A police spokeswoman said the guns, purchased legally in Texas, were destined for Arab criminal organizations in Montreal. They included handguns, pistols and revolvers.
[. . . . ]
Hansard Dec 8/04 Question Period -- Air Transportation Security -- Canadian security based on luck -- Royal Canadian Mounted Police -- Whistleblower [Lack of] Protection
Mr. Peter MacKay (Central Nova, CPC): Mr. Speaker, a Senate report on national security and defence said today that Canadians depend mainly on luck when it comes to national security. The committee, like the Auditor General last spring, identifies inadequate background checks of airport employees and a lack of controls in restricted areas as major security problems. The Minister of Transport's “the dog ate my homework” attitude over the loss of more than 1,100 uniforms is alarming.
Will the minister now listen to his Senate colleagues and the Auditor General and immediately begin rigorous background checks on those with access to restricted areas, before his luck runs out?
[Translation]
Hon. Jean Lapierre (Minister of Transport, Lib.): Mr. Speaker, I have had a look, a brief look to be sure, at the Senate committee report. It is a very useful report. Over the years, various departments have drawn on it. When we have reviewed all the recommendations, I will ask my department to prepare a clause by clause answer to this report, because I take it very seriously.
My first meeting as Minister of Transport was with Senator Colin Kenny, because I believe his work is essential to the country's security.
Mr. Peter MacKay (Central Nova, CPC): Mr. Speaker, our Minister of Transport is a fashion expert. However, as he says, his airports are as leaky as sieves. There are not enough employees and they are poorly trained. Packages and goods go through without being checked. Entry into an airport is far too easy.
Will the minister address this interminable list of flaws?
Hon. Jean Lapierre (Minister of Transport, Lib.): Mr. Speaker, of course. Moreover, all recognized employees in these airports must pass a security test. The previous five years of their lives is investigated to ensure they have nothing questionable in their past and that passenger and airport security are not endangered.
As a result, the system is in place, but we will be going further, for we intend to make greater use of biometrics to recognize our employees. The technology that will be used is currently being tested in four airports in Canada. . . .
Royal Canadian Mounted Police
Mr. Bradley Trost (Saskatoon—Humboldt, CPC): Mr. Speaker, not long ago the Minister of Public Works and Government Services said, “We should be getting rid of the long gun registry. A billion dollars would have been better spent on the RCMP”.
My question is for the Minister of Finance. There are thousands of RCMP officers required to fill vacancies across Canada, particularly in Saskatchewan. Seventy-six per cent of Canadians want more police, not a billion dollar boondoggle registry.
Why has the Minister of Finance failed to find the resources to fill the RCMP vacancies across Canada and in Saskatchewan?
Hon. Anne McLellan (Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, Lib.): Mr. Speaker, we are training more RCMP officers. We are training them in fact in Regina, Saskatchewan to serve all across this country.
Just to give hon. members an idea of some of the commitments that we have made, the investments in Canada's national police force, recently we have invested an additional $112 million to fight organized crime, $100 million to update criminal record and fingerprint analysis technology, $42 million to address the criminal use of guns, $34 million to address the criminal exploitation of--[. . . . ]
Why do I not believe this? Is it another case of where the same information--previously announced?--is trotted out to answer new queries -- or am I too cynical? Everything I read indicates more money is needed for security -- but I suppose that would cut into the stash the Liberals are keeping at the ready for the next election pay outs for votes.
Whistleblower Protection
Mr. Joe Preston (Elgin—Middlesex—London, CPC): Mr. Speaker, yesterday the president of PSAC, the largest union of government employees, informed us that the Liberals failed to consult the union when it drafted and tabled the whistleblower legislation.
In failing to work with Canada's public servants, the Treasury Board minister has clearly chosen to alienate a key stakeholder. Ironically, it has been public servants who have come forward to reveal the government's most serious wrongdoings.
Will the minister finally admit that his bill is in fact designed not only to discourage whistleblowers, but also to cover up on his government's past wrongdoings? [Ed's emphasis]
Hon. Reg Alcock (President of the Treasury Board and Minister responsible for the Canadian Wheat Board, Lib.): Mr. Speaker, there were lengthy consultations on the creation of this bill. We believe it is an excellent response to the concerns identified by whistleblowers.
