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• POLITICS: Senators pushing recognition of Canada's Scottish heritage

Canada's own tartan? BRIAN LILLEY

Parliamentary Bureau

OTTAWA - As Scots and would-be Scots across Canada celebrate Robbie Burns' birth­day on Tuesday, two senators are hoping to use private member's bills to further promote Canada's Scottish heritage.

Liberal Sen. Elizabeth Hubley is behind Bill S-226, which would establish the Maple Leaf tartan as Canada's national tartan. Conservative Sen. John Wallace is backing Bill S-222 to establish April 6 as Tartan Day in Canada.

"When you go through the list of individuals, the explorers, the fur traders and so on that built Canada and our economy, they were driven by the Scots," Wallace told QMI Agency in an interview.

The 2006 census conducted by Statistics Canada estimated there were 4, 719,850 people of Scottish decent in Canada, the third most .common response, trailing only English and French .

. Tartan Day took off around the world after a push by a clan soci­ety in Nova Scotia began push­ing the event in the 1980s.

While Canada has a long his­tory with tartan, including sol­diers fighting while wearing the kilt in the First World War, there has never been an official tartan for Canada.

"The Maple Leaf tartan has been Canada's unofficial tartan

representing the different colours a maple leaf goes through as the seasons change.

"It's not overly flashy, it's a nice blend of colours. It's a very beautiful tartan;' said Hubley.

Both senators said that while their bills are about recogniz­ing the Scottish contribution to Canada, they are not trying to exclude others. .

"This is something all Canadians can feel proud to wear;• Hubley said of the Maple Leaf tartan.

Wallace said Canada's history calls for this sort of recognition.

"I think it's really important to

have an understanding of how we got to where we are today. 1 And that's in no small part due to the Scots,~ Wallace said.

Scots played a prominent role in the founding of Canada, including the fi rst two prime ministers after Confederation - Sir John A. Macdonald and Alexander Mackenzie.

Robbie Burns Day celebrates the birth of Scottish poet Robert Burns, who wrote in the dialect of the lowland Scots and whose work has been translated into several languages.

brian.lilley@sunmedia.ca

for a long time," Hubley told QMI FORGET QMI Agency Agency. Chelsey Cowan holds up some Maple l eaf tartan on Monday in

The Maple Leaf tartan has Ottawa. A private member's bill from Sen. Elizabeth Hubley proposes green, yellow, red and brown, to make this the country's official tartan.

TUESDAY, JANUARY25, 2011 • THE'WNDON FREE PRESS

Design created in 1964 to celebrate 100th anniversary !)f Confederation in 1967 Moore "A$ a West Coast British Dominion of Canada. The move Colu~bian who is a quarter reserved all righ~s t~te t~an Scottish, I've sort of been very to the GovDernrnmen~~r a~~b!~al

BRIAN LILLEY Parliamentary Bureau

OTTAWA - Canada now has a national tartan.

Heritage Minister James Moore announced Wednesday afternoon that the Maple Leaf Tartan is now Canada's official tartan.

The Maple Leaf Ta~tan ~as created by designer Davtd We1ser in !964 to celebrate the lOOth anniversary of Confederation in 1967.

"This is something that a lot of Canadians have called for;' said

· d b the number· of Last ece , ~urp~se s wfto have had a great Senator Elizabeth Hubley moved

ana an . b hind th"s" a bill to have the government deal of enthusiasm e I · ffi ial

The Maple Leaf Tartan was adopt the tartan as an o IC

used in the closinogtere~onieJ SYIJI~~!~~~f:~a~af Tartan has of the Vancouver ympiCS an Canada's unofficial tartan has been adopted by the Sec~nd ~eenl time" Hubley told QMI Battalion of the Royal Canadian tOr a ong , & · ent Pipes and Drums. Agency. . , e~008, Immigration Minister "It's not overly flash,y, It s a

J K then in charge of nice blend of colours. Its a very ason enney, tiful "

heritage, registered the Maple beau tartan. Leaf Tartan with the Scottish Tartan Authority under the name MARCH 10, 2011

F~ds spend big to get you their news OTTAWA - The federal gov- federal government full time

ernment spent nearly $900,000 • are usually sent news releases last fiscal year to distribute its directly by · e-mail or fax. news releases. Departments a lso post their

for 30 accounts with Marketwire and $213,982 for eight accounts with Newswire. I

The information came to light after QMI Agency questioned the government about the cost of such services and later reported that the government t spent $1.9 million in the same time frame to monitor newspapers, radio and TV reports.

Critics say it's an example of news releases on their websites how the government doesn't and allow anyone to subscribe to have a firm grip on spending. the news release feeds through

"These types of stories help RSS feeds or e-mail lists. confirm concerns about the gov- "It!s like the authorization ernment's commitment to get- ·that happened when the whole t?-ng the budget balanced," said G20 thing happened. Somebody Kevin Gaudet of the Canadian said we don't care what it takes, Taxpayers Federation. just spend," said Liberal House

"Don't they know how to use leader David McGuinty. e-mail lists?" asked one commu- The Conservative government nications professional close to uses two main news release ser­the government who asked not vices to disseminate its news, to be identified. · Marketwire and Newswire. In

"We are looking at ways ofl consolidating and achieving important savings on how we use these services," said Raymond t Rivet, a spokesman for the Privy Council Office.

