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Canadians pay a lot of taxes and have a lot of expenses. Far too many Canadians are struggling with poverty and have very high electricity bills, our phone bills are some of the highest in the world, and our internet is expensive. Our cities and towns were built in the spirit of American-style car culture that makes it difficult to walk anywhere. Much of these cities were designed as urban sprawl and we have to brave a 60 degree Celsius weather variation that goes from freezing cold to very hot in the summertime. It's expensive to live near our workplaces, in large part because our government allows for so much foreign real estate ownership and our immigration rates are so high, so many people get pushed out of city centres and need a vehicle to access food and employment. The last time I was in France, a bottle of wine was 1/4 the price of the same bottle purchased in Canada, and we have to import a lot of our fresh fruit, nuts, and berries from places like Mexico, Chile, Peru, and California because it's too cold and dark to grow a lot of food here. Transporting fresh food into Canada take a lot of fossil fuels, although we do have fresh food grown during the wintertime in massive greenhouses that require lighting and heating, and our prairie provinces are star producers of many grains. We receive giant cargo ships of goods in Vancouver and Montreal from overseas that are loaded onto trains and trucks and delivered all over our massive country. Not only is it expensive to live in Canada, but we are completely dependent on oil and gas. Dan McTeague spent 18 years in the Canadian House of Commons as a Liberal Member of Parliament and is currently the president of affordableenergy.ca. He joins the Zero Waste Countdown to talk about the trouble with Canada's carbon tax that was forced upon unwilling provinces who didn't come up with their own carbon pricing scheme. The results have not been pretty. In fact, the argument can be made that the carbon tax takes money from the poor, and gives it to the rich. For example $12M from a "climate fund" was given to the 2nd richest family in Canada to buy new fridges, and the Ontario government used to hand out up to $14,000 to wealthy people who can afford the $137,900 Tesla Model X. I mentioned in this episode a CBC article that says the carbon tax reduces emissions. You'll notice the title is "Scheer says British Columbia's carbon tax hasn't worked. Expert studies say it has". Many people only read headlines as they scroll through social media, but when you actually read this article, it shows one year of decreased emissions then uses the excuse that population increase should erase emissions increase. Juggling data around like this is how you can lie with statistics to say whatever you like. The CBC article says emissions have dropped in other places that have implemented a carbon tax but fails to mention any increase in efficient technology. Further in the article the CBC repeats the tagline that "most" families will get back more than they pay in carbon tax, but the trouble with using obscure words like "most" is that there's no proof, no data, and no concrete evidence. I claim it is false that "most" families receive a bigger rebate than what they pay to the government in carbon and fuel taxes, because the carbon tax on my transportation costs is more than double my rebate, without even considering the increase in food prices and propane prices (propane heats my water and while I have an electric heat pump to heat my home, propane is required for temperatures lower than about minus 15 Celsius). If you scroll down to the bottom of the article you will see CBC felt compelled to issue a correction that the carbon tax is revenue neutral, which falls in line with what Mr. McTeague is saying, that this is just another tax that fills the coffers of greedy politicians. When you compare the title of this CBC article with the actual content, it's misleading. Here's an article from a trustworthy source that contradicts the CBC article claiming the carbon tax reduced emissions in BC: https://www.taxpayer.com/newsroom/b.c.