota within an undisturbed agricultural soil ecosystem has inspired my career and challenged my intellect.

I say all of this to forestall arguments that I might be something other than what I am - an environmentalist. More than 300 acres of our 800-acre farm can serve as wildlife habitat while it accumulates biomass for us to use or sell. Why would we buy, own and pay tax on land that offered no financial return?

We selectively cut diseased or fallen trees from our woodlot to fuel our high-efficiency two-stage woodchip furnace (to capitalize upon renewable energy) which is designed to limit deleterious emissions as we heat our homes and buildings, while we simultaneously manage the health of our woodlot ecosystem.

The reason for the May 8 demonstration is that control of my land's management is being ripped from my hands by our government. My ancestors left conditions like this (Scotland 200 years ago) to carve a new future, here in Canada. I still awe at the stones that they moved with brute strength fuelled by passion for freedom and ownership, to clear fields, build homes and to produce food and wealth through hard labour and dedicated industry. That spirit resides in my heart and it is what our soldiers have fought and died for in past and present wars.

The issue here is not about environmentalism. It is about freedom and justice. Anne-Marie Flanagan (MNR) said "If a certain area is deemed as a habitat, a farmer could, for example, create a habitat on a different section of the property." So to put that in urbanese, if there is a public interest in your living room, but you really want to retain usage of your living room, we're flexible. We'll take your kitchen or bedroom instead.

As for Minister David Ramsay and "not . . . make it difficult for them to use their land," I have a lifetime of experience with restrictions imposed by the MNR, and they have made it impossible to grow crops on nearly 200 acres of our land or use it for any other productive purpose. The consequential property devaluation of a 6,000-foot St. Lawrence River water-frontage has destroyed my family's hard-earned financial equity. His much-touted $18 million stewardship fund (the term compensation is always assiduously avoided) wouldn't cover the opportunity cost between lots 10 through 20 on the first concession of Lancaster Township. Furthermore, I'm sure I heard that the associated bureaucracy will cost at least 10 times that amount (that information is more difficult to find).

If you think that it's a good idea to give land up to MNR management, consider the 30-meter buffer strip of our Point Mouillee waterfront, which was surveyed and confiscated in 1980. It is long gone because we were not allowed to protect it with stone - and still can't. If farmland erodes, it is evidence of a farmer's irresponsibility, but if the MNR/RRCA decided that land should erode, it's OK; after all, it's not really their waterfront, is it? When you get something at no cost, what does it matter?

If the public wants our land, conservation agencies can buy it or rent it, based on its true and intrinsic value, which is a function of unobstructed land-use opportunity. We have always been, and are still quite willing to cooperate to achieve sensible environmental goals. Landowners simply refuse to carry the billion-dollar cost of society's environmental whims while the extent of an urban citizen's consideration of the environment involves buying a hybrid car rather than an SUV!

Robbing us of the land's utility and value is undeniably wrong. Our land is our RSP, pension, or whatever other people do to secure and grow their savings, and its fiduciary value is equity that we've been conscientiously investing in for generations. We thought for a while that if we co-operated and gave conservation agencies what they wanted, they would champion our efforts and leave us alone. It doesn't work that way. Allowing land to be taken without significant resistance only inspires them to take it all. Pay attention everyone. You may not feel that this affects you, but carefully consider Hosea's warning of "the whirlwind."

Please think about what really matters. Do you prefer a fat bureaucracy that sucks tax dollars from hardworking people and diminishes our nation's ability to generate GDP, or will you support people like me, who work tirelessly to grow crops, produce food and generate economic opportunity for the transportation, industrial, commercial, retail, export, energy, etc., industries?

I am an environmental steward and a productive individual and I need protection through "property rights" legislation. Please visit www.buymywaterfront.com for more information about our farm and these issues.

An account of the May 8 demonstration is here.

Numbers not seen since Mike Harris held the riding

2007-05-15T11:41:00.000-04:00

PC membership is up in Nipissing .... and elsewhere.

Membership tripled leading up to the meeting, and the Tories haven't seen those kinds of numbers in Nipissing since Harris held the riding, said Blair McCreadie, president of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario, who was in North Bay for the vote.

He said most associations have already held their nomination meetings and noticed a similar trend.

Conservatives over the months have invested heavily in Nipissing with frequent visits by provincial Leader John Tory. He will return June 13 for a leadership reception with Harris, Parry Sound-Muskoka MPP Norm Miller and Niagara MPP Tim Hudak - a former Northern Development and Mines minister under Harris.

From the land where the Speedo never went out style....

2007-05-07T20:23:00.000-04:00

the latest Têtes à claques. Le Body Toner. Platinum Edition.

Whoa a minute Uncle Tom!!!

Dozens of suspicious fires in the last 10 months

2007-05-01T11:00:00.000-04:00

... prompts increase in reward.

May 01, 2007 — Three Cornwall-area townships and the United Counties of Stormont Dundas and Glengarry have bumped up their reward to $50,000 to find out who's behind a number of barn fires in the region. The money will go to someone who has information which leads to the conviction of the person or persons responsible. North Township Mayor Alvin Runnalls says they are taking another step to ensure those responsible are caught and convicted. A confidential tip line has been set up. The number is 1-866-799-8477.

Thirty head of cattle perished in a fire yesterday in South Stormont.

An entire milking herd, 100 in total, were lost in a fire in North Dundas in March although police ruled out arson at that time. Several empty barns have also gone up in flames.

There's been more than two dozen suspicious fires in the United Counties of SDG in less than a year. While authorities are reluctant to talk about a serial arsonist, everyone else, including municipal governments are not.

Sheep/poodle story a hoax?

2007-04-27T10:27:00.000-04:00

It would appear that the sheep/ poodle story , as reported in the National Post, is a hoax.
Snopes.com account here.

A post for liberal chicks...

2007-04-27T09:40:00.000-04:00

who think it's acceptable to play politics with our mission in Afghanistan.

Sally Armstrong is the author of Veiled Threat: The Hidden Power of the Women of Afghanistan and a senior writer and editor at magazines such as Chatelaine, Canadian Living, and Homemakers. From Straight.com on keeping the debate focused on Afghan women.

While Afghan women continue to be singled out for oppression by a violent corruption of Islam, the threat they face from countries like Canada lies in the confused political debates about western intervention in their country. Canadian women should keep the public debates focused on the women and girls of Afghanistan, Armstrong pleaded, and must also fight the stubborn attitude that Afghan women should be simply left to sort out their problems by themselves.

"I can't tell you how thoroughly surprised I am at this kind of commentary," Armstrong said. "Are we going to stand back and say, 'We only do peacekeeping'? I don't know where this stuff is coming from. From my experience, from when I was there, I think we're doing an unbelievable job." She agreed that it may be impossible to defeat the Taliban, militarily. Still, "We just have to beat them back and keep them in their caves."

Armstrong showed little patience for fashionably revisionist explanations for Canada's military mission in Afghanistan. She said Canadian soldiers are there at the invitation of the Afghan people, and we're there because we promised to help, and because, as 9/11 demonstrated, we have no choice.

Read the whole thing girls, as some of the boys seem to have lost their way.

I wish Michael Byers and William Schabas would Flick Off

2007-04-26T16:25:00.000-04:00

... or at least sit through the Taliban's latest video production. The video shows a 12 year old boy using a knife to behead a blindfolded man accused of spying for foreign forces.

Taliban commander Mullah Hayatullah Khan said the Taliban would kill anyone helping foreign forces in order to protect their guerrilla fighters.

"We showed the beheading video to warn others," he said by satellite phone from a secret location.

Asked why the Taliban used a boy, he said:

"We want to tell the non-Muslims that our youngsters are also Mujahideens (holy warriors) and fight with us against you."

"These youngsters will be our Holy War commanders in the future and continue the jihad for freedom. Islam allow boys and women to do jihad against occupying non-Muslim troops and their spies and puppets."

Byers and Schabas have named Chief of Staff Gen. Rick Hillier and Defence Minister Gordon O'Connor, in a letter to the International Criminal Court in the Hague, asking for an investigation into possible war crimes.

Evil and horrendous acts against women and children occur every day in Afghanistan . Courageous people look for a means to alleviate those atrocities. Cowards look for any avenue to alleviate their impotence.

Gentlemen you are despicable.