Journalists who cover the 2009-10; the feds spent $680,985 -Brian Lilley, QMIAgency

TUESDAY, JANUARY 25, 2011 • THE LONDON FREE PRESSJ

• NATIONAL ANTHEM: A group of Liberals rush in where Tori~s fear to tread

BRYN WEESE Parliamentary Bureau

OTTAWA - A group of Liberal MPs has re-opened the sensitive gender debate about 0 Canada.

Wednesday, just before ques­tion period, Toronto MP Carolyn Bennett led a group of Liberal women in a "gender-neutral and secular version" of 0 Canada (see box) . • Just last year, Prime Min­

ister Stephen Harper beat a hasty retreat after pr9posing the removal of "thy sons command" from 0 Canada. Public rejection was S\vift and overwhelming. Be~tt says she has no inter­

est in officially changing the lyrics of 0 Canada, but said she will continue to sing her version when Parliamentarians sing the anthem each Wednesday.

"Usually when people do a b~ngual nation_al anthem, they flip between English and French and the two lines that bug some people stay in;' Bennett said Wednesday. 11By flipping back and forth a different way, you can end up with a reasonably coherent version, but the lines that have irritated a few people disappear."

As for the gender neutrality, the original lyrics, as written in 1908, read: "True patriot love thou dost in us command; instead of "in all thy sons command."

OCanada! Ow home and natlw ..... Tolrfront est celnt de With &lowing~ we 1be 1Rie North strong and Ton hlstolra est-6pop6e Des plus brllants exploits. 0 Canada, glorious and freel Prattpra nos ~etnos ..... 0 Canada. we stMd on 1uan1 far thee."

When Harper proposed reviewing the original wording, Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff took a shot at him for it, calling it the kind of "symbolic gesture" the government uses to ignore real issues.

"Anythingthatmakesanational anthem more gender-sensitive is a good thing," Ignatieff reportedly said at the time. "There's lots of things to do for women that are more important than changing

llf.GAN DINNERIQMI AGENCY

the words of the national antHem, just as there are lots of things to do for pensioners and seniors that are more important than having a Seniors Day."

A spokesperson for Heritage and Official I,.anguages Minister James Moore said the govern­ment heard loud and clear from Canadians last year there is no appetite to change the anthem_

bryn. weese@sunmedia.ca

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.. PRIVATE MEMBER'S BILL: NDP cite·fact people can vote by mail ..

~ory MP insists voters ShOw face to cast ballot •:

BRYN WEESE Parliamentary Bureau

OITAWA - A Conservative back­bencher has renewed efforts to require Canadians to show their faces when theyvote. .

And Tory MP Steven Blaney wants the new rules in place before the next election. '

On Friday, Quebec's Blaney intro­duced a private member's bill that, if passed, would require veiled women and people wearing masks to uncover their faces before voting.

Both the Liberals and the NDP have accused the Conservatives of trying to incite and divide Canadians, but the Bloc Quebecois is prepared to sup­J;lOii:the bill as long as it doesn't make CUIY . religious accommodation, such ¥ ltomen inspecting veiled Muslim woMen's identity. ~ 1$e issue of veiled voters first came · (o a~head in 2007 during three hotly t1:ontested by-elections in Quebec. At the -time, Elections Canada said they ~ad no authority under the Elections Canada Act to compel voters to show their faces, and the chief elections l)fficer even hinted dofug so would be meaningless, since many voters have no·photo ID to compare their faces to.

All political leaders said at the time they supported the idea· of making voters show their face, but a govern­mtmt bill to require that died when the 2008 federal election was called . Since then, both the NDP and Liberals have

pulled their support for the idea. Blaney said Friday he's trying to

make the change again, though his bill does not require voters to produce photo ID, nor does it prohibit mail-in ballots.

Voting in an election, he said, "is an important vote, and it is to be done in a tranj>parent way, whoever you are and whatever you wear."

''

Voting ••• is to be done in a transparent way; whoever you are and

whatever you wear. Tory MP Steven Blaney

Citizenship and Immigration Min­ister Jason Kenney said he planned to support Blaney's bill, saying veils and face coverings have no place in voting booths.

"If someone is going to vote, you have to be able to identify who they are; he said Friday in London. "We need to identify people. If that means showing their faces, I find that entirely reasonable."

But the NDP called Blaney's bill worthless.

"Right now, you or I can go in our kitchen and put on whatever we want over our face and vote and put it in the mail. How's he going to deal with that?" said NDP MP Paul Dewar.

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UNREST IN EGYPT: The president, in power for ~0 years, is offering talks on sweeping reforms

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This year: $15/case

ROMAINE LmUCE Last year: $29/case This year: $65/case

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This year: $21/case Last year: $27/case

TOMATOES This year: $26/case Last year: $46/case

The Egyptian un ...

Jan 25: Inspired by fall of Tunisian president. thousands of Egyptians stage "Day of Rage" to demand end of 30-year authoritarian presidency of Hosni Mubarak.

Jan 29: Mubarak dismisses government but refuses to step down. Appoints vice president for first time since tak1ng office in 1981.-intelligence chief Omar Suleiman.

