The MUC police are to be fully commended for dealing with this quickly, effectively, professionally as well. Their own good deeds here were, are visible to all now too. We also cannot expect the police to do always a perfect job here too, for realistically no one is perfect now. The sole guitly culprits are not the police but the the killer and  http://www.vampirefreaks.com/ 

Evangelical alliance Christian Stephen Harper should note that one of Jesus own first acts was to drive out with a whip the money changers out of the temple... and Harper needs still to do the same thing effectively in his government  "Corruption in the federal sponsorship program was one of the key issues that drove the former Liberal government from power earlier this year.    it would be a terrible irony if the new federal Accountability Act, introduced by Prime Minister Stephen Harper and the Conservatives to ensure that a scandal like Adscam never blighted the nation again, ended up making things worse.  And yet that is the disturbing conclusion of independent watchdogs and non-partisan experts, including the office of the federal information commissioner and the open-government citizen advocacy group, Democracy Watch.   Alan Leadbeater warned that not only would the Accountability Act --  He said the law as proposed would "reduce the amount of information available to the public, weaken the oversight role of the Information Commissioner, and increase government's ability to cover up wrongdoing and shield itself from embarrassment."  Leadbeater's boss, Information Commissioner John Reid, whose term is up at the end of the month, has previously described the bill as "retrograde and dangerous." Democracy Watch also charges the legislation has serious flaws and major omissions. It warns it will not, as promised, curtail government secrecy or stop the secret lobbying of government.  Nor will it restrict the PM's power to make patronage appointments, ensure truth in the government budgeting process or close existing loopholes in ethics rules. Critics also charge the bill will actually weaken one of the most important pieces of legislation when it comes to holding the federal government accountable for its actions. That is the federal Access to Information Act, the law parliamentary journalists used to uncover the first details of sponsorship abuses, among other scandals Under the new legislation, Leadbeater said, many of the documents the media were able to obtain would have been sealed for years, possibly forever As Sun national affairs columnist Greg Weston wrote last week following Leadbeater's testimony, the proposed Accountability Act in its present form "wouldn't stop another Adscam from happening -- Canadians just wouldn't know about it." That is unacceptable. Harper insists passage of the Accountability Act will deliver on the Conservative promise to make government accountable in the wake of Adscam, but it's clear that in its present form it will not. "  

 "what the government giveth with one hand, it taketh away with the other.''  " Ottawa losing taste for transparency Harper Conservatives backtracking on promise to increase government accountability DON BUTLER    (Sep 23, 2006)   . In the wake of the sponsorship scandal, transparency in government was a hot-button issue. The Gomery commission report had resoundingly endorsed the provisions of the Open Government Act, Information Commissioner John Reid's proposed modernization of the embattled 1983 Access to Information Act.  Most important, Stephen Harper's incoming Conservative government had solemnly pledged to include Reid's reforms in its Accountability Act, the centrepiece of its legislative agenda.

But something went horribly wrong on the road to transparency nirvana. As Reid lamented in a frank speech in Edmonton in June, "somehow, while we were feeling pretty good about the future of accountability through transparency, it all seems to have fallen apart.  "Or maybe it was simply hijacked by bureaucrats who saw their culture of secrecy seriously threatened for the first time in decades.''  The first warning sign came in April, when the government introduced the Accountability Act. Most of Reid's proposals were missing, shunted off to a House of Commons committee for further study.  The changes the government did suggest to the access law were so alarming that Reid issued a scathing special report to Parliament denouncing them. No previous government, the distressed commissioner complained, "has put forward a more retrograde and dangerous set of proposals.''  At the same time, the government issued a discussion paper that raised objections to virtually every change Reid had proposed. In an Orwellian twist, the government titled the paper Strengthening the Access to Information Act.  In fact, says Ann Rees, a journalism instructor at Kwantlen University College in British Columbia, "if the proposals the Conservatives have made go ahead, it will be much, much worse in Canada than it has been.''