The Old Farm Dog at risk in California

2007-04-25T20:01:00.000-04:00

The California Healthy Pets Act, a pet sterilization bill, is up for a vote Tuesday. Watchdogs predict the bill will move on with committee.

Under Levine's bill, every dog and cat would be required to be neutered or spayed by 4 months old. Exemptions would be granted to elite breeders of purebred dogs and cats as well as service dogs and police dogs.

Also backing the bill is People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.

Here's one plank in the PETA platform of an ultimately pet-free society: “What we want is for the population of dogs and cats to be reduced through spaying and neutering and for people to adopt animals (preferably two so that they can keep each other company when their human companions aren't home) from pounds or shelters – never from pet shops or breeders – thereby reducing suffering in the world.”

This isn't going over well with folks who work with service dogs.

Paul Mundell, who breeds about 700 dogs a year for Companion Canines for Independence, which has a training facility in Oceanside, told me that breeding dogs can come from almost anywhere and cannot be identified until they are much older than 4 months. For him, the law could drain a valuable gene pool.

Dogs at risk because of this Bill include working dogs and stock dogs, like the English Shepherd.

Pip is a purebred English Shepherd registered with IESR and ESCR. She's an operational search and rescue dog and a beloved family companion. Of her ten purebred English Shepherd pups in the photo (yes, there are TEN there), two went into training as SAR dogs, two went on to homes where they compete in dog sports with their owners, one became the beloved pet of a veterinary practice manager, and five became working farm/ranch dogs. Under AB 1634, Pip would have been forcibly spayed at four months of age, ineligible for an "intact permit" at any price because she is not registered with AKC or UKC, and was certainly not an operational SAR dog at that tender age

From Peta's press release:

If it becomes law, AB 1634 would prohibit any person from owning or possessing any unaltered cat or dog over the age of 4 months, unless that person purchases an intact-animal permit. Violators would be fined, and the money raised from the fines would be used to fund free and low-cost spay and neuter programs.

If you're a cat person ...

2007-04-25T14:10:00.000-04:00

...you might want to skip this post.

We have depended on them for our very survival.

Attila and Fly

Old footage Bird Dogs (ca. 1940s)

Two clips of Pit Bulls doing things you won't expect.

Federal member replaces MPP at provincial cheque presentation

2007-04-24T09:44:00.000-04:00

Dalton McGuinty seen as earnest and well-intentioned. Until now.

In March the Bengali Cultural Society, located in Toronto's Crescent Town, was handed a cheque for $250,000 from the Ontario government to help with settlement services for Bengali immigrants.
Coincidentally, the federal Liberal MP for the area, Maria Minna, was invited to attend the glad-handing, cheque presentation -- the NDP's MPP for the riding was strangely left off the invite list.
Turns out the Bangladeshi community in Toronto isn't that familiar with the Bengali Cultural Society, but the Liberals are. The Society's director is a card-carrying Grit and a member of the group also happens to be the VP of Minna's Liberal riding association.

Still More Suspicious McGuinty Slush Fund Grants

2007-04-23T23:03:00.000-04:00

New Democrat MPP Michael Prue asked some tough questions of the McGuinty Liberals last week. This week it's John Tory's turn.

In the Legislature today, Tory pressed Immigration and Citizenship Minister Mike Colle to explain the rationale behind two grants to groups connected to the Liberal Party. The International Seniors Club of Brampton received $100,000 from the McGuinty slush fund in March. One of the members of the Board of Directors of the organization is Atma Singh Gill who is the president of the Liberal Party of Canada riding association in Mississauga – Brampton South, a riding represented by Liberal MP Navdeep Bains.

Another group, the Ontario Khalsa Darbar, received $250,000 from the McGuinty slush fund. The group has several board members who are Liberal Party donors. The group has also been embroiled in a court case since 2006 about allegations that $2.5 million in membership fees had not been reflected in the organizations books.

The Minister refused to provide any documentation or justification about the two grants today in Question Period. He has also still not provided information on grants to two other groups with Liberal Party connections – the Bengali Cultural Society and the Iranian-Canadian Community Centre, which has seven board members, 100 percent of whom are donors to the Liberal Party.

Opps: Best not forget to close the barn door after the horse is out.

Citizenship and Immigration Minister Mike Colle, who acknowledged last week that there was no formal application process for groups to get the funding, scrambled to deflect criticism today by announcing an online application will be available by week's end so that all community groups can apply.

"Taxpayer dollars must be well spent and well managed," Colle told the Legislature.

Iranian animal protection agency?

2007-04-20T14:11:00.000-04:00

Liberal-led group collected $200,000 grant

New Democrat MPP Michael Prue yesterday revealed that the Iranian Canadian Community Centre -- a group categorized as an animal protection agency, according to documents -- received a $200,000 grant on March 27, 2006, only three weeks after incorporating as a charity.

The group's address is listed as the law office of David Farmani, a director of the charity who is also president of the Richmond Hill Liberal riding association with longstanding connections to the party. Another director is Gholam Reza Moridi, the riding's Liberal candidate in the upcoming election.

Mr. Prue said the group appears to have obtained the large grant largely because of its Liberal connections.

h/t Bourque

Update: Thanks to Mike Westcott in the comments. From the Ottawa Citizen

Mr. Prue said the group appears to have obtained the large grant largely because of its Liberal connections.

"We can't see any other reason. There's an established Iranian community centre, established organizations that have been there for over a decade.

"None of them got any money, but a brand new one did."

"It looks like a reward for people who are in the Liberal party," said Mr. Prue. "You can come around, you don't have to fill out a form, there's no due diligence, here's your cheque. That's what it looks like to me."

Mr. Colle said the program, which dispensed as much as $20 million in a massive end-of-year spending spree in 2006, according to documents, has neither a name nor a formal application process.

No Green candidate in St. Catherines?

2007-04-19T09:15:00.000-04:00

And so it begins
From A BCer in Toronto

It's far from a done deal, but according to a story in the St. Catherines Standard there is a movement afoot amongst local Greens to not field a candidate in the next election, and instead endorse Liberal candidate and former MP Walt Lastewka

Growing Rural - Urban Economic Gap in Ontario

2007-04-19T08:56:00.000-04:00

Economic growth in Ontario’s smaller communities will lag behind growth in Toronto and surrounding cities during 2007, according to the latest Conference Board of Canada outlook.

“In general, most cities in Ontario are struggling because of weakness in manufacturing,” Alan Arcand, an economist with the board, told Osprey News.

Ontario’s overall economic prospects are expected to “remain tame” this year with the provincial economy forecast to expand by just a 1.9 per cent, a negligible improvement on the “paltry” growth in gross domestic product seen in 2006 and the weakest real per capita growth of any province in the country.

Meanwhile, 19,000 manufacturing jobs are expected to disappear from communities across the province this year, exacerbating the loss of more than 140,000 manufacturing jobs (one in eight) here since 2002.

Howard blames Dalton. Whose to say ... but according to the Conference board, Ontario isn't even in the running. Calgary, Edmonton, Halifax, Saskatoon and Vancouver were the top five economic performers.

Dogs are funny that way

2007-04-18T09:19:00.000-04:00

I once knew a poodle who loved grapes. He'd hide them between the cushions of the chesterfield. Today, most people know not to feed their dogs grapes.

The reason why some dogs develop renal failure following ingestion of grapes and raisins is not known. Types of grapes involved include both seedless and seeded, store bought and homegrown, and grape pressings from wineries.

It has only recently been discovered that Collies and other herding dogs are extremely sensitive to, not only ivermectin, but a host of other commonly used drugs.

In 2001, veterinarian Katrina Mealey of Washington State University College of Veterinary Medicine in Pullman, Wash., and her team found that ivermectin sensitivity is caused by a mutation in the multi-drug resistance gene (MDR1), which controls a protein that helps pump drugs and toxins out of the brain.

But as the research continued, the scientists discovered that the gene may react to more than 50 drugs, such as Loperamide (the over-the-counter antidiarrheal Imodium); the popular tranquilizer Acepromazine, often called "Ace" for short; the heart drug Digoxin; pain-control medication Butorphanol; Cyclosporin, an immunosuppressant used in allergy treaments; and several chemotherapy drugs, including Doxorubicin, Vincristine and Vinblastine.