We looked very carefully at surveys and interviews that were done with people who had actually experienced it and we produced a very fine piece of legislation. If the committee would get on with approving it, we could actually implement it.
I wonder who were consulted if PSAC members were not?
[. . . . ] Several players have unveiled hefty expansions. Vancouver port recently announced $1.4-billion in upgrades to its container terminal facilities, aimed at tripling capacity by 2020. Canadian Pacific Railway says it's considering a $500-million investment to its rail infrastructure, though it cautions the final decision hinges on talks it's having with Ottawa.
Meanwhile, CN says it has rolled out a series of deals with rival CP that will allow the two companies to share track, thereby significantly increasing their capacity.
Another key piece of the puzzle is the Port of Prince Rupert, about 770 kilometres north of Vancouver. The facility has fallen into disuse in recent years, but many in the transportation industry see it as an important alternative.
Vancouver choked by trade with China -- Shippers divert cargo to Halifax, despite longer voyage and 35% cost increase -- "A spokeswoman for Jean Lapierre, the Minister of Transport, said he is aware of the problem but is limited in what he can do given the port is run by an independent, not-for-profit authority."
Why do I sense a new port facility in the offing -- now that our Prime Minister and others are soon off to China to develop their business networks?
Note the major companies and importers mentioned in the article.
VANCOUVER - The Port of Vancouver has become so congested with freight from China that importers -- including major retailers -- are bypassing the West Coast and docking in Halifax.
The journey from Asia takes at least twice as long but shippers and their customers are trying to avoid the traffic snarls on Vancouver's docks and rail lines that can tie up goods for up to two weeks.
"A lot of the major importers have been lobbying carriers to provide East Coast service," said Bernie Dumas, general manager of sales and marketing in Canada for China Shipping Co., one of the biggest global transport companies. [. . . . ]
How convenient that our government has encouraged so many Chinese to come to learn English in our language schools, even in the Maritimes; they will be ready for jobs because they will speak some Chinese dialect or Mandarin, along with English. Meanwhile, our language commissioner and the whole French language industry is pushing French instead of a bevy of the world's most useful languages. 'Honour' before 'utility', eh?
Bud Talkinghorn: The Great Wal-Mart of China
One of the business news reporters on TV announced that this year China's exports to Wal-Mart have increased by 20%. It is expected that next year will see another equal increase on this year's. I make a point of not buying from Wal-Mart, based on the principle that I can't support this big box store, that remits its profits back to the States, and kills every business that sells similar products in the malls and areas where they set up. The army that they hire are mainly paid the minimum wage. With a small employee discount, they probably buy most of their needs at Wal-Mart. Hence, their employment money doesn't even trickle down to the local merchants. Now we hear news items that purport almost all of Wal-Mart's products are made in China. And this latest news report of the 20% increase is merely the Chinese picking up the crumbs left. A CNN report showed how the few American / Canadian suppliers are being told to manufacture their products in China or forget about having their contracts extended. The price of goods will be artificially kept low because China is the ultimate sweat shop. Men and women work in appalling conditions for peasant wages. The prison population is pressed into labour for no wages. Meanwhile, thousands of retail workers across North America are dismissed. When their benefits run out, they too will need to find the lowest price for their needs. Hello Wal-Mart. It is the worst kind of tragic-irony. You are laid-off because of Wal-Mart -- but then need to buy from them. The final joke is that in some small towns, only Wal-Mart has your product, they having driven out any competition in that line. Wal-Mart went into the food business and some supermarkets in malls near it packed it up. That was with junk food being introduced. Just wait until Wal-Mart decides to go the 'full monty' on the food front. Can't you see the future where going shopping and going to Wal-Mart will be synonymous?