-emissions-up-despite-carbon-tax?id=18615. They are quoting data from the Sierra Club who explains that due to cherry picking certain data fields, BC emissions are actually 4 times higher than what they're actually reporting, so if we aren't scrutinizing this data ourselves, how do we know the truth? Personally I'm not sure what to think with all this contradictory and politically motivated information, but it seems that emissions in BC were higher in 2015 than in 2010, indicating that emissions in BC have increased despite the carbon tax. The BC government cherry picked data to show emissions decreased by purposely leaving out BC's energy exports (coal!), and their forestry industry, demonstrating how easy it is to lie with statistics. There are many factors to consider for increases and decreases in Greenhouse Gas Emissions (GHGs), such as new tech, government policies, markets, international relations, immigration, and a worldwide pandemic. If you don't know which factors were included in the charts that show increasing or decreasing emissions, you really can't tell if the article you're reading is true or not. You can see here on BC's government site the different emission charts, and you can see coal mining does have a chart, but I doubt this includes the actual usage of that coal in other countries. You can basically say GHGs have gone up or down, depending on which information you want to cherry pick to make your argument. This is why we need to be weary of data, statistics, and even news sources we have grown up trusting, because they often have an agenda. It's up to you, the listener, to look into the information you see, hear, and read, but I know that can be exhausting. I'm trying to uncover the truth on my show so that we can go forward making the greenest policies that work best for people, and not just line the pockets of wealthy politicians and their friends while plummeting honest working class citizens into poverty. Extra references: Billions could be missing from the new file of the previous Minister of Climate Change Catherine McKenna Covid models have been wildly wrong, and so too can climate models SNC Lavalin is very involved in Canada's nuclear industry, but remember the SNC Lavalin scandal even The Simpson's talked about? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZHiQg9eadPA SNC Lavalin has done some very unethical things Trudeau fired our first indigenous female Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould when she questioned the government's ethics over the SNC Lavalin scandal Is SNC Lavalin trustworthy enough to be handling our nuclear waste and nuclear reactors in Canada?
Maria/Listening In - In a special episode of Listening In, Maria reads from former Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould's book From Where I Stand. The program is introduced by a song from Cortes Island's own Willow. Photo of Jody Wilson-Raybould by Erich Saide via Wikipedia (CC BY SA, 2.0 License)
As the broad availability of genetic testing has mushroomed over the past two decades, privacy and potential discrimination concerns associated with testing results has increased. Until recently, Canada lagged behind other countries in this regard with no specific national legislation. That changed in 2017 with the enactment of the Genetic Non-Discrimination Act. The law underwent a remarkable parliamentary journey featuring opposition from successive governments, lobbying against the bill by the insurance industry, passage in the House of Commons despite objections from then-Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould, and a court challenge in which the government supported the effort to declare the law invalid. Senator James Cowan, the lead proponent of the legislation, joins me on the podcast to discuss what prompted him to take on the issue and the unlikely path of Canada’s genetic non-discrimination law.
The Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner Mario Dion has found that the PM violated the ethics code by trying to sway former Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould to make a deferred prosecution decision for SNC Lavalin. Christo Aivalis, Social Sciences and humanities Research Council Postdoctoral Fellow in History at the University of Toronto
No interview on this emergency special episode, just former Attorney General and Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould gently roasting former Clerk of the Privy Council Michael Wernick and the entire PMO apparatus for 17 tense, terrific minutes. It’s a great way to start your weekend.