Steve has been following the confusing and often bizarre pet food recall closely. Including the toxicity of the chemical melamine.

This is just weird.

Rice not wheat.

Dogs not cats.

Even the source of the rice protein is different. The wheat gluten came from Xuzhou Anying Biologic. The rice protein came from Binzhou Futian Biology Technology.

Either the scientific understanding of the toxicity of melamine is grossly inadequate, or it isn't melamine but aminopterin, or melamine is found all over Chinese raw foodstuffs, or melamine was added later, or it was deliberate, or...or...or...

What is most bizarre to me, is not what is making these pets sick, but that both cats and dogs are sensitive to it. Now that is weird.

Hat Tip to The Doggerel Party

Ice Cold

2007-04-17T22:29:00.000-04:00

Red is my favourite colour.

Le gars de Boston

2007-04-12T15:25:00.000-04:00

I understood, at best, 40 percent of this.
But, if you've ever been to Montreal when the Boston fans are in town you have got to watch.

Le gars de Boston.

Bloc MP Louise Thibault leaves party to sit as an independent

2007-04-12T14:46:00.000-04:00

MP Louise Thibault says she is leaving the Bloc Quebecois to sit as an Independent.

Thibault has represented the riding of Rimouski-Neigette-Temiscouata since 2004,when she replaced Suzanne Tremblay.

David has more here.

Update: According to my babelfish translation, the issue is merry marriage.

Facebook

2007-04-12T09:53:00.001-04:00

Worth repeating is this CTV story on Facebook.
Hat tip to Jack's Newswatch. Where I notice he's added guest bloggers.

Single school system

2007-04-11T11:47:00.000-04:00

A growing number of boards calling for a single school system across the province.

The Bluewater District School Board of Bruce and Grey counties recently passed a resolution asking the Ontario Public School Boards' Association to push for amalgamating the English public, English Catholic, French public and French Catholic systems.

No one expects the separate school boards to embrace this move but they are going to have to let go of the very old notion that public means Protestant. Those days are long gone.

There are voices pushing not to eliminate publicly funded Catholic schools, but to start equally funding schools of other religions. Mohamed Elmasry, a University of Waterloo professor and president of the Canadian Islamic Congress, is one of them.

"I think this is an equality issue," he said. "If one faith group, in this case Catholics, have the right to be supported by the Ontario government, other faith groups should be treated equally.

It wouldn't necessarily cost a lot, because the province would still be serving the same number of students, Elmasry said. The public boards calling for a single school system are "self-serving," because they want to protect their funding and their jobs, he added.

Visit the Doggerel Party for a post on the Ottawa board.
Posts from the past here and here.

Something the Easter Bunny needs to know

2007-04-04T08:38:00.001-04:00

I took the pledge. In February, Hershey announced that it would be closing its plant in Smiths Falls. This will result in the loss of 500 jobs, the market for thousands of litres per day of Ontario milk and the Hershey Chocolate Shoppe, which attracts over 400,000 visitors a year to Smiths Falls.

I'm going to enjoy the Hershey chocolate this Easter because once the plant closes I'm not sure I'll be able to stomach it any more.

Mike has the details.

So ... The Big Meeting is on Thursday .... I'm eternally hopeful, but I have a funny feeling that we are going to hear a final closing date. Hershey met with the union in Toronto last week & told them the decision was final. The union presented a 5-year agreement for consideration.

Hershey Pledge is supporting the following Hershey's products currently manufactured in Smiths Falls,

# Hershey's Milk Chocolate Bars
# Hershey's Milk Almond Bars
# Hershey's Milk Almond Toffee Bars
# Hershey's Special Dark Almond
# Hershey's Cookies & Creme Bars
# Eat More Bars
# Oh Henry Bars
# Reese Peanut Butter Cups
# Cherry Blossoms
# Glossettes Raisins, Almonds, and Peanuts
# Chipits
# Chocolate Syrup
# Caramel Syrup and
# Dessert Fondue

Floor crossing at Queen's Park

2007-03-29T12:30:00.000-04:00

Liberal MPP Tim Peterson, brother of a former Ontario premier, is crossing the floor to the Progressive Conservative party, CBC News has learned.

Update:Globe and Mail account

Ontario MPP Tim Peterson is departing the Liberal Party to sit as the sole independent member in the legislature and plans to run for the Progressive Conservatives in the provincial election on Oct. 10.

Full release from John Tory below

Cites Tory’s leadership as he leaves Liberal Caucus to sit as Independent MPP

(Queen’s Park) – MPP Tim Peterson today joined Ontario PC Party Leader John Tory to announce the Mississauga South MPP will run for the PC Party in the next election.

“My decision was not an easy one. I knew that our government and I were not in agreement and my first instinct was to not run in October,” Peterson said, citing several issues of concern to him, including energy policy and getting a fair share for Peel/Mississauga. “Fortunately I have known John Tory for several years and it was easy to establish a dialogue about these issues.

“His quick grasp of the issues that concerned me and the people of Mississauga South was not only encouraging, it was invigorating,” said Peterson. “In my discussions with John, I also became aware of what a decent, caring, humourous and charismatic person he is. In short, a natural leader. A leader who is not afraid to bring together the best and the brightest minds in Ontario to help manage Ontario’s $90 billion budget. He is one of the best and brightest.”

Peterson will sit as an independent MPP until the end of the current session of the Legislature.
“I am delighted to welcome Tim Peterson to our team for the October election,” said Tory. “I am absolutely convinced that his record in business, community service and in representing his constituents will allow him to be an excellent PC candidate. I am also confident I will be able to find for him, as a candidate and ultimately as a member of our Caucus, an opportunity to continue to build on his already considerable contribution to the public life of Ontario.”

-30-

Patriotic Pain

2007-03-28T14:43:00.000-04:00

Faster, cheaper surgeries turned down in the name of public health care.

Provincial Tory Leader John Tory says the company would have performed 1,500 knee replacements at a cost of $1,082 less than performing the same surgeries at community hospitals, a total estimated savings of $1.6 million.

Accusing Smitherman of replacing "sound business principles" with "extremist ideology," Tory wrote in a letter to the National Post that "Patients requiring knee surgery don't really care how their health care is provided, as long as it adheres to the highest standards and they only need pay with their OHIP card."

So what does Smitherman say? "I will never support the outsourcing of those knee surgeries to any private, for-profit-motivated organization," adding, "the not-for-profit public health-care system is the best expression of Canadian values."

Wait times for knee surgery is measured in years not months. Read the rest and tell me if I'm still wrong for wanting to kick him.

Fruit Salad

2007-03-27T23:01:00.000-04:00

Because I'm a political cherry picker and a reader loves to send me Maurice Strong links.

Getting Rich Off the Great Global Warming Swindle

Gore publicly praised MMTI for being a pioneer in recycling technology, neglecting to mention that the firm was run by Strong and a group of Gore associates, or that the company had received over $25 million in tax loot from the Department of Energy in R&D grants, without proving that their technology would work on a commercial scale. It later received another $8 million in public money, without generating revenue from any other source.

This second link offers nothing new on Mr. Strong but pretty much sums up how most of us feel about the environment.

We need to be aware of the natural cycles of global temperature, ignore the alarmists, and do what we need to do to contribute to a healthy planet.

He's Got His Own Protesters

2007-03-26T20:00:00.000-04:00

For John Tory, it's a sure sign he's hit the big leagues. Some folks are worried about his support for publicly funded knee surgeries at a private Toronto hospital. The proposal would reduce wait times and could save money.

The Ontario Health Coalition sent out an "urgent alert'' to its supporters to boost attendance at the protest because organizers are very troubled by Tory's views on the privatization of health care, said director Natalie Mehra.

Mehra said she doesn't necessarily think Tory will become premier, but she's worried that his views might gain support.

And this guy ...? He has got to go.

Health Minister George Smitherman has said he is not even considering the proposal and "will never support the outsourcing of those knee surgeries to any private, for-profit motivated organization.''

Don't you just want to kick him.

C'est bon, des Pop Tarts

2007-03-25T20:50:00.000-04:00

For the linguistically challenged Willie Waller 2006 is perhaps the funniest and easiest to understand.

But the C’est bon des Pop-Tarts theme follows threw the Halloween and Christmas videos.

The site is hugely popular in Quebec.

