The View Up Here

This final new episode of The View Up Here will try to demonstrate the irony in picking that name for the project back in 2014. After the 2008 meltdown, the opportunity existed for a brief moment in time to actually change the systemic abuse and domination by those who run the machine. A new generation with a new way of communicating were looking for change. And with this new part of society seeking to change things came new ways of organizing and taking action. The status quo lagged in effective countermeasures outside of the usual prosecutorial power of the State. New methods gave way to the evolution of alternative voices from every conceivable position. Of which, TVUH was born. But then something happened.  Eventually people behaved like people always have. Systemic abuse and rot have always existed in every society. The difference is what is done about it. Accelerating the speed of everyday life has given us conditions where solutions are demanded at a speed to match it. How can this be done with generational systems of neglect? Do what people have always done. Don't fix it, just sell a fix for it. Label it. Personalize it. Make it a hill to die on, complete with a Hero. With diametrically opposed solutions, team comes before an actual fix. Stanley Cohen has spent the majority of his life entwined in this never-ending loop, defending the things that do not change no matter how the rules of engagement are interpreted for that particular moment in time. From Season 4 Episode 17 in January 2016 to today's Season 12 Episode 8, The View Up Here welcomes Stanley back for his 6th guest appearance to discuss what could be called the perpetual self-own. Pause must be given to consider why identifiable systemic ills are analyzed to death, the proposed solutions are team issues and nothing gets fixed. Is the central core of maintaing the status quo even required if the hive mind is conditioned to do it for them counter-intuitively?

Canadian Federal Election 43 is over. Too bad the misinformation about it isn't over as well. Unfortunately, that likely will not end. Ever. No party achieved a majority of seats, with the Liberal Party of Justin Trudeau coming the closest with 157, thirteen short of the magic number. The Conservative Party certainly made gains, from 99 on election night last time to 121 this time. But that is still regarded as a huge failure considering the problems the Liberals worked themselves into and the single-issue campaign of Trudeau Must Go. It seems to be everyone's fault except theirs and Andrew Scheer's, according to their messaging. Jagmeet Singh did prevent a New Democratic Party wipeout, if just barely. The Orange Wave of 2011 has drained completely. But it appears the rookie leader did establish his brand in a favourable light with Canadians overall. The Green Wave simply did not happen, despite unprecedented attention given to Elizabeth May and the Green Party of Canada. The big question going forward is whether it is time for a change in leadership, with a certain victorious independent MP's name being mentioned by more than a few. The Bloc is back, big time. Yves-Francois Blanchet has taken a fractured party and made a real power broker in this new Parliament, to the chagrin of most in the Rest of Canada. Scavenging from all three national parties, the BQ is now again the political will of Quebec in Ottawa. Oh yeah, au revoir Maxime. Take your racist gang with you. The View Up Here completes the Federal Election Sandwich, with Stephen Lautens returning to discuss and examine the results of our exercise in democracy and what may come next after last week's episode that tried to decipher a campaign like none Canada has ever seen before. Hey, we were so enlightening before the vote, why not take another stab at it? At least that's our official statement on things. Honest.

Remember that excruciatingly long 2015 Federal campaign in Canada? With the one party that had that leader nobody respected outside of his ever-shrinking cult? The same party that insisted that Other Guy just couldn't handle the big chair? Well, it didn't turn out so well for that party, to most of Canada's relief. So this time around that party will have learned from that lesson, right? Right? Apparently not. The way they see it, they didn't go far enough to ensure their narrative controlled the scenario at all times. From all angles and all directions delivered by as close to all outlets as possible. Hell, even make up some outlets to push the propagnda. More is more. How can we lose? It worked for Brexit, it worked for Trump, it worked for Ford, it worked for Kenney. Bring on the Post-truth ascension of the Ordered Populists, eh? Despite a level of flat-out lying day in and day out on everything under the sun that aligns with an invisible roadmap to the future based on "We're not that guy", Canada remains unconvinced. From Season 1 Episode 17 to tonight's Season 12 Episode 6, The View Up Here has welcomed Stephen Lautens to bring humour, irony, satire, insight and bold reality to Canada's political tribulations. We look at some of the sustained efforts that have made their way to Canada from, mostly, the Republican Party of the US be it directly or by enhanced proxy. It's no longer about facts, policies, economics or national vision. It's all about setting the narrative on every subject back to one purported cause. The absolute unsuitability of one man who represents a version of Canada the whole world recognizes and overwhelmingly holds in good standing. The Canadian electorate knows more about the party and its leader who have been Government over the last four years than any other option on the ballot. Yet the non-stop narrative of what THEY are about leaves a dangerous void.

A global disruption machine has been roaming the globe for some time now. Seeking political upheaval and piles of transitory revenue it's been rolling along without effective counter-measures. Until Canada. Familiar tactics and methodology have not yielded the same results to date. A level of political party collusion, be it temporary or strategic, has appeared in Canada like never before. Grievances have always existed between the Provinces and Ottawa but now they are being manufactured and sold as critical national issues. With only partisan aims. Your host will be happy to inform on this vector. The next common vector of systemic disruption involves corporate media masquerading as journalism. Opinion has always been a big part of ownership, to be tolerated. What's new is the misinformation, gaslighting, clickbaiting and blind political preference without shame. Behavioural scientist and independent journalist Caroline Orr joins us to look at Canada's post-truth mass media world. The most dangerous vector is ahead of the curve. They are the curve. Big Data owns the disruption game. Psychometrics, AI analytics, micro-targeting and stealth are remaking the landscape. Netwar Systems specializes in Big Data methods with regard to digital ecosystems. With insight, experience, skill and advanced tools, they have unlocked insights around political narratives in the US, Canada, UK, Belgium and Germany. Netwar Systems also identifies disinfo campaigns, botnets and other nefarious activities. They have found evidence of such in Canada. Neal Rauhauser and Jessalyn Hernandez join us to explain their findings and provide context about this situation. Finding demand for  their services to decypher Big Data increasing, expansion is necessary. There is no dark money funding for Netwar Systems (see below) https://www.gofundme.com/f/data-for-democracy

Climate Change and the Environment are issues in this election like never before. All polling shows that Canadians across the spectrum recognize the urgency to take real action and change the way things have been done for so long. The reasons vary, from the concern for future generations to the dependency on a dying industry to the mass extinction of flora and fauna to the sheer cost on our way of life. The generational divide on this growing problem will continue to get more pronounced and political parties will stake out their positions based on their demographic support. Despite the scientific and anecdotal evidence that has been amassing for decades, political will continues to be elusive. There is no issue more indicative of what political power actually listens to, and it's not the citizenry or the evidence. Elaborate conventions and documents with no binding provisions are presented as progress, with no tangible punishment for failing to honour them. Fossil fuel subsidies continue unabated despite the promise of eventual elimination. Substantive change in energy use and production have not happened. So what are the positions of the major parties being sold in this election? The View Up Here will try to translate the platforms and hold them up to the light of reality. Is there a best option of what is likely? Will positions from the parties with no chance of forming government have any impact? Or are they well aware there will be no lasting impact of proposing to go somewhere that in this current reality is not nearly as simple as they claim? Climate change is not going away. But apparently neither is politics.

There is no question that the behaviour depicted in past incidents by Justin Trudeau creating the "Brownface/Blackface" scandal is racist behaviour. Society changes at glacial speed and similar incidents still take place in present day. But the period of time straddling the beginning of the 21st century is not our distant past. And to his credit, Justin Trudeau said so himself when accepting responsibility for the evidence presented to an astonished global audience. The speed with which the Liberal Party campaign acknowledged that it was Justin Trudeau in those pictures gave hint that they knew this was coming at some point. There was a strategy in place to admit, atone and try to move forward. Well, what else can you do under these circumstances? Also true to form came the firestorm about the competency of Trudeau to lead from the usual sources and many more now interested in our sleepy little election. Why was that specific moment picked to release it? By whom for what purpose? Was it intended to show the Canadian public the inadequacies of Trudeau, or was it part of something bigger? Polling shows the highest outrage coming from CPC and PPC voters, while acceptance of the apology is high amongst People of Colour? Does that make sense? There are questions about the source nobody can find, the novice tasked with breaking this story and the veracity of its intent. There is curious commonality in the background of many people involved, most out of public view. Amy MacPherson returns to The View Up Here to talk about her work investigating and piecing together the timeline of the Brownface Scandal that raises multiple new questions. Her excellent piece we will be discussing can be read at https://freethepresscanada.org/2019/09/23/dirty-tricks-behind-trudeau-brownface-blackface-scandal/

It has become an assumed fact by Canadians and others that in international surveys looking at standard of living, healthcare, education, public safety or stability that Canada will be in the first five poistions. It didn't happen by accident or without decades of work by politicians and activists of all stripes to make Canada a global leader in quality of life. But standards only remain with constant maintenance, examination and the will to make necessary changes. Is it an engineered lack of public awareness, secretive practices or institutional control that is keeping Civil Rights out of this Federal election campaign? Tim McSorley is National Coordinator for the International Civil Liberties Monitoring Group and he returns to The View Up Here to discuss a few of the many glaring examples in present-day Canada where the rhetoric of Openness and Freedom doesn't match up to the realities. What is at risk to all Canadians in ignoring the problems in our Intelligence Agencies? No-Fly Lists, Databases and Unaccountability - The problems in these systems have existed from the day they were created. No informing citizens of being on a list. No evidenciary disclosure. No appeal process. No redress for removal from a list. In a word- Unconstitutional. CSIS - Controversy never leaves this agency, with good reason. Recent racial and religious profiling failures with no apparent purpose or result have once again cast the agency in a nefarious light. Will they ever be held to following the rules? Hassan Diab - Despite the past failures involving Maher Arar, Omar Khadr and countless others the evidenciary, deportation and repatriation processes in Canada have been in need of rewrite for decades. Reports and recommendations are never implemented. ICLMG is at the forefront of these efforts and we will discuss them to advance the cause that Canadians are protected by their own Government by default not demand.

