From: owner-can-firearms-digest@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca (Cdn-Firearms Digest) To: cdn-firearms-digest@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca Subject: Cdn-Firearms Digest V7 #955 Reply-To: cdn-firearms-digest@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca Sender: owner-can-firearms-digest@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca Errors-To: owner-can-firearms-digest@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca Precedence: normal Cdn-Firearms Digest Thursday, April 7 2005 Volume 07 : Number 955 In this issue: [COLUMN] Voters can't afford another bout of amnesia [COLUMN] Future of Ontario's outdoor heritage [LETTER] (Unhappy with crime.) [EDITORIAL] Perilous days on the Hill Report of shots at mall Government announces independent adviser to review Air India case Invader hurts man Re: Forest Devastation by Uncontrolled Ungulates [EDITORIAL] AdScam: Corrupt and inept ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 7 Apr 2005 13:36:48 -0600 (CST) From: "Bruce Mills" Subject: [COLUMN] Voters can't afford another bout of amnesia http://www.canoe.ca/NewsStand/Columnists/Calgary/Licia_Corbella/2005/04/07/9 85670.html Voters can't afford another bout of amnesia By LICIA CORBELLA -- Calgary Sun Thu, April 7, 2005 The following is one of my favourite Jean Chretien quotes: "Perhaps there was a few million dollars that might have been stolen, but how many million and millions of dollars that we have saved to the country because we have re-established the stability of Canada as a united country?" he asked an astonished crowd at a fundraising dinner in Winnipeg in 2002. Yesterday, in a fiery exchange with Chretien's successor, Paul Martin, Conservative Leader Stephen Harper came up with a pretty colourful quote, too, saying that since "hundreds of thousands of tax dollars may have been funnelled through the Liberal sponsorship program to the Parti Quebecois, I guess the Keystone Krooks stole the money and gave it to the wrong people." Ah, yes, the federal Liberals are so arrogantly corrupt and incompetent, they can't even steal properly. The majority of the fireworks in Ottawa yesterday had to do with the story by Sun Media columnist Greg Weston in yesterday's editions that Alain Renaud, a senior executive who worked for the ad firm Groupaction during the sponsorship scandal years, claims that while the company was getting $43 million in sponsorship funds for doing virtually nothing, it was slipping thousands of dollars not just to the federal Liberals but to the Parti Quebecois, too. Renaud told Weston that in one deal, Groupaction paid about $90,000 to the PQ in return for a $4.5-million advertising contract with the Quebec liquor board, the SAQ, in 1996-97. In other words, taxpayer money, through the $250-million sponsorship program, designed to help the cause of federalism helped to indirectly bankroll the separatists. Kind of blows the air out of Chretien's already weak "the end justifies the means" justification for the stolen millions, doesn't it? What's so curious about the interest in the testimony coming out of the Gomery inquiry into AdScam -- including the "explosive" testimony currently under a publication ban -- is that it is only adding detail to the truth we all started learning about back in May of 2002 when Federal Auditor General Sheila Fraser declared "senior public servants broke just about every rule in the book" in the sponsorship deals. It was then we learned that she asked the RCMP to look into the $1.6-million federal contracts awarded to Montreal-based Groupaction Marketing Inc., for writing three virtually identical reports that contained information readily available on federal government websites. Maybe it's because I write for a living, but when I learned back in 2002 that this company was paid in excess of $500,000 for each report -- one of which doesn't even exist -- I knew what was going on. Kickbacks to the Liberals. Even people with double-digit IQs who can barely connect the dots on a kid's puzzle could figure out that much. There was some outrage back then on this fact, but then it seemed as though amnesia set in. Then in February 2004, Fraser released her even-more damaging report into the sponsorship scandal that stated $100 million was doled out to Liberal-friendly advertising agencies for little or no work. And yet, five months later, some 39% of Canadians who voted in the general election marked their ballots for the Keystone Krooks. Clearly, these Canadians need to boost their memory power, either that or be sure and count your teaspoons when you have them over for dinner. Today, Justice John Gomery will decide whether or not he will lift his ban on publication on the testimony of Groupaction president Jean Brault. He may change his ruling based on the fact jury selection for Brault's criminal trial has been delayed from May to June, leaving enough time for potential jurors to forget. Sheesh. Might I suggest for the health of the country, instead of fluoride, we add the memory-boosting gingko biloba to our water. Licia Corbella, editor of the Calgary Sun, can be reached at 403-250-4129 or by e-mail at licia.corbella@calgarysun.com. Her columns appear Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday. Letters to the editor should be sent to: callet@calgarysun.com ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 7 Apr 2005 13:49:01 -0600 (CST) From: "Bruce Mills" Subject: [COLUMN] Future of Ontario's outdoor heritage http://www.tbsource.com/tbSports/index.asp?cid=74191 Future of Ontario's outdoor heritage Mick Bohonis - Outdoor Life From Thunder Bay Source Web Posted: 4/7/2005 3:00:21 PM The threat to Ontario's outdoor heritage becomes more real every day. On all fronts Ontario sportsmen are battling environmental, political, and social issues that are formidable and scary. Environmentally, expanding industry, such as logging, mining, urban development, and ineffective stewardship of the land have consumed habitat that was supposed to support wildlife and to be accessible to the license and tax paying outdoorsman. Even outside the hands of man, creatures fall prey to nature itself. Every year we here of game herds negatively impacted by winter kill, summer drought, poaching and mismanagement. Sometimes an ecosystem's predator-prey relationship gets hit, and put out of alignment, and the next thing you know, the coyote has cleaned out the hen house. Also, without a doubt, in some areas game populations simply exceed the carrying capacity of the land and balance must be restored. Yes, I'm talking about parks where the numbers of certain species are increasing at an alarming rate, eating themselves out of house and home and clashing with campers. The political arena is going to be where Northwestern Ontario's outdoor future is decided, and that's an altogether frightening reality. Continually, hunters and anglers are having to watch environmental policies get drawn up by golden horseshoe politicians who've never held a shotgun or fishing rod, and then voted upon by southern Ontario urban dwellers who think nature is the park downtown Toronto. Socially the image of the sportsman in the north has been on the decline since the release of Bambi, Winnie-the-Pooh, and Yogi Bear. Hunters are now being stereotyped as beer-drinking, fat bubbas who are out to slay everything that is furry and cute. The citizens who apply these stereotypes are large in number and generally well educated, and have continually been promoting their cause through the media and radio waves. However, to some non-hunters and especially to the antis, the death of an animal stirs an emotion that's deeper than logic. They don't want to accept that man by nature is a predator. They don't want to hear that man is at the top of the food chain. They plug their ears and don't want to hear that hunters and their self-raised money are primarily responsible for the fact that we still have huge amounts of wildlife in Ontario. From big bull moose, to waterfowl, to small game. We have it all folks, and in good healthy numbers. Why? Because of sportsmen and their conservation groups, and their continuing battle with government agencies and the antis. I think it is imperative that every Ontario sportsman get on board with any of the numerous conservation groups that are throughout our province. These groups have contributed much to the betterment of wildlife and sportsmen. They have been assertive in preserving or restoring wildlife habitat. They have delivered the sportsmen's message to the government, and they have in the best way possible, put the sportsmen in a favorable and ever-glowing light. Ducks Unlimited, The Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters, and our very own Northwestern Ontario Sportsmen's Alliance all have tried to keep the government honest. These groups have each had their own success stories to tell, and that's the number one reason why our provinces wildlife is in such good shape. If you are not already involved with a conservation group, or sportsmen's organization, your simply not doing your part to preserve Ontario's outdoor heritage. Being apathetic is the easy thing to do, and believe me, there are a lot of sheep in this neck of the woods. But, these groups will not only bring immediate returns to you as a hunter or angler, they will also provide the vehicle through which you can give something back to the environment. Beyond that, they will ensure that our next generation enjoys the angling and hunting traditions just as we did. Yeah, I know, Mick is giving us the same old song and dance, but the sportsmen who follow my column weekly should understand by now the importance of our local and regional sporting organizations. Without these groups, we would be hunting and fishing on video games only. Money is power, bottom line! Let me explain. Eighty per cent of Ontario's population lives south of the French river on only 20 per cent of the land mass of our province. Where as 20 per cent of the population resides on 80 per cent of the land mass north of the French river. Ontario is very unique in comparison to the other provinces. It is considered by most residents as two separate provinces. Out of the 80 per cent of residents in southern Ontario, it would be safe to say that the large majority of them are non-hunters. These people are in an environment that commands high-speed living. 