This is Tetes a Claques, Quebec's newest cultural phenomenon and the most visited French-language website in the province.
This Internet popularity turned into fortunes when Bell Canada became the exclusive provider of its gut-busting videos on cellphones.

Gut busting? Yep, I damn near peed my pants

Ask the member for Ottawa- Vanier

2007-03-24T10:48:00.001-04:00

Hansard excerpt. You can read the rest at Newsbeat 1

Ontario Liberals paid $25,000 in compensation to nomination contestant David Merner after Premier Dalton McGuinty anointed Madeleine Meilleur as the provincial party's candidate in Ottawa-Vanier in 2003. According to Mr. Merner, the man who brokered the deal was a federal Liberal cabinet minister, the MP for the federal riding of Ottawa-Vanier.

Segal visits Sudbury

2007-03-23T17:03:00.000-04:00

Senator Hugh Segal

"In Dalton McGuinty's Ontario, the over-qualified are driving cabs and the under qualified are in the Cabinet," he said.

Mining You Tube

2007-03-21T13:03:00.000-04:00

Sex link for liberal chicks.

Bite me alien boy.

Man's best friend. That would be the dog.

Who's trading carbon credits with Mars?

2007-03-20T11:45:00.000-04:00

From National Geographic News

Simultaneous warming on Earth and Mars suggests that our planet's recent climate changes have a natural—and not a human-induced—cause, according to one scientist's controversial theory.

h/t Brussel's Journal

Sibling Rivalry

2007-03-19T23:43:00.000-04:00

Red Ensign at Vimy

2007-03-19T12:41:00.000-04:00

Red Ensign campaigners want old flag to fly at Vimy ceremony

It's the flag the Canadians carried into battle when they captured Vimy Ridge in 1917. And it's the flag that should be flying when thousands assemble at the Canadian National Vimy Memorial next month for the unveiling of the restored monument to mark the 90th anniversary of the battle, say members of a campaign to get the Red Ensign to Vimy Ridge for the ceremony.

I'm with Nicholas on this. I just assumed ... Important life lesson. Don't ever assume.

Martin Durkin responds to the critics.

2007-03-19T08:46:00.000-04:00

The Great Global Warming Swindle director, Martin Durkin, responds to the critics.

The remarkable thing is not that I was attacked. But that the attacks have been so feeble. The ice-core data was the jewel in the global-warming crown, cited again and again as evidence that carbon dioxide 'drives' the earth's climate. In fact, as its advocates have been forced to admit, the ice-core data says the opposite. Temperature change always precedes changes in CO2 by several hundred years. Temperature drives CO2, not the other way round. The global-warmers do not deny this. They cannot.

Pony Up To The Gate Boys

2007-03-18T15:24:00.000-04:00

Lanark-Frontenac-Lennox & Addington will be one of the hottest nomination races in the province.

An anonymous commenter points out that while I've posted several times about Randy Hillier I've not posted anything on Jay Brennan and Brent Cameron the other two candidates for the Progressive Conservative nomination. Tis true, though not revealing in anyway. Hillier just generates more headlines. So, links below for all three. This isn't my riding, but if it were I'd be talking to all three candidates, then I'd out selling memberships on behalf of the candidate of my choice.

Jay Brennan

Jay Brennan announces candidacy for P.C. nomination
Looks forward to healthy debate and democratic nomination process

Jay, who has worked for Lanark-Carleton MPP Norm Sterling for the past 8 years, understands how to get things done within the Ontario government and has been involved in helping Mr. Sterling get local projects onto the provincial agenda. This includes getting a new high school built in Smiths Falls,the four-laning of Highway #7, the development of the Tay Basin in Perth and the redevelopment of the Almonte Hospital and Fariview Manor, just to name a few.

Brent Cameron Blog

Rural Ontario is falling behind. Farm families are continuing to struggle with low commodity prices and high production costs; rural schools are falling behind their urban counterparts, and every day sees another small business in L-F-L & A close its doors.

Randy Hillier website

Though Hillier seeks to represent the people of LFLA, it is abundantly clear that his constituency is broad based and encompasses all of rural Ontario. In addition, Hillier has long advocated for the removal of excessive legislation and intrusive regulations that provide little or no value to society and blurs the distinction between private property and public responsibility.

A note about anonymous comments. At least make up some sort of name for yourself when you stop by here. I tend to treat anonymous comments as hostile - even when they aren't meant to be.

Congratulations North Bay !!!

2007-03-17T23:15:00.000-04:00

March 17, 2007 — Better luck next time. Cornwall did not win the Hockeyville 2007 title but there's still reason to celebrate. The winner was announced Saturday night during the Hockey Night in Canada broadcast. Cornwall came in second place, while North Bay, Ontario walked away with first prize. Cornwall has come along way since previous Hockeyville competitions. Last year, we were shut out of round two however Cornwall made it into the top five this year. Noelville, Ontario came in fifth place, Smithers, B-C fourth and Warner Alberta in third.

The Irish Poet

2007-03-17T16:12:00.000-04:00

The best case for reincarnation is the Irish poet.

I know he's a mess but reincarnation explains it I think. If he didn't live it, how did he write it?

Shane MacGowan with Christy Moore sing A Pair of Brown Eyes.
MacGowan again with Fairy Tale of New York
Ronnie Drew sings the Dunes.

Sure, Ewan MacColl's a Scot but nobody does Dirty old town like MacGowan.

He didn't write And The Band Played Waltzing Matilda either but ... more Shane MacGowan

And finally, the Dirges and the Ballad of Shane MacGowan.

There's gotta be a better way ...

2007-03-09T14:44:00.000-05:00

In a blog post on training front door greeting Jenny Ruth Yasi begins with an anecdote:

Years ago, I had a german shepherd, and I trained her to run upstairs, open the bathroom closet, pull out a roll of toilet paper, close the door and bring the roll of toilet paper to me in the downstairs bathroom. Brilliant! I was so thrilled with this trick. So I invited my best friend over, had her sit in the downstairs bathroom and cue my dog to go get her a new roll of TP, which was impressively delivered (slightly chewed, but I knew she wouldn't mind that).

"So, what do you think?" I asked, bursting with pride.

Stephanie replied, "It seems like it would be easier to just store the toilet paper in the downstairs bathroom?"

Jenny goes on to say that front door greetings don't need to be the nightmare they often are and her method involves the crate.

If this guest is a keeper, you can let your dog out to socialize once he's calmed and quieted down. The idea is, you give the adrenaline a chance to wear off and go away, and then when Spot comes out of the crate, he's Mr. Sleepyhead. (This only works if your dog has been properly conditioned to the crate, and if he has learned to like and feel safe in his crate).

What I liked most about this post is that her method is what I've been doing with the Sweet Thing. But until now I wasn't sure it was the correct thing to do.

Ontario Landowner's have new president

2007-03-06T13:34:00.000-05:00

Jack MacLaren new OLA head

Jack MacLaren, President of the Carleton County Landowner's Association, has been elected the new President of the Ontario Landowner's Association (OLA) and takes over the leadership role of 14 County Landowner Associations. Jamie MacMaster, a director of the Glengarry Landowner's Association, will resume the position of Vice-President of the OLA.

... The OLA and its 15,000 members will be co-coordinating and focusing all their efforts and resources to influence this fall's provincial election. The OLA will be drawing the public's attention to items such as the Provincial Policy Statement on Land Use, the Clean Water Act, and the Species at Risk Act which were designed by the McGuinty government to empower government acquisition of rural land without payment, under the guise of resource protection, according to former OLA chair Randy Hillier, who has announced his candidacy as the Conservative candidate in the new provincial riding of Lanark, Frontenac and Lennox & Addington.

March edition of Agrinews now online.
Many ag related stories to be found including
Game on in Geneva
Feds attempting to rein in milk protein imports

Beyond Google: Searching the Invisible Web

2007-03-06T02:06:00.000-05:00

Of interest to genealogists but useful for novice researchers of just about any topic.

The slower but more useful method for mining the deep Web is something you probably already do as part of your standard genealogy research. The deep Web includes databases and collections searchable through archives, libraries and universities, many of which can best be searched manually. Many major free databases such as the IGI and EllisIslandRecords are part of this so called "invisible web" and their data won't come up in most standard search engine searches.