I would like to make a plug here for quality over lowest price. I now have to replace a relatively inexpensive item (under $20) which could have been made with hardware of a standard size but instead, for some reason, was not. Perhaps it was a poorly copied knock-off; it came from China and it is useless. By the time a plumber completed the installation, it was too late to return it to Canadian Tire, another large customer of China's manufactures. Next time, I shall read the fine print and I plan to buy North American manufacturing -- as long as I get long-lasting quality! Again, price is misleading. I "saved" about half the price from the last similar item I bought years ago; now I have to buy again. No economy there. NJC
Bud Talkinghorn: So you feel safe again--Let's watch the headlines
First, we have to learn of the 1,124 airport uniforms--or part of them--that have disappeared. Then there are the security badges that have also gone astray. They don't want to talk about the missing security information. The British have their own scandal. A Sky TV reporter wandered around Heathrow airport in London, entering one restricted area after another. Donning a red and yellow tarmac uniform he got right up to a crew loading a plane. He could have tossed a bomb into the luggage being loaded. He didn't even bother making elaborate plans to evade security. Think of the terrorists who are making elaborate plans. We have, according to the Auditor-General's report, numbers of people with criminal backgrounds or connections to organized crime, working in our airports and ports. When will we get serious about the terrorist threat? Probably not until the CN Tower is crashed down on CBC's headquarters--then their pro-Islamic drivel will take a sea change.
Speaking of the CBC, even as they pride themselves for having carried the missing uniforms / badges story, they dilute their message about the threat. Every once in awhile they drop the phrase, "Bush's so-called war on terrorism". "So-called"--where were these people when 28 Canadians died in the Towers? Islamic fanatics kill over 3,000 people in one morning; yet any response is ridiculed. That the CBC went over to the dark side has been evident for years, but to deride anyone who wants to stop the world-wide terrorism is indefensible. There, folks, is another Liberal billion dollar boondoggle. On Sunday Morning we have MacNeil and Solomon at their apogee. First, we have a defense for the woman who slaughtered her entire family. Ah, that old post partum blues. No similar defense of males who commit the same crimes is ever given such a sympathetic hearing. This apologia is followed by talk of the Montreal massacre of the 14 female students. I wait for the fact to be presented that Marc Lepine was known as Gamil Gharbi for the first 16 years of his life. However, to mention Gharbi's Algerian background would be politically incorrect. Far better to sustain the myth that he was just the average Canadian kid next door. I have always thought of Gharbi's as our first Muslim terrorism attack in Canada. The CBC and their leftie fellow travellers prefer to bash Joe male Canadian however. A small irony popped up later when Solomon profiled a Sufi, "Whirling Dervish" group. The leader was a Turkish Armenian Christian who had converted to Islam because it was the true seeker of peace and love. I guess he must have missed that little lesson in Islamic peace when in 1915 the Muslims murdered almost a million Armenian Christians -- a genocide which the Turks have never admitted to sponsoring. They are like the Japanese, who still say, "The Rape of Nanking" by Japanese troops? That never happened." Anyway, the CBC was very deferential to the Sufi movement. I was only surprised they didn't 'balance' that report with Appalachian Christians handling rattlesnakes, while praising Jesus.
Just as a point of interest, how many Canadians lost their lives in the World Trade Centre terrorism? In Canada, have you heard of any special ceremonies--any memorials--any candle-lit vigils--for those victims lately, if ever? Yet, we're still hearing of male violence toward women, based on an atrocity committed by Gamil Gharbi aka Marc Lepine, a warped young man brought up in a household fathered by a violent Muslim male. Isn't it time to remember all these victims, not just the ones who are useful to women who want to fight male violence against women by tarring all men as violent?
Also, I think of women who remain in relationships with men who demean them or are violent toward them and I wonder why, in an age and a society where women can achieve education, job satisfaction, and independence, some women get into situations and then remain to be battered. Why? That is one question I cannot fathom. Needless to say, it is not discussed in the media, at least to any extent. What are these girls learning in school and at home? It is time for women to demand respect, each one, and to remove themselves from the family, the relationship, the situations where they do not receive it.
Just some random thoughts -- News Junkie Canada
How terrorist propaganda kills
How terrorist propaganda kills Rachel Ehrenfeld, FrontPageMagazine.com, Dec. 10, 04. Rachel Ehrenfeld is author of Funding Evil: How Terrorism is Financed – And How to Stop It; the Director of the New York-based American Center for Democracy; and a member of the Committee on the Present Danger.
