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 #970 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 Monday, April 11 2005 Volume 07 : Number 970 In this issue: [COLUMN] Grits brace for a bomb 'Breathtaking' Poll Sees Liberals Losing Power Liberals: Conservatives could win next government REALITY CHECK: The Ultimate Red Herring Re: On the Take Re: On the Take .30-30 and CAS Another Therrien Appeasement - moderation ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 11 Apr 2005 15:11:22 -0600 (CST) From: "Bruce Mills" Subject: [COLUMN] Grits brace for a bomb http://www.canoe.ca/NewsStand/TorontoSun/News/2005/04/11/991331-sun.html Grits brace for a bomb Peter Worthington says AdScam probe uncovering deep rot By PETER WORTHINGTON, TORONTO SUN IF LAST week at the Gomery inquiry was tough for the Liberal party, this week threatens to be even tougher. Liberals and government defenders insist that Groupaction president Jean Brault's week of testimony was "allegations, not proof." Maybe, but is there anyone in Canada who doesn't believe his testimony was true -- candid, clear, categorical? If ex-Groupaction lobbyist and Liberal organizer Alain Renaud's memory is as clear, precise and detailed as Brault's, this week will be even more devastating for the Liberals. The same for bagman Jacques Corriveau and Grand Prix poobah Normand Legault. Blood-letting lies ahead. The federal Liberals and their Quebec wing are mindful of the Sopranos: envelopes containing $5,000 left on restaurant tables to disappear when Brault goes to the washroom; contacts checked to ensure they aren't wearing a wire; cover names like "White Head" and "Choo-choo." Undiluted Sopranos, although former prime minister Jean Chretien's style seems more Godfather than Tony Soprano, who has endearing qualities. No way this scandal can be limited to Quebec. Brault admits Groupaction company was getting contracts before the 1995 Sovereignty referendum. He insists only $60 million of some $170 million in contracts was tainted. Apparently up to 12% of some $250 million in sponsorship funds was siphoned back to the Liberal Party, with payoffs to party hacks, some of whom now work for the Martin government. The mess is overwhelming, considering that ad campaigns supposedly to promote Canada in Quebec were mostly flops or mythical. One mercy is that Chretien is now out of power. Were he still PM, it can be assured he'd have cut off the Gomery inquiry as he did the Somalia Inquiry when it delved deeply, and commissioners refused to limit their mandate. Stopping the Somalia inquiry prevented failings in our military becoming public and corrected -- a syndrome that persists. To his credit, Paul Martin has rebuffed advice that he emulate Chretien and close down the Gomery inquiry. Possibly, at the time he didn't realize the bottomless nature of rot within the party. The tolerance of Canadian voters for political corruption seems limitless. Putrefaction within the Liberal party is no guarantee it won't be re-elected, despite polls showing that disgust with the Liberals extends across Canada. What's encouraging is that the Liberal party is dead in Quebec over the scandal. Blame belongs to Chretien who, as Peter Newman has written, "spent a decade moving the country from One-Party Rule ... to One-Man Rule." NOT AS DETAILED One wonders if the Liberal Party of Ontario is much better. We all know Premier Dalton Mcguinty's mediocrity, but maybe we should remember Patty Starr, who became the fall-gal for chicanery in the Peterson government, and went to jail while others escaped. Unfortunately, her memory of Liberal mischief wasn't as detailed and lethal as Jean Brault's or, it seems, Alain Renaud's. Starr paid the price, but her party loyalty was never rewarded. Pundits and wise-guys insist an election is unlikely, because all parties are short of funds -- a sorry reason for tolerating corruption, sleaze and fraud in a government. When the inquiry is done, the Opposition should demand a vote of confidence on the grounds that Canadians should not have to endure a government unworthy of them. It's a given that all French-speaking ridings in Quebec will vote Bloc next time, since the separatist party seems to have more integrity than the Liberal party. All four Toronto daily newspapers variously deplore what the Gomery inquiry is revealing, but people generally seem to think that sleaze is normal in politics. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 11 Apr 2005 15:11:33 -0600 (CST) From: "Bruce Mills" Subject: 'Breathtaking' Poll Sees Liberals Losing Power http://www.reuters.ca/locales/c_newsArticle.jsp;:425a6f4b:2de3402083c555b?ty pe=topNews&localeKey=en_CA&storyID=8142485 'Breathtaking' Poll Sees Liberals Losing Power Mon April 11, 2005 8:33 AM GMT-04:00 By Randall Palmer OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada's minority Liberal government is heading for defeat at the hands of the Conservatives after more than 11 years in power, according to a new poll released on Monday. The EKOS poll, taken after revelations last week of kickbacks to the Liberal Party, showed support for the Conservatives at 36.2 percent, compared with 25 percent for the Liberals -- their lowest showing since taking office in 1993. The Toronto Star, which commissioned the poll, said this suggested a late June election. The Liberals lost their majority in Parliament in the last election, in June 2004. The newspaper, which commissioned the survey, quoted EKOS pollster Frank Graves as describing "a breathtaking shift in what had been a stagnant and listless political landscape." In the most populous province of Ontario, the Conservatives appeared to have made a breakthrough, leading the Liberals by 40 percent to 33 percent, probably enough to take the majority of Ontario's 106 seats. If those polling numbers were translated into election votes, Conservative leader Stephen Harper would become prime minister, though Graves suspected it would be again in a minority government. EKOS polled 1,125 Canadians between Thursday and Saturday, and the poll is considered accurate to within 2.9 percentage points 19 times out of 20. It gave 20.5 percent voter support to the leftist New Democratic Party and 12.6 percent to the separatist Bloc Quebecois, which runs only in Quebec. The Liberals currently have 133 of the House of Commons' 308 seats; the Conservatives 99; the Bloc 54; the NDP 19. There are two independents and one vacancy. Canadian election campaigns must be at least 36 days long, leaving the possibility of a vote of no-confidence sometime in May and an election in mid- to late June. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 11 Apr 2005 15:11:45 -0600 (CST) From: "Bruce Mills" Subject: Liberals: Conservatives could win next government http://www.hilltimes.com/html/index.php?display=story&full_path=/2005/april/ 11/next_gov/&c=1 The Hill Times, April 11th, 2005 NEWS STORY By F. Abbas Rana and Kate Malloy Liberals: Conservatives could win next government 'Libs are petrified' The federal Liberals could lose up to 10 seats in Ontario in the next federal election because of the blockbuster, sensational revelations coming out of the Gomery Inquiry and even Liberals acknowledge they could lose the next government, after 12 years in power. "In Ontario, up to 10 in rural areas. I'm saying this with what we know today. Things may change tomorrow, things may get better or worse, I don't know about that. But Liberals will be losing these seats, not just because of Gomery, but also because of the same-sex marriage [legislation]," said a top Liberal source last week. The Libs could lose 10 rural ridings because they are "deadly against" the same-sex marriage legislation and now the latest revelations from the Gomery Inquiry may further exacerbate the situation, said the Liberal. But another Liberal source, who asked not be identified, said if there was an election this spring, the Conservatives could win it, but they wouldn't win big. However, this top source also said that the Libs are looking at winning too, despite the damage. "While it's a negative for the Libs, it's not a positive for the Tories in the sense that they're going to gain, so if you look at where the Tories are going to pick up any seats to any degree it's in Ontario," said the Liberal. "And in real terms, they would have to gain 20 seats in Ontario. It could be a Liberal minority, but if it's a Conservative minority, it's going to be a very small minority, very small, probably within single digits," said the Liberal. "The Libs that are there now are petrified. At one time, they were willing to take on the Tories and they thought Steven Harper was going to make a fool of himself and was going to precipitate the election and they could turn around and point a finger at him for the election that the Canadian people didn't want, but now that's not there," said the Liberal source. In the last federal election, the Liberals won 135 seats, the Conservatives won 99 seats, the NDP won 19 seats and the Bloc Québécois won 54 seats. Liberals can be in a dangerous situation of losing the election if they lose 10 seats in Ontario alone because they are also likely to lose a significant number of seats in Quebec as well because of the sponsorship scandal that is dogging them day after day in the province and is now likely to affect them in the rest of the country. The nation's capital was abuzz with the election talk last week as it was expected that the Bloc Québécois could table a motion to bring down the government with the help of the Tories after the politically explosive testimony of Jean Brault, the former head of Groupaction Marketing, a Quebec-based firm involved in the $250-million sponsorship scandal. Mr. Brault testified that Liberal organizers pressured him into giving them more than $1.2-million in cash, fake invoices and other phony payments in exchange for government contracts and favours, blowing the lid off one of the biggest political scandals in Canadian history. To fight off this move, Prime Minister Paul Martin (LaSalle-Émard, Que.) accused Conservative Party leader Stephen Harper (Calgary Southwest, Alta.) of cooperating with the separatist party in pulling the plug on the fragile minority Liberal government. Mr. Harper after the national caucus meeting on Wednesday announced that his party won't support the Bloc non-confidence