Here we go Canada. The Writ must be dropped by September 17th for General Election 43. Can you tell? In a word... nope. The same lacklustre campaigns on social media and television have maintained the same predictable messaging since Parliament rose in June. The Party primary slogans have been rolled out and the only thing they share is the simplicity and vagueness of them all. Trying to keep it simple appears to be the name of the game. Will any of them work is the question that will be answered on October 21st. Has the famous line from Prime Minster Kim Campbell been proven accurate? It does seem the gameplan of not talking about serious issues in a campaign has more fans than ever before inside political circles. By regular circumstance, the party looking to return as government has an interest in calm, steady sailing to the vote. More needs to be done. Stay the course. Don't change now. OR ELSE... THEM. The party looking to reclaim government, following recent patterns from their Provincial counterparts, says even less about plans and gets ripped apart when they do. So, it's all about THEM. Something not working? THEM. Do your feels hurt? THEM. Life sucks? THEM. Never mind what we will do, that's later. Clark. Wall. Pallister. Legault. Ford. Higgs. Kenney. They all used the same plan. WE are not THEM. That's it. This is a political phenomenon of the 21st century coinciding with the rise of Ordered Populism in democracies across the world. Canadians have witnessed the speed of disruptive change in these nations, not for the better. So what do they have in common? The International Democratic Union is a global right-wing governance coalition that shares methods, technology, tactics and ideology to get their members elected and in power. Despite the name, today's neofascists around the world fill it. What does IDU Chairman Stephen Harper have in store for Canadians? Count on the real plan not being mentioned.

Manitoba votes on September 10th in its 39th Provincial election to fill the 57 seats of the Legislature. But despite a fixed election date law, Premier Brian Pallister has chosen to go to the polls over a year earlier than necessary. Why you may ask? Some opinions lean towards the Conservative brand gameplan of solidifying enough Provincial governments to enable the possible amendment of the Canadian Constitution with a Federal Conservative win this October. Some opinions point to the building protests and resistance against his austerity measures requiring a new mandate to continue with any seeming legitimacy. There is no question about the turmoil the Pallister government has caused in three years. Healthcare has seen strikes and consolidation as facilities close and wait times grow. Education has seen ideological interference linked to funding. Environmental policy has disappeared with little regard. Social programs have been slashed, addiction grows and adequate housing and services disappear as privatization spreads. Indigenous policy has hit a low point as issues continue to grow. Nothing has been immune as the "Premier of Costa Rica" plays the role of "Father Knows Best". Is there a viable alternative? James Wilt is a freelance journalist and graduate student based in Winnipeg and can be found on twitter at  @james_m_wilt. He has written for The Narwhal, VICE Canada, The Globe & Mail, Briarpatch and National Observer. Currently working on a book about public transportation for Between The Lines Books, James joins The View Up Here to analyze and discuss the Manitoba election based on his comprehensive piece in Canadian Dimension titled "The Devastation Of Manitoba: An Autopsy Of Pallister's Austerity Regime" available here https://canadiandimension.com/articles/view/the-devastation-of-manitoba

There is no denying it any longer, even if the establishment in academia, media and government itself keeps on trying. Populism is alive and growing in Canada. Not all versions of populism are the same as history shows us. Some versions have had positive results but those historical legacies are not what we are seeing across the world in the so-called "liberal democracies". This 21st century trend leans toward "Ordered Populism" which feeds on authoritarianism and a moral certainty that appeals to base emotions rather than evidence and logic. History shows the end results from such ideologies is not something to attain to. Canada is not magically immune to this dangerous trend despite the statements of derision and denial from those with platforms capable of having a real impact in media and punditry. Populism is here, it is growing in appeal and it will effect this fall's Federal Election in a way we have not seen before. When you look at the work of Public Policy and Polling firms, there is a clear indication of what is moving the needle and the speed is increasing. Frank Graves is the founder and President of EKOS Research Inc., which began their opinion research and polling on the spectrum of policy, attitudes and trends in 1980. Their work has been solicted and used by the public and private sectors, from Prime Minister's Offices, to Ambassadors foreign and domestic, to corporations seeking insight on products and attitudes, to organizations seeking to make an impact in their field. Mr. Graves has been widely published and has lectured at such institutions as the Rotman School of Business, the Kennedy School at Harvard, the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs and numerous Canadian universities. The View Up Here welcomes Frank Graves to inform and comment on the inevitable new reality of Organized Populism in Canadian society, specifically and as a whole.  

Outrage is for sale or rent to any group that can afford to have it manufactured. There certainly is no shortage of what would be the manufacturers themselves. Messaging campaigns are part of every industry, including politics. And yes it is lucrative. The marketplace for outrage is a true growth industry, just look around. Once outrage has been promoted, the drum beat of repitition must be maintained or increased or softened as required. Of course if you are being told that some issue is unacceptable, there will surely be a hollow alternative you will be encouraged to consume. That generates the monthly billing cycle. It is said every time without fail, but in 2019 it is a valid statement. Canada has never seen a Federal election like this one in October will be. Political parties have more opportuity and methods to influence you and solicit you for money than they ever have before. The backstop against large funded Political Action Committees in Canada has taken new permissive form. There's just too much to be exploited to not join most of the so-called liberal democracies in letting money and ideology have full access to the system. Right at the head of that line is legacy corporate media to offer their assistance for a price. Infotainment pays much better than journalism. Scandals are made. Cabinet integrity. Fundraising. State visits. Court cases. Is this anything new? No, but It used to be that a scandal actually was a scandal. That's still possible but it may also be a scheduled release event timeline with a planned purpose. Dave Glover returns to The View Up Here to discuss this tendency of means buying controversy for gain, among other issues that we will happen upon live. You can catch Dave on The Drive Time from 4 to 7 pm EDT weekdays on Northumberland 89.7 FM out of Cobourg, ON or go to https://northumberland897.ca/ to listen online.

There is always a degree of changeover, an attrition rate, as every Parliament ends and the election process gets rolling. History tells us that it is usual for the party in power to have fewer Members of Parliament decline to run for re-election than opposition parties. The exception being when the governing party knows their time in power is ending, as in the Progressive Conservatives in 1993 when over a third of caucus saw the writing on the wall and thought better of it. Since the nomination processes of each party are at different stages, the numbers will continue to change as October 21 approaches. But the norms seem to be holding. The governing Liberals are currently looking at a 14% attrition rate. The Conservatives sit at a 23% rate which is lower than their 29% attrition rate of the 2015 election. The New Democrats have an uncharacteristic 35% attrition rate for this fall's vote. The average rate for all parties since 2000 has been 16% attrition. Who are we happy to be rid of? Who will we miss? Who was booted from a caucus? Who has passed away while in office? Who crossed the floor? Who lost nomination? All factors in the attrition rate. The other issue is the costs related to "severance pay" for MPs who choose not to run again and those who will lose their re-election bids. The costs are already nearing $2 million, but by the end of October could be many times that. Plus anyone with less than 6 years service will get their pension contributions returned plus interest. Not your average workplace to put it mildly. Let's try to figure the inherent real costs to the Canadian public. Also, did you know that the election date of October 21st came very close to being changed? A constitutional challenge based on religious rights was made and Chief Electoral Officer Stephane Perrault was forced to consider the change by the Federal court. A big precedent has been set for Canada. Let's look at the decision.

Canada's Federal election nears and we have never seen this current level of collusion between the Federal and Provincial conservative-based political parties. On many fronts, with corporate press assistance, there is a common narrative but it is not credible to oppose the suggested targets of the overall campaign. At first, things such as a Constitutional challenge to the policy of Federal Carbon Pricing seemed legitimate, if somewhat over-dramatic. Coincidentally it was only conservative based Governments elected since the Federal win by the Liberal Party in 2015 that were pursuing the strategy that was given little chance of success by constitutional experts. And those experts were proven correct. First the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal ruled that Ottawa is within their jurisdictional authority to impose a federal price on carbon. The exact same exercise continues on in Ontario. The litigation for show was not recommended to the Manitoba government after assessment. New Brunswick stands with their blue buddies ready to intervene on their behalf wherever and whenever necessary. Enter the ringleader Jason Kenney in Alberta, fresh off electoral victory and ready to fight for the sake of fighting on anything not a conservative idea. Yes this will go to the Supreme Court and yes it will be defeated. Piles of money wasted on a lost cause. Why? Now we have progressed into refusals to negotiate agreements between Ottawa and Provincial capitals which is preventing funding of many programs that benefit ALL Canadians. Of course the narrative is it's the Libs' fault. Finger-pointing abounds, as expected with zero progress. The end goal that may be correct is a defeat of the Liberals this October may clear the way to meet the requirements to amend the Canadian Constitution. The impossible formula is now within reach of one ideology in their collective minds. The ideology of the past - Conservatives. Ominous indeed.  