Cornwall - a hockey town

2007-03-05T15:20:00.000-05:00

Results here
Cornwall's not just a hockey town - it's Hockeyville !!! Or could be. The city of Cornwall has been short listed in Kraft's Hockeyville 2007. The winning community receives ....

Kraft Hockeyville 2007 title and trophy
Host a one-of-a-kind NHL® Hockey Event
$50,000 to be used for upgrades to the publicly-owned Arena that the winning Community endorses
Community will be featured on a CBC Television Kraft Hockeyville special in the fall of 2007, date to be determined

Watch the video and vote often at Rock 101.9.

The Kraft Hockeyville 2007 winner will be announced live on CBC’s Hockey Night in Canada on March 17th.

More on a single school system

2007-03-04T15:29:00.000-05:00

Further to the post below. A reader sends this link to a letter to the editor .

So let’s expand our present school system to include Jewish schools, Christian schools, Muslim schools, etc., etc.

There… that was easy. Now there’s at least no longer any discrimination. The ethical dilemma is finally solved! Now we have our Canadian kids all going to the school of their particular faith. That should promote mutual understanding and tolerance (Sunnis and Shiites in Baghdad come to mind ).

All you small town and country folk can forget about keeping the school in your area open. There won’t be enough kids in your area since they must now be divided up into many systems.

The sad truth is, rural schools, particularly in Northern and Eastern Ontario are already suffering from the division of resources in this province's four board system.
Update: In case this isn't clear ... we already have four(4) boards in Ontario.

An idea whose time has come

2007-03-03T20:03:00.000-05:00

Education Equality in Ontario appears to be gaining momentum just in time for a provincial election.

In a letter sent to school councils last month the advocacy group asks for support in an initiative to build a stronger, non-discriminatory school system for all children by merging the province's public and separate school systems into one English language and one French language public school system.

The unnecessary duplication in our school system is a financial millstone that should have been removed long ago. That costly duplication is a significant contributor to the annual school board funding crises that threaten the viability or even the existence of programs and facilities of great value to the communities they serve. For the sake of all Ontario children, it cannot be allowed to continue.

Ontario's constitutional obligation to fund Roman Catholic separate schools in Ontario is largely illusory claims Education Equality advocates. They cite Quebec, Newfoundland, and Manitoba as being successful in overcoming similar constitutional obligations before moving to a single public school system for each official language.

Related links here. Here. And here.

I can't help but support the premise here. I don't have a choice in religious education. Never have. But I am expected to pay for someone else's choice and that just doesn't seem fair to me.

Giving kerosene to a pyromaniac

2007-03-02T19:12:00.000-05:00

Following the largest tax increase in Ontario’s history and huge increases in both personal and corporate income tax Ontario's still in the red.

Has anyone asked why the McGuinty Liberals can’t balance Ontario’s books? Don’t they have more money now thanks to the massive tax hike? It is simple. The more money they have, the more they spend. Giving them more money is like giving kerosene to a pyromaniac. And taxpayers – the ones footing the bill – continue to get burned.

The McGuinty government’s third budget in March 2006, (his third consecutive deficit budget) showed the Liberals were swimming in tax revenue. Since 2003-04, personal income tax revenues are up 32.2 per cent, and revenue from corporate income taxes are up nearly 50 per cent.

Why? Whiny Leadership.

The great rural divide

2007-02-28T12:44:00.000-05:00

Progressive Conservatives are keeping their policy cards close to their chest till spring but they seem comfortable giving us a peek at their rural/ municipal hand. Why? Because the damage is done in rural Ontario. Dalton McGuinty can't trump anything coming from the Conservatives because nothing he says will be believed.

A word to my Alberta friends who think they are the masters of Toronto bashing - rural Ontario in revolt is an awesome force.

Tory calls for different approach for municipalities.

Tory, who is from Toronto but represents the largely rural constituency of Dufferin-Peel-Wellington-Grey, outlined the different approach rural Ontario would see under a PC government. He said first and foremost, rural Ontario needs a strong economic plan to deal with the over 120,000 manufacturing job losses over the last two years, mill closures in Northern and Eastern Ontario, and farmers who have been abandoned by the McGuinty government and its policies.

27th Cabinet Minister will cost $2.5 million

2007-02-26T14:08:00.000-05:00

From McGuinty Watch. According to their calculations Ontario's 27th cabinet minister will cost tax payers $2.5 million.

McGuinty Watch estimates that putting Michael Chan, the newly elected Markham MPP, into cabinet will fleece taxpayers of at least $2.5 million. This estimate reflects the typical main office costs for a Cabinet Minister including the expenses of political staff, limousine and driver, basic office costs such as stationary, a Deputy Minister, a Parliamentary Assistant and administrative support. We also conservatively added a single civil servant to oversee what seems to be the only responsibility assigned to Chan by the Premier: a tax collection agreement with the federal government that has already been negotiated, signed and announced.

Cui prodest? Been wondering the same thing myself

2007-02-19T14:33:00.001-05:00

Things just seemed to fall into Stephen Harper's lap the last few weeks. I'd begun to wonder if some Liberals weren't ready to put a quick end to this thing. Angelo Persichilli's been thinking about it too.

There are many other issues the Liberals can use to attack the Conservative government. They should have a long list. So, why are they using issues to embarrass the Conservative government but also the former Liberal governments? Cui prodest?

Indeed. Who gains?

h/t

Men in parkas

2007-02-16T15:57:00.000-05:00

Men in parkas are just naturally funny I guess. You'll laugh, I promise.

Why the OSC must probe trust trades

2007-02-16T14:10:00.000-05:00

They were asked to investigate. They were given reasons why they should investigate.

Today would be a good day to ask. Did they?

h/t mkbraaten

Today is Cathy's Birthday!!!

2007-02-15T00:11:00.000-05:00

I've been prodded by a reader to help Woody make today a birthday Cathy will not forget. He's calling for a "can of birthday spam for his lovely." I hope he's right on this or he's going to be getting a can of something he won't forget.

So, if you have Cathy's email address send her a birthday greeting. If you don't and want to be part of Woody's shenanigans leave a message in the comments I guess. I'll make sure she gets it cause I'm sure as hell not posting her address here.

If you don't know Cathy and Woody please just ignore this post.

Hollow Promises

2007-02-12T09:14:00.000-05:00

Not satisfied with broken promises it looks like Dalton McGuinty is now making hollow promises.

"The difference between then and now is that today, and as we go into the election, we have a record,'' Sorbara said as the Liberals wrapped up their weekend policy convention. "We think it's a pretty darned good record. When you're renewing your contract, you speak to that and what you're proposing in the next period.

"The message is going to be clearer and simpler.'
That platform will be sold by an increasing number of women, Sorbara added. The party is reviewing its campaign and nomination strategies to ensure 50 per cent of its new candidates are women, Sorbara said.

The provincial Liberals are going to lose seats. That's a given. Most of the new liberal candidates will be in ridings they don't already hold and realistically don't have a chance in hell of winning. But, because they're so enlightened and supportive of women, they're going to ensure that half of their defeated candidates are female. And that's the message. Clear and simple.

He just wanted to say hi

2007-02-09T17:06:00.001-05:00

What a touchy bitch you are!

Sitting quietly on the mall bench beside my husband, I was minding my own business when the man approached. I glanced up as the man sat next to me. He was a bit close for my comfort, so I edged a little closer to my husband who, busy reading a book, ignored me. Still feeling a bit uncomfortable with the strange man so close, I then turned my head slightly away from him, politely indicating I was not interested in any interaction. To my horror, the man leaned over me and began licking my neck while rudely groping me.

I'm reminded as well of the many times I've seen people try to over-come apprehension and shyness with coaxing and kind words. That just makes it so much worse. Turn your head and ignore them. In time they'll be eating right out of your hand.

Runciman running for diabetes in Reykjavik

2007-02-07T10:44:00.000-05:00

MPP Bob Runciman has joined Team Diabetes to raise funds for diabetes.

He's committed to raising a minimum of $6,000 in pledges to support the work of the Canadian Diabetes Association including leading-edge diabetes research, diabetes education in the community, local programs and national advocacy. He'll be training to complete a half marathon (21 kilometres) race with Team Diabetesat, the Iceland Marathon taking place in August 2007.