Feb 2: Army tells protesters to return home. Violence erupts in Tahrir Square between support­ers of Mubarak and protesters calling on him to step down now -at least five killed.

~3:Pro-~ S\lflRlen fire on protesters in square, killing arOllnd 10. ·

Feb 4: Vast crowds call for Mubarak's inmediate resignation in "Day of Departure" rally in Cairo.

Feb 8: Wael Ghonim­Google executive and political activist detained by state secvrity forces for 12 days -feted by huge crowds in Tahrir Square.·

Hosni Mubarakand his family flew totne Red Sea resort ofSharm ei·Sheikh after his resigdation, partY officials said.

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CAIRO - A furious wave •This is just the end of •This is the greatest aay ox 1

of protest swept Egypt's the beginning," · said Jon my life; said liberal activist and President Hosni Mubara.k Alterman of the Center for Nobel Peace laureate Mohamed from power Friday after Strategic and Intemai:ional E!Baradei, welcoming a period 30 years of one-man rule, Studies. "Egypt isn't mov-· of sharing of power between the sparking jubilation on the ing. toward democracy, it's army and the people. He said streets and sending a warn- moved into martial law and runQing for president was not on ing to itUtoa'ats across the where it goes is now subject his mind. Arab world and beyond to debate." •This nation has been born

Mubarak. the second U.S. officials familiar with again, these people have been Arab leader to be over- the U.S.-sponsored Egyp- born again, and this is a new thrown by a popular upris- tian military say Tantawi, Egypt," said Ayrnan Nour, the ing in a month, handed 75, has long seemed resist- only man to dare to challenge power to the army after· l8 ant to change. He has been Mubara.k in Egypt's only multi-days of relentless rallies defence minister for more candidate presidential election: against poverty, corruption than 20 years with a past He came a distant second to the and repression caused sup- rooted firmly in the old incumbent in 2005, then found port from the armed forces guard's ruling elite. himself thrown in jail. to evaporate. In a statement, the higher Pr t ed fl ff

Vi Pr 'd o esters wav ags, set 0

tee- eSt ent Omar military council s";d 1·t fir k Sul ..... ewor s and beat drums to cele-. eiman said a military would talce measures for an b thi ha council would run the most rate s new c pter in modem

populous Arab nation. A interim phase and hoped 1 Egyptian history. SMS text roes-free and fair presidential to realize pe()ple's .hopes. sages of congratulation zapped electioh has been promised Striking the even~handed over mobile phone networks for September, though some note. the mi).itary has main- among ordinary Egyptians, hail-question the army's appe- tained throughout the ing a victory for people power. tite for real democracy. crisis, itpraisedMubara.kfor A spealcer made the announce-

Mubarak. 82, had flown resigQing "in the interests of ment in Tahrir Square where with his family from Cairo the nation'" and the "mar- hundreds of thousands danced to the Red Sea resort of tyrs" who 'wed protesting. and sang, chanting: "The people

Shami Risk consultancy Str t have brought down the regun· e."

el-Sheik:h, a ruling a -.party official said. for said: "The military has Others shouted: "Allahu Akbar" Ecstatic Egyptians cele- 1 carried out a coup Jed by (God is greatest). Women ulu-

brated a peaceful White ... Tantawi. It is not dear lated in jubilation. Revolution irt camivaJ mood , whether Suleiman will J Some declared an end to irtjus-on the streets and people l remain as civilian head of tice. Others said they finally saw embraced irt Tahrir, or Lib- the army-led government. hope in a country they feel has I eration, Square, the main Egypt is returiling -to the lost its place as the political, cui-focus for protest, claiming 1952 model of ruling the tural and economic heart of the a victory over the so-called state via a council of army Arab world. Most were just proud Pharoah ~ey hardly dared officers." to be Egyptian on a day when his-to believe. \ The crisis that brough( tory was made.

"Nightmare over!" said down Mubaralc was the "It's broken a psychologic~ tailor Saad el Din Ahmed, worst since British-baclc.e4 barrier, not just for North Africa, 65, in Cairo. "Now we King Farouk was toppled but across the Middle East.l think have our freedom and can in a military coup in I9si· you could see some contagion breathe and demand our Generals have ruled siru:e:: in terms of protests; Morocco, rights. In Mubaralc's era, 1 though Mubaralc, and hi~ perhaps Jo~dan, Yem~~·" ~id we never saw a good day predecessor Anwar Sadat m: Anthony Skinner of pohttcal n~k Hopefully now we will se~ ~e 1?70s, rarely appeare~ . con~ult~cyMaplec~~ft. \ better times, aid M tafa ~m urtiform and kept active; I Algenan authonues were I Kamal

33 a' ~ os servi<:e officers in th~ bracing for protests Saturday.