The Council of Federation is the official name for the 13 leaders of Canada's Provincial and Territorial governments to congregate and accomplish... nothing much. Ever. Lots of communiques and photo-ops and demands and bluster, but scant little on actual movement towards solving any of the issues they insist Ottawa is responsible for creating. Because, of course, it could never be their own doing. The most outstanding difference in this year's attendees is that they were all male. For the first time since 2008, there are no female Premiers in Canada. Did any of the 13 leaders comment on this, or did the press ask about it? Nah. Too much so-called business to take care of, no time for trivialities. Besides, that 52% of the population is out-of-sight, out-of-mind in the White Male GenXer Power Club (with guests based on their electoral wins despite not being caucasian). This edition of the Council's itenerary also included an invite only pre-conference with Alberta's under RCMP investigation newbie Premier Jason Kenney. This event's photo-op purpose being to try and appear like average people flipping pancakes and planning how to influence the Federal election. The other pre-conference photo-op was at Big River First Nation north of Saskatoon. Only 9 Premiers showed and the AFN ended their boycott of this biannual waste of time as a concession. Representatives from Inuit and Metis organizations did not. Despite the premise of gathering to solve problems for their respective citizens and "helping the country", as usual once in the meetings began it was special interests that drove the agenda. Domestic trade, international trade, so-called energy corridors, health care and Indigenous issues all got varying length communiques issued that will effect or change absolutely nothing. As usual. Considering this is a Federal election year, the corporate media coverage was spotty and shallow. Well not here lol

"When They Came For The Beach" tells the story of a group of friends living in direct proximity to what some want to become an oil tanker parking lot. There is no doubt that working, living and playing in the Lower Mainland around metro Vancouver is a unique lifestyle that, like anywhere else, can be taken for granted with familiarity and routine. But can it be taken for granted without worry anymore? Based on real events, this is the first novel from author, economist, corporate executive and fierce intervenor/thorn in the side of the NEB - Robyn Allan. It's one thing to be anywhere in the world and read about the protests, court cases and hearings over the controversial Trans Mountain Expansion pipeline proposal. It's quite another to consider the project in your back yard or seeing it looking out your front window. This is the motivation for "Trainer" and her friends as they become immersed in the process of supposed approval of this environmental albatross. From following the rules and finding hardly anyone else does, to networking with like-minded citizens, to embracing some methods of the opposition when necessary, to coming to the realization that the system meant to protect Canadians does nothing of the sort, this is an unfinished journey of discovery and education that reveals an unappealing truth not easily found. By design. In the all-too-real world, TMX has received approval once more from the Federal government but it is only one of many things that must happen for construction to start. Robyn returns to The View Up Here to discuss her novel, her motivation to write it and her thoughts on what's next for the TMX circus. You can get "When They Came For The Beach" in multiple formats or read it for free at https://novel.robynallan.com 

After more than two years of orchestrated panic, corporate media (mis)direction, intensive industry lobbying, legislative time-delaying and threats of litigation from industry-captured Provincial governments... Bill C-69 is now law. No more National Energy Board on new projects. No more Canadian Environmental Assessment Act 2012 pre-determining the "review process". Considering the complete failure of that regime from the Harper era that resulted in nothing other than Federal Court appeals, Certificate quashing and projects being sent back to actually follow the rules of the process, this should be welcome news. Alas, it is not if most sources are to be taken at face value. The reasons for rewriting Canada's major project environmental assessment rules are clear. But what about all the other fundamental factors? Why isn't the first question to be answered based on economic viability? Why does evidence demonstrating extreme harm to every species in the project's path turn out to be mere footnotes in decisions? How did the concept of "Indigenous consultation" turn into note-taking exercises? How did "public input" turn into an undefinable obstacle course designed to discourage that input? Why are alternative projects to acheive the supposed goals rejected out-of-hand? Something along the lines of the inmates are running the asylum is an accurate description. Does C-69 fix all these shortcomings? Not by a longshot. It never would have without the eventual 150+ amendments to the original bill, never mind what was given Royal Assent. Why does the industry with the majority of project assessments, Mining, accept C-69 as a necessary update and clarification to the process? Why is their viewpoint being virtually ignored while corporate media wails for Oil & Gas? This episode will look at what has really changed, and it isn't all that much despite the narratives of Chicken Little.  

We are in the last scheduled week of sitting for Canada's 42nd Parliament. Normal procedures would be the House rises for Summer Recess, they return for one day in early September for a Motion of Dissolution, after which the Prime Minister asks the Governor-General to dissolve the House and drop the Election Writ. However...this may not be a normal recess. The rush is on to pass legislation for Royal Assent before that election campaign can begin and both the House and Senate have extremely packed Order Papers. The Senate is scheduled to sit an extra week compared to the House, which depending on how things go down, could force a longer than one day return and more than one motion in the House. Negotiations on Amendments and shuffling of papers from West Block to the Senate Building and back is at a hectic pace. How do topics from the last election campaign end up being rushed in the last week after four years? Politics. But let it be said, the 42nd Parliament sat for the entire mandate in ONE session. No proroguements. No contempt of Parliament. No obvious subterfuge of proceedings for political leverage. So, there's that. A refreshing return to normalcy. But then, no idiot Speaker in either chamber this term either. What a coincidence. Environment, Natural Resources, Public Safety, Justice and Indigenous Relations have the large majority of logjams with progress. Considering the disarray those portfolios were left in by the previous Government, to a degree it stands to reason they are the big holdups four years later. Or does it? Has the new "freedom" of the Senate made our system better or worse? The only remaining partisan caucus there, the Conservatives, have gone from compliant lapdogs to opposition yapdogs. But their majority is a distant memory. The Independents now rule the roost. What will make it to Royal Assent? What will die on the Order Paper with the dropping of the Writ? We will take a look.

Tragedy such as the massacre in New Zealand rightly brings calls for action from the public at large and therefore from Governments. It seems that there is a new wrinkle with every new terror event and Christchurch exposed the futility of Big Data to control content. The most disturbing part may be that despite Facebook removing the terrorist's video in short order, it was copied and re-posted globally by a magnitude over live views. The Christchurch Call is the resulting action from a global group of nations, corporations and monitoring agencies. It builds on initiatives already underway mostly from a control perspective but calls for urgent measures by platform providers first, government regulatory efforts second. History does not indicate that Big Data can or will control the problems on their own. Where the momentum goes as the latest mass slaughter of innocents fades from screens has yet to be determined. Canada has not been a spectator as the internet devolves and indications are that patience is wearing thin. Electoral integrity has been in the news with a lack of co-operation from social media platforms to comply. The reality is any regulatory measures on Big Data will fall to the next government. Canada's Digital Charter seeks to reform competition and privacy rules to build a "foundation of trust" between Canadians and the digital world. It's the result, to this point, of a topic that has been prominent since 2016 for Ottawa. How much can be accomplished without regulation and penalties for non-compliance? How can Big Data be trusted? Enter a private initiative called The Trust Project. Funded and controlled by Big Data and friends, the premise is to restore credibility to media. But which media? Is it a new censorship and independent media suppression tool? Is it integrity or revenue that drives these efforts? Will artificial intelligence algorithmic policing help or continue to confuse things?

Just in case you haven't heard, traditional media in Canada has fallen on hard times. Just ask them. Coverage on this topic by corporate print, periodical, radio and television has not been sporadic or lacking detail. But it's not like this is an overnight avalanche without a clear pattern developing over the last 30 years. The once exclusive domain of print for classified ads which generated a huge portion of revenues started to disappear with eBay, kijiji, Craig's List and others near the turn of the century. It has been replaced by...nothing. A high market saturation of subscriptions to print started to decay more than a generation ago. It has been replaced by...nothing. The speed and agility of the internet is no competition for hard copy physical text in delivery or currency. That was countered by creating a new delivery system by entities with no digital experience. Aggregators simply took it and ran, also taking almost all the revenue from the activity. Television thought the video format would insulate their ad revenues. YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and others said not so fast. These lost revenues have been replaced with...nothing. Only radio has managed to keep afloat, but not anything more than that. Everybody knows the problem. It's only been almost 50 years since the Davey report in the Canadian Senate "The Uncertain Mirror" sounded the alarm on the then new issue of media concentration. Today, Google and Facebook take 2/3 of all advertising revenues in media. That's concentration. Canadians still trust and value their traditional media by a large margin compared to the internet giants of today. In 2017, the Public Policy Forum undertook a new study to guide government on how to go about trying to rescue legacy media in Canada - "The Shattered Mirror". The money has been earmarked, $600 million of it. Now the hard part begins. TVUH looks at the study and the options going forward.