Laura McQuillan is a New Zealand freelance journalist in Canada. Listen to the audio above as she speaks to Kerre McIvor about the scandal which continues to follow Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.A leading Cabinet minister in Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government resigned Monday, becoming the second minister to step down over a scandal that has shaken the government in an election year.Treasury Board president Jane Philpott, considered a star minister, said in a resignation letter that it was "untenable" for her to continue in the Cabinet because she lost confidence and could not defend the government.Philpott's friend, former Attorney General and Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould, testified last week that Trudeau and senior members of his government inappropriately tried to pressure her to avoid prosecution of a major Canadian engineering company in a case involving allegations of corruption in Libya.Wilson-Raybould resigned from Cabinet last month after being demoted to veteran affairs minister the month before.The scandal has rocked Trudeau's government. Gerald Butts, his closet adviser and best friend, also resigned last month and is scheduled to testify Wednesday before a Parliament justice committee in Trudeau's defense."I know Philpott has felt this way for some time. And while I am disappointed, I understand her decision to step down. I want to thank her for her service," Trudeau said at a campaign-style event.Trudeau said he takes the concerns very seriously and said the matter has generated an important discussion."But at the same time, we need to keep in mind the bigger picture," Trudeau said.Trudeau has acknowledged raising the issue with Wilson-Raybould, but has said that was appropriate."I have concluded that I must resign as a member of Cabinet," Philpott wrote. "Sadly, I have lost confidence in how the government has dealt with this matter and in how it has responded to the issues raised."Philpott, a physician, is a former minister of health and minister of indigenous services and was widely viewed as of one of Trudeau's most competent Cabinet ministers."The evidence of efforts by politicians and/or officials to pressure the former Attorney General to intervene in the criminal case involving SNC-Lavalin, and the evidence as to the content of those efforts have raised serious concerns for me," Philpott wrote."I must abide by my core values, my ethical responsibilities and constitutional obligations. There can be a cost to acting on one's principles, but there is a bigger cost to abandoning them."Philpott said she would continue as a Parliament member for Trudeau's Liberal Party.Wilson-Raybould said the same last week but declined to say she had confidence in Trudeau. Trudeau said earlier Monday he was still deciding whether Wilson-Raybould could remain a member of his party in Parliament.Trudeau thanked Philpott for her service in a short statement that said he would have more to say later in Toronto.The leader of the opposition Conservative Party, Andrew Scheer, said at a news conference that Philpott's resignation demonstrates "a government in total chaos" and called again for Trudeau to resign and for a police investigation of the affair.Wilson-Raybould testified last week she was pressured to instruct the director of public prosecutions to negotiate a remediation agreement with SNC-Lavalin. The agreement would have allowed the company to pay reparations but avoid a criminal trial on charges of corruption and bribery. But Wilson-Raybould said the pressure was not illegal and said she was not instructed to interfere.If convicted criminally, the Montreal-based company would be banned from receiving any federal government business for a decade. SNC-Lavalin is an economic force in Canada, with 9,000 employees in the country and about 50,000 worldwide."This is a spectacular blow to the government" said Nelson Wiseman, a political science pro...
Host Sarah Turnbull is joined by /Thread panelists Shannon Proudfoot of Maclean's and David Reevely of The Canadian Press. The trio discuss: former Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould's resignation from the Trudeau cabinet following the SNC-Lavalin controversy, Ontario Social Services Minister Lisa Macleod's apology to a behavioural analyst group claiming she threatened them to support the Tories' new autism plan, and saying farewell to NASA's Mars Opportunity rover.
Host Sarah Turnbull is joined by /Thread panelists Shannon Proudfoot of Maclean's and David Reevely of The Canadian Press. The trio discuss: former Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould's resignation from the Trudeau cabinet following the SNC-Lavalin controversy, Ontario Social Services Minister Lisa Macleod's apology to a behavioural analyst group claiming she threatened them to support the Tories' new autism plan, and saying farewell to NASA's Mars Opportunity rover.
Months before a federal election, the Liberal government is embroiled in a potentially damaging scandal. This one surrounds a major Canadian company, SNC Lavalin, that is facing charges related to business dealings in Libya, and whether the Prime Minister’s office applied political pressure on then Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould to order federal prosecutors to expedite the case in a manner that would be beneficial to the company. The ethics commissioner is now investigating and opposition parties are demanding answers. Dave is joined by National Post reporter Brian Platt.
Ottawa is reeling after a story broke late last week alleging that the Prime Minister's Office pressured former Attorney General and Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould to intervene in the prosecution of Quebec-based engineering company SNC-Lavalin. Today on Front Burner, CBC's David Cochrane breaks down the scandal and explains why this could be very problematic for Justin Trudeau and his closest allies.
A political bombshell rocks Ottawa after allegations the Prime Minister's Office pressured former Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould to end a criminal prosecution against SNC-Lavalin. The Prime Minister says the allegations are false, but the opposition isn't buying it. Where do we go from here? And then will it be free and fair elections or military intervention in Venezuela? We'll talk to Venezuela's interim ambassador to Canada. Finally, the government's contentious bill to overhaul natural resource project approval in Canada is fighting for its life in the Senate. Will it survive?