In 'th ' Usa ~sedpersSon. background : Non-Arab Iran's Islamist leaders

e rut tates, . · - - · rthr f uJ Mubara.k's longtime s on- A senior member of the Mus- hailed the o~e ow o ~ r er sor, President B!aclc lim Brotherh9od said Egyptians I who was all ted to Washington Obama said: "The people had a~eved the main goal of and Isr~el. But prq-democracy of Egypt have spoken." And their popular uprising. -l group.s m. Te.hran also ~op~ to hestressedtotheU.S.-aided "I salute th~ Egyptian people draw_~spua~on fro~_ Cairo. .

army: "E n· h and the martyrs. This is the day of Bnush Prune Minister Davtd

. gyp ans ave called · · made it clear that nothing victory for the Egyptian people. Cameron tt _a prectous less than genuine democ- The main goal of the revolution moment of opporturuty. Germ~ racy will carry the day." has been aChieved," Mohamed ChanceUodr Anth gela M1e~kehl Sat~ ei-Katatni, former leader of the she share e peop e s appt-

There was a note of cau- Brotherhood's parliamentary ness. France urged steps towards tion in the backgrQund, bloc, said. " a free and transparent election. b~~ever, over ho~ far the But also expressing cau- Israel, with whom Egypt military under Fteld Mar- tion about the military's role in I signed the first Arab peace treaty shal ~ohamed , Husseirt Egypt's future, Katatrrl said the in 1979, said it hoped relations Tantawt, Mubaralc s veteran Bxotherhood awaited the next would remain peaceful. defence ~ster, are ready steps to be talcen by the Higher The confrontation had raised to perrrut a democracy - Military Council which has taken fear of uncontroUed violence in especially since the hitherto charge of the country's affairs Egypt, a linchpin U.S. ally in an banned Islamist Muslim after Mubarak's decision. oil-rich region where the chance Brotherhood is one of the of chaotic unrest spreading to b~ organized forces. other long stable but repressive

states troubles the West.

rinancial markets welcomed J

the news, seeing less chance of a c.o~ct in the oil-rich region. Swtss authorities saia they had I frozen assets that may belong to -Mubaralc.

Washington has called for ~ prompt democratic transition 1

to restore stability ip. Egypt, a I .rare Arab state no longer hostile to Israel, guardian of the Suez Canal linking Europe and Asia anfl a major force against mil­itant Islam in the region.

Tantawi, heads the military council, according a military source. Al Arabiya said an army statement would announce the sacking of the cabinet, the sus­pension of the upper and lower houses of parliament and that \ the head of the constitutional j court would lead with the mil-· itary council.

Egypt's powerful military gave guarantees earlier on Fri­day that promised democratic reforms would be carried out but angry protesters had intensified an uprising against Mubaralc, marching on the presidential palace and the state television · tower.

It was an effort by the army to defuse the revolt but, in disregarding protesters' key demand for Mubaralc's immedi­ate removal, it failed to calm the turmoil that has disrupted the economy and rattled the volatile Middle East.

· The tumult over Mubarak's refusal to resign had tested the 1

loyalties of the armed for~s, which had to choose whether to protect their supreme com­mander or ditch him.

After the fall on Jan. 14 of1\mi­sia's long-time leader Zine al­Abidine Ben Ali, which inspired ~rotests around the region, Egyp­~ans had been demonstrating m huge numbers against rising prices, poverty, unemployment and their authoritarian regime.

World powers had increasingly pressured Mubara.k to ·organize an orderly transition of power.

Mubara.k was thrust into office when Islamists gunned down his predecessor Sadat at a military parade in 1981.

The burly former air force commander proved a far more durable leader than anyone imagined at the time. He pro­moted Middle East peace abroad and more recently backed eco­nomic reforms at home.

But he always kept a tight lid on political opposition.

LIBYAl

GILES ELGOOD Reuters

LONDON - With his pen­chant for Bedouin tents, heavily armed female bodyguards and Ukrainian nurses, Muammar Gaddafi has cut a showman-like figure as Libya's leader for more than 40 years.

For most of that time he also held a prominent position . in the West's internation~ rogues' gallery.

He has maintained tight con­trol by clamping down on dis­sidents, but his oil-producing nation is now beginning to feel the wind of change that is blow­ing across the Arab world.

Anti-Gadda.fi protesters clashed with police and govern­ment supporters in the eastern city of Benghazi, and Human Rights Watch reported that at least 24 people had died in two days of unrest this week.

The Arab world's longest serv­ing leader, he has no official gov­ernment function and is known as the Brotherly Leader and Guide of the Revolution.

Visionary or dictator, Gadda.fi's quirky style is special.

tlis love of grand gestures is most onldisplay on foreign vis­its when he sleeps in a Bedouin tent guarded by dozens of female bodyguards.

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last year, Gaddafi's invitation to scheme to pipe water from desert f'~ hundreds of young women to wells to coastal communities. ¥' enll.€.- C? ;-.· convert to Islam overshadowed He has used tough tactics the two-day trip, which was against dissidents, who include intended to cement the growing Islarnists, and has used ~purifi-lies between Tripoli and Rome. · · " r d

S I canon conuruttees o army an U. . diplomatic cables released police officers, joined by loyal

by the Wtk.iLeaks website ·have students, to keep control. shed further light on the Ubyan But he is also respected by I /71' rc. ;.. -J.., I e) Q I; leader's tastes. many Ubyans. . "

One cable posted by the New He is a figure of real charisma York Times describes Gaddafi's with a popular touch and has insistence on staying on ttie first exploited the medium of tele-floor when be visited New York vision unlike other Arab leaders. for a 2009 meeting at the United Nations and his reported refusal -or inability to climb more than 35 6teps. · Gaddafi is also said to rely heavilyonhisstaffoffourUkrain­lan nurses, including pne woman lfcscribed as a "voluptuous -blonde': The cable speculated about a romantic relationship. : Gaddafi was born in 1942, the son of a Bedouin herdsman, in a tent near Sirte on the Mediter-

. .ranean coast He abandoned a geography course at university for a military career that included a short spell at a British army sig­nals school.