If you'd like to support Bob with a pledge go to teamdiabetes.ca and click Pledge a participant. Tip: key in Robert not Bob.

Real-world political action

2007-02-07T10:12:00.001-05:00

A challenge from democraticSpace

The Bloggers-Are-Not-Lonely-Outcasts Contest

So here’s a challenge to all readers: give me a list of 9 bloggers (Canadian or otherwise) who are actively involved in real-world political action. I will put together a top 9 (or 10) based on the most often mentioned. Leave your list here or free feel to email it to me if you don’t want it public.

Note:
Just to be clear, send your list over to democraticSpace. He's the one issuing the challenge. But put them in the comments here too if you like.

Third Man In

2007-02-05T18:00:00.000-05:00

In the PC nomination race for Lanark, Frontenac, Lennox and Addington, Randy Hillier looks to be third man in.

One and perhaps two other men have their eye on the prize. Political activist and author Brent Cameron of Godfrey made his intention to seek the nomination known in November. There is no incumbent in this newly created riding.

From the Ottawa Citizen:

Lanark, Frontenac, Lennox and Addington will be a new riding created at the provincial level in the next election, in October (federally, it was established in 2004 and is held by Scott Reid). It will be created from the current provincial ridings of Lanark Carleton, held by Conservative Norm Sterling and Hastings, Frontenac, Lennox and Addington, held by Liberal Leona Dombrowsky.
Mr. Hillier said Sunday night that he doesn’t expect Mr. Sterling or Ms. Dombrowsky will run in Lanark, Frontenac, Lennox and Addington.

Randy Hillier seeks PC nomination

2007-02-04T22:27:00.000-05:00

Randy Hillier, the architect of the rural revolution wants to take a run at the Progressive Conservative nomination in the eastern Ontario riding of Lanark, Frontenac, Lennox & Addington. I think it's going to be an interesting news week in the Ottawa Valley.

From News Release
Sunday, February 04, 2007

Lanark County - Randy Hillier (past president & co-founder of the Lanark & Ontario Landowners' Association) is seeking the Ontario Progressive Conservative nomination in the upcoming provincial election for the new riding of Lanark, Frontenac, Lennox & Addington (LFLA).

After much encouragement from, and significant discussions with many federal and provincial members of the legislature, municipal mayors, councillors, and overwhelming public support, Hillier said "it is time to bring our strong rural voices directly to Queens Park."

stuff you don't see down here on the farm

2007-02-04T08:01:00.000-05:00

I want one of these to throw in the back of the truck the next time we go camping .

Lovers appear to dance a water ballet of gentle circles and S-curves in the canals of Amsterdam.

Two cardboard boxes, some aluminum foil and you have an oven.

Carbonated strawberries and, from the same site , how perfect does a boiled egg have to be?

Who is John Tory?

2007-02-03T16:04:00.000-05:00

With nomination races underway, and a poll suggesting a minority government in Ontario, you have to wonder how many rural Liberal MPPs are considering or re-considering their political future this weekend. John Laschinger, the Conservatives' campaign director thinks Dalton is trailing because of broken promises.

"People don't even remember what promises he broke," Laschinger says. "They just know he broke promises."

Don Guy, Liberal campaign director claims John Tory is less well known now than he was when first elected leader in 2004.

"I think he's lost his window to define himself," Guy says.

His windows are presenting themselves everywhere I would say. Who is John Tory? He is a man who likes brownies.

Dalton has already lost rural ridings in the double digits and he's going to lose more. Will the 905 bring him to defeat?

The poll man isn't as optimistic.

one two three

2007-02-02T09:40:00.003-05:00

New blogger test.

Sex Links for Liberal Chicks

2007-02-02T09:40:00.001-05:00

This blog began as a newsletter for the women in my address book. When it became a blog with a political slant I promised to include sex links so the liberal chicks would keep stopping by. I haven't done a very good job of keeping that promise because ... well... my mother reads this blog.

It's just as well. With my repeated reference to things down here on the farm and words like girls, chicks, barnyard and animals in my tagline I get more than enough bizarre google referrals.

The quality and quantiy of women bloggers is always a subject for spirited discussion. This week a liberal chick took on a challenge and created a smart list. It was reproduced here.

I'm a dog person myself but I do have to say ... thanks Catnip.
I hope this means I didn't need the sex links after all.

Politics and the New Media

2007-01-31T15:05:00.000-05:00

If you didn't catch TVO's The Agenda with Steve Paikin last night on Politics and YouTube, the video is here. Hit January 30, Stewart Bell|Politics 2.0

And while we're on the subject ... related from the Washington Post;

"In a viral information age, a distortion of the record can quickly sink in as fact," Madden said. "It was very important to show that what was an anonymous attack eventually became a moment of strength for our campaign."

h/t Patrick Ruffini

Lyle

2007-01-25T12:53:00.000-05:00

Girls know it. But the boys don't understand it.
Why? Because it's cerebral.

Genghis Khan leaving his mark

2007-01-25T09:29:00.000-05:00

Genealogy - more than digging through old census records.

One in every 200 men alive today is a relative of Genghis Khan. An international team of geneticists has made the astonishing discovery that more than 16 million men in central Asia have the same male Y chromosome as the great Mongol leader.

It's their bread and butter

2007-01-20T21:38:00.000-05:00

From the Standard Freeholder;Glengarry Landowners are trying to iron out differences with provincial body

"There are two basic problems," said Jamie MacMaster, a GLA spokesperson, after he met Friday with a transition steering committee of the Ontario Landowners Association (OLA).

"There's a strong faction in the OLA and they wanted to endorse and field candidates in the next fall's provincial election.

"The GLA has always had an aversion to (running candidates) as a political party," MacMaster said, noting the GLA did encourage members to vote for several municipal election candidates last fall, most of whom eventually won.

The second disagreement is more complex.

And divisive. The OLA's continued support for Shawn Carmichael, and Leeds Grenville OLA president Jacqueline Fennell's bid to sell raw milk without quota, is never going to sit well with dairymen in Glengarry. Or I suspect in Dundas or Stormont. A lot of folks milking cows in those counties and most aren't even close to considering life without supply management.

"There's one part of the rural community which thinks it's great (such as dairy farmers), and one part who think it is the worst pox visited upon farmers."

These brewing concerns came to a head in December when the GLA withdrew from the OLA.

Randy Hillier, long rumoured to be considering a run at elected politics resigned as president of the OLA last week.

"We're saying, let's (get our differences) resolved," MacMaster said.

"When you see a map of Ontario and you superimpose our associations, we got a huge swath covered.

"The OLA could be a strong voice for rural residents."

Hard to disagree with MacMaster on that. Of the non-divisive issues, the Rural Revolution has been, not only strong, but effective.

Raw Milk

2007-01-19T09:51:00.000-05:00

Public health unit gives farmer notice she'll be charged.

Public health inspectors are ready to do their job if a Roebuck farmer proceeds with plans to open a raw milk co-operative, warns the local medical officer of health.

"We intend to enforce the law," said Dr. Anne Carter, MoH for the Leeds, Grenville and Lanark District Health Unit, in an interview Wednesday with The Recorder and Times.

Carter didn't identify Conavista Farms and co-owners Jacqueline Fennell and John Conklin by name, but she made it clear the health unit is ready to act if Fennell follows through on her stated plans in defiance of a cease-and-desist order delivered by the Dairy Farmers of Ontario (DFO).

Related post below.
This has little to do with raw milk. It's all about supply management. Interesting times ahead.

Glengarry Quits Landowners

2007-01-19T08:30:00.000-05:00

From AM 1220 Cornwall

January 19, 2007- The Glengarry Landowners Association has removed itself from it's(sic)provincial organization. The G-L-A was not happy with the direction the Ontario Landowner's Association was going. G-L-A Director, Jamie MacMaster tells AM 1220 News they want to stay with the property rights initiatives and that wasn't happening. The property rights initiatives include the rights to own, use and enjoy property. He says they want to stay out of anything that involves supply management.

And from Agrinews; Leeds Grenville Landowners heading it seems in the other direction with its president moving into raw milk production.

A controversial raw milk marketing scheme causing an uproar in Western Ontario has flowed east, sponsored by 25-head Conavista Farms in the Spencerville area.

Under the scheme, consumers who prefer raw milk are invited to enter a cow share program on the farm operated by Jacqueline Fennell, president of the Leeds and Grenville Landowners Association.

