From: owner-can-firearms-digest@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca (Cdn-Firearms Digest) To: cdn-firearms-digest@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca Subject: Cdn-Firearms Digest V8 #814 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 Saturday, December 24 2005 Volume 08 : Number 814 In this issue: ATI results Not a lot of sympathy for farmer blockade of 401 Guns, crime and our government don't mix Holiday Homicide Re: Scoop on Can. Steamship Lines Paul Martin: Liar, liar, pants on fire! a right or a freedom? Re: Scoop on Can. Steamship Lines Fwd: Election message - Your vote makes a difference. Use it. [COLUMN] Parties counting pennies [COLUMN] Plastic Patrotism - Paul Martin Style ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 23 Dec 2005 21:23:40 -0600 (CST) From: paul chicoine Subject: ATI results On December 2, 2005 I submitted an access to information request to the Canadian Firearms Center with the following question: "In the report by Public Accounts Canada in relation to the Canadian Firearms Center the following transfers are recorded in Volume III Section 7 Page 8 Transfers to Provinces and territories = $12,451,465 - - PEI $185,000 - - NS $700,000 - - NB $835,000 - - Quebec $5,831,000 - - Ontario $4,900,000 Transfers to Non-Profit Organizations = $110,661 In the case of $110,661 transferred to non-profit organizations. To which non-profit organizations were these funds transferred and for what amounts?" The reply contains the following information; Red Sky Metis Indian Nation $50,000.00 The Inland Fish and Wildlife Division, Department of Environment and Conservation, Government of the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador. $29,411.33 University of New Brunswick $31,250.00 ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 23 Dec 2005 21:23:54 -0600 (CST) From: Lee Jasper Subject: Not a lot of sympathy for farmer blockade of 401 Letters: London Free Press; 2005 12 23 Farmers shooting selves in the foot I would like to commend a couple of local radio stations for their disapproval of the farmers' protest that took place on Dec. 14. When a similar blockade took place last year, the farmers didn't really receive much negative press. The timing of this protest couldn't have been more convenient for the farmers and ultimately caused more problems for this sector. The No. 1 affected party is the automotive industry; with the main artery for transport in Southwestern Ontario shut down, cars and car parts were held up in transit. I understand that this was the whole purpose of the exercise, but I think that some people are failing to see the irony in the situation. The automotive industry contributes more tax revenue to the government than any industry in Canada. This revenue is used to subsidize the saturated agriculture market so farmers can continue to overproduce and subsequently stockpile their crops. When all of this is taken into consideration, it can be seen that these road blockades are not only creating a bad reputation for farmers, they are impeding the system that pumps money into the agriculture industry. There are appropriate ways to protest and there is shooting yourself in the foot. These tractor blockades fall more in line with the latter. Cooper Lane London ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 23 Dec 2005 21:42:16 -0600 (CST) From: owner-cdn-firearms@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca (Majordomo User) Subject: Guns, crime and our government don't mix http://www.tbsource.com/tblife/index.asp?cid=79310 Guns, crime and our government don't mix Mick Bohonis Web Posted: 12/23/2005 10:06:12 AM With the election looming in the near future, several issues come to mind that need to be addressed and answered by the Liberal government in regard to unkept promises and ludicrous spending. However, we all know that it really doesn't matter what is said now, as they have proved time and time again that it's all lies!The #1 waste of the taxpayers' dollar as we know it, is the current gun registration. It has become the laughing stock of many in the country, and yet the government still maintains that it is doing its job and curbing crime. Excuse me while I choke on my coffee here for a minute. What was originally pegged at $80 million total cost, by Allen Roc, then minister and man in charge of the justice system, has now blossomed into a $2 billion gaggle. Does anyone have any idea how much money $2 billion is? Let me put it into perspective. Two billion dollars could feed every man woman and child in our city for the next 65 years for free. Or better yet, how about this. Two billion dollars could put an additional 1,000 police officers across the country for the next twenty years. Two billion dollars could feed every homeless person in Canada for the next 100 years. But no, the government would rather waste it on some fabricated promise that this program is doing us some benefit in cutting down on violent crime. Yeah right! Why do citizens of this country keep tolerating this ridiculous waste of money? You might as well take a $100 bill and go and throw it in the ditch cause that's what each Canadian citizen does regularly. I don't know about you, but I cannot afford to pay attention and the last thing I want to be doing is wasting my hard earned money, and trust me, I earn it. I was listening to Rex Murphy on CBC TV a couple of weeks ago and he