Tony Blair and the Europeans are focusing their attention on the creation of a Palestinian state as the magic formula for peace in the Middle East. At the same time, they are turning a blind eye to the growing propaganda and fundraising campaign on websites and TV stations in their own countries.
The Europeans’ behavior is not surprising. Their top foreign policy official, Javier Solana, the EU High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy, expressed a “deep sadness” over the death of Yasser Arafat, the failed Palestinian leader who initiated the culture of death and destruction. Solana further suggested that the best way to commemorate him is to follow in his footsteps. In fact, he outdid Arafat by negotiating with HAMAS, which the EU itself has designated as a terrorist organization.
The most active HAMAS front organization worldwide is the London-based Interpal, which publishes anti-American and anti-Israeli propaganda, and which in 2003 alone sent more than $20 million to different HAMAS organizations in the Palestinian territories. In addition to fundraising in England in Pounds Sterling, Interpal lists on its website four different bank accounts to which contributors can send money. All the accounts are with Nat West Bank, and the international scope of the organization is evident by dedicated dollar and euro accounts. [. . . . ]
Shocking article; do link.
Dodge enters bank debate -- Governor gives mergers not very subtle vote of support -- 'The evidence out there is that scale does matter,' he says -- This is not in the best interests of ordinary Canadians
What happens if one Bank controls 40% of the market and the computers have a problem? Consolidating the banks so they have enormous control of the economy is not a wise move. Let them buy all the institutions they want in the U.S or overseas where they have to actually compete. Merging banks here means there is less competition, not more. All their competitors together here (outside of the major banks) don't have a significant portion of the market.
Bank of Canada governor David Dodge is wading into the debate about letting Canada's chartered banks merge.
He's also calling for Canada to establish a single securities regulator, dismissing current attempts by the provinces to co-ordinate their operations more effectively.
[. . . . ] Instead, Dodge spent about 45 minutes questioning the efficiency of the country's banking system, warning that Canada risks falling behind the rest of the world.
He drew a round of applause following not-so-veiled comments endorsing the idea of bank mergers.
[. . . . ] "So the evidence of the world out there is that scale does matter, and it is important that we look at that issue of scale and scope here in Canada with a view to just how efficient is our system." [. . . . ]
Dodge Says Canada Needs to Fix Its `Wild West' Image
Whether it's organized crime, terrorists or white collar crime, the government has never taken any of them seriously. The investigators are understaffed and underfunded. The government got away with it for ten years and now the heat's on them. Otherwise Dodge would never utter these words in a million years. Now it's a matter of holding them accountable to actually follow through because they have a habit of saying one thing and eventually doing nothing.
Dec. 9 (Bloomberg) -- Bank of Canada Governor David Dodge said the notion that the country is a ``wild west'' of lax securities regulation is common among international investors, making it harder for Canadian companies to raise money abroad [. . . . ]
While the U.S. passed the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, requiring among other things that chief executive officers certify financial statements, Canada's provincial regulators have dickered over the formation of a national body to police securities violations. [. . . . ]
The Wild West in securities -- Hells's Connection?
A former executive of the securities custody firm co-owned by Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce is under RCMP investigation over his alleged involvement in a penny stock scam police allege is linked to the Hell's Angels biker gang.
Alnoor Jiwan, former manager of CIBC Mellon Global Securities Services Co.'s Vancouver office, is under investigation for allegedly taking bribes in 1999 to issue bogus stock certificates and pocketing ill-gotten gains in a so-called pump-and-dump scheme involving defunct telecom firm Pay Pop Inc.
Bill Majcher, head of the RCMP's Integrated Market Enforcement Team in Vancouver, said his office has recommended to Crown prosecutors that charges be laid in connection with the scam. He also said individuals behind the scam have ties to organized crime.
"We have found some definitive links between the entire Pay Pop scam and the Hell's Angels criminal organization," he said. [. . . . ]
In its civil complaint, the SEC alleged that Mr. Jiwan accepted bribes, consisting of Pay Pop shares, in exchange for having CIBC Mellon serve as the firm's transfer agent and issue stock certificates for 75 million shares that created the false impression the stock complied with U.S securities laws. [. . . . ]
The Afghan Miracle -- Why isn't this stunning U.S. success appreciated?