In recent years, governments have delegated a wide range of public functions to private agencies not covered by the Access to Information Act. These include the Canadian Blood Service, airport authorities, operators of toll highways, companies contracted to run prisons and NAV Canada, which handles air traffic control at airports. The problem will only accelerate as private companies play a larger role in health care delivery.. A further impediment to transparency is information sharing between countries by police and security agencies, a practice that has accelerated since the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States. A related problem is that Canada's antiterrorism law permits the attorney general to prevent the release of any information deemed to pose a threat to national security. "Security trumps everything, including public health and safety,'' says Rees.  In Britain, the Blair government is backtracking on commitments it made in its freedom of information law that just went into force last year.  Access to information is about access to power. "Politicians and bureaucrats are not going to give up power easily,'' he says. "Given the opportunity, they will try to reclaim it.''

 

In his special report to Parliament in April, Reid declared: "There is no more eloquent testimony to the power of the forces of secrecy in government than the radical change they have wrought, in a few short weeks, to the prime minister's election promises for access reform.''  Though the Accountability Act brought 19 new Crown corporations, officers of Parliament and foundations under the access act, it effectively negated that by adding 10 new exemptions -- there were previously only 13 -- and two outright exclusions.  As Reid has described it, "what the government giveth with one hand, it taketh away with the other.'' Most of the new exemptions are mandatory and without time limit. Records arising from reports of government wrongdoing, for example, may be kept secret forever.  The changes, Reid warns, "will reduce the amount of information available to the public, weaken the oversight role of the information commissioner, and increase government's ability to cover up wrongdoing, shield itself from embarrassment and control the flow of information to Canadians.''

Equally alarming was the government's decision to refer the bulk of the reforms proposed by Reid to the Commons committee on access to information, privacy and ethics for further study. Among them are Reid's proposals to include a public interest override and an injury test in the access law.  The injury test, which Reid says has caused "enormous panic'' within the bureaucracy, would force departments to justify exemptions on the basis of the harm that disclosure would cause. The public interest override would give the information commissioner the power to overturn decisions to deny access when release is clearly in the public interest.

Together, he says, the two provisions would send a powerful signal that the access act is intended to promote openness, not sanction secrecy.  But the government's discussion paper says "concerns have been raised'' about these proposals. Among other things, it argues that they could affect other governments' willingness to share information with Canada, undermine law enforcement efforts and impede the full and frank flow of ideas among public officials.

Also contentious is Reid's proposal to impose a "duty to document'' on public servants. In his Edmonton speech, the information commissioner said an oral culture has developed within the federal government "designed to avoid the rigours of independent audit, access to information, judicial inquiry and Parliamentary scrutiny. This 'cancer' is destroying the health of the access law and the public's ability to hold governments to account.'' Dealing with this is his top priority, Reid says, because "you can't have a good access to information regime without having access to documents.''

While the government agrees in principle, it questions whether a statutory duty to document is required. ..  the Harper government's apparent about-face has cast in doubt what once appeared to be a sure win for access advocates.

Meanwhile, governments continue to hone and refine their systems for flagging "sensitive'' access requests from groups such as the media and opposition parties. The system, in place for many years now, route such requests to ministers' offices -- and often the prime minister's office -- where communications staff can prepare "media lines'' to counteract any fallout from the release of documents. This results in "huge delays'' in the release of information requested under access laws, says Rees, a former Victoria Times Colonist reporter who documented the practice while on an Atkinson Fellowship in 2003.  It also puts pressure on departmental access to information officers to withhold documents whose release is discretionary. "If you know that the office of the prime minister is looking over your shoulder,'' says Rees, "it might make you err on the side of caution.'' Access requests continue to grow by about two per cent a year, exceeding 25,000 last year. The number of complaints about delays in processing requests has fallen sharply since the late 1990s, though they have started to edge up again.  "We rely too much on the information commissioner to act as the watchdog on this,''  Don Butler is a reporter with the Ottawa Citizen. This article is part of a package of stories from the Canadian Newspaper Association on Canada's freedom-of-information laws."

The new conservatives have begged to be given a chance to govern so we can next all see how they lie too..

 

"Jason Kenney Must Resign After Admitting he Mislead House: Owen   September 25, 2006 Liberal Party of Canada (press release), Canada  " OTTAWA – Jason Kenney has publicly admitted he misled the House of Commons regarding Access to Information requests and must resign his position as Parliamentary Secretary to Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Liberal Critic for Democratic Reform Stephen Owen says.

 

Furthermore, Mr. Owen added, Mr. Kenney’s apology doesn’t resolve the issue of the Prime Minister’s staff breaking the law by receiving the name of a journalist who filed a confidential ATI request.

 

“Mr. Kenney has admitted his guilt in misinterpreting statements made by public servants. This is grounds for his dismissal,” said Mr. Owen. 

 

“However, it seems unlikely that the Prime Minister will step in, given that he has taken absolutely no disciplinary action against members of his staff – including his Director of Communications – who received illegal information and failed to report it for six months. It is therefore incumbent on Mr. Kenney to do the right thing and step down.”

 

Conservative MP Jason Kenney publicly apologized today for repeatedly misleading the House of Commons during Question Period last week. Mr. Kenney claimed that, according to a memo, circulating the names of ATI requesters was a common practice under the former Liberal government. He admitted today that, in fact, the memo said no such thing. The memo spoke of the common practice of circulating minutes from communications meetings on pandemic preparedness strategies, without naming the person who filed the request.

 

Mr. Kenney made these misleading statements after it was revealed last week that Prime Minister Harper’s staff received the confidential name of a reporter who filed an access to information request. This is a direct violation of the Privacy Act, and has resulted in an investigation by the Privacy Commissioner.

 

“Prime Minister Harper won’t even confront this issue in Question Period. Despite repeated demands for answers that will explain his conduct in this affair, Mr. Harper dodges the matter by turning it over to his Treasury Board President,” said Mr. Owen.

 

“Prime Minister Harper must answer to Canadians and finally explain why he thinks his government, including political officials in his own office, is above the law,” he said."

 

Jason Kenney Hypocritically is the manager, architect of Accountability.. and we see the lying direction he takes

 

"  OTTAWA, Sept. 25 /CNW Telbec/ - Prime Minister Stephen Harper must honour election promises to roll back government secrecy or his program to improve accountability will be meaningless, Anne Kothawala, president and CEO of the Canadian Newspaper Association (CNA), said today.     In a speech to an Access to Information conference on the first day of Right to Know Week, Ms. Kothawala challenged Mr. Harper to lead by example and make transparency part of the legacy of his term in office.  The Conservatives were elected last January on a platform including pledges to increase transparency to discourage government waste and wrongdoing by implementing long-awaited reforms of the 23-year-old Access to Information Act. Since the election, the government has backed away from all but one of the measures promised.   The Federal Accountability Act, the government's flagship legislation, is currently before the Senate. However, Ms. Kothawala reminded the prime minister there can be no accountability without transparency.    "This is an issue that goes right to the heart of accountability," she said. "The Conservative government came to power with a plan to reverse the erosion of public trust in the political system. If the promise of transparency cannot be kept, what does that say about the accountability proposition?"   Ms. Kothawala said she didn't believe election promises were made in bad faith. However it is clear something has changed the government's mind about transparency.   The CNA president said it is not too late for the prime minister to prove her wrong by clarifying and reconfirming his commitment to strengthen the Access to Information Act.   Mr. Harper, she said, could also instruct the Clerk of the Privy Council to take all necessary steps to ensure compliance and respect within the public service of existing access to information law, drop legal battles with the Information Commissioner that were started by former Prime Minister Jean Chrétien, halt the persecution of reporter Juliet O'Neill and rewrite the Security of Information Act so it no longer criminalizes journalists who acquire documents the government says is secret." Federal Accountability Doomed if Transparency Pledges not Honoured: Newspaper Group 

Press Releases Liberal Party of Canada, Canada OTTAWA – Prime Minister Stephen Harper's flagrant use of Government of Canada websites to promote his Conservative party should be immediately investigated ...

Conservatives Violating Canada’s Constitutional System By Advertising Party Slogan on Government of Canada Website

September 25, 2006

OTTAWA – Prime Minister Stephen Harper's flagrant use of Government of Canada websites to promote his Conservative party should be immediately investigated to see whether Treasury Board guidelines are being broken, Liberal MP Mark Holland says.

 

“The Conservative Party of Canada website has as its slogan ‘Getting things done for all of us.’ The Prime Minister’s Government of Canada website also has as its slogan ‘Getting things done for all of us.’ In fact, this slogan is found on the main Government of Canada internet portal. It is inappropriate for the Conservative Party to be using government property to push their very partisan message,” said Mr. Holland.

 

Mr. Holland called on Treasury Board to investigate whether this practice is violating the rules, and if so, to immediately put a stop to it.

 

“We see this as a serious violation of Canada’s constitutional system. The Government of Canada serves the people, and no political party can lay claim to it, as the Conservatives are attempting to do with this slogan,” said Mr. Holland.

 

This latest misstep comes on the heels of this government’s attempt to politicize the public service by trying to force employees within the bureaucracy to use their other party slogan, “Canada’s New Government,” on departmental websites for public news releases and other material not linked to ministers.

 

Federal emeritus scientist Andrew Okulitch was even fired for his refusal to do so, and was only reinstated after the issue came to the attention of the media.

 

“Such a directive completely undermines the non-partisan nature of the public service, which also violates our constitutional system,” said Mr. Holland. “It flies in the face of the principles of accountability and transparency that underpin how Canadians are governed – something that this Prime Minister campaigned vigorously on during the last election.

 

“The Government of Canada belongs to the people, not the governing party. Prime Minister Harper must immediately remove his party slogans from Government of Canada websites or sit in possible violation of our Constitution.” 

 

and that includes any MP, Public or civil servant who uses any , note any of tax payer's money to promote their political parties as well.. including any of the local constituent's resources too. For all of the politicians, civil and public servants are solely here to serve all of the citizens of Canada equally and fairly... and no one else..

RCMP Zaccardelli’s apology is a perversity itself. Let the RCMP heads fully roll.    "Zaccardelli’s apology for Arar mistake overshadows gaping holes ... National Post, Canada -   Commissioner Giuliano Zaccardelli’s contrite apology Thursday for the RCMP’s central role in the nightmare odyssey of Maher Arar did nothing to clear up some key questions. "Nor was it a real acceptable appplogy . Ileft more unacceptable abuses to be dealt with too.. such as "When did the RCMP commissioner realize Arar was innocent? Did the head of the RCMP tell the federal government minister that an innocent Canadian was languishing in a grave-like cell in a country known for torture? If Zaccardelli never corrected the public record during Arar’s year-long incarceration, why didn’t he speak out after Arar’s release? Instead, Arar’s name was further smeared by inaccurate leaks to the media. Why didn’t Zaccardelli clear the air as soon as he had found out about the RCMP wrong doing? by his too long silence the  RCMP Commissioner Giuliano Zaccardelli  has   misled all of Canada not just the Canadian authorities relative to this matter.   There's no doubt about it that as indicated by the contents of the RCMP commissioner statements now as well by the Commissioner Giuliano Zaccardelli’s unacceptable apology, and   much too late, that  the RCMP and it's managements, mangers are, were, a lying, indifferent self serving, perverse organization  who clearly do not, did not serve firstly the good welfare of a citizen, citizens of Canada . The RCMP  unacceptable acts, poor attitude towards Arar's reflect the RCMP  unrepentant,  general unacceptable poor attitudes for years as well  towards all of Canada's citizens. And many RCMP heads should now still roll for this. We all do have a continual full right to demand, accept this now as citizens as well. The  bad RCMP  judgment calls by the most senior RCMP people, including Commissioner Giuliano Zaccardelli’s himself, the RCMP past bad management of the subordinates as well, are  is good enough reasons for many  RCMP firings, resignations, even the termination of their RCMP pension benefits as well. It is further BS that the clearly bad, incompetent, perverse RCMP itself would here have next show any mercy, compassions even in contrast to the citizens for they the RCMP have clearly shown they are not capable of it any more too. Let the RCMP heads fully roll. And any one who tries to defends the Bad RCMP their heads should roll now as well.. The exemplary Firing of all the bad RCMP also serves here everyone best interest. Now where here is the accountability the liars Stephen Harper, Jason Kenney had promised us all too? 

 

For too long time the Conservatives had said to us all elect us into office and  "We will show you what we can do", and now there is no doubt about it they have been elected into the government, ruling office, and they the too often bad, lying, hypocritical Conservatives are showing us  all what they can do and it is all mostly not acceptable.. instead of now they  the too often bad, lying, hypocritical Conservatives taking the job seriously, taking the opportunity of doing good for all the citizens of Canada, they the too often bad, lying, hypocritical Conservatives show us instead how they are just as bad as the other politicians before them, and that is really unacceptable for these big liars too...  and they the too often bad, lying, hypocritical Conservatives  try now instead to point out what the Liberals supposedly have done.

 

In the House of Commons yesterday, meanwhile, Human Resources Minister Diane Finley said  "Hypocrisy has a new spelling. It is L-i-b-e-r-a-l,"  The same very bad Minister who has yet to acknowledge one letter of mine  as an ordinary citizen to her too because they are the too often bad, lying, hypocritical Conservatives. For how she treats me is surely how she treats most of the ordinary citizens of Canada too.

 

And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? 4  Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye? 5   Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye. (Mat 7:3 KJV)  

QUEBEC CITY, OTTAWA -- Prime Minister Stephen Harper is backing away from a Conservative pledge to fix the fiscal imbalance between Ottawa and the provinces in the 2007 budget, suggesting for the first time that a solution might be delayed beyond next spring.The promise to solve the so-called fiscal imbalance between surplus-rich Ottawa and the provinces formed a major plank in the Tories' election campaign. It also played a significant role in winning the party 10 seats in Quebec, where the pledge resonated most strongly.

 

One step forward two step backwards loser PM is clearly playing politics and not rather providing a good government.  Not what I had expected rightfully from a professing evangelical Christian. The lying Prime Minister Stephen Harper has also  backed away from a Conservative pledge to fix Medicare waiting times.    After years of crying for more democracy   this loser, dictatorial,  Stephen Harper, not just the loser already, but the phoney manager, he has already lost big public support with his false cuts to the programs to the poor people, his attempts to steal what belongs to the natives, his war mongering in Afghanistan, etc is avoiding an now election it seems..To avoid a loss some believe that if Harper stays in power long enough, he will stack the courts with anti-gay and anti-abortion activists. If so, then legislation might not be necessary; the conservative groups could use court challenges to put forward their agenda. The Liberals had stacked the courts so why not? PM Stephen Harper is  pandering to the Christian right-wingers opposing same-sex marriage and is pandering to the conservative law-and-order types.  For  clearly the Conservative PM Stephen Harper is also avoiding conflicts, issues that can lower his political rating, conflicts with losing the support of cities and provinces, for we all know Harper's goal is reflection to a majority government, otherwise he will be likely fired..  "Prime Minister Stephen Harper has not ruled out the possibility of transferring one percentage point of the GST to the provinces to settle the fiscal imbalance.One of the Conservatives' election promises was to cut the 7% GST initially by one percentage point and then by another percentage point later in their mandate. That one point would mean roughly $1.3 billion per year for Quebec, for example. The fiscal imbalance between the federal and provincial governments has been a longstanding bone of contention. "It is necessary for us to reach a long-term arrangement with the provinces. I want to lower the GST to 5% at the federal level. But perhaps we can tie that objective to that of the tax imbalance. I do not have a firm position," Harper told Le Devoir." "The change in strategy could have much to do with Quebec Premier Jean Charest's political agenda, as well as federal Tory election prospects should the minority government in Ottawa fall. The Tories cannot risk being accused of imposing a new equalization formula on Quebec in the next budget. Nevertheless, Mr. Charest, who may wait until next spring to call a provincial election, needs a signal from Ottawa that an acceptable solution is within reach in order to fight a campaign that will largely focus on the benefits of federalism. " "  Prime Minister Stephen Harper heads a precarious minority government. Politics and Legislation are  only one of the many levers of power that a government controls. Many funding, appointment and policy decisions can be made without risking a vote that could force another losing election"But the Bloc Québécois said Mr. Harper is showing signs of backing off his promise to settle the fiscal imbalance. The Bloc has said it will defeat the Tories next spring if they fail to promise $3.9-billion in annual transfers for Quebec.     Meanwhile the Conservatives have also kept Vancouver's safe-injection site on temporary  life support as well as some of the liberal women programs until the Conservatives are re-elected.. and then they will be shut down. .  ."The Conservative government has failed to reply to women's groups that receive federal funding, letting funding usually supplied annually dry up. One group referred to the government response as hitting a "wall of silence." The National Association for Women and the Law has shut down already, and groups like Status of Women Canada and the Canadian Feminist Alliance for International Action are also being ignored." Not that tall of these groups should have received funding but the manner in which this issue is being handled underhandedly is unacceptable..

 

NDP's Layton Says Support for Harper Depends on Oil Tax Breaks    Sept. 26 (Bloomberg) -- Jack Layton, leader of Canada's New Democratic Party, is calling for a halt to new oil-sands projects and says his support for Prime Minister Stephen Harper's minority government is contingent on higher taxes for the industry.  The energy sector's growth in Canada is causing environmental problems and risks overheating Alberta's economy, Layton said. He cited a report by the Drayton Valley, Alberta- based Pembina Institute, a non-profit group that researches environmental policy, showing Canada's oil and gas industry gets C$1.4 billion ($1.25 billion) in tax breaks each year.  The tax breaks companies receive ``swell their already swollen bottom line,'' Layton, whose 29 seats in Parliament may mean the balance of power on key government votes, said in an interview yesterday. ``There should be a moratorium on the development of new projects in the oil sands and the subsidy should be stopped.''  Layton said he won't support the Conservative Party government's budget, due as early as February, if it doesn't scrap the tax breaks. Without the NDP, Harper would need the Liberal Party or separatist Bloc Quebecois to support the budget, because the government has less than half of Parliament's seats. A budget defeat would bring down the government.  ``We're prepared to challenge the government's legitimacy in the spring on that basis,'' Layton, 56, said.  Layton's call to reign in the energy industry comes amid concern that a boom in Alberta is damaging the environment and stretching the western province's economy. Former Alberta Premier Peter Lougheed said in an interview published this month in Policy Options, a public-policy journal, that new oil projects should be slowed.    Alberta, a province of 3 million people, is suffering from a shortage of homes, equipments and workers because oil companies are rushing to tap into what's believed to be the largest pool of reserves outside the Middle East. As much as C$125 billion may be spent on oil-sands projects in Alberta by 2015, the country's National Energy Board said in a June report.  The province is growing too fast, Layton said. ``We're going to fly in workers to overstrain an infrastructure and rip the millions-year-old soil off the top of huge areas of Alberta,'' he said, ``for foreign workers plus these massive oil companies.''

I agree with Jack Layton here...  The Alberta Conservative government is rotten to the core.. it does not do real work except falsely tries to put it's people in jail.