had some very interesting statistics. So far this year in Toronto there have been 71 murders, many of which were innocent people. The killings were almost all gun related. The most recent murder was of an 18-year-old boy outside a church attending the funeral of a 17-year-old boy who was himself murdered the week before. It was a drive-by shooting. This brazen blasphemous horror has shocked and appalled everyone. It has shaken the city to the core and now people are getting scared. In none of these killings has the gun registry been of any assistance . It has been ineffective, of no beneficial use. No value what-so-ever. I wonder if the criminals had their guns that they used in these hideous crimes registered? It was always known that if there was a problem with inner-city crime, gangs, and guns, the response had to be one that dealt with inner cities and with the gangs and their guns. And of course this means confronting some of the most delicate of issues, mixing race, poverty, police relations with these communities, drugs, and several others that need dealing with. Throwing up a national gun registry as an answer was the easy way out. It looked like it was the save all, stop all answer. Oh boy, did we get an eye opener!! I mean it really makes sense that the old Finnish fellow living out in Nolalu that has his .22 grouse gun being registered is going to help stop all the shootings by gangs in Toronto! The Northwestern Ontario Sportsmen's Alliance (NOSA) is taking issue with Prime Minister Paul Martin's proposal to ban all hand guns if and when the Liberal Party gets re-elected in the upcoming election in January. The proposed ban on hand guns is a complete farce as it does nothing to prevent any sort of crime or violence since it will only affect law abiding gun owners much in the same way the current failed gun registry does. NOSA believes this will result in billions more taxpayer's dollars spent by the Liberals on a failed attempt to address crime in big cities such as our beloved Toronto. The gun related crime in these cities is related to the drug trade and gang wars. NOSA is confident that drug dealers and gang members aren't registering their hand guns now, so why will an all-out ban on hand guns mean anything to criminals after it is implemented? The money that the Liberals have wasted on the current failed firearms registry, in addition to money that will be wasted on a proposed hand gun ban would be better spent in strengthening our police departments, arming our border guards and implementing stiffer penalties for gun related crime. NOSA feels a ban on hand guns puts the country one step away from an all out ban on firearms as in Australia where a similar policy has only resulted in the rights of law abiding gun owners being stripped while violent crime involving home invasions and assault have risen. Folks do yourself a favour. Get out and vote this time around. I think it's time for some changes in our country. The amount of money being wasted while people have no family doctors and the wait time in emergency rooms is escalating. Our mills and mines are closing at an alarming rate, putting thousands out of work, and the ever increasing price of energy, gasoline and increase in taxes is ridiculous. Only YOU can make the government accountable, and if you want to slowly lose your rights as free citizens of this country then continue to do what you have been doing. Don't be the apathetic sheep. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 23 Dec 2005 22:06:11 -0600 (CST) From: "Bruce Mills" Subject: Holiday Homicide http://www.pulse24.com/News/Top_Story/20051223-013/page.asp Holiday Homicide December 23, 2005 It's happened again. Less than 24 hours after two men were shot and wounded on the streets of Toronto, our pre-Christmas quiet has been shattered again - and now another family is left to grieve during the holidays. A man believed to be in his 20s was shot in the head multiple times Friday night. The incident happened in the often troubled Jane and Finch area around the dinner hour. The motive for this latest murder remains a mystery and police admit they' re not getting a lot of cooperation from residents near the murder scene. Two people were taken into police custody but the degree of their involvement has not been determined. It's the latest shocking shooting in what's became a tragically familiar violent refrain in the city. With more than a week still left in the year, Toronto has now recorded its 77th homicide of the year - and the 51st at the end of a gun. On Thursday, a man was gunned down outside a hair salon at Church and Weston Road in a drive-by shooting. Though his injuries were considered life threatening, he remains in Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in stable condition. Just two hours later, more bullets were fired, this time hitting a man in the arm outside a Sheridan Mall restaurant at Jane and Wilson. No suspects have been arrested in those cases and cops are still trying to figure out what led to the violence. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 23 Dec 2005 22:06:38 -0600 (CST) From: augustin Subject: Re: Scoop on Can. Steamship Lines Sticking just to politics, as I recall, Martin somehow "forgot" during his disclosure session before being inaugurated as PM, that he owned Lansdowne Technologies. Hardly the sort of company that someone with a stable mind would "forget" owning. >We are talking politics here, strictly politics. But I do hope that >letter writers in the future will do their homework on the facts of the >matter, instead of just some of the facts. > >Doug Schilz >Sarnia ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 23 Dec 2005 23:33:27 -0600 (CST) From: Joe Subject: Paul Martin: Liar, liar, pants on fire! Paul Martin: Liar, liar, pants on fire! posted: December 25, 2003 by Murray Dobbin Does Paul Martin have a pathological aversion to telling the truth? When it comes to his shipping company it seems Mr Martin believes he can simply deny the facts and continually get away with it. And so long as reporters asking the questions haven't done their homework, he is probably right. In an interview with the new prime minister on December 19th, Mary-Lou Findlay, host of As it Happens, asked Mr Martin about his image problem with Canada Steamship Lines - specifically CSL's foreign flagged ships. Called flag-of-convenience ships (FOCs) they allowed Mr Martin (and now allow his sons) to pay a quarter of the Canadian wage rate, avoid paying taxes altogether, and to ignore Canadian labour standards, health and safety laws and environmental regulations. Experts in the field estimate that each ocean-going ship saves on average $700,000 a year from this unethical practice. Mr Martin's response was the same as it has been over the years when challenged on his part in this rogue industry: deny, deny deny. He told As it happens "Five hundred of [CSL'S] over 600 employees are Canadian. The vast majority - the overwhelming majority - of its ships fly the Canadian flag." Yet this flies in the face of numerous investigative pieces done on CSL - including a meticulously researched investigation by the CBC television program Disclosure. In a one hour documentary on CSL last spring, Disclosure revealed "Today, Paul Martin's family business has expanded into a global empire. In Canada, CSL owns eighteen ships which fly our flag. It employs 500 Canadians, and pays Canadian taxes. CSL also owns, in whole or in part, eighteen foreign flagged ships, sailing around the world, from Montreal to Melbourne." In other words, half of CSL's ships are FOC ships and half are Canadian-flagged. How does 50 per cent become an "overwhelming majority?" Easy. Mr. Martin simply refers to CSL Inc - based in Montreal - and tosses in the ships owned by CSL Asia. He neglects to add in the ships owned by CSL International - based in the United States - and conveniently leaves out all those ships that CSL co-owns with other international shipping companies and those that it leases and reflags as FOCs. It's not the first time Mr Martin has cynically misled the public about the sleazy side of CSL. In 1996 he was asked by Montreal Gazette reporter Jules Richer about his foreign flagged ships and how many he had. Mr Martin's reply? ``The last I looked it was about 90 per cent of CSL ships that are registered in Canada,'' But even CSL's vice-president Pierre Prefontaine told the same reporter that only 12 of the company's 17 ships were registered in Canada. That is, 70 per cent. When Martin answered the question, he also knew, from his regular "Blind Management Agreement" briefings about major decisions made by CSL, that it was building two more ships for delivery in 1998 and 1999. Both of these would be registered in the Bahamas. In other words, rather than ninety percent of Martin's ships being registered in Canada, the figure was 63 per cent - and getting steadily smaller. Like it or not, we are all Paul Martin watchers now. We should all keep an eye on the length of his nose. http://www.cbc.ca/disclosure/archives/030401_csl/main.html Originally Broadcast April 1, 2003 Anchors Away: Mainpage Introduction | Paul Martin Inc. | Inside Canada Steamship Lines Flags of Convenience | The Vanuatu Connection | The Australia Connection A Taxing Dilemma | Paul Martin Timeline | Resources Credits Story Update: Martin asks auditor general to look at family's contracts - - article from CBC News Online, February 4, 2004. Introduction Disclosure examines how the Martin family has survived and succeeded in the tough and often ruthlessly competitive trade conducted out of sight on the high seas - a world full of tax havens, shell companies and flags of convenience. Paul Martin Inc. From his days as a deck hand on a Lake Erie fishing boat, and later as a seaman on ocean-going ships, Paul Martin has long had an affinity for the sailor's life. This is a closer look at Paul Martin's history in the shipping industry. Inside Canada Steamship Lines The Canadian sailors climbed aboard Canada Steamship Lines, thinking they too would be part of Paul Martin's grand plans. But for them, the ocean adventure was short-lived. Martin's plans didn't include them. Flags of Convenience In the international shipping business, the flag you fly determines the wages you pay and the minimum standards you follow. If you lower the Canadian flag and replace it with another country's, our employment and environmental standards no longer apply. The Vanuatu Connection To understand how the world of international shipping works, we went to the other side of the world, to a little known South Pacific paradise called Vanuatu. The Australia Connection Four years ago, CSL expanded to Australia. CSL's critics say the company took advantage of an Australian law that allows foreign freighters -and their crews- to work in domestic waters if no domestic ship is available. A Taxing Dilemma In 1992, a year before Paul Martin became Finance Minister, Canada Steamship Lines set up five companies in Liberia, Africa, a tax haven of choice in the offshore shipping business. Paul Martin Timeline A timeline detailing Paul Martin's dual careers as ship magnate and politician, with links to related news coverage. Documents and Resources Links to research, organizations, media coverage and documents Disclosure uncovered while researching this story. ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 24 Dec 2005 01:00:56 -0600 (CST) From: "Jim S." Subject: a right or a freedom? Bruce - > Well you see, this is how they slowly usurp and steal your rights. First, > they claim that all the "old stuff" isn't relevant anymore, because it's, > well, *old*. If it's *old* it can't be "progressive". And if it isn't > "progressive" it must be bad! > > Then they draft up a *new* and *progressive* document (which is by default > "better"), then they wave that around and quote it and make new rules > based > on *that* document. Of course, it is written so full of holes, and skewed > to the particular biases of the "progressives", it isn't worth the paper > it's printed on. But they've got everyone convinced that it is. For those who have studied the rise and fall of civilizations, one learns that all of them will eventually pass away. This really is a grand cycle that all societies move through: no culture is static. The good news is that this type of decay does not move uniformly through a society, but rather festers in certain areas and regions. If one stays away from these areas, then one is able to enjoy the old traditions longer. The next major recession will put a stop to a large amount of squandering of the billions that the Liberals have their hands on. That's the GOOD news. Dr. Mike's dictum is most appropriate here. Jim Szpajcher St. Paul, AB ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 24 Dec 2005 10:54:58 -0600 (CST) From: "mred" Subject: Re: Scoop on Can. Steamship Lines - ----- Original Message ----- > We are talking politics here, strictly politics. But I do hope that > letter writers in the future will do their homework on the facts of the > matter, instead of just some of the facts. > > Doug Schilz > Sarnia I have to respectfully disagree with the above ,On w-5 I believe>? either this year earlier or last year they did a program on CSL and Paul Martins avoidance of income tax. None of the above was mentioned at all .I taped the last half of the program so will have to look for it again as I filed it. ed/ontario ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 24 Dec 2005 10:55:55 -0600 (CST) From: br8boss@xcelco.on.ca Subject: Fwd: Election message - Your vote makes a difference. Use it. http://www.ccfd.ca/parade.gif [Moderator's Note: please do not send pictures as attachments - BNM] ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 24 Dec 2005 10:56:19 -0600 (CST) From: "Bruce Mills" Subject: [COLUMN] Parties counting pennies http://www.torontosun.com/News/Columnists/Copps_Sheila/2005/12/24/1366613.h tml Parties counting pennies Elections Canada says Liberals in debt as they head into the final weeks of the campaign By Sheila Copps Sat, December 24, 2005 OTTAWA -- Do you ever wonder why the credit card companies offer all kinds of freebies in December to get us hooked while we are busy filling our Christmas baskets? You know the sinking feeling you get in January when the bills come in for purchases you made spontaneously on the way to the checkout counter during the last desperate shopping hours before Christmas? Well, the same headache is about to hit three federal political parties. Several Liberal and NDP staffers have reportedly been laid off during the holiday season, ostensibly to keep costs in line with what is permitted by law. However, a quick perusal of the Elections Canada website tells a more fulsome story. The new election legislation requires detailed reporting of the financial status of every party beginning in 2004. The most recent annual financial update of each party gives us a glimpse into the precarious state of the Liberal Party treasury. According to Elections Canada, in their last annual filing, the Liberal Party of Canada was $34,818,257.32 in debt, by way of 13 bank loans. The Bloc Quebecois has more than $10 million in outstanding loans, mostly from the Caisse Desjardins. The NDP has several modest loans outstanding, totalling a little more than $3 million. The Conservatives are debt-free. When I called the Chief Financial Officer of the Liberal Party, Lloyd Posno, he denied the party had a debt anywhere near $34.8 million, saying it was "impossible." He said the reporting mechanism for Elections Canada must be wrong, because he knew absolutely that the party's debt was much less than the amount cited on the website. He would not put a figure on the amount, saying that he was not authorized to speak publicly on money issues. I then turned to Elections Canada, asking if they might have erred on the year-end financial statements they published for all political parties. They investigated my request and returned with a statement that the figures they published were completely accurate and were actually pursuant to the financial statements filed by each party. If you review the published fundraising activities of the Liberal Party, they reported $1,702,974.83 in fundraising in the first quarter of 2005, which still left them $33 million in debt. Advertising on a budget As decisions are made on advertising buys for the upcoming weeks of the campaign, it is clear that parties could go deeper into hock -- or choose to run ads that keep their budgets balanced. Some of the Conservative ads seem to have been made with home movie cameras. They might have had the media giggling, but the party laid off no employees during the holidays. They will enter the New Year with a full war chest. As we enter the home stretch of the campaign, all political parties will have to spend, spend, spend on advertising to bombard us with their messages. Are the parties seeking more loans to pay for huge advertising budgets? How deep in debt are they willing to go to get your vote? What happens to the debts for the parties that are unsuccessful in the election? As a family, would you rather enter the New Year with modest gifts and a good credit rating? Or would you rack up your credit card debt to pay the price in 2006? The same principle holds true for the country. Like families, political parties should keep their spending within their means so 2006 won't hit them between the eyes with a giant credit headache. Merry Christmas to all! . Have a letter for the editor? E-mail it to editor@tor.sunpub.com ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 24 Dec 2005 10:56:33 -0600 (CST) From: "Bruce Mills" Subject: [COLUMN] Plastic Patrotism - Paul Martin Style http://www.charlesadler.com/News/NPViewArticle.asp?cmd=view&articleid=585 Plastic Patrotism - Paul Martin Style By Charles Adler December 24, 2005 I will always defend Canadian interests. This party will always embrace Canadian values. Is the plastic patriotism getting a little thick? Samuel Johnson, the English public thinker, coughed up a great chestnut back in 1775: "Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel." He was writing, we are told, about false patriotism. What would he say about the current campaign that is designed to win Canadian hearts and minds? Would Johnson be impressed with the rolling out of the Maple Leaf at every campaign stop. There was a time when a Liberal leader was satisfied to be seen with one flag behind him at a given campaign whistle stop. But now those who choreograph these "events" have the leader draped in flags. One is never enough. There are times when four of them aren't enough. And it's not just the numbers that might evoke to the late Mr. Johnson, the sense of false patriotism. Size matters to Liberals. It seems the flags get larger every year. Question to the Martin campaign: Are the flags getting larger? Or is your leader getting smaller? I am told that the guys who sail the PM's little vessel, the backroom hounds who I think of as pantry boys, read this column. Now that I have gotten your attention, I realize that you think I am unfair. It is true that Stephen Harper also rolls out the flag. But it's generally a more modest display. And Harper doesn't seem to keep blowing on that Canadian values horn the way Paul (Satchmo) Martin does. Virtually everything Harper suggests is, in the rhetoric of the prime minister, contrary to Canadian values. Whether it's child care, health care, foreign policy, domestic policy or same sex policy, nothing Stephen Harper recommends is Canadian enough for Paul Martin. Hey Paul. You're only a first minister among other ministers. You're only a common man representing other commoners. You are not the God of Canada. Do you honestly think you are the God of Canadian values? To hear you on the stump under your canopy of flags, one would think that you invented Canadian values. Just because someone challenges what you think, doesn't make him unpatriotic. It's not like we are at war and your opponent is supporting the enemy. Or are we? In recent days, the pantry boys have told the PM that his little fart attack at the environmental confab in Montreal created some goodwill for him among those Canadians who enjoy bashing Uncle Sam. Martin might as well have said that the Americans are to clean air what Osama Bin Laden is to the bumper sticker 'I S New York.' The Martin speech drew some fire from the U.S. ambassador to Canada whose name our prime minister mistakenly or deliberately mispronounces. Memo to Paul Martin: We are not at war with the United States. But I suppose it shouldn't surprise us that a false patriot might create a false war. In the spirit of Samuel Johnson, and my serious attempt to provide a balanced approach in this column, I want to congratulate the prime minister. Mr. Prime Minister. You deserve at least one bouquet for exceptional brilliance. If your balderdash patriotism does involve us in a war with our neighbour, your personal fleet of ships will be safe from enemy fire. Putting pragmatism ahead of patriotism, they don't fly the Maple Leaf. Charles Adler is heard on 11 radio stations across the Corus Radio Network, including CKNW-Vancouver, 630CHED-Edmonton, CHQR770-Calgary-AM640-Toronto,AM980-London,CKOM-Saskatoon,CJME-Regina,CHML- Hamilton,AM940-Montreal Home base is Winnipeg on CJOB-68 He appears twice weekly in Sun Media newspapers in Edmonton,Calgary,Winnipeg,London, Toronto and Ottawa. ------------------------------ End of Cdn-Firearms Digest V8 #814 ********************************** 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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