motion. "It's not for the Bloc Québécois to determine the date of an election and it's not for the Bloc Québécois to determine the national interest. It's up to the populace and the official Opposition to do so," said Mr. Harper. But Liberal political staffers on the Hill last week said that there might be an election in the next four to six weeks and that the Conservatives may form the next minority government. "Let me put it this way, I wouldn't be surprised if an election is called in the next four to six weeks. Things are not pretty and Harper may form a minority government after the next election. With each passing day, this Gomery thing is damaging us," said a Liberal political staffer. "I don't think the feeling is that they're going to lose, the feeling is it's going to be another minority and it's going to be a lot tighter than the one that's there right now," said one top Liberal source. But rookie Liberal MP Navdeep Bains (Mississauga-Brampton South, Ont.) cautioned against jumping to conclusions. Mr. Bains said that it's "too early to say" if the damaging testimony at the Gomery inquiry or the same-sex marriage will negatively affect the Liberals in the next election. "It's so tough to say right now because they are just allegations at this time and how they resonate in Quebec and outside of Quebec, I think it's too early to say," said Mr. Bains. "Is it a valid issue [same-sex legislation] as far as the next election is concerned, I don't know, it's tough to say...When I talk to people I get different reactions: some people are angry that the government should have done it sooner, some say why are you doing it, others say it was the right thing to do," Mr. Bains said in an interview with The Hill Times. The Liberal source, however, said that if the Conservatives cooperated with the Bloc in bringing down the government, that this would give the Liberals an opportunity to label the Tories as supporters of the separatist party. "We are going to have a bloody field day if Conservatives joined forces with the Bloc," said the source. The source said that the timing of the next election is the key to the outcome of the next election. If the opposition delays in triggering the next election, Liberals will have an advantage as with the passage of time, people's anger is likely to be 'minimized'. Moreover, the Liberal source said that if the Conservatives and the Bloc pull the plug on the minority government, this will be to the Liberal Party's advantage as Canadians wouldn't want a second election within a year. "We will remind the voters that you gave us the mandate less than a year ago and you wanted us to govern. But the Tories pulled the plug on the government and they are working with the separatists. We will also remind them it's not cheap to go to the polls and it costs millions of dollars," said that source. Conservative MP John Reynolds (West Vancouver--Sunshine Coast--Sea to Sky Country, B.C.), chairman of the Conservatives national election campaign, told The Hill Times that the Conservatives are likely to win "a lot more than" 10 seats in Ontario, but declined to name the ridings. He said that "they've got to win more than 50 seats in Ontario to form the government." "They are going to lose a lot more than that. They are a divided party, that's their problem...We will obviously target certain ridings but we are not going to let Liberals know what they are...We've got to win more than 50 seats and that's what we are going to go after to form the government." The Globe and Mail reported last week that the national council of the Conservative Party held a meeting last week "to begin serious election preparations, and riding presidents across the country have been told to move into election mode." Conservative Party riding associations are already in the process of making preparations to hold nomination meetings across the country. Liberals, however, have not yet unfrozen their nominations. Meanwhile, if the Conservatives realize they can capitalize on the Gomery Inquiry revelations, one Liberal source said, "It's not inconceivable that the Tories could figure that this could be their moment." Said the Liberal: "They're not rolling over here. They're looking pretty hard at it. They're not buying the bullshit that, nobody wants an election, therefore you can't have one for another year. If they see this as a chance to put the boots to the Libs," they'll do it. But declared Mr. Reynolds, "We'll make that decision ourselves. The leader made it very clear when the Canadian public tells us there should be an election, there'll be an election." Meanwhile, the Canadian Press on Friday reported that the Liberal government asked opposition parties to hold off on an election until Justice Gomery releases his report in the fall, but that the opposition parties said no. Arana@hilltimes.com The Hill Times ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 11 Apr 2005 15:26:29 -0600 (CST) From: Breitkreuz@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca, Garry - Assistant 1 Subject: REALITY CHECK: The Ultimate Red Herring Office of the Leader of the Opposition - Cabinet du chef de l'opposition REALITY CHECK FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 11, 2005 The Ultimate Red Herring "Audit" Defence Misses the Point of Adscam OTTAWA - The Liberals pulled out their latest red herring yesterday, with Public Works Minister Scott Brison announcing that audits of his party's books didn't reveal any shady Sponsorship money. We remind Mr. Brison and all the Liberal spin doctors of some important facts: An essential component of money laundering is the "laundering" part. By definition, money laundering means erasing paper trails so that crooked money doesn't appear in the official books or, well, audits. Crooks don't write cheques. Gomery Inquiry testimony has revealed off-book cash transactions specifically designed to be untraceable. Bags of cash left in restaurants don't have file numbers attached to them... No-one can blame the Liberals for trying to defend the indefensible, but they'll have to do better than that. - -30- For more information: Official Opposition Press Office (613) 947-2400 _____________________________________ L'HEURE JUSTE POUR DIFFUSION IMMÉDIATE 11 avril 2005 La toute dernière échappatoire utilisée La défense basée sur la « vérification » passe à côté de la question du scandale des commandites OTTAWA - Les Libéraux ont trouvé hier leur dernière échappatoire avec le ministre des Travaux publics Scott Brison qui a annoncé que des vérifications des comptes de son parti n'avaient révélé aucun argent louche des commandites. Nous aimerions rappeler certains faits importants à M. Brison et à tous les conseillers en communication libéraux : Un élément essentiel de l'expression « blanchiment d'argent » est le terme blanchiment ». Par définition, blanchir de l'argent signifie effacer toute trace écrite de documents afin que cet argent escroqué n'apparaisse pas dans les registres officiels ou même dans des vérifications. Les escrocs n'écrivent pas de chèques. Les témoignages devant la Commission Gomery ont révélé l'existence de transactions en espèces sans écritures comptables spécialement conçues pour ne pas être retraçables. Les sacs d'argent laissés dans des restaurants ne portent pas de numéros de dossier... Personne ne peut accuser les Libéraux de tenter de défendre ce qui ne peut pas l'être, mais ils devront faire mieux que cela. - -30- Pour plus d'informations : Service de presse de l'Opppostion officielle au (613) 947-2400 ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 11 Apr 2005 16:21:16 -0600 (CST) From: Bill Farion Subject: Re: On the Take Cdn-Firearms Digest wrote: Hi; Well, if you want to see the start of organized corruption, read Stevie Camerons book "On the Take" Lyin Brian Mulronney did not get his nick name for nothing! ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 11 Apr 2005 16:41:29 -0600 (CST) From: 10x <10x@telus.net> Subject: Re: On the Take At 04:21 PM 4/11/05 -0600, you wrote: >Cdn-Firearms Digest wrote: >Hi; >Well, if you want to see the start of organized corruption, read Stevie >Camerons book "On the Take" >Lyin Brian Mulronney did not get his nick name for nothing! That was back in the time when the public couldn't tell the Liberals from the Conservatives... And I read the book by Stevie. She ran for the Liberal party afterwards too, didn't she? If every thing in her book was true, then there should have been charges laid. There is evidence that some of the things she suggested in her book turned out to be based on pure speculation. She was the secret informant to the R.C.M.P. on the airbus scandal and very little came of that. Here is an example of the truth told two diferent ways. First story Last november I ran into two men, they had some women with them. They were all wearing masks. One knocked me out, the other stuck a knife into my navel leaving a wound that required five stitches. I woke up a couple of hours later, stiff and sore, with no clothes on, minus my wallet. Same story I went up to the local hospital, met with the surgeon, anesthesiologist, and a couple of O.R. nurses. I was placed under anesthetic and had surgery. I woke up from the ansethesia in a hospital recovery room. The incision took five stitches to close. Both stories are true and both describe the same event, they are just presented in a diferent manner. One leaves out detail and lets the imagination of the reader fill it in. Many authors and newspaper editors do the same thing. It is dificult to sort out bias in a storey and some details are deliberately left out. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 11 Apr 2005 21:04:13 -0600 (CST) From: "Todd Birch" Subject: .30-30 and CAS Was at a CAS shoot last week end and going to another this coming week end. 10 rounds in 10 seconds is not regarded as particularly fast. My slowest rifle is a Henry with a long lever throw and a follower that requires a 'double shuffle' of the supporting hand or a high arch to let it pass. My Browning '92 is a faster gun to operate than the Henry, but not as 'cowboy' in my opinion. The "Rifleman" mod with a screw in the lever to trip the trigger would make it the equal of a semi-auto. John Browning made a gas operated semi-auto out of a lever rifle with a long operating rod. I know of a .303 proto-type full auto based on a Lee-Enfield from a man who has fired it. TB ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 11 Apr 2005 21:44:44 -0600 (CST) From: Lee Jasper Subject: Another Therrien > Canada's foremost expert on all-terrain vehicles says ATVs can be "as > deadly as a firearm" and no one should operate one - on or off the road > - - without proper training. > > George Smith, national co-ordinator of specialty vehicles for the Canada > Safety Council, a nonprofit organization dedicated to safety, says he > "disagrees 100 per cent" with the growing movement by municipalities > across the country to allow ATVs on major roadways. Methinks Smitty has slightly exaggerated ATV use on "major roadways". (I'm sure that he is fully aware that the term 'road' also includes 'paved highways'. He has certainly underplayed the intentions of the latest Off Road Vehicles Act. > Smith suggested that municipalities could be misinterpreting new > provincial regulations introduced in 2003 allowing licensed drivers to > take ATVs on certain roads. He said the intent of the regulations was to > make it legal for ATV users to use roadways only as a shortcut from one > trail to another. In all my contacts with ATVers, Clubs and municipal politicians I have heard of no wholesale movement to open up public roads to ATVs. In fact the provincial law allows a municipality to declare all of its roads, or just certain parts of roads, needed to connect riders from one off-road trail to another. (Akin to the benefits enjoyed by snowmobilers). It's all about tourist dollars. So now we have ATVs being joined with alcohol as being 'dangerous as guns'. Do you suppose the chap is angling to have everyone 'licenced' to operate an ATV. If so, I sure hope 'experienced owners' have grandfathering and alternative certification programs provided. Special licences for driving a 12 pass. van, big rig, everyday run to work beater, motorcycle, a PCOC for boaters (you get a Certificate, which is NOT a licence, and are not permitted to man/woman a tiller without it and will be charged accordingly if thou darest). - Are ATVs next? Hey, will one need an ATV licence when operating an ATV as an 'implement of husbandry' (in place of a farm tractor)? Don't need a tractor drivers licence. What about when herding livestock or running fence lines? How about some 'aboriginal adaptations'. Methinks the provinces will not want to go down that road again. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 11 Apr 2005 21:48:35 -0600 (CST) From: Lee Jasper Subject: Appeasement - moderation Jim commented: > Bottom line is that as appeasers always react to threats [and the > Lieberals are truly a threat to democracy] tangentially, virtually > any excuse [or a lack of an excuse] will "enable" the herd voters > that empower the Lieberals to vote, once again, for the Lieberals. I have tried diligently to inform the rest of Canuckland on this forum of the 'impact' of Mike Harris and his 'mean spirited' (not my phrase) politics stemming from the Commonsense Revolution. Many voters want no part of that and given a choice between a re-run of that era, many would take another chance on the 'Devil' they know. I realize if you're not into the Ontario scene and you're bred and fed with nothing but Kleinism politics (who I note is now singing a more conciliatory tune, thanks to buckets of oil revenue) that the 36 consecutive years of our Big Blue Machine may have little meaning. Take it as a history lesson, Frost (49-61), Robarts (61-71) and Davis (71-85) were not political fools. They read the mood and temper of the Province and gave it's citizens 'progressive' conservative government. The new provincial PC leader, John Tory has mapped out a similar course. When I hear Tory announcing that he and Harper (and the Ont. PCs and CPC) have formed a 'partnership' to 'grow' Canada together, I'll start thinking that Stephen is becoming mainstream enough to 'win' Ontario. For a 'new' value system and mood to take Canada (and a significant correction is truly needed) we need to exact National 'regime' change. As a result of being shut out in Quebec - we can't invoke the War Measures Act, send the troops in and declare - believe you buggers, believe. If you're serious about 'regime change' you'd better hope and lobby that Harper 'reads the mood' of Ontario - or 'all' that the RFC has striven for over the past 12 years is lost. Second place just doesn't cut it. The CPC has a 'golden' opportunity now that the 'shine' has worn off McGuinty to make 'major' inroads into Ontario, so Stephen, take the 'edge' off those policies that scare the heck of voters in the area codes 416 and 905, Golden Horseshoe. Appeasement . . . . might 'moderation' be the word. As Bill Davis said, "Forget the politics, just give the folks good government." I note in today's media that Harper and Tory are meeting and the CPC have moved ahead of the Liberals in the polls. The polls also indicate there is little mood for an election. ------------------------------ End of Cdn-Firearms Digest V7 #970 ********************************** 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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