October 21, 2019. The day Canada will vote in its 43rd General Election. There is a subject of discussion that will only grow as voting day nears and it isn't about the parties and policy or lack thereof. It's about the integrity of the electoral system. In a digital world with information from everywhere to seemingly everyone, the issue of reliability is not a new question. Integrity of electoral processes around the world have been compromised. There is no disputing this fact. The 2016 US election. The 2018 US midterms. Brexit. France. Austria. Turkey. And right here at home with Electoral Reform referenda, Ontario and Alberta. New shadowy players in a new arena with an awful lot at stake. Canada's current government has done more than most nations recognizing and trying to identify, contain and counter the threat. But surprise surprise, not everyone involved wants to take action. Why? Politics and money. Bill C-76 did a lot to restore rights for voters, limit financial shenanigans and set limits regarding timeframes on advertising and fundraising. But nothing specifically on digital skullduggery. The environment changes rapidly and sources of influence disappear as quickly as they appear. Wiil the extra efforts protect the integrity of the election? The Critical Election Incident Public Protocol (CEIPP) is made up of five senior bureaucrats that will assess threats and determine if they are serious enough to inform Canadians. The Security and Intelligence Threats to Elections (SITE) Task Force consists of CSE, CSIS, RCMP, Global Affairs Canada and the Intelligence Advisor to Government. It is mandated to prevent covert, clandestine or criminal activities from influencing or interfering in the electoral process. Will these measures work? Why weren't political parties made to comply with PIPEDA private information guidelines? Why aren't social media platforms willing to voluntarily comply to C-76? $$

How does a campaign promise, with wide-spread public support, turn into an election-year tug of war? An apparently long settled convention, agreed to by more than one country and international maritime organizations since the 1970's, to be codified into Federal law. Seems like the last step in formalizing what is accepted reality, doesn't it? Not when there are political advantages to be manufactured. Bill C-48 seeks to make practice into procedure regarding oil tanker traffic along the Pacific coast of British Columbia from the Alaskan border to the northern tip of Vancouver Island. This exact action was a campaign promise of 2015 and a big part of the Oceans Protection Plan of the Trudeau government. The bill was crafted and made its way through the House of Commons in relatively short order but has been before the Senate for over a year where it has become just another example of what can happen when partisanship, regional priorities and profit (real or imagined) becomes the driver over sound policy. Despite there being zero port facilities currently, zero port facilities under construction and zero supplies of fossil fuels being delivered to this region of coastline, the lure of the same old touted but non-existent "future markets" has divided governments, First Nations, and citizens. To repeat, there is nothing in this bill that deviates from how things have been for the last 4 1/2 decades. There is nothing in world markets or global predictions as far as demand or profitability go that indicate any change in this convention being worth pursuing. But yet here we are. Polarization and viewpoint being driven by the usual culprit. Money. Or more accurately, the promise of money. The View Up Here looks at the different sides in this drama and their seeming motivations.  

Newfoundland & Labrador may have only joined Confederation in 1949 to become Canada's 10th province, but May 16th is the 50th General Election in its history. The House of Assembly has 40 seats, one of the rare legislatures with an even number. This election comes at a momentous time in the history of the province, due to more than one major issue that will likely decide its future for generations. Muskrat Falls - As the inquiry into how the largest project ever undertaken in its history rolls on, the evidence is clear. This project should have never happened, but it is virtually complete and will commence operations later this year. What will also commence is the massive debt repayment of a project that doubled in price under false promises and predictions. The next 70 years will require money that isn't readily available to pay for what has rightly been called as a "boondoggle" but the bills don't stop coming. The Cod Fishery - Mismanagement is a huge understatement in the handling of what was once the greatest natural fishery on earth. The moratorium started in 1992 was supposed to last a few years, the latest numbers indicate it will not be lifted anytime soon. It changed the way of life, the culture and the population lineage never to be the same again. Healthcare - For a long time, healthcare results in Newfoundland have been the last in Canada with very high costs. Will this election change any of the systemic problems within it? Where will the money come from? The View Up Here welcomes Con O'Brien, a true Newfoundlander from a family with literally centuries of experience on the water and in the cod fishing way of life. Front-man for legendary Newfoundland folk group The Irish Descendants, Con joins us to discuss the election, the Muskrat Falls disaster, thoughts on whether the cod will ever return and the debt-ridden future of tomorrow's Newfoundlanders and Labradorians.

As this showpage description to The View Up Here's 10th season finale is being written, Albertans are voting for their Provincial government for the next four years. Maybe, depending on RCMP investigations. Review and analysis for the topic on this show will depend on those results, so there's not much to say except... Tune in for the TVUH take whether Alberta will be moving forward or backwards, by a lot. But there is another election, in Prince Edward Island, on April 23rd that could make history on two distinct fronts. Incumbent Premier Wade MacLaughlin and the PEI Liberals have been trailing the PEI Greens and their leader Peter Bevan-Baker in polling for six months without pause. New leader Dennis King of the PEI Progressive Conservatives is also in the mix and could hold the balance of power if a minority result occurs. But indications are Canada may very well get the first elected Green party government in history, a sign of the times we live in. The second historic event regards a referendum also on Election Day in PEI. It will be a simple Yes/No question on adopting a Mixed Member Proportional voting system, which would make this the last First Past The Post election in the Province. What sets this process apart from recent voting system change efforts is this time it is a clear proposition to voters. The question itself on the seperate ballot is laid out in the "Electoral System Referendum Act" so there is no room for confusion. This Act also includes specific and complete information on what the MMP system would be, how the voting process would change and what the results of it would bring. In other words, PEI has defined everything that BC refused to do. All kinds of history to be made. We will look at the resultant history of Alberta's election and ramifications and the impending history of Prince Edward Island's two ballot election in one week.

In Alberta, April 16 is drawing near at the same rate the incumbent NDP of Rachel Notley cuts into the polling lead of the UCP and Jason Kenney. By the day. Amazing what facts are capable of doing to public opinion. The last episode of The View Up Here before the Alberta election has three parts in an effort to gather viewpoints and bring some needed perspective to some issues that are primary to all Albertans beyond the partisan foolishness. And since corporate media seems to be busy.... First, the second half of the UCP election platform (prior to any midnight editing) to expose a few more of the hidden gems within it. From the Harper rerun crime measures to the attempts to disguise cuts to and privatization of government services. The common theme being so many issues raised publicly from even being mentioned in the platform. OOOH LOOK, SQUIRREL. Second, an interview with David Climenhaga. Award-winning journalist, author, post-secondary instructor, poet and Alberta politics blogger. He is proprietor/editor/writer of AlbertaPolitics dot ca https://albertapolitics.ca/  which has been informing readers since 2007. We discuss the campaign, the issues, the risks, the lame debate and even the odd theory or two. Third, an interview with Sandra Azocar. A life-long advocate for a fair and equal society, former child protection worker, former Vice-President of the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees and, since 2012, Executive Director of Friends of Medicare http://www.friendsofmedicare.org/  established in 1979 to protect and enhance public delivery of healthcare. We discuss the state of healthcare workers, homecare, the logic of pharmacare and the seeming lack of mention during the campaign of the single largest expense in every Government budget - Health Services.

Everything old is still old. Unless you are Jason Kenney. Then it's brand new and somehow it will work despite never working before. Trickle-down economics right out of the Randian book of failure. Thatcher's failed Big Society offloading. ALEC inspired labour exploitation endorsed by anti-union forces. More Harper style Law & Order that will end up in court on Constitutional grounds. Attacks on rights for students at all levels from elimination of Bill 24 protections for LGBTQ2+ youth to threats of post-secondary funding dependent on allowing far right propaganda on campus without protest. That doesn't even touch the proposed "war room" to defend last century's industry, the threatened unwinnable challenges on the Federal government that will do nothing but cost money and the multiple promises that "maintaining current funding" is not a funding cut. Despite 15,000 new students in Alberta entering the system every year. Despite the aging population needing increased access to healthcare plus population growth. As multinational Oil & Gas companies get out of the oilsands to prevent stranded assets, they need more subsidies and gifts apparently. And there is no need to end coal-fired electircity generation, according to these visionaries. If you think repealing the Alberta carbon levy regime is going to prevent or change anything, like the Federal plan being imposed, you must be a UCP mark. But then that plays into the poor Alberta false reality, but it will be Albertans who pay not the corporations increasing profit margins. But hey, P3's will be back big time. They still don't save any money and cost much more in the long run but this is a campaign for the literal survival of Alberta. Just ask the guys being investigated by the RCMP for illegal donations and vote rigging. As if the Ontario mess isn't warning enough, this one will go down to the wire.

On April 16th, Alberta heads to the polls in the first big election of 2019. But which Alberta will emerge afterwards? Will it be the Alberta that recognizes Climate Change, the duty of government to supply services and protect the rights of all citizens? Or will it be the Alberta of days past with unconditional subservience to corporate will and mid-20th century social policy? The dire warnings from the usual suspects of socialism run amok under Rachel Notley simply haven't come true. Yes, poverty has been halved in 4 years. Yes, the infrastructure deficit lingering since Ralph Klein has been attacked with positive results. Yes, deficit spending is not going away anytime soon. The "impending financial doom" warnings simply don't hold up to hard statistics. Alberta still has the lowest tax burden by a wide margin in Canada. Nobody is lowering Alberta's credit rating, like Ontario's. And yes, detractors on the left have pointed out the failed promises with accuracy. But the sky has not fallen, in fact it's gotten sunnier for a lot of people. Corporate media is ready for the coronation of Prince Jason, despite his trainwreck of a leadership campaign being investigated by the RCMP. Despite candidates dropping like flies. Despite every sliver of policy announced being a throwback to anywhere between 1948 and 1992. Despite every campaign appearance by Jason Kenney mysteriously having the Facebook Live feed drop as soon as its question time. And in this mess, Stephen Mandel, David Khan and Derek Fildebrandt try to attract some attention wherever and however they can. Some constituencies in Alberta will have up to 8 names on the ballot, yet it is two parties that get all the notice. This opening episode on the Alberta Election will look at what the parties have promised so far and what they have warned Albertans about everybody else. And the band played on...  