Gaddafi took power in a blood­less military coup in J 969 when he toppled King Idriss, and in the 1970s he formulated his Third Universal Theory, a middle ·road between communism and capitaljsm.

Gadda.fi oversaw the rapid ~evelopment of his poverty­stricken country, previously Jmown for little more than oil wells and deserts where huge tank battles took place in the · Second World War.

One of his first tasks was to build up the armed forces, but he ,also spent billions of dollars of oil income on improving living stan­dards, making him popular with the low-paid.

Gaddafi has poured money into giant projects such as a steel plant in the town of .Misrata and

Gaddafi embraced the pan­Arabism of the late Egyptian leader Gamal Abdel Nasser and .tried without success to merge Libya, Egypt and Syria into a federation.

A similar attempt to join Libya and Tunisia ended in acrimony.

ln 1977 he changed the coun­try's name to the Great Socialist Popular Ubyan Arab Jamahir­iyah (State of the Masses) and allowed people to air their views at people's congresses.

However, he was shunned by

the West which accused him of links to terrorism and revolution-ary movements.

U.S. President Ronald Rea­gan caJJed him a "mad dog" and sent war pl~es to bomb Libya in 1986.

One of the 60 people killed was Gaddafi's adopted daughter.

He was particularly reviled after the 1988 Pan Am airliner bombing over Lockerbie, Scot­land, by Ubyan agents in which 270 people were I?lled.

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MONDAY, APRIL4, 2011~ THE LONDON FREE PRESS

PAKISTAN: Terrorists promise more attacks ASIM TANVEER

Reuters

MULTAN, Pakistan - Two Taliban suicide bombers caused carnage on Sunday at a Sufi shrine fn eastern Pakistan, killing at least 41 people and wounding scores in the latest bloody attack on minority religious groups.

"These were suicide bomb­ings and we arrested an attacker who could not completely deton­ate the explosives on his body. He was wounded," Zahid Ali, a police officer in Dera Ghazi Khan city where the blasts took place, told Reuters by telephone.

Police said some 65 people were wounded. They said the attackers struck during an annual ceremony for the Sufi saint to whom the shrine is dedicated.

"I. was just a few yards away from the place where the blast happened," said Paisa! Iqbal. "People started running outside the shrine. Women and children were crying and screaming. It was like hell."

Taliban militants, who fol­low an austere interpretation of Sunni Islam, condemn other interpretations oflslam as heret­ical and have launched repeated attacks on the country's Shi'ite, Sufi and Christian minorities. They claimed responsibility for Sunday's suicide bombings.

"Our men carried out these attacks and we will carry out more in retaliation for govern­ment operations against our people ir) the northwest;' Taliban spokesperson Ehsanullah Ehsan told Reuters via telephone.

Last October, a bomb blast at a Sufi shrine in another eastern city, Pak Pattan, killed six people. In Tuly, 42 people died in a bomb­ing in Pakistan's most important Sufi shrine, in Lahore, the capital of eastern Punjab province.

Analysts say the attacks are motivated by more than religion, and that militant groups hope by inflaming sectarian tensions they can further destabilize Pakistan and weaken the government's tenuous grip on the country.

• AFGHA~ISTAN UNREST

2 killed in third day of protests

ISMAIL SAMEEM Reuters

KANDAHAR - Two police-' men were killed and more than

30 people wounded in the south­ern city of Kandahar on Sunday · during the third day of violent protests across Afghanistan against the burning of a Koran by a radical fundamentalist U.S. pastor, officials said.

Violence at earlier demon­strations claimed more than 20 lives. Ten people were killed and more than 80 wopnded in Kandahar on Saturday. Seven foreign UN staff and five Afghan protesters were killed on Friday after demonstrators overran an office in normally peaceful Mazar-i-Sharif city in the north.

On Sunday, hundreds of people had marched through Kandahar, towards another UN office, on the second day of protests in the city after U.S. preacher Terry Jones had super­vised the burning of a C9PY of the Koran in front of about 50 people at a church in Florida on March20.

"The information I have is that two policemen have been killed and 20 others, including police, protesters and citizens, have been wounded," Ahmad Wali Karzai, head of the Kandahar provincial council, told Reuters.

Another 14 people, including two children, were wounded when protesters seized a gas canister taken from a shop and set it on fire, causing an explo­sion, Zalmay A yo ubi, the spokes­man for the Kandahar provincial governor said.

Ther('. were also peaceful dem­onstrations in Kabul, western Herat city, Jalalabad city in the east and northern Tabar prov­ince, and it had appeared that Sunday's march in Kandahar would also finish without incident.