Most don't want to report the good news.
Charles KrauthammerDec. 10, 04
"Miracle begets yawn" has been the American reaction to the inauguration of Hamid Karzai as president of Afghanistan. Before our astonishing success in Afghanistan goes completely down the memory hole, let's recall some very recent history.
For almost a decade before Sept. 11, we did absolutely nothing about Afghanistan. A few cruise missiles hurled into empty tents, followed by expressions of satisfaction about the "message" we had sent. It was, in fact, a message of utter passivity and unseriousness.
Then comes our Pearl Harbor, and the sleeping giant awakens. Within 100 days, al Qaeda is routed and the Taliban overthrown. Then the first election in Afghanistan's history. Now the inauguration of a deeply respected democrat who, upon being sworn in as the legitimate president of his country, thanks America for its liberation.
This in Afghanistan, which only three years ago was not just hostile but untouchable. What do liberals have to say about this singular achievement by the Bush administration? That Afghanistan is growing poppies.
Good grief. This is news? "Afghanistan grows poppies" is the sun rising in the east. "Afghanistan inaugurates democratically elected president" is the sun rising in the west. Afghanistan has always grown poppies. What is President Bush supposed to do? Send 100,000 GIs to eradicate the crop and incite a popular rebellion? [. . . . ]
Treatment of Yukos blow to investment -- Chretien speaks out: 'Russia is a precarious place to do business' -- mentions "corruption"
The Russian government's harsh treatment of Yukos Oil Co. stands to deliver a major blow to foreign investment in that country, says former prime minister Jean Chretien.
"Yukos is now a large and daily warning to the rest of the world that Russia is a precarious place to do business, where the rule of law and property rights of individual investors, both domestic and international, are summarily dismissed, if they are even considered at all," Mr. Chretien told a conference in Almaty, Kazakhstan, on Wednesday.
Following the imprisonment of Yukos chief executive Mikhail Khodorkovsky last October, the Russian government accused the company of not paying appropriate taxes over four years, to the tune of more than US$25-billion, including interest and penalties. Critics around the world have called the assessments grossly excessive.
While his company teeters on the brink of bankruptcy, Mr. Khodorkovsky, who has criticized Vladimir Putin, the Russian President, has been on trial for tax evasion and fraud. His arrest was widely seen as punishment for speaking out against Mr. Putin and for his rumoured political ambitions.
Speaking at the conference, which was sponsored by the Kazakh Senate, Mr. Chretien said the Russian government's actions could imperil foreign investors' trust in the country.
"The level of arbitrary tax assessments and the [Russian] Minister of Justice's disinclination to respond to any settlement offers leaves the international community with only one conclusion," he said. "The Ministry of Justice is intent on expropriating Yukos without compensation." [. . . . ]
How ironic that, while the Gomery enquiry looks into the corruption that went on during his watch, Mr. Chretien mentions that "corruption" can ruin the chances for business development in Russia.
Australia wants to shake up Kazaa's island paradise
[. . . . ] "Any technological remedy that would come out of the Australian jurisdiction [affects] the whole of the world."
The Australian music industry has spent the past two years preparing a legal battle against Sharman Networks Ltd., the company that operates Kazaa. The trial started last month and may end next week.
Sharman is based in the tax haven of Vanuatu, an island north of Fiji featured in a season of the hit television show Survivor.
Among other things, the music industry is trying to prove that Sharman's real headquarters is in Australia. If the industry wins its case, it would subject Sharman to Australian copyright laws, which could ruin the company.
"This case is not about shutting down the Internet," music industry lawyers have argued. "It is not about shutting down peer-to-peer networks. It is about responsibility for copyright infringement."
[. . . . ] Kazaa uses a so-called "decentralized network." That means computers all over the world, running independently of one another, power Kazaa's network.
That technology could make Kazaa difficult to stop, regardless of the trial's outcome.
Kazaa's owners have argued in court that the decentralized network means the system is out of their control. The company says it sees itself as simply a facilitator, allowing computer users around the world to communicate with each other. [. . . . ]