1.5 hour commutes are a daily norm. Big dollar spectator sports are popular. Expensive import cars and six-lane turnpikes are everywhere. Symphonies, art galleries, and the opera are prevalent. Lunches on the 54th floor and wine and cheese parties every Thursday night in suburbia. The smell of money is in the air. Hence Northwestern Ontario! Pickup trucks, Carhart coveralls, bait shops,10 minute commutes, cold barn-style hockey and curling rinks, sliders at the Coney Island and a local expressway that would be considered a bush road in the GTA. (greater Toronto area). The smell of the mill is in the air! However, north or south, we are all residents of the province. We are all governed under the same party, and yet at the same time we are two different cultures that live quite differently. The difference is this. Population equals more money and more votes. Money and votes equals power. And with 80 per cent of the population in the south, it is quite obvious they are going to vote for what is in their best interest. So would you or I if we lived there. The antis recognize this, and target all of the upper middle class white collars in the Golden Horseshoe area. This is how it came about for the cancellation of the spring bear hunt, and this is how its going to be done again and again. As sportsmen of the north, we have an obligation to support our outdoor organizations. C'mon boys and girls, its not that hard to do. Dropping $34 on a case of beer or $45 on a carton of smokes seems pretty easy to most. How much money do you spend in a year on minnows, gas, oil, tackle, ammo, 40-pounders, and all of the toys? Don't tell me you can't drop $25 to $40 on a membership so you can continue to do all of the aforementioned. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 7 Apr 2005 14:05:25 -0600 (CST) From: "Bruce Mills" Subject: [LETTER] (Unhappy with crime.) http://www.edmontonsun.com/NewsStand/EdmontonSun/Letters/ I HAVE had it up to here with the powers that be telling citizens that the crime rate is lower than it was a few years ago. I challenge those who are saying this "fact" to go into the communities where violent acts have become common over the last few years and tell that to the residents there. I also challenge those who keep saying the gun control program is a success to explain why even our armed RCMP are being killed more than ever and criminals are obtaining firearms with ease. Chris Gilmore (Unhappy with crime.) ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 7 Apr 2005 14:05:40 -0600 (CST) From: "Bruce Mills" Subject: [EDITORIAL] Perilous days on the Hill http://www.canoe.ca/NewsStand/LondonFreePress/Opinion/home.html Perilous days on the Hill The Gomery inquiry could easily turn into a double-edged sword for either the governing Liberals or opposition parties if they use it to force a premature federal election. An early vote now appears much less imminent as that reality sinks in. Aware of the danger of a boomerang, Conservative Leader Stephen Harper announced yesterday it was not his party's intention to force an election "simply on our own timetable or because of our own interests." And with the Liberals unnerved by volatile Gomery evidence under a temporary publication ban that could soon be lifted, Prime Minister Paul Martin is unlikely to pull the plug, either. The risks of triggering a self-serving early election are twofold. First, voters have been known to be harsh with parties that force them to the polls for no other reason than sheer political opportunism. If called in the near future, an election could be less than one year after the June 28, 2004 vote. Secondly, there's the issue of the quality of the Gomery evidence, when it is finally revealed. Paul Nesbitt-Larking, a political science professor at Western's Huron University College, says opposition parties had better be sure not only that they have good evidence, but that it's good enough to convince the Canadian electorate. He goes on to note that it was Martin who called the Gomery inquiry in the first place. That's a point well taken. If the evidence is not substantial -- or if it doesn't link Martin directly to the sponsorship scandal -- the Liberals can argue that not only is the prime minister clean, but he put in place the mechanism (Gomery) to ferret out wrongdoing. Amid all the hoopla (including a U.S. website ignoring Justice John Gomery's publication ban), was the Liberals' request the RCMP probe the possibility the party was a victim of fraud. There's a quantum leap from being architects of the sponsorship program to becoming its victim, a fact that was not lost on Harper, who rightly ridiculed the Liberals' "gall." Meanwhile, panicked Liberal MPs held a conference call to prepare for the political repercussions when the ban is lifted. Then, when the Conservatives threatened to force an election over a Liberal amendment that pertained to the Kyoto Protocol, it was withdrawn. With that, Harper could back away from the brink of voting day. If an election is called before Gomery's sponsorship probe ends, the inquiry's fate rests in Martin's hands, says Nesbitt-Larking. Gomery would continue after Parliament is dissolved unless the prime minister says it is to stop. But pulling the plug on Gomery would be tantamount to political suicide for Martin. "When you close an inquiry, you send a signal you have something to hide," says Nesbitt-Larking, adding he would be "very surprised" if Martin went down that road. Timing is everything in politics, especially with such a volatile issue on the front burner. The double-edged swords on Parliament Hill have seldom been more perilous. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 7 Apr 2005 14:15:44 -0600 (CST) From: "Bruce Mills" Subject: Report of shots at mall http://www.canoe.ca/NewsStand/OttawaSun/News/2005/04/07/985933-sun.html Report of shots at mall By Ottawa Sun Thu, April 7, 2005 Ottawa police are investigating after reports of shots being fired at a strip mall at 1800 Bank St. yesterday afternoon. Witnesses reported two to three handgun shots fired from a car. Police responded at 4:40 p.m. Two vehicles -- a green Honda with three black men in it and a grey car believed to be a Chevy Malibu with at least one black male occupant -- reportedly fled the scene, turning west on Walkley Rd. "No attention was drawn to them until the bangs were heard. So nobody knows what happened before," Ottawa Police Staff Sgt. Dave Turnbull said. Anyone with information is asked to call 236-1222, ext. 3212. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 7 Apr 2005 14:18:50 -0600 (CST) From: "Bruce Mills" Subject: Government announces independent adviser to review Air India case How transparent can you get? http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=1845&ncid=1845&e=3&u=/cpress /20050407/ca_pr_on_na/air_india_review Government announces independent adviser to review Air India case Thu Apr 7,12:07 PM ET OTTAWA (CP) - The government will appoint an independent adviser to determine if there should be a public inquiry into the Air India bombings. Public Safety Minister Anne McLellan, who has so far resisted calls for a public inquiry, announced the move Thursday in the Commons. "Before I take any action, I want to meet the families at the start of an ongoing dialogue so we know what questions remain unanswered for them," she said. The announcement came as the House began debate on an Opposition motion asking for a public probe. "This review can only begin once we've determined if the province of British Columbia will appeal the (Air India) decision," McLellan said. She was referring to the acquittal of two men last month of all charges related to the Air India bombings. Those who lost loved ones in the June 1985 blast aboard Air India Flight 182 were distraught by the acquittal. They have since stepped up pressure for a public inquiry into what they say was government mishandling of the case. Conservative MP Gurmant Grewal of B.C. reacted angrily at McLellan's attempt to answer those calls. Ottawa has already spent 20 years and tens of millions of dollars to come up empty, he said. "Justice delayed is justice denied," Grewal said. "What part of this . . . does (she) not understand?" The Boeing 747, carrying hundreds of Canadians who boarded the plane in Toronto and Montreal, was en route to India when it blew apart off the coast of Ireland, killing 329 people. About an hour before the aircraft exploded, another bomb killed two baggage handlers at Tokyo's Narita Airport. "Canadians want closure to this sad story of the Air India bombing," Grewal said. An internal federal discussion paper prepared in 1991 on whether to hold an inquiry into the Air India bombing said Canadians are owed "as full an account as the government can devise." Federal officials who weighed demands for an inquiry several years ago concluded it was highly unlikely such a probe would reveal important new information about how or why the events happened. "But there is another side to the issue," the internal paper said. "The worst terrorist act and mass murder in Canadian history remains unexplained. It may not, in fact, ever be fully (understood), but the country is owed as full an account as the government can devise." The draft discussion paper, titled Calls For Air India Inquiry - The Government's Options, was prepared in July 1991 by the security and policy operations directorate of the Solicitor General's Department. It was released five years later under the Access to Information Act but got little attention. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 7 Apr 2005 14:23:17 -0600 (CST) From: "Bruce Mills" Subject: Invader hurts man http://www.canoe.ca/NewsStand/OttawaSun/News/2005/04/07/985947-sun.html Invader hurts man Elderly Alexandria couple attacked in home By Ottawa Sun Thu, April 7, 2005 An elderly man's arm was bruised after he was hit with what appeared to be a metal rod as he struggled with an intruder during a home invasion in Alexandria on Tuesday. OPP said the suspect entered a side door at a residence on Lochiel St. at about 5:30 a.m. and confronted the homeowners, an 84-year-old man and his 82-year-old wife, who were asleep in their bed. After an exchange of words, the senior struggled briefly with the suspect, who then fled on foot. The victim didn't require medical attention. The suspect is described as about 6-feet, medium build, English-speaking, wearing glasses. He wore dark clothing and his face was covered. Nothing was stolen. Investigators do not believe the couple knew the suspect. Anyone with information on the home invasion is asked to call OPP at 1-888-310-1122 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 7 Apr 2005 14:23:39 -0600 (CST) From: "mred" Subject: Re: Forest Devastation by Uncontrolled Ungulates - ----- Original Message ----- From: "Richard A. Fritze" To: Sent: Thursday, April 07, 2005 11:30 AM Subject: Forest Devastation by Uncontrolled Ungulates > I have available in PDF format a copy of a very interesting article > published in Game Warden magazine a couple years ago. It details the > effect of "no hunting" on the forest and on the ungulate population. I > consider it to be a must-read, especially for all who hunt. It should > be given to people who got their wildlife education from Walt Disney > movies and to anyone who has any illusions about the predator-prey > relationship in nature. > > RAF > > We used to have herd of about 6 does and one gigqantic buck here which > lived in the conservation area next to me .This year I see only two does > seem to have survived the winter.Winter started early for them this year > as they were up on my front porch and in my yard almost every night ,from > November, eating my euonymus bushes . Seems to me it would be better to cull the herd and use the meat rather than let them starve to death and leave it for scavengers. Although you could say Mother Nature the bitc* has done the culling the hard way . Survival of the fittest I say , but a hel* of a way to die , just ask Terri Schiavo. ed/ontario ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 7 Apr 2005 14:32:43 -0600 (CST) From: "Bruce Mills" Subject: [EDITORIAL] AdScam: Corrupt and inept http://www.torontosun.com/NewsStand/TorontoSun/Editorial/home.html AdScam: Corrupt and inept It's bad enough that $40 million in federal sponsorship money went to Jean Brault's Groupaction Marketing, which then kicked back some of it to the federal Liberal party. Now we learn, according to former Groupaction executives, that the ad agency was at the same time secretly cutting cheques to the separatist Parti Quebecois, then the government of Quebec. As Sun columnist Greg Weston reported yesterday, these executives told him that in one case, the PQ received $90,000 in campaign contributions, funnelled through Groupaction employees. This was apparently done as part of a successful bid to win a $4.5-million contract with the Quebec liquor board. In other words, the Liberal sponsorship program, aside from being unethical, was also incompetent. How else to explain a federal program meant to fight Quebec separatism that threw our tax money at a Quebec ad agency that was also making side deals with the separatists? In fact, the whole sponsorship program appears to have been a political money-laundering scheme to line the pockets of so-called friends of the Liberal party in Quebec, along with the debt-ridden Quebec wing of the Liberal party. While Prime Minister Paul Martin hasn't been personally implicated in AdScam, a sure sign he has no idea of how to deal with this stinking mess handed to him by Jean Chretien could be seen in his wild, desperate accusations in the Commons yesterday. Martin accused the Conservatives and the Bloc Quebecois of conspiring to break up Canada, because both Conservative Leader Stephen Harper and Bloc Leader Gilles Duceppe grilled him over the latest revelations of wrongdoing in AdScam. "I hope Canadians had a chance to see that picture," Martin said during a wild question period in which Duceppe compared Chretien, former public works minister Alfonso Gagliano and other senior Liberals of the Chretien era to "the little friends of Ali Baba." "The leader of the opposition talks about the separatist threat and then there they (are) all standing hand in hand, the separatists and the Conservatives," Martin charged. "This is where they are coming from. This is what it is all about." Got that, folks? If anyone demands answers about what we now know was a politically corrupt program presided over by a politically corrupt Liberal government that wasted up to $100 million of our money, it must be because they're conspiring with separatists to break up the country. You know, we thought Martin was a lot smarter than this. And what a pity -- for all Canadians -- that he isn't any better than this. ------------------------------ End of Cdn-Firearms Digest V7 #955 ********************************** Submissions: mailto:cdn-firearms-digest@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca Mailing List Commands: mailto:majordomo@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca Moderator's e-mail address: mailto:akimoya@cogeco.ca List owner: mailto:owner-cdn-firearms@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca FAQ list: http://www.magma.ca/~asd/cfd-faq1.html and http://teapot.usask.ca/cdn-firearms/Faq/cfd-faq1.html Web Site: http://teapot.usask.ca/cdn-firearms/homepage.html FTP Site: ftp://teapot.usask.ca/pub/cdn-firearms/ CFDigest Archives: http://www.sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca/~ab133/ or put the next command in an e-mail message and mailto:majordomo@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca get cdn-firearms-digest v04.n192 end (192 is the digest issue number and 04 is the volume) To unsubscribe from _all_ the lists, put the next five lines in a message and mailto:majordomo@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca unsubscribe cdn-firearms-digest unsubscribe cdn-firearms-alert unsubscribe cdn-firearms-chat unsubscribe cdn-firearms end (To subscribe, use "subscribe" instead of "unsubscribe".) 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