• u·NREST IN YEMEN: Response to civil disobedience call

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comment f?EBRUARY 24, 2011 • THE LONDON FR,EE PRESS•'

Tories roll out pork barrel to seniors H onest to GOO, this actually happened

Wednesday: The federal government announced it would give $23,000 to a group of seniors in Cayuga, Ont., so they could put on some skits about - wait for it-what it's like to beasenior. ·

That's right. We have a monster-sized deficit but there's money in the federal kitty for seniors to act like, well, seniors.

DnldMin

PARLIAMENTARY BUREAU CHIEF

I bet.you're not surprised the seniors in Cayuga just happen_ to be in a riding where the sitting MP is a Conservative.

Oh, b~ it gets better. That MP is Imine Fmley, the h;fresources minister whose department just hap ns to be in charge of what's called the

New Horizons for In Ed on tills Seniors Program. nus

· program eats up about mont .. a grot.t $15 million a year and

got ~5 000 to · is d~ed out in chunks

' · to si!Jliors groups teac seniors . across the country tO' __ L TwtHer $25,000 at a time.

Uf8 In 2009, newly and Facebook. elected Conservative 1 .-6 onth I MP Alice WOng was ~l m n able to help a seniors

Edmonton another "up in her riding

t $24'500 . chmond, B.C., ••• go ' g some of this easy for tal chi and money. Seniors in

• Richmond used ballroom danc111g. $IS.SOOin federal

tunps for a movie night. I

In Denzil, Sask., Where the MP is also a Conservative, seniors got $25,000 to form an exercise group.

In Beauval, Sask., where in 2009 there were all of 86 people over the age of 60 and where, once again, the MP is a Conservative, the feds handed out $20,000 so those seniors could learn dancing, beadworlc and storytelling.

I remember Kevin Gaudet of the Canadian Thxj)ayers Federation telling me, when I called his attention to these government grants, •If someone wants art lessons or multimedia lessons or native dancing or beadmaking lessons. they can pay for it themselves." You would think.

And yet, there was the government last year giving $19,000 to seniors in-you guessed it­another Conservative MP's riding so they could paint, draw, and take photos.

In Edmonton this month, a group got $25,000 to teach seniors to use Twitter and Facebook. last month in Edmonton, another seniors group got $24,500 for ta.i chi and ballroom dancing.

Sen. Marjory LeBreton once took me to task for questioning this kind of spending when she was Minister of State for Seniors. She points out the money does not, for one thing, all go to ridings where Conservatives are the MPs. True enough, but it sure seems like it.

And some of tbil> money, LeBreton pointed · out, is spent on things like seniors transportation or for programs for those with dementia or to raise awareness about elder abuse~ items that might be a little more defensible from a s~nding standpoint.

In fact, Fmley herself gave $19,000 in ~eral funds earlier this month to a group in her riding who were helping Alzheimer's patients plan and build a community garden.

But thousands of tax dollars for skits? For movie nights? For an exercise group? To teach grampa how to use Twitter?

I'm all for governments supporting our senior citizens. Who isn't?

But I'll bet seniors themselves would rather see government resources being used to improve Canada's health-care system, to fix cracks in our pension system, or to boost Old Age Security pay­ments, the things that really make a difference for Canada's 5o-plus crowd.

FEBRUARY 23, 2011. • THE LONDON FREE PRESS

Promises by Premier Pinocchio H ow ironic that the Legislature returned

from its two-month break right after FamilyDay. .

The newly minted holiday was an election .··I bribe dropped just as the election buses were · gearing up for the 2007 election.

Now the third Monday in February has become the end of the Christmas vacation for politicianS.

Never mind that he has slammed people who . didn't want them as the "worst kind ofNIMBYs," suddenlyJ the "science wasn' t there."

He's borrowing $1 billion to give you a hydro rebate, and ali-day kindergarten is another $!-billion election bribe.

Meanwhile, in rural Ontario, the Green Energy Act is creating a massive headache for the liberals. Not only is it pushing up the price of electricity, it's foisting hundreds of ugly, dis­ruptive wind turbines on small communities, destroying other commercial ventures such as tourism with their hulking, oppressive presence. 1

Who wants to stay at a bed-and-breakfast in the middle of a wind farm? J

His government is forcing the closure of ' schools in rural areas, hospital beds are shutting down and some parts of the province are turning into ghost communities thanks to McGuinty and his trendy, urban caucus.

Out of sight, out of mind ' That brings u~ to PC Leader Tim Hudak. He's doing well in the polls, but you sense it's

only because right now people are checldng the "anyone-but-McGuinty" box.

As the campaign develops and people start to focus on personalities and platforms, he'll go under the voter microscope. Hudak's challenge will be defining himself as not just different from McGuinty, but different in a good way.

Ifthe anti-establishment, anti-status-quo sen­timents that swept the province in the municipal election slop into provincial politics, Hudak's task will be greater: He needs to show he's not Sa!ne-old, same-old, but still has the gravitas to be premier.

The Tory platform will be intensely parsed for its workability. It can't be a platform of slogans and bumper stickers. Hudak needs to demon­strate he has what it takes to run the province.

There's a cruel irony in politics. liberals can fib their way to power, smiTe and get re-elected

Hudak doesn't have that luxury. Tory voters are more pragmatic. You can't bribe them with holidays. They stayed home in droves in 2007 because they didn't like faith-based school funding.