Well, well, well. It seems the Conservative Party of Canada has gotten a little upset about the exact same tactics they used with zero regard for convention during the Decade of Emperor being used against them by the Trudeau Liberals. Payback is indeed a bitch. It is unfortunate the CPC can't demonstrate the same level of maturity shown by their victims of procedural shenanigans, but who is really surprised? As Parliament returned for the last session before this fall's election, Budget Day was not like previous ones in many ways. A circus was seemingly ended in-camera by the Liberal majority on the House Justice Committee, to which opposition merely decided to shift the venue for petty behaviour to the House itself. But then when all you have is a narrative rather than actual new information, I guess civility takes a back seat to faux outrage and petulant posturing. Remember that pledge to run TWO years of deficits? Well, it's now at least six more according to Minister of Finance Bill Morneau. But worry not, debt-to-GDP ratio is now the only statistic that matters because that one favours the government's projections. Paying keen attention to voter demographics, Budget 2019 seems geared to seniors and milennials. Not that the measures are not welcome, they're just a little half-hearted. Pensions, home ownership and a pharmacare teaser lead, while the lack of closing tax loopholes or protecting workers from bankruptcies seem to be missing. There is some progress regarding systemic issues like poverty and water advisories, but the age-old question of not enough done or too much cost are never far away. Is this an election platform? Isn't the last budget before a vote always the primary campaign tool? The View Up Here offers a look not dictated by the professional pundit class. Just to be different, what the hell.

One month in, no solutions, no real answers, no single timeline, no media focus, no point. Remember when the headlines screamed "illegal interference"? Well, since Jody Wilson-Raybould told committee flat-out that no laws were broken in her view, the revenue generators didn't drop it, they just switched to "improper". Remember when Michael Wernick was a "Liberal party hack"? Oops, it was Harper who brought him into the Federal government, lauded him for rock-solid ethics and that reputation on the Hill still holds. Remember when it must have been Gerry Butts who was overstepping and carrying out the evil agenda? A question - how many of Harper's Short Pants Brigade ever resigned over the myriad of overstepping in that PMO? That's right - zero. Politics makes impossible bedfellows when the enemy of my enemy is my new friend. I hope Elizabeth May regrets some of her recent statements that ignore convention, tradition and practice. Who exactly is this Charlie Angus? Not going to say anything regarding Lisa Raitt, Michael Cooper and Pierre Polievre because they have no shame when soundbites are involved. From illegality, to impropriety, to misogyny, to racism all of corporate media's efforts moving the goalposts have done scant little to move the public as national polling shows. Never mind the night and day difference in coverage between Quebec and the Rest of Canada. Postmedia, anyone? Now it's gone to the "SNC-Lavalin is evil, so never mind the details of what happened just take the light off Jody of Arc". And what of the former Minister's performance at Justice? Why did she order staff to sit on a report to Privy Council? Remember that Ministerial Letter? Results show this was not an over-achieving minister by that measurement. Let's get back to relevant facts, please.

Why does Canada seem to get the definition of such basic things backwards compared to most other places? Take for example the word scandal. Perhaps it is the definers of such terminology that cause such confusion. Heaven forbid the "esteemed" corporate media would be playing a role in such misinformation. Why oh why would the gatekeepers of information play such tricks? It's called narrative control and clickbait monetization. After maximum free exposure and fanfare from said corporate media, the advertised as behemoth United We Roll convoy came and went. From the definition of a safe space rally in Moosomin, SK fully stocked with an old-stock choir, the current elite of the regressive political class did their best to create the definitive Us vs Them scenario to support the diesel brigade on their quest to Ottawa. Reports of 400 big rigs descending on the Capitol Region turned out to be 10% of that. Once there the circus commenced complete with neo-nazis, xenophobes and Conservative politicians calling for the forceful elimination of Them. This is the true dread happening, but not according to corporate information purveyors. An undeniable fact is the influence of corporations on all governments of any stripe.It's how business is done. Yes, missteps get made and heads roll. But not much changes. Hypocrisy and revenue opportunity create their own circuses. Those who once called Jody Wilson-Raybould a liar now call for her sainthood. Nothing short of resignation of the Government will do. How convenient. But remember this is a circus. Truth is an inconvenience not to be waited for. There is advantage to be manufactured. Mr. Neil has had a rather quick immersion into the cdnpoli milieu by his own description. He joins The View Up Here to speak on the naivete of Canadians in general and the ruthlessness of those who capitalize from it, be they politicians or pundits. Join us for Dread and Circuses.

So tell me Canada, how is that shiny new 21st Century working out so far for you? All the promise and none of the institutional improvements delivered? Surprise! It's called neoliberal status quo. Change is bad apparently, especially for those with traditional power and privilege to lose. In fact, lets use that influence to create new levels of mistrust, confusion, distraction, hopelessness, division and violence. As long as any direct link to the manipulators is denied or obfuscated, carry on and cash those cheques. Those manipulators include governments, political parties, corporate media, celebrities de jour and anyone who sees the chance to get rich on misinformation. False prophets, false conflicts, inflated outrage and innocent victims are the landscape. By the way, none of those victims ever seem to be from the forces encouraging this agenda so strongly. Nora Loreto is an author, freelance journalist, community organizer, activist, podcaster, mom and proponent for systemic change. She has paid a disproportionate price for her views and ideas on how to move forward from the entrenched 20th Century hegemony. Her long history of direct involvement and documentation of society's built-in restrictions to keep change out has given Nora perspectives not overly appreciated by the power structure. The View Up Here hosts Nora to discuss some of her work from 2018 and why so much of it signals the systemic weaknesses in today's society. Far more than a snapshot of the events and time of occurance, Nora's work brings much deeper questions about how the root issues seem to do nothing to prevent further chaos, instead encouraging the increasing pace of it. The Sainte-Foy massacre. The Yonge Street attack. The new-age snake oil salesman Jordan Peterson. The incredibly new low in governance from Doug Ford that is in fact a natural progression. Tune in for No More with @NoLore  

The World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland is the largest annual gathering of the world power structure. Representation from over 100 governments, over 1000 corporations, leaders of international agencies and NGO's, cultural leaders and hand-picked rising stars of developing global trends. A global brand with huge opinion influence and media presence, politics are always paramount in presentation. But there is more than photo-ops. The WEF has access to the best statistical datasets anywhere. Their annual pre-conference report contains far more information than corporate media will ever allude to, never mind reveal. "Is the world sleepwalking into a crisis? Global risks are intensifying but the collective will to tackle them appears to be lacking. Instead, divisions are hardening. The world's move into a new phase of strongly state-centered politics, whether domestically from political rivals or externally from multilateral or supranational organizations, resonates across many countries and many issues. The energy now expended on consolidating or recovering national control risks weakening collective responses to emerging global challenges. We are drifting deeper into global problems from which we will struggle to extricate ourselves." That is the first paragraph of the Executive Summary of the World Economic Forum report for this conference, titled 2019 Global Risks - Out Of Control. At nearly 150 pages it is a sobering, thorough and refreshingly propoganda free study. It is clear how the magnitude of categorical risks has changed in the last ten years. No matter what issue you look at - Food, Health, Human Rights, Economics, Governance - they all have one thing in common that plays in the picture. Climate. Three of the top five risks by likelihood and four of the top five by impact are all climate based. I won't cover every issue in the report, but I guarantee you will learn more than watching TV news.

It's another TVUH Triple Shot. Three things in the last week or so that deserve being "addressed" on the show. Well, at least I think so and since I produce the show... guess what. The Retirement - After seven Federal election wins, twice Minister with two different governments and his largest margin of victory in 2015, Scott Brison has retired effective immediately as Minister and MP. A trailblazer for the LGBTQ2 community who was part of reforming Canada's sexual orientation laws out of the 19th century. The first openly gay Minister in Canada's history. But that means another Cabinet Shuffle, in an election year. Three moves and two rookies added to make up for the loss of one, which generates its own storylines depending which brand you ask. And what about the trial of Vice-Admiral Mark Norman, which Brison will have to testify at? Is it a factor in the timing here? The Refugee - Rahaf Mohammed al-Qunun became internationally known in a hurry. A Saudi citizen, she flew from Kuwait to Thailand to escape her family. Having flown without suitable "escort" the Saudi Embassy told Thai officials to seize her passport and deport her back to Saudi Arabia. Then a funny thing happened. Social media around the world made her a symbol against the Kingdom. The UNHCR requested Canada to accept Rahaf as a refugee. Canada said yes. Not to sell the LPC brand. To sell the Canada the world expects. The Raid - On December 15, 2018 the BC Supreme Court granted an injuction in a CIVIL SUIT to bypass proper process and allow Coastal GasLink access to Wet'suwet'en Territory. Because saying NO is not allowed in this nation of "reconciliation" when corporate gain is involved. On January 7, 2019 the RCMP performed their historically primary function. Colonialism. Is this a "new relationship"? Is this implementing the TRC? Is this UNDRIP? No, it's the same old Canada.  