In the past, Fennell has also been a non-quota milk shipper. As president of the Leeds and Grenville Landowners Association, she's a staunch supporter of Western Ontario farmer Michael Schmidt who was raided in November after openly selling raw milk for more than a decade.

Perhaps Hillier's resignation isn't all about political aspirations.

Comet McNaught

2007-01-17T13:19:00.000-05:00

The wee lad and his grandmother saw Comet McNaught shortly after 5:25 last evening. By the time they got into the house to tell us it was gone. I'd forgotten about it but was glad he was able to catch it. He, sweet child that he is, was disappointed that I had missed it. We'll look again tonight.

The best viewing it seems has passed. Bad weather and lack of information prevented some of us from viewing it.

Hillier quits Ontario Landowners Association

2007-01-16T13:51:00.000-05:00

From Tom Van Dusen at the Ottawa Sun

PERTH -- Randy Hillier announced his resignation as militant president of the Ontario Landowners Association yesterday.

While he cited a desire to rest, spend more time with his family and explore new opportunities, rumour had it that a growing number of OLA activists thought it time to try another personality at the helm.

More than anything, the OLA became known for the defiance, bombast, call to civil disobedience when required, and media savvy of its president.

Rumour also has it that Hillier plans to run in an upcoming election. Federal? Provincial? Independent or Conservative? Guess we'll have to wait and see.

I could speculate provincial/independent. But I won't.

Attack bunnies

2007-01-16T13:00:00.000-05:00

Look at that, honey. Do ya believe it?

Update:I got to thinking about Jimmy Carter and his encounter with an attack rabbit. The story here with photo.

And another here with this interesting note:

While some presidential apologists have suggested that Carter might actually have been attacked by a nutria, a large, aggressive aquatic rodent, others have insisted that the President's assailant was a simple, if unusually vicious, bunny rabbit. Fulk, the 12th century king of Jerusalem, was killed by a rabbit. (Well, really he was killed by a fall from his horse, but the horse had been startled by a rabbit.) And many years ago, I was the owner of a Blue Dutch rabbit named Sequin. One of my friends still bears the scars of an encounter with Sequin--a perfectly matched set of parallel teeth marks, where Sequin's fangs closed on her hand and ripped through the flesh when she pulled her hand away. Bunnies are, indeed, fiercer than anyone but Monty Python has generally given them credit for.

And this is why I'm uncomfortable with big city wildlife. I don't care how cute the squirrels and chipmunks are I don't want them walking down the damn sidewalk with me. Down here on the farm if an animal gets that close they're diseased or injured.

How to write a letter to the editor

2007-01-15T15:37:00.000-05:00

15 tips from Paul Russell, National Post letters editor to help you get published. ( small correction - a commenter with the potential to be a fine line editor points out why we should pay more attention when we cut and paste)

Hockey Night in Canada

2007-01-13T00:01:00.000-05:00

"If you make up your mind about things before you try it, my boy, you will never go very far in this world."

H/t Sigmund, Carl and Alfred

COME AWAY / GO PLAY

2007-01-10T22:13:00.000-05:00

Games To Improve Your Dog's Manners
Scroll down for a couple of games including Come away/Go play to improve your dog's habit of coming when called, even when distracted.

Trade war with Americans a vote grab?

2007-01-10T21:14:00.000-05:00

Though admitting that the issue of American corn subsidies is ripe for the picking the National Post suggests that the government's decision to ignore the Canadian International Trade Tribunal (CITT) and bring a request for consultations to the WTO is motivated by the political landscape.

In the current environment, the votes of farmers along the volatile St. Lawrence count for more than those of cow and pig producers in the unshakably Tory West. That helps to explain why the government is going against its own panel and taking its beef with Big Corn to the WTO, which uses a different and arguably broader standard of harm than CITT and (by extension) NAFTA.

It's volatile along the St. Lawrence alright. But you can be sure the government's actions aren't about a couple of thousand votes in rural Ontario. Votes I would argue Steven Harper already has in the bag. The volatility stems from years of trying to maneuver in a free trade environment with heavily subsidized American farmers.

With a new Democratic Congress sending out mixed messages on trade and clucking about the need to cushion Americans from the effects of globalization, it is also an opportune time for Canada to send a message of determination to U.S. legislators, and perhaps strengthen the backbones of principled congressional supporters of free trade.

Pundits will go searching for deeper significance in this first step to a trade war with the Americans claims the Post. They won't have to search very far. This isn't the only subsidy issue out there. And NAFTA isn't the only trade agreement of significance to Canadian agriculture.

Farmers in free market commodities in every province are looking for some backbone from Canadian legislators on exports. And, if farmers in supply managed commodities are ever going to embrace a free market system they're going to need better assurances of a level playing field than they've been getting.

Read the rest if you're interested in how the American taxpayer subsidizes the Canadian consumer.
h/t to Jack

Farmers making suckers of consumers

2007-01-07T16:55:00.000-05:00

You know there's trouble brewing when the mainstream media cover agricultural issues. From the Montreal Gazette an editorial:Dairy farmers make suckers of consumers .

Canadians are drinking 18 per cent less milk than they did in 1980, consuming 30 per cent less butter and 24 per cent less ice cream. Cheese production is barely holding steady. The Canadian dairy herd has dwindled.

Sounds like a disastrous portrait of a collapsing industry, doesn't it? In fact, these realities are all the result of careful manipulation of the dairy industry by federal and provincial governments and dairy producers themselves.

I'd put less emphasis on the government and more on producers. I can't imagine how scary a free-market system must look to these guys.

This systematic conspiracy against consumers goes by the name of "orderly marketing," and it has resulted in an average profit margin for dairy farms of 25 per cent of operating revenue, almost double the figure for all farms in Canada.

First I've heard supply management called "orderly marketing" but I've kinda been out of the loop. One could argue whether that 25% profit margin makes dairymen wealthier or those of us in the other sectors just twice as poor.

This time the Canadian Dairy Commission is raising the price for "industrial" milk, which is used to make butter, cheese, yogurt, ice cream and more. This increase, at a time when market conditions should be generating lower prices, will echo through the whole food chain.

Meanwhile Quebec's Regie des marches agricoles et alimentaires, acting at the request of the province's dairy producers, has decreed an increase of six cents a litre in the minimum and maximum consumer prices for table milk. So the price of almost all dairy products will be climbing again.

This is a classic example of cartel economics, made legal - we won't say legitimate - because politicians allow it. Tariff walls as high as 300 per cent give Canadian producers a captive market, while consumers pay inflated prices for basic food items. True, some of the decline in consumption of these products comes from demographic change; we have fewer children now, and more newcomers from places where milk products are not a big part of the diet. But some of the decline in consumption is linked to inflated prices.

Diet fads haven't helped dairy consumption either. As a consumer I still find table milk affordable - for a premium product. I've drank New York state milk and believe me we do get a premium product. Same can be said of butter. I'll gladly pay the extra. And so would the rest of the world I bet if they had access to our cheese and dairy products. (shameless self-promotion here )

Systematic conspiracy? Farmers making suckers of consumers? Well, that is just over the top.
From my experience dairy farmers would just like to be able to pay for their kids dental work.
Which makes me wonder if whoever wrote this has a benefit package or has actually met a farmer.

I don't even want to think about the havoc to come from the dismantling of supply management. Compensation for the millions tied up in quota alone is mind boggling. Dairy farmers have every reason to be reluctant. But perhaps American protectionism isn't one of them if we take a lesson from history.

Walker began selling his whiskey as Hiram Walker's Club Whiskey. It became very popular and American distillers became angry, and forced the US Government to pass a law requiring that all foreign whiskeys state their country of origin on the label. This move backfired; Hiram Walker's Canadian Club Whiskey became more popular.

CC is the best selling Canadian whisky brand outside of North America and it isn't even the best we produce. I would sure love to be that optimist about the Canadian dairy industry.

H/t Bourque

HWY H2O

2007-01-07T11:20:00.000-05:00

St. Lawrence Seaway officials project a 10% increase in shipping for the 2006 season with components for the Alberta oilsands and European wind turbines for green power projects across North America accounting for some of that traffic.

But for those of us who live along the seaway and see the system as under-utilized at best and redundant at worst this HWY H2O initiative and an increase in short-sea shipping is welcome news.