Hudak needs to shore up his traditional core of support, while growing his vote - without growing his nose.

(......Or.?

NFRBB PRBSS MARCH 11,2011 •THE LONDO .

Harper • PUBLIC ACCOUNTABILITY

Ouimet at odds with report

BRYN WEESE QMI Agency Parliamentary Bureau

OTTAWA - Christiane Ouimet says she is not the monster the media and recent auditor general's report make her out to be.

What's more, the government bought her out with a non-negoti­able $500,000 payout to get her to leave.

The former public sector integ­rity commissioner testifiep before Parliament's public accounts com­mittee Thursday, and said there are "serious flaws" in Auditor Sheila Fraser's recent report

Ouimet called the "profoundly flawed" report an attack on her reputation. "I completely disagree with the statements of the auditor general;' she said.

She told the MPs she did her job the best she could, and didn't let whistleblowers down.

Instead, the whistleblower pro­tection legislation is complex, and doesn't provide much wiggle room for the integrity commissioner to even find wrongdoing. "In the end, no cases met the test;' she said.

As for her staff, she swears she was no bully, but that a "handful" of"dis­contented" staff were unhappy with Ouimet's 2007 appointment and made a point of being unhelpful.

Ouimet, who resigned abruptly 1

in October four years before her term was set to expire, was found to have amassed binders of personal information on a former staffer she didn't like. Ouimet was also accused of berating her staff in the recent auditor general's report.

shrugs off new ruling

DAVID AKIN QMI Agency Parliamentary Bureau

OTTAWA - Prime Minister Ste­phen Harper appeared Thursday to brush off a historic ruling by the Speaker of the House of Commons that could clear the way for his government to be the first in Can­adian history found in contempt of Parliament.

Speaker Peter Milliken delivered rulings on two s.eparate issues Wed­nesday in which he agreed with opposition MPs who have argued the government as a whole and International Development Minis­ter Bev Oda specifically are in con­tempt ofParUament.

Milliken found that the govern­ment broke Parliament's rules when it failed to provide information requested by MPs on the costs of its crime legislation.

"We have debates in Parliament all the time," Harper said in Toronto. "You win some, you lose some. We thought we had provided enough information. We'll go back and see what additional information we can provide."

Harper said Wednesday's rul­ings are all part of the democratic system.

"But our focus can't be on parlia­mentary procedure. Our focus has to be on the big interests of Can­adians and in my judgment, that is the economy," Harper said.

Harper's political opponents say be lacks respect for Parliament.

"This is not a hockey game. This is democracy," Liberal Leader ~chael fgnatieff said. "The cynicism of the prime minister is an insult to the Canadian people. What matters here is we get a prime minister that actually respects the democratic rules of the game.•

NDP Leader Jack Layton agreed. "(This) ·is a disdainful approach,"

Layton said. "I really do think (Harp­er's) lost the ability to distinguish right from wrong if he just is going to say, 'Well, you win some, you lose some.' What he should be is some­what contrite."

' • CONTEMPT PROCESS

MIKE CASSESE Reuters

I Prime Minister Stephen Harper visited Toronto Thursday.

What it means for

t _ ~~~~~~~~~~!ases FAMILIES

•• ·. :':'~ t _.

Otfler excise taxes /duties $10.9

Other revenues $27.5

''Our plan does not say "yes" to every demand; it does not contain massive

new spending-because that's not leadership. Leadership is about ' '

finding a balance between needs.

'F:::;;:~:;~ll-12 Breaking down the·

WED~ESDAY, MARCH 23, 2011 !

arrangements $16.9

Cities and communities

$2.0

Other $1.6

TH.E_ LONDON FREE PRESS

New doctors and nurses can get some of their student loans 'forgiven' if they work In rural and remote parts of Canada

Federal transfer support for health and other social programs

·$38.7

Alternative payments for standing programs

-$3.1

/., VOLUNTEER L!.!!J FIREFIGHTERS New $3,000 tax credit

SMALL . lft BUSINESSES

figures may not add up due to rounding Tax credit of up to $1,000 for each new employee

-=DEB=T_~m~ ,.n~p ------,.,...---- hired, to offset hike in '1"1\nlll El premiums ·

per cent of GOP 70

60

50

40 ..

30 .

20

10

'95-'96 '00-'01 1111 · 1~1

'05-'06 '10-'11 '15-'16

THE BIG

LOSER . ·Ll, CHARITI.ES

Changes in flow-through sha~:es rules may result in fewer high dollar donations being made

$400M Reintroducing ecoEnergy tax credit for homeowners to invest in energy efficiency

$252M · ·Clean energy regulatory ,.,..tinn"'"'

$228M For repairs to bridges in Montreal

$150M T-o build a highway from lnuvik, N.W.T. to Tuktoyaktuk on the Arctic Ocean

$100M . To improve Canada's food inspection system

·ssoM Industrial research assistance program to help colleges and businesses collaborate

$72M WBM• To repair storm-damaged small craft harbours liP""!'--.

$&5M ._r • More money for CBC to_ develop "high quality" programming

$50M For Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics in Waterloo, Ont.

