Ontario Religious Groups and Summer Jobs, Part 2

Here is the second part listing the religious organizations in Ontario that were successful in their applications to the Canada Summer Jobs program, despite the totalitarian requirement to respect the human rights of other Canadians.

Continued from here.

Reminders: I was going by name only. All (known) religious groups got tagged. Others that sounded "churchy" got checked. Caps and quotation marks from original document. Where "no website" is noted I could not find a website for that particular group. (Obviously there is a website for "United Church of Canada" but sometimes I couldn't find one specific to that riding.) Where a link is not provided, it is elsewhere in this blogpost. Asterisks indicate a Catholic organization. I haven't done the hyperlink thing, because there are too many. Sorry, you'll have to copy and paste. And another "sorry": it is loooooong.

MPs' names are included because they have final sign-off -- if they want it -- on who gets funded.




Nepean
MP Arya, Chandra, Liberal
BELLS CORNERS UNITED CHURCH https://www.bcuc.org/
St. Mary Coptic Orthodox Church-Ottawa http://word.stmary-ottawa.org/
South Nepean Muslim Community https://www.snmc.ca/
CHURCH OF THE LIVING WORD IN OTTAWA http://www.churchoflivingwordottawa.com/
Transforming Life Centre http://www.tlcottawa.org/en/home/
Parish of Christ Church Bells Corners https://christchurchbellscorners.ca/
Canada Bangladesh Muslim Community http://www.cbmc-canada.org/
Vallavambiga Sri Taiyalnayaki Sametha Vaithiyanatha Swamy Koil Inc. no web site
Ottawa Torah Centre http://www.theotc.org/

Newmarket — Aurora
MP Peterson, Kyle, Liberal
Campus Church Bayview https://www.thecampusbayview.ca/
"Governing Council of Salvation Army, Canada"
World Sikh Organization of Canada http://www.worldsikh.org/
St. Paul's Church, http://www.stpaulsnewmarket.org/
Toronto Youth for Christ

Niagara Centre
MP Badawey, Vance, Liberal
St. James and St. Brendan Anglican Church http://www.portcolborneanglican.org/
Bethesda Community Services Inc. https://www.bethesdaservices.com/
Grace Christian Reformed Church https://www.gracecrc.ca/

Niagara Falls
MP Nicholson, Rob, Conservative
Jewish Niagara http://www.jewishniagara.com/
OUR LADY OF THE SCAPULAR PARISH https://www.ourladyofthescapular.net/ ***
The Bridge Missional Communities/The HUB https://www.thebridgenf.ca/the-hub
The Anglican Church of Canada - The Synod of the Diocese of Niagara https://niagaraanglican.ca/
Cornerstone Community Church (Niagara) http://www.ccchurch.ca/

Niagara West
MP Allison, Dean, Conservative
Centennial Park Baptist Church http://www.grimsbybaptist.org/
Hamilton Presbytery Mission Council of Hamilton Presbytery of the United Church of Canada http://hamiltonpresbytery.org/
St. Andrews Anglican Church https://niagaraanglican.ca/parish/st-andrew-grimsby
Wainfleet Brethren In Christ Church https://wainfleetbic.com/

Nickel Belt none
MP Serré, Marc Liberal

Nipissing — Timiskaming
MP Rota, Anthony, Liberal
Trinity United Church https://trinitynorthbay.ca/

Northumberland — Peterborough South
MP Rudd, Kim, Liberal
Christian Horizons https://www.christian-horizons.org/areas/1335-cobourg

Oakville
MP Oliver, John, Liberal
St. Peter and St. Paul Coptic Orthodox Church of Oakville https://www.spspoakville.com/
St. Simons Anglican Church http://www.stsimon.ca/tp40/Default.asp?ID=97192
The Meeting House Church Family https://www.themeetinghouse.com/
St Jude's Anglican Church http://stjudeschurch.net/
St. John's United Church http://stjohnsunited.ca/
St. Paul's United Church http://www.stpaulsoakville.com/
Oakville Church of The Nazarene http://oakvillecotn.ca/

Oakville North — Burlington
MP Damoff, Pam, Liberal
Tansley United Church https://www.tansleychurch.com/
River Oaks Community Church http://riveroakschurch.ca/
Knox Presbyterian Church Sixteen https://knox16presbyterian.ca/
St. Luke's Anglican Church http://www.stlukesburlington.ca/index.php
FORESTVIEW BIBLE CHURCH (BURLINGTON ONTARIO) http://forestviewchurch.ca/

Orléans
MP Leslie, Andrew, Liberal
Capital City Church Canada http://www2.capitalcitychurch.ca/
"REDEEMED CHRISTIAN CHURCH OF GOD, FAITH CHAPEL, ORLEANS, ON." http://rