PREMIERS PARTY AND CARRY TOOTHPICK ; DOWNPLAY SERIOUS ISSUES AT NIAGRA-ON-THE-LAKE….Just Saying….

Posted on July 28, 2013 by CanucksBanter

July 28, 2013

By Andrew Phillip Chernoff

Me, myself and I had a really good time debating the point and consequence of the Council of the Federation summer meeting from July 24-26, 2013 at Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario.

They agreed to have Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island host the 2014 Council of the Federation summer meeting.

So what else did they do?

The Premiers announced they are committed to a fair and inclusive society, taking positions on support for persons with disabilities, mental health, affordable and social housing, retirement income, bullying and cyber-bullying.

What the Premiers did not admit was while they had no problem talking about committing to a fair and inclusive society, the Premiers as a federation, as they did prior to the 2013 summer meeting, have done little to improve the lives of people with disabilities, mental health issues; little to improve affordable and social housing, retirement income.

Further, bullying and cyber-bullying will I believe continue to a persuasive issue, with little serious impact on the curtailing of the problem.

The Premiers did not provide any public outrage behind the Harper Conservative governments lack of positive leadership on the subject of a fair and inclusive society and how the federal governments legislation, platform and one-percent policies have contributed to the continued erosion of a fair and inclusive society in Canada.

The Council of the Federation announced that Canadians will realize real savings in healthcare through collaboration. Included in this is lowering the cost of pharmaceutical drugs. Don’t get too excited.

Unlike Canada other countries in the world establish fixed price limits that they will pay for prescription drugs. What this means, though, is that pharmaceutical companies raise their prices for prescription drugs sold in the U.S. and Canada to make up for charging lower prices throughout the rest of the world.

Savings on a couple dozen pharmaceutical drugs for Canadians is nothing but an embarrassment to an ever aging and longer living Canadian population, that built a country that the Premiers and the Prime Minister as the Pied Pipers of “the one-percent” are mortgaging and selling out.

The Premiers also talked about disaster mitigation, emergency preparedness and response, and rail safety. For years, the Premiers and the Prime Ministers of the governing party in power, have ignored environmental concerns; the aging infrastructure of cities, and all communities in Canada, allowing “the one-percent” to imperialise Canadian resources and products at any cost.

It didn’t matter whether the cost was our environment, the health and safety of our rail, roads, waterways; the resources had to be tapped, extracted, delivered by any means. Damned be the environment; health and safety of Canadians, or future generations of Canadians.

Once again, the Harper government provides little real leadership. He takes his position and does as he is told by “the one-percent”.

Premiers discussed their shared commitments to fiscal responsibility and to protecting and sustaining essential public services, including health care, education and social services. They also stressed the importance of modernizing federal, provincial and territorial financial arrangements to ensure that they reflect current realities and support economic development.

Once again….it’s all talk. Stephen Harper has made it clear, as the BC Liberal Christy Clark government has with the public sector: there will be no new money. You get what you get from the federal government. Trim down and reinvest the realized savings into your programs and services.Sound familiar Christy?

It is clear, that there will be no province in the country that will escape the continued austerity measures of the Stephen Harper led federal government. To think things will change is unrealistic when the Pied Pipers of “the one-percent” call the shots, making it possible for his unchecked arrogance and continued corruption of power.

Jobs and the economy are key priorities for Canada’s Premiers.

Shouldn’t they be? Why should that be a KEY priority. It should go without saying, that provincial economies and jobs are the main task of the Premiers as stewards of their provinces. Without sufficient jobs and business opportunities for the citizens in their particular provinces, their reign being the supreme leader of “the one-percent” in their province is precarious at best.

The trick of these Premiers is simple to say, harder to do. That is, to paraphrase a quote from the Bible: Render to unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s (Caesar in this case being “the one-percent”) and unto the citizens of the province those things that will allow the people to be sustained and prosper, so the government of the day will stay in power and Caesar will stay satisfied.

Of course, it will not work as well, because Harper wields a big stick and keeps his sheep in line. That is evident clearly with the Canada Job Grant. The Premiers were clear they do not like it. Harper could care less. He has made that clear.

In conclusion, it is clear that Harper has succeeded in muzzling the Premiers of this country, and has each one in his back pocket. He is the master conductor of the Pied Pipers of “the one-percent”.

Once again again, the 99 per-cent of Canadians lose.

Take care…..keep smiling…may the force be with you….work safe…drive safe….be good to each other….live long and prosper…..just saying…..

Signed,

The time for pension leadership is now: Georgetti calls on Premiers to move forward with an expanded Canada Pension Plan

Posted on July 24, 2013 by CanucksBanter

Wednesday, 24 July 2013 http://www.canadianlabour.ca

OTTAWA ― The Canadian Labour Congress is pleased Ontario has pledged to continue to press for an expanded Canada Pension Plan at this week’s Council of the Federation meetings.

Ken Georgetti, the President of the Canadian Labour Congress says he was pleased to learn that Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynn is keeping CPP expansion on the agenda for the premiers to discuss. The leadership of provincial governments have been a key factor building majority support in favour of increasing the amount that Canadians save through the CPP to avoid a future retirement income crisis.

“While the federal government drags its feet, it falls on the provinces to lead the way to ensure that Canadians have enough for a decent retirement after a lifetime of work. The future cost of caring for those who don’t have a workplace pension to help them save for retirement – housing, health care, community and social services – will be our children’s to bear, if government fails to act now,” says Georgetti.

According to Georgetti, it’s time for the Premiers to make it crystal clear to the federal government that the formula required to expand the CPP already exists and it’s time to get on with the work to make it a reality.

“The time for excuses is over. We’ve got 40 years of experience with voluntary pooled pension schemes, whether you call them RRSPs or PRPPs. The bottom line is they don’t get the job done. They are an inadequate and expensive savings vehicle for the vast majority of Canadians, and the federal government knows it. They just need to stop listening to financial industry lobbyists and the selective arguments of some selfish business interests.” he said.

A recent Harvard University study echoed the Canadian government’s own findings earlier this year that showed improving taxpayer subsidies (deductions for PRPP or RRSP contributions and Tax Free Savings Accounts) only benefit people who are already actively saving for retirement, whereas automatic contributions (like CPP premiums) greatly increase the savings of passive savers – the large majority of people who need a retirement plan like the CPP.

Georgetti says “The choice for today’s political leaders is stark – you can help business save a little more today by dragging your feet on retirement income security or you can take steps to prevent a retirement income crisis that will result in a generation of impoverished seniors whose care will come at a very high social and economic cost to the Canadian public and business alike.”

The Canadian Labour Congress, the national voice of the labour movement, represents 3.3 million Canadian workers. The CLC brings together Canada’s national and international unions along with the provincial and territorial federations of labour and 130 district labour councils. Web site: www.canadianlabour.ca Follow us on Twitter @CanadianLabour

Canadians want plan for future of health care: poll

Posted on July 24, 2013 by CanucksBanter

By Crawford Kilian
Published July 24, 2013 http://thetyee.ca

A poll released today indicates Canadians want Prime Minister Stephen Harper to call a meeting of first ministers to discuss the future of health care — and many are ready to change their vote if their present party doesn’t come up with a plan for that future.

The Nanos Research poll was carried out for the Canadian Health Coalition, an advocacy group. In a news release, the Health Coalition wrote:

Eight in ten Canadians either support (51.1%) or somewhat support (29.4%) Prime Minister Stephen Harper calling a First Ministers’ Meeting to secure a plan for the future of health care in Canada. Four in ten Canadians are either likely (19.1%) or very likely (22.2%) to vote for another federal party if the one they currently support does not present a plan for the future of health care.

Asked for their opinion on the effect of expanding private for-profit healthcare in Canada, 54% of Canadians think health care would be weakened while only 28% think it would be strengthened.

The survey results are being released as the Premiers gather in Niagara-on-the-Lake this week for a Council of the Federation Meeting. It is the last meeting they will have before the expiration of the National Health Accord in 2014.

… The federal government has signalled that it will not renew the National Health Accord. In December 2011, it announced plans to cut $36 billion from federal money transfers to provinces for health care after the Accord expires. It recently cancelled funding for the Health Council of Canada, a council created out of the Accord negotiations in 2004 to track progress and quality in health care.

Crawford Kilian is a contributing editor of The Tyee.

Foreign workers doubled as joblessness peaked: report

Posted on July 23, 2013 by CanucksBanter

Conference Board asks why Canada is still bringing in temporary foreign workers

Jul 23, 2013 http://www.cbc.ca

Despite an unemployment rate that spiked in 2009 and remains high, the number of temporary foreign workers in Canada has more than doubled over the last six years, according to the Conference Board of Canada.

In 2006, there were 150,000 temporary foreign workers employed in Canada. By December 2012, that number had more than doubled to 340,000.

The growth in the number of foreign workers continued throughout the 2009 recession, when the unemployment rate peaked at 8.6 per cent. In June of this year, unemployment stood at 7.1 per cent, though joblessness among young workers was stuck around 14.1 per cent.

The temporary foreign worker program has come under scrutiny in the last four months, since CBC reported that professional IT workers were being fired from their jobs at RBC so the employer could bring in temporary foreign workers.

The federal government amended the rules in late April, making it more difficult and more expensive for companies to turn to foreign workers to fill job vacancies in Canada. But the impact of those rule changes has yet to be seen, the Conference Board says.

Its report released Tuesday says that while Canadian youth were struggling to secure employment, especially that important first job after college or university, companies continued to bring in foreign workers in record numbers.

“This, justifiably, raises the question: if the unemployment rate remains relatively high and so many young and able Canadians are unable to find work, why are we still bringing in so many people under the TFW program?” the Conference Board asks.

There is no clear answer to that question, it concludes, pointing out that Alberta faced looming labour shortages in 2006. Employers in some parts of Alberta and Saskatchewan continue to have difficulty finding workers, despite the number of jobless in Canada.

A CBC report last month found the number of foreign workers in Canada had nearly tripled over the past 10 years.

The Conference Board blames a skills mismatch and the reluctance of Canadians to move long distances to find work for the inability of employers to attract Canadian workers to jobs. There also may be perception that foreign workers can be hired for less than their Canadian counterparts, the report said.

One of the key changes that Ottawa announced in April is a new fee that will be imposed on employers when they apply to the government for a labour market opinion (LMO). A positive labour market opinion must be obtained in order for employers to bring foreign workers to Canada. It takes a number of factors into consideration including what potential benefits hiring the foreign workers would have on the labour market and what efforts were made to hire Canadian workers for the positions.

The government also got rid of a rule that allowed employers to pay foreign workers up to 15 per cent less than the prevailing wage for a classification of job.

The Conference Board said it expects these changes to put “downward pressure” on the number of foreign workers in Canada — and lead to more employers seeking out domestic workers for jobs. However, it is too soon to tell if the measures will be effective in lowering the number of temporary workers in Canada while unemployment is high, the report said.

Who is on the Harper Government Enemies List?

Posted on July 19, 2013 by CanucksBanter

Friday, 19 July 2013 http://www.canadianlabour.ca

Canadian Labour Congress launches an online contest while it waits for the Harper Government to answer Access to Information Requests about “friend” and “enemy” stakeholder lists

OTTAWA ― The Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) is quite sure its name is among the organizations and individuals on the Harper government’s list of “enemies” provided to new Cabinet Ministers earlier this week. But to confirm it, the CLC has filed formal access to information requests to key government departments, asking them to produce the lists of stakeholders deemed friends and foes by ministerial staff at the request of the Prime Minister’s Office.

Knowing that the government will try to avoid transparency and that it could take months and probably numerous appeals before the information is released, the CLC plans to bide the time with a Facebook contest in which Canadians can guess who’s on the Harper Government Top 10 Enemies List.

“It comes as no surprise to us that this government builds files and keeps lists of people they regard as threats to their own agenda,” said CLC President Ken Georgetti. “What is surprising is the PMO going so far as to refer to groups that have different opinions or have different ideas about how to make life better for Canadians as ‘enemies’ and instruct Ministers of the Crown to shut them out,” he said. “It smacks of the darkest days of McCarthyism and is a un-Canadian view of the world.”

Georgetti says there is no doubt in his mind the CLC is among the government’s list of enemies: “Our efforts to expand the Canada Pension Plan and help people save more for retirement, to expose the reckless expansion of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program and the abuse of migrant workers, and to reverse radical cuts to Employment Insurance have us in the PMO’s crosshairs.”

The CLC’s contest can be found at www.facebook.com/Harpers-Most-Unwanted and will run until all of its access to information requests have been fully answered.

Andrew Phillip Chernoff

The Outer Limits To The Inner Depths

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