A new year brings new expectations, new hopes, new priorities and... the same old disappointing circle-jerk of posturing and manouvering for power and narrative control? Can recent history give expectation of much else? One would be described as optimistic, to put it kindly, in hoping for some sort of return to a fact-based process regarding anything requiring consent from the citizenry. After all, it only makes sense from a "business" perspective that the drive to get feelings to dominate facts will roll on with as little opposition as possible. It's where the money is. It's where the data is. Once you accept facts, it kind of ends the revenue stream in "alternative facts" and the opportunity to capitalize on feelings. Everyone has them and everyone is succeptible. So what does 2019 have in store? Will the abomination of the Trump administration be curbed, ended or strengthened? What will the result of any of those three possibilities bring?Will a fictional pipeline be approved again, start construction or be headed right back to the courts? Will the inescapable fact that TMX makes zero economic sense ever be acknowledged?Will vacant emotional rhetoric decide the Alberta election over evidence and reasoned actions despite their true motivations? Why is the "lessor of evils" what it always seems to come down to? What determines the lessor in that question - partisanship, logic or apathy and ignorance?Will the Federal election campaign be nothing but a polar-opposites marketing operation? Despite the narrow actual difference of end games? The View Up Here will remain the same. Facts and credible information matter here. But it's a noisy marketplace of "ideas" out there. We will try to give some hints for what 2019 brings for this show, where we will be looking regarding guests and topics and listener input is invited. Bring it.

The View Up Here welcomes back attorney, activist and agent of change Stanley L. Cohen for a 2018 year-end discussion about the year that was and the trajectory going forward into 2019. In what seems to be the norm now, old phrases have taken on new meaning and new purpose. Never before has caveat emptor had more impact as it now seems the only rule is there are no rules. Our discussion will focus on a few of these weaponized catch phrases, their historical meaning and their new deployments. Anticipatory Obedience - Timothy Snyder has helped place this phrase in the modern lexicon. History demonstrates the consequences of this trait of human nature, the warnings of it at the end of every cycle it runs and the seemingly natural return to it despite the same old warning signs plus new ones. A psychological weakness or a learned behavior? Vichy Journalism - John Pilger has used this phrase to great effect recently, and the words themselves should be warning enough. But it is no longer a weapon of political manipulation for politics sake. Now the function is profit driven while striving for the same result. A typical systemic "win-win" with very clear winners and losers. Determine who and what fit on both sides of that equation, if you dare. Tradition Is The Democracy Of The Dead - G.K. Chesterson coined this phrase and its meaning remains contested by all sides. At what point and in what processes does adherence to "what we've always done" become limiting to progress, to evolution, to a better tomorrow? At what point is tradition used to drown out logical advances to protect the status quo and its machine from giving up some of its might? What is the common exploit, the common trigger process used to advance these historically detrimental paths? Feels. The truth remains - Feelings Are Not Facts. But everyone has them and they're open to manipulation. Up The Rebels!

One of the biggest planks in the 2015 Liberal election platform was "Electoral Reform" which was a multi-faceted pledge. We know what happened with the part concerning electoral systems - Sweet F**k All and Canadians will remember that. But the other part of the pledge was correcting the damage done by the "Unfair Elections Act" of the Harper regime. That process started in 2016 with introduction of a bill to address the issue but went absolutely nowhere until this past spring. In April 2018, Minister of Democratic Institutions Karina Gould introduced Bill C-76 The Elections Modernization Act. This bill consisted of all the measures in the original bill that was paralyzed on the Order Paper plus issues that had come to the fore since early 2016. The US elections and the Brexit vote showed something previously unseen on the scale it was deployed. Messaging was no longer primary, data was. Motivated by cost-benefit analysis and efficiency political and special-interest entities had a new way to pinpoint what methods would work with specific target audiences. The effect continues to develop across the globe as controls on their effects race to catch up. At over 300 pages including explanatory notes, Bill C-76 was highly detailed to counter the regressive law from the Harper era. Drawing over 300 amendment proposals from the House of Commons, progress was slow and acrimonious moving to the Senate near the end of October. Amidst warnings of being too late to be implemented for the 2019 election with much more delay, Conservative Senators did all they could to make that prediction come true. Despite the delays, grandstanding and misinformation programs, Bill C-76 received Royal Assent on the last day possible before Winter Recess. So it's back to the future for voters rights and Elections Canada independence and an open future for fighting external influence on Canada's elections

The First Ministers Conference. A wonderfully Canadian creation where Provincial and Territorial Premiers try to use their 13-to-1 advantage to extort/persuade/embarrass/browbeat the Federal government into delivering on aims not necessarily in the "national interest" despite all claims to the contrary. There is no real purpose to these gatherings in reality. Federal governance is determined by the House of Commons, where all voters in Canada have a say (in theory). Provincial and Territorial governance is determined by voters in those specific jurisdictions only under the same premise. Nothing at these events could not be accomplished via teleconference, administrative co-operation and/or smaller meetings based on actual solutions being proposed and debated. But that would do little to tackle the main purpose, which is politics. Where else can a Premier get the national spotlight to pitch their specific pet project or peeve to the voters at home and from coast-to-coast. The premise of common goals allows all attendees to speak on their angle and try to convince everyone it is a national cause. Which is the true purpose of the First Liars Conference. Rachel Notley spending tax dollars for her TMX propaganda campaign en francais. Doug Ford threatening to not show because...he's Doug Ford. Scott Moe hating everything and proposing nothing. Blaine Higgs leaving no doubt where he worked for over two decades. Brian Pallister trying to head off the next hydro dam PR disaster because it's an opportunity you see. Rookie Francois Legault making it clear he represents Quebec and everyone else can pound sand, with a smile. The end-of-conference communique, which was signed by all 14 parties, looked conspicuously like the original Federal agenda despite the apparent unacceptability of it for most of the week prior to the event. Show's over, carry on subjects. TVUH breaks it down.

Dwight Eisenhower was the last career military man to hold the office of President of the United States. The 5-star General knew the business of war. On January 17, 1961 in his final Presidential address after 8 years in which the Cold War raged, a dire warning was given to the American people and by proxy to the world. "We must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the Military-Industrial Complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist." Truly prophetic words given little notice at the time. Perhaps if White House staff had not convinced "Ike" to change his speech from calling this rising force the "Military-Industrial-Congressional Complex" as he planned, it may have drawn more attention. Its unabated growth continued through to the end of the Cold War. Then 9/11 and the Global War on Terror ushered in our 21st century perpetual conflict model with no decisive direction on mission or goals. Only endurance. As theatres of operations expanded, so did demand for assets. The military was good at buying physical assets but was poor on retaining human assets. They started going in droves to the corporations selling the physical assets. Drawn by higher salaries, saner deployments and expanded career options it was an alarmingly simple choice for many. Jonathan Nichols was in the US Army for almost nine years working in PSYOP efforts, deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. Propaganda analysis, atmospherics, psychometrics and threat analysis are all a part of Jon's toolset. Highly marketable skills in today's world. So why is he a contractor instead of a career soldier? What is the cumulative effect of developed expertise leaving the military to become an indisposable supplier to it? At what cost monetarily, strategically or command-wise? Jon returns to TVUH to discuss the Permanent War Complex.

Trans-Mountain Expansion. Three words that evoke many different reactions from many different people. Despite a custom designed "approval" process meant to ignore all evidence to question it and promote easily disprovable benefit scenarios, the Federal Court of Appeal revoked the Federal Cabinet certificate of approval for the project this past summer. Which was immediately followed by the Government of Canada taking on all responsibility for it by handing Kinder Morgan an over 600% gain on their "investment". Remember the campaigning Justin Trudeau insisting the process was flawed? There was no social licence for the project. There was no suitable economic case for it. There was a facade of meaningful consultation. The Federal Court of Appeal decision agreed. But a funny thing happened after the change in government. A Ministerial Panel delivered an opinion that said the existing flawed process was just fine now. Kinder Morgan held Ottawa hostage with excuses rather than the truth. TMX was never and will never be economically feasible. The choice for Ottawa was pay a very high political price or pay a very high monetary price. We know what they chose, but it is a long way from the bill being totalled. Ottawa has told their National Enegy Board they want an opinion report to approve by February 22, 2019. All indications are they will get it. Despite strong evidence TMX may well end up in the same place it sits now. Halted for failed process. Robyn Allan is an independent economist and has held many executive positions in the public and private sectors. She was an expert intervenor on economics, risk and commercial need at the NEB Trans-Mountain Expansion hearings and was an expert witness on economic and insurance issues for the NEB Northern Gateway process. The View Up Here welcomes Robyn back to discuss TMX and the risk to Canadian taxpayers on this future white elephant against facts and logic.

It's that time again. Back by semi-popular demand, The View Up Here Triple Rant. After all...when in Rome... Tony - Despite best efforts of the CPC and corporate media, there is no denying the abrupt and complete derailment of a career politician with the highest civilian security clearance in the land. At his own...um...hand. From releasing it on US Midterm Day after sitting on it for a week, to minimizing it, to retracting that, to being sent to the backbenches to off the bench in 48 hours. And the corporate coverage was sombre and regretful with no meme-like graphics or theme music. Followup looks to be not forthcoming unless absolutely necessary. Compare this to a recent circus over a single event from more than a decade ago that involved contact above the shoulders but was grounds for resignation from the planet. The Bunk Debate - Considering the history of The Munk School, established by the billionaire family of the founder of Barrick Gold, free market extremism has always been standard fare. Never an institution to miss out on a trend, it's Steve Bannon vs David Frum to ponder "populism". You can almost see the pendulum moving right, can you not? When the author of "Axis of Evil" plays the reasonable entrant it's a one way street. But please, corporate media, never mention the Aurea Foundation. Those millions to neoliberal slogan tanks aren't important. The Anything But Resistance - Where does one start? A high school dropout drug dealer, a divinity school dropout, a corporate puppet, a groomed insider convicted of impaired driving and a seperate vehicular homicide and a failed waiter that was the worst Speaker of the House in history. What is this motley crew resisting? Reality? Intelligence? Progress? Facts? Full marks to Rogers Communications owned Macleans and the novelist Pompous Wells. It's not a failed pitch, just the next step in what will not relent until Election 2019.