The Seaway - which has begun marketing itself as an alternative to congested road and rail transportation through its "HWY H2O" program - also saw an increase in short-sea shipping last year, said St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation spokesperson Andrew Bogora.

Short-sea shipping - in which products are shipped from one Seaway port to another - is a perfect example of how the Seaway can partner with trucking and rail companies to get around congested land traffic points, Bogora said.

"There's a lot of benefits to short-sea shipping," he said.

Along with the new and diversifying cargos, traditional products like grain, iron ore and semifinished steel continued to be key markets for the Seaway in 2006.

Traditionally, grains are shipped from western points of the Seaway to the east. On the return trip, ships stop to pick up iron ore in Labrador for use in steel mills in Hamilton.

Even with the growth in traffic, Bogora said the existing Seaway system could accommodate a further 60 per cent increase in cargo volumes.

2008 is the half century mark for the inundation of six villages and the relocation of more than 6000 residents for the construction of the St. Lawrence Seaway and Power Project. The cultural implications of the Lost Villages are still being felt and the economic benefits or lack thereof still debated. Any indication, even after 50 years, that the project justified the sacrifices made is welcome news indeed.

PETA - A Bunch Of Losers

2007-01-05T15:34:00.000-05:00

Colorado Governor isn't to pleased.

As many as 340,000 cows and steers have been left stranded by southeastern Colorado's most recent snowstorm, and National Guard units are helping ranchers in a frantic bid to save the freezing animals. Faced with 15-foot snowdrifts, rescuers are airlifting bales of hay and hoping for the best. But as Coloradans are learning, the wealthy People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) isn't about to lift a finger.

Apparently it isn't exactly what they wished for.

As we're telling the media today, the Colorado snowstorm is exactly the kind of emergency that should send PETA into action. But PETA -- whose president publicly wished for a foot-and-mouth epidemic in 2001 -- has a stubborn anti-meat bias. To this group of tofu-devouring loonies, seeing the livelihood of cattle ranchers evaporate is a cheap thrill. This may also be the reason why the vegetarian-oriented Humane Society of the United States isn't spending any of the $145 million it raised last year on Colorado helicopter rentals and hay bales.

How much do you love Firefox?

2007-01-03T11:18:00.000-05:00

This much?

Bollocks and bullshit

2006-12-30T00:43:00.000-05:00

We pay attention to scrotal circumference down here on the farm. In making sire selections cow-calf producers know that size matters.

So, who can blame me for thinking that a clue to the abrupt and vague resignation of the head of Elections Canada, Jean-Pierre Kingsley can perhaps be found in Gerry Nicholls piece in the National Post.

For instance, during the 2004 federal election, the Canadian Wheat Board (CWB) -- a government agency -- ran newspaper ads extolling the virtues of the board's monopoly. The ad featured pictures of two bulls. One bull was labelled, "This is the CWB"; the second (this one castrated) was labelled, "This is the CWB in an open market for wheat and barley." The bottom of the ad said, "No one has the right to tell you which one is right for your herd."

Have you ever seen a herd sire snort and paw the ground when he's considering doing some serious damage to you? Harper' s bit more subtle than that.

From the CBC: Harper on the resignation of JP Kingsley

"Mr. Kingsley has always served Canadians to the very best of his ability," Harper said.

"The Government of Canada appreciates his contributions and wishes him all the best in his future endeavours."

Harper on the resignation of RCMP Commissioner Giuliano Zaccardelli.

"I'd like to thank the commissioner for his long and dedicated service to the RCMP and the country."

I'm thinking maybe Prime Minister Harper's got JP by the .... scruff of the neck.

Reluctant trend setter

2006-12-29T11:03:00.000-05:00

He was born during the great ice storm of 1998. It's assumed, but incorrect, that we named him Noah because of the rain that covered eastern Ontario and western Quebec. In fact it was a compromise - of sorts. His older brothers having pleaded with us for months not to name the new baby Hughie John.

We didn't realize in '98 it was the beginning of a trend.

Most people who track trends know that children are pretty good arbiters of what's hot, what's not and what's next. It turns out this all starts on the day they're born, as the names they are given often fit into larger social and cultural trends.

Noah is now #6 on BabyCenter's list of ten most popular names.
I do sometimes wonder if the boy named Hughie John would have grown to be a different child from the one we know today.

Using names to honour relatives is a time-honoured tradition, and Bolton expects this to be a strong trend in 2007, especially names of grandparents and great-grandparents. "They're names that have stood the test of time, everyone knows them and can spell them, but they've been off the bench for so long that there is a little bit of individuality," she said. In 2006, for example, Abigail was No. 9.

Answer to complaint against French-only health centre

2006-12-28T14:02:00.000-05:00

AM 1220 New is reporting that the Cornwall area women who was turned away from a French-only health centre because she only spoke English has an answer to her complaint.

Shirley Ravary filed a human rights complaint back in March after the centre at the corner of Ninth and Sydney Streets denied her treatment the month before. She has now finally had her complaint heard and the short answer is the centre's protocol will be changed but which language you speak will still be a qualification for medical treatment. You may recall this story made national news. At the time, Health Care Minister, George Smitherman defended the clinic. Ravary is now dropping the issue.

Update: From the Standard-Freeholder

Ontario Health Minister George Smitherman said it was Centre de sante's right to turn Ravary away, while opposition leader John Tory argued that access to health care should not be determined on the basis of language.

At the time, Bisson admitted the clinic had refused anglophone patients because of its mandate to serve the region's francophone population.

He said the Centre de sante, which was founded in 1991, helped relieve pressure from other medical centres like the Cornwall Community Hospital by providing services for francophones.

Who knew that Avon carried real diamonds?

2006-12-27T21:18:00.000-05:00

When you're eight, about to be nine, and the truth about Santa threatens to put a damper on your Christmas it's good to be able to give your Mom real diamond earrings for Christmas.

When you're seventeen, about to be eighteen and working part-time, it's good to pick out a book your Mom is going to love.

When you're living and working in the big city for the first time it's good to find a cheese cutter that's so cool your mom, your aunt and your grandmother will all love it.

If you're old enough to know better, but still insist on shopping on Christmas Eve, it's good to find the framed print of the natty looking couple in the swan sleigh still hanging in the store.

I never make lists and rarely yearn for anything at Christmas, preferring to let the season's gifts reveal themselves in unexpected ways. But, Smart Turn Out reminded me of shores of the St. Lawrence with the Adirondacks in the distance.

As it turns out the artist is unknown and the circa 1845 original hangs in the Wadsworth Atheneum in Hartford, Connecticut. So, it's probably New England and not Quebec but it is grand.

Wild Turkey

2006-12-23T11:59:00.000-05:00

I don't get excited over kitchen disasters. If something doesn't turn out as planned I take a tip from my sister and cover it with grated cheese or whipped cream and give it a new name. But the wild turkey had me in tears. Very close to out- right weeping.

The hunters had shared one with us and the whole family had been looking forward to tasting a Meleagris gallopavo silvestris since they took up residence behind the barn. Always up for a culinary challenge I offered to cook the bird.

When I pulled it out of the oven I found the most hideous thing I had ever seen. Under the cover of apples and bacon it was bony and sinuey and had caved in on itself. A dozen or so were expected to gather later in the day and it looked like we would eat no flesh.

The Rooster doesn't find me in tears all that often. Certainly not over a kitchen crisis. And, like the good man and excellent carver that he is, set out to make things right for me. He’s been making things right for me for almost 30 years. Soon, what had looked inedible, was sliced and arrange on a big platter. "It's fine. There's nothing wrong with that turkey" he assured me.

The Rooster knows lots more about cooking game birds than I so I asked, "But what did I do wrong?"

"Nothing." he replied knowing it was now safe to laugh. “What were you expecting? A Butterball?

Well, yes actually. That is exactly what I expected. Open season for wild turkey is early spring, before they mate and after they've spent the winter eating acorns and, at least down here on the farm, bits of corn silage and the ornamental cabbage in my perennial beds. They've enough to survive. But fat and juicy they are not.

By the way, the Divinity Fudge turned out gritty and didn’t set up. I put them in a slow oven and turned off the heat. The next morning I renamed them Meringues.

Merry Christmas