$50M Agricultural Innovation fund

$34M Enhance federal student loans program

$27M lmproving.Canada's weather services

$25M . For Harbourfront Centre in Toronto

projected Soorce: Government of Canada SUSAN BAJSFORD/QMIAGENCY

Did you know these are all April29,2on '

official Political Parties in Canada? Andrew Hibbert Animal Alliance Environment Voters Party of Canada

The Canadian government's envi­ronmental policies are killing us, and they will never improve until environ­mentalists reward politicians who protect the environment and animals, and punish those who don't .

Bloc Quebecois

A Quebec Separatist Party that promotes the separation of Quebec from Canada.

Canadian Action Party

A pro-Canadian party dedicated to the principle that Canada can best serve its citizens and the world by re­claiming and maintaining its political and economic sovereignty as an inde­pendent country.

Christian Heritage Party of Canada

The CHP is the only federal party that endorses the Judea-Christian principles enshrined in the Canadian Constitution: the supremacy of God' -capital 'G': the God of the Bible­and the rule of law.'

Communist Party of Canada

Since 1921, the Communist Party of Canada has been in the forefront of working class and progressive struggles, fighting for peace, jobs, democracy, sovereignty, and interna­tionalism.

Conservative Party of Canada

Priorities for the 201 1 election include Creating jobs, Supporting families, Eliminating the deficit, Making our streets safe, Standing on guard for Canada.

First Peoples National Party of Canada

The primary goal is bring the culture of 'Inclusion' to parliament and to invite the Government of Canada and Canadians to recognize the fundamental flaw in our governing structures, systems and our shared histories.

Green Party of Canada

We see a future Canada with vibrant, well-educated and motivated citizens, living in healthy communi­ties, eating safe and healthy food, and enjoying a life-giving, healthy natural world.

Uberal Party of Canada

Will invest in child care, help with the costs of college or university, strengthen health care, build on the Canada Pension Plan, help with the costs of a more energy-efficient home.

Ubertarian Party of Canada

Instead of government domi­nating the lives of Canadians through taxes and regulations, the Libertarian Party of Canada believes that Canadians should be free to run their own lives.

Marijuana Party

The Marijuana Party was created to influence our governments to Stop Criminalizing Cannabis!

Marxist-Leninist Party of Canada

Political renewal is the key that unlocks the door to the future where conscious participation in political affairs by every individual is consid­ered not only normal but a primary duty of responsible citizenship.

t • New Democratic Party

Strengthen Pensions , Improve Family Benefits, Improve access to Child Care and Post -Secondary Education, Lower Costp on Energy Bills and Renovations, Re-instate Federal Minimum Wage.

Pirate Party of Canada

The Pirate Party of Canada strives to reform Canadian infor­mation laws to meet the needs of the new century.

Progressive Canadian Party

A philosophy based on the assumption that the world is an imperfect place and that humanity is imperfect as well. For that reason our understanding of the world is imperfect and we are constantly required to a changing world

Rhinoceros Party

When the Rh.inoceros Party takes power, they will undertake the reform of world politics to complete the project "My country, my p lanet"

United Party of Canada

The United Party of Canada has­come into existence to bring all the regions and all the people of Canada together to form a union that will bring the interests and opinions of all Canadians to the forefront of Canadian politics.

Western Block Party

A Western Separatist Party that is resolved to seek to achieve a greater and more perfect unity in a nation of their own.

• PARUAMENT

Preston digs in to work

ERIC BUNNELl Times-Journal

The MP whose commit­tee is deciding this week whether the Harper .govern­ment is in contempt of Par­li~ent is·shy of saying he is presiding over history in the malc;ing. -

"Maybe; Elgin Middlesex London Tory MP Joe Preston said before be left for Ottawa to chair a three-day meet­ing this week of the House of Commons' procedure and House affairs committee.

"But I've learned after close to seven years (in Par­liament), be careful what you wish for.~ the characteristic­ally affable politican said as be cut a constituency week short. .

"Sometimes, it's just world"

Preston's committee began hearings· Wednesday on two questions of privilege referred by House of Com­mons Speaker Peter Millik~n.

They arise from com­plaints by liberal MPs Scott Brison and John McKay that the Conservative gov­ernment and International Cooperation Minister Bev Oda breached their rights as parliamentarians.

Milliken's referral, itself, was history-making after he issued unprecedented rul­ings that the MPs' questions of privilege warranted com­mittee investigation.

While not downplaying the importance of the two com­plaints, Preston said ques­tions of privilege are not new to his committee.

And while he said be can't,

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as an impartial chairman, share his «?Pinion on the two, "I'll share in generalities ...

"They do tend to oe far more prevalent in minority governments than they do in majority governments, so I take some of them with a grain ofsalt ·

"But everything's import­ant in Parliament that a Speaker would send to a committee:"

Preston said he doesn't believe the government will fall as a result of his Oppos­ition-stacked committee's findings, expected Friday.

And be said he hopes not. "We're sitting here not

wanting an election, moving forward, trying to work on the econoqty. But if the other three (parties) decide they want something different, then it just takes the three of them to say that"

Preston's committee is expected to report its find­ings March 21 to Parliament, after which Opposition MPs could join to vote the govern­ment and Oda ln contempt, leading to an election.

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Questions of privilege not new to committee