Imagine you could influence regions across the globe, people of different cultures and languages on the same ideological issues. From one central point of execution with the masses not knowing they are part of a larger over-riding stategy far beyond their concerns. When people believe what speaks to them doesn't do that at all. But they think it does. Evidence of such operations has been known since 2011, thanks to the Anonymous raid on HB Gary Federal. The industry has had robust growth since, involving corporations and Nation-states. It is called Psychometrics. Neal Rauhauser, author of the White Paper that led to 20 US House representative offices calling for hearings on these activities, has been there every step of the way. A veteran of Project VIGILANT, contributor to the Terrorism Research & Analysis Consortium and now with Liberty STRATCOM, he has been witness to and participant in many notable episodes in the past decade. James Patrick, founder of Liberty STRATCOM, was an intelligence officer with Scotland Yard before becoming disillusioned with law enforcement and starting his career in investigative journalism. A journey of discovery lasting years led him to find interference in the UK Brexit campaign, the US 2016 elections and other society altering events around the world, exposing the existence of sophisticated disinformation campaigns. "Alternative War" is the highly detailed book written by James accounting his descent into the psychometrics industry and the alternate realities it creates. On the 3rd annual MMMLive on the 5, The View Up Here welcomes Neal and James to discuss, inform and warn citizens of what is happening and how we all are driving it with our own activity being used against us. Alternative War by James (J.J.) Patrick  -  available on Amazon https://www.amazon.com/Alternative-War-Unabridged-J-J-Patrick-ebook/dp/B07D6WP5QJ/ref=sr_1_2

Remember the 2015 election campaign? Remember how Justin Trudeau said Omnibus Legislation has no place in a democracy? There were a lot of promises made about fixing Canada's justice laws and modernizing the courts. And the bills from the new Government came rolling out. Bill C-28 was aimed at the punitive and inflexible Victim Surcharge regime from Harper and the CPC. Bill C-38, meant to proclaim into force Bill C-452 from 2015 which addressed human trafficking. Bill C-39 sought to remove unconstitutional and superceded sections from the Canadian Criminal Code. Generally, all were needed reforms with vast agreement in principle from directly involved groups. But 2 1/2 years in and none of them got very far in Parliament for one reason or another. Needing to demonstrate progress as the 2019 election nears, the Government did what their predecessors did regularly by design. They tabled Bill C-75, which combined all three previous bills and had amendments on 12 existing Acts, coming in at over 300 pages. Recent judgements from the Supreme Court highlighted issues not previously addressed. Once again, like electoral reform to reel in the "Fair Elections Act", suddenly omnibus bills seemed not so bad. Well, not according to most outside of government. Law Societies across the country, University Law faculties across the country, Civil Rights organizations and Provincial governments were not impressed. Despite the usual "consultations" and review, over 300 amendments were proposed in House Committee. Government members of the committee supported a great many of the changes, a rare occurence. Can C-75 be made palatable enough to become law before the next election? Will it make anything better? Does it make some factors worse as many insist? Do the Trudeau Liberals need to say they delivered on this promise? Law and order? Try Political Messaging instead. The View Up Here examines C-75

Just Transition If you don't know what this two word policy of the present and foreseeable future is about, you will soon. With "once in a century" storms happening every decade or less, with the insurmountable amount of scientific evidence growing every day, with banks around the world refusing to finance new fossil fuel infrastructure, the writing is on the wall. Humanity must break the carbon energy addiction, and fast. Despite the status quo/denial gameplan from political parties on the right, the reality is already taking place on the ground. It was the Harper government that was first to legislate an end to coal-fired electricity generation in Canada. The Alberta NDP government accelerated the timelines as part of their Climate Leadership Plan. Generating Utilities sped things up even more. In their business models coal is over ASAP, not 2030. Four provinces in Canada use coal-fired electricity. Alberta, Saskatchewan, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. The only one to start a Just Transition program is Alberta. In 2013, 52% of Alberta's electricity was coal-fired. By perhaps 2022, it will be zero. Complete towns are at stake. No plant, no miners. No miners, no community, no municipal taxbase. The other motivator is automation of carbon energy jobs which will only accelerate. Few other places on earth have started this process, none without problems despite best laid plans. There are no case histories. It involves Ministries and Departments from multiple governments. Blue Green Canada hosted the 3rd Annual Just Transition conference in Edmonton on October 23, 2018 involving everyone affected, involved and interested. The View Up Here reports on it. http://bluegreencanada.ca/ https://www.nextalberta.org/    

Freedom. The most bastardized "noble" word there is. In the 21st century what does it mean to you? What does it mean to Governments? What does it mean to corporations and institutional investors like pension funds and hedge funds? The USA, with cultural dominance over much of the globe, has sold a version of freedom that implies the individual is protected from the over-reach of the State. Don't worry citizens, your rights to expression are above the State. Oh, by the way, we have also de facto granted that right to multinational corporations and any other corporate entity that is involved in the revolving door command structure policy with the State. When it comes to which group takes priority when they go against each other, look no further than social media. Last week, Facebook and Twitter conducted another purge of what they consider counter-productive to their mission. Profitability and control. Over the last 40 years, freedom has become measured as the freedom to consume. Now citizens are increasingly being told what they can consume by diktat. Hundreds of pages and accounts, massive archives of content and millions of followers don't seem to matter against the freedom of the corporations, supported by the State. This is indeed the definition of Fascism. The Guest List has multiplied, so bios on here are out the window lol... Patti Beers (@PMBeers) OWS veteran, livestreamer, indie journalistVlad Teichberg (@vladteichberg) OWS veteran & organizer, Co-founder Global Revolution LiveDan Feidt (@HongPong) web developer, indie journalist, admin GlobalRevLiveJoe Fionda (@fiondavision) actor, producer, indie journalist/livestreamerRobert Brune (@rousseau_ist) indie journalist, Global Rev correspondent The medium of independent journalism is under attack and the guests bring expert commentary to The View Up Here  

Your host has attended his first Trump rally in Canada. Featuring co-stars Jason Kenney and Doug Ford taking marquee billing to preach to the approximately 1500 extras from the live version of King Of The Hill. Complete with MAGA hats (both America and Alberta), Trump jerseys, Trudeau Sucks t-shirts, a damn good honkytonk band and two cash bars running full out. This was in Calgary after all, the Nurmburg of the CPC. Drawing 1500 people with national advertising provided by corporate media in a city of one million isn't exactly a wave of change. But don't tell them that. Not surprisingly, it was pretty easy to notice certain tendancies in the crowd (choir?). Hank and Peggy Hill were out in force. As were some Bobbys, a few dozen Luannes, more than enough Dale Gribbles, a Bill contingent and of course Boomhauers were well represented. I hope they all appreciate the emails that will be coming their way after surrendering their names to gain entry. There was only one topic for the night. The advertised topic was that Job-killing, Tax-grabbing, Business bankrupting, Investment-phobic, Socialist, Tree-hugging Dreamland CARBON TAX. The one nobody voted for. The one that won't change anything except taxpayer's pockets. But the actual message was much simpler. Much easier to instill and provoke the minions to action of some sort. FEAR. Was there mention that Big Oil supports it? Was there any detail of what it actually does? Was it stated provinces decide how to spend it? Of course not. THEY made this tax so WE must destroy it. Details like climate change mitigation were simply not in the script. Let's just make money like it's 1948 again and Leduc No.1 was just discovered. Campaigning never ends in Canada anymore and it's clear what the message is. Carbon Tax is the tool to avoid an actual platform, misinformation is the medium and fear is the lever for all parties right of centre. Get used to it.

The View Up Here has a Triple Shot this week. Three events, three different results in three different environments and the same old problems in each of them. The Dead Stop - New Brunswick will carry on with an interim caretaker Government as a result of election results as the four parties in play continue to try and make a deal to be in on the new Government. Brian Gallant is still Premier until he presents a Throne Speech to see if he can carry confidence of the House. By tradition and convention, that is his right as the Lieutenant-Governor has affirmed. But it has done nothing to limit the gamesmanship in the media from party leaders. Blaine Higgs continues to insist his PC party should get first crack while Kris Austin and David Coon pimp out their three seats apiece as Kingmakers. The New Start - For the first time in a half century, Separation is not a front burner issue in Quebec government. Coalition Avenir Quebec roared to a majority win running on "Quebec Values" not independence while steady-as-she-goes federalist Liberal power was rebuked outside of metro Montreal. The Parti Quebecois is without official party status as leader Jean-Francois Lisee lost his own seat and resigned after the worst showing since 1970. Quebec Solidaire broke out of its Montreal base and finished ahead of the PQ, in effect becoming the de facto separatist party in the province with a strong left mindset. The Big Game Reset - The new NAFTA is here, but its called the USMCA (United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement) and was pulled out of the fire just in time for the outgoing Mexican government to ratify it before power changes hands and moves decidedly to the left, avoiding any re-opening of the deal. When that is the big deadline motivation, how great could the deal be? Get ready for the non-stop partisan chatter out of Ottawa for the foreseeable future. Yippee. The more things change...