For January 27, 2018.... Christmas came late for me (or really, really early), as we learn that Justin Trudeau has unexpectedly replaced Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould with David Lametti. Quack Tracks A judge has ruled that the Stephans will not have their legal fees paid for by the Province of Alberta. The Regressive Left Files Comedian Zach Poitras has been denied a spot to perform at the Université du Québec à Montréal. The reason? He's white and has dreadlocks. The event, the Snowflake Comedy Club, could not have been named more appropriately. Catholic Watch A representative of Alberta's Catholic school system says “The courts have told us that we have to be Catholic or there's no reason for us to exist.” Guess what? There's no reason for you to exist. A Catholic priest in Calgary's NE quadrant, Malcolm Joe D'Souza, has been charged with sexual assault. I'd chalk this up to a one-off, but over a 26-year span he had been moved between a number of parishes in southern Alberta. Sound familiar? And, yes. This was on Bishop Fred Henry's watch. Embattled ex-Cardinal Wuerl claims lapses in memory over having heard about sexual abuse allegations against Theodore McCarrick. Someone should give Wuerl a Rolodex to keep them all straight. Miscellaneous... The two men behind the free Toronto "newspaper" Your Ward News which, among other things, wants rape decriminalized and claims a bloodthirsty Jewish conspiracy is afoot, will appeal their hate speech conviction. Totally forgetting Jesus was himself a Jew, one of the defendants said, "We have Jesus on our side." Ironeeeeee!
Earlier this summer, Canada's Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould gave the green light to a new roadside test to check for drugs. The “Drager DrugTest 5000” is a saliva screener and will be used by police to test for the main psychoactive agent in cannabis. However, critics have suggested the equipment isn't suited for Canada's colder climate. In hopes of dispelling some of this criticism, the managing director of Dräger Canada, Rob Clark, joined The Kelly Cutrara Show.
On Monday, federal Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould approved the Dräger DrugTest 5000, a device that will soon be available to police forces across the country to combat drug-impaired driving, as the government prepares for cannabis legalization in October. Lawyers from a Vancouver-based law firm say they are ready to challenge the usage of the newly approved saliva-screening device for marijuana in court as soon as it hits the road. Vancouver Sun reporter Behdad Mahichi joins Dave to discuss the concerns raised over roadside drug testing.
This episode we are joined by good friend of the podcast (TM) Peter Sankoff to take a deep dive into Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould's new BOLD justice bill. The legislation, Bill C-75, was billed as a silver bullet to unclog our courts and bring about a “cultural shift” in the justice system. The changes may be bold, but in this case the proposed reforms will likely result in more delays, more racial inequality and more unfair trials.Bill C-75 promises to speed up court cases by eliminating preliminary hearings for all but the most serious matters. Also, quietly slipped into the bill is a provision that would allow Crown prosecutors to simply file written copies of police officers' evidence instead of actually calling them at trial to testify. Not only will these changes waste more court time than they save, they will erode fundamental safeguards of trial fairness.Perhaps most galling is what is not in the new law: the elimination of mandatory minimum sentences. This change would reduce court delays and increase fairness. It also has decades of evidence and study to back up its positive impacts. And, if you care about such things, it was also an explicit election promise.Bill C-75 has been widely condemned in the legal community. It has also shown that, like her predecessors, Wilson-Raybould is willing to draft reactive legislation based on one high-profile case, is willing to disregard evidence, is willing to sacrifice trial fairness, and is willing to break promises.The Liberal's flagship justice bill is massive and it is already in trouble. The debate about this bill is not going to be quiet and will not be going away any time soon - so lets dig in....
Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould explains why the Canadian government offered an apology and settlement with Omar Khadr.