On October 1st, Quebec holds its 42nd General Election and for the first time in 50 years the main issue is NOT independence. Things have changed somewhat into "Quebecois Values" being the signature theme of the campaign. As the stumbles, provocations and three televised debates have passed, what was once a seeming inevitability of a majority Coalition Avenir Quebec victory has become a real horse race with the incumbent Quebec Liberal Party. What is new in QCpoli? Immigration. Not the act of it, just the methods, quotas and "Quebec values" of immigrants. A mine field which has been the main reason the CAQ lead has evaporated.Healthcare. As the population ages, senior care raises in importance and the ideas from the parties are markedly different on how to arrive at a common stated goal.Legal marijuana. The discussion of making the legal age to purchase or possess it in Quebec being set at 21, older than the legal age for alcohol, has opened a whole new discourse with voices not usually drawn into elections. Again, ask the CAQ where that lead went.A new dominant sovereign leftist party. Quebec Solidaire is on the heels of the Parti Quebecois for the title of Progressive Independistes. QS has broken free from the Montreal tree-hugger label in a big way this campaign.Demographics. For the first time ever, Millennials have as much voting power as Boomers in Quebec. Will they show up to vote? Anglophones are approximately 10% of the electorate and there was finally an English leaders debate. The winner of that seems to be Quebec. Language. Generational division. Social safety net. Values. Always issues in Quebec, but a little different this time. Political evolution? Let's not get carried away. The View Up Here welcomes back Polly Ticks (@PTicks) for her fifth guest appearance to discuss Quebec politics today and where this road is heading.

Welcome to Season 10 of The View Up Here. And here we go... New Brunswick heads to the polls on September 24th to elect a new Provincial Government. The 39th general election has five parties in contention, but only two are considered to have a chance to lead the next Legislature. At dissolution, the Liberal Party led by Premier Brian Gallant held 25 seats out of 49, the slimmest of majorities. The Progressive Conservative party led by Blaine Higgs, a former 20-plus year employee of Irving Oil, is the only other party that can possibly win a majority by any estimate. The spectre of a minority result is a real possibility, bringing three other parties and their leaders into the main picture. David Coon leads the New Brunswick Green Party sitting as the only MLA for them and has consistently spoken out against the hegemony in place for decades. Kris Austin leads the New Brunswick People's Alliance, a populist party less than a decade old that threatens to steal PC votes more than anything else. Jennifer McKenzie leads the New Brunswick New Democratic Party, which has not elected an MLA to Fredericton since 2005. The issues of the campaign are not new by any measure, nor are they lessening. Net migration out of the province, an aging population, shrinking tax base and narrowing of economic power. Promises abound regarding promised spending on health care and economic stimulation from all but the PCs who have chosen their lead issue to be... Carbon Tax. PC Leader Higgs has pledged to join the court case with Ontario and Saskatchewan against the national carbon emissions plan. What else is not new, for decades, is the power of the Irving family. Oil & Gas, Forestry and Media are three sectors under complete Irving control. A private empire, the Irvings own the largest oil refinery in Canada and dictate their will no matter who is in power. So who is for New Brunswickers and who is for the Irvings? TVUH takes a look.

A big promise of the Trudeau Liberal campaign in 2015 was a complete rewriting of the Federal Environmental Review process. There was no question the 2012 Canadian Environmental Assessment Act was a failure. When you have panels of review agencies resigning over conflicts of interest, it's time to start over. The courts cancelled Northern Gateway, with just cause due to the flawed review process. As citizens began to impede the road for Energy East, the re-opening possibility of Keystone XL south of the border let TCPL return to their preferred plan while Big Oil sycophants claimed "Trudeau did it". Then Kinder Morgan, the Bricklin of the oilpatch. Nothing says the existing system is broken better than the full stop put on TMX for the same issues that killed NGP. The badly needed replacement legislation, Bill C-69, has 412 pages, removes 2 Acts from the books, establishes 2 new Acts and amends many more. The bill has been advanced with Time Allocation twice, has adopted approximately 130 amendments of 320 proposed, defeated six further amendment votes and gone on to the Senate where things are not as comfy for the Liberals. What guaranteed failure of the old environmental regime was the regulations written to enable it. They delivered flawed processes with an unacceptable level of science, consultation, scrutiny or diligence. It was written for applicants, not Canadians. And what progress has the government made on new regulations? Anyone? Bueller? This Prime Minister said no omnibus legislation on his watch. Bill C-69 is omnibus legislation. He and his Ministry said environmental regulations would be developed in parallel with this bill moving forward. There is zero evidence available to confirm this, yet the bill is now 2/3 the way to becoming law. A shiny sales pitch is not proof of a good product. Many opponents from all parties remain against it. The View Up Here looks at where C-69 is and needs to get to.

The 2019 CPC Convention in Halifax has come and gone. So has Maxime Bernier regarding the Party. Inevitable? Yes, likely, but the other inevitabilities are not remotely new in any way shape or form from the Party of Harper that insists Harper is history. But then, maybe Emperor is in the rear-view mirror considering the passed resolutions to re-open the legality of abortion and remove birth-right citizenship, issues kept closed by Harper for a decade. Make no mistake, this is not a united party with a clear path forward. Before the gavel could open the festivities in Halifax, Maxime Bernier announced he was leaving the Party effective immediately, stating the CPC had become just another bought-off gang of tools. It did garner big coverage, but with Supply Management being somewhat prevented from hitting the Plenary floor, the intent from the Party to eliminate All Things Max seems clear. An emerging issue in one riding in the entire country is now deemed part of policy based on nationalism it seems. Birth-right citizenship, something dating back to the Roman Empire in practice, is now not acceptable to the delegates. Courtesy of two well-organized Anti-abortion groups, Canadian Life Coalition and Right Now, the legality of abortion is back as a problem for the delegates. 27 of 30 changes were passed in Plenary, most of which do not look forward but back to Conservative Unicorn Land, be that the 2000's or the 1860's. Speeches to the delegates extolled the virtuous Conservative world, according to Raitt, Ford, MacKay, Kenney, Gerstein, Marshall and Scheer. Meetings were held on information collection and usage relating to CIMS, C2W click to website and C2G CIMS to go. All powerful tools (weapons?) in modern campaigning. Electoral Districts were told 50% of rebates would be clawed back to CPC HQ. Sounds democratic eh? The View Up Here looks at why the answers from Halifax create so many new questions.  

By any measurement you wish to use, Feminism and its causes have never been more prominent than they are today. Over the past few years with the utilization of social media, attention on spousal abuse, sexual assault of all kinds, open misogyny, institutional bias, consent, behavioural norms and more have been broken open with the advent of the "hashtag". #WhyIStayed highlighting spousal abuse, #YesAllWomen and #EverydaySexism revealing misogyny, #TimesUp calling for real change now, #ImWithHer expanding to victims and their stories, #MeToo showing the proclivity of the issues and many more have forever changed the discourse around cultural standards. 2015 was a watershed year for Canada and its institutions in the global feminist awakening. The Jian Ghomeshi case. Sexual assault in Parliament. The demented behaviour directed at female politicians such as Catherine McKenna, Kathleen Wynne, Sandra Jansen and Rachel Notley to name a few. The discussion is here and it isn't going away, nor should it. But like all things, the conditions around the issues continue to change for many reasons. Controlling the message has never been more prominent than it is today, by all sides. To amend a famous quote, First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then they CO-OPT you when the tide has completely turned. There is nobody in public life these days that will not declare themselves a feminist. Not doing so is uncool, an invitation to be left outside of advancement with a likely high cost. But declaration is not action. Support is not change. The hypocrisy is becoming more nuanced. Julie Lalonde is an internationally recognized expert educator on violence against women, institutional gender-based bias, womens rights and activism. A winner of the Governor General's Award for her efforts, Julie returns to The View Up Here to discuss the progress, changes and co-option of Feminism in 2018 Canada.

There is no question that Canada's seat of democracy, the Parliamentary Precinct in Ottawa, was already overdue for renovation and restoration when the official process started in the 1990's. Studies, inspections, proposals, hearings and predictions play their part in all major spending programs and this huge group of projects certainly fulfilled that norm. And like all long developed and eventually delayed public works, the pricetags keep rising. To date, almost $5 Billion has been spent or budgeted for the massive undertaking. Successive reports over the last 15 years from the Auditor-General have kept a better eye on things than most heralded spending programs. With the end goal of making the buildings of Parliament prepared into their second century while not interrupting the governance of Canada, the road has been long spanning over a decade so far, with at least another decade to go. The Wellington Building has been completely renovated to house MPs and their staff, Committee rooms, a library, support services and restored to its original grandeur. The West Block is nearing the end of over 6 years of complete refit and expansion to host the House of Commons for the next decade. The iconic former Union Station and Government Conference Centre after 4 years of work will host the Senate until Centre Block is finished. The East Block is in dire need of repair and restoration but it will have to wait for a while. The first new building on the Hill in over 100 years, although mostly underground, the Visitors Welcome Centre will eventually link the 3 Blocks of Parliament and be the public entrance to all of them, maybe by 2030. Now the big question mark looms. Centre Block. There can be no further delays and it will be completely empty by the end of 2018. There is no question it will take over a Billion dollars and a decade to complete. The View Up Here provides a big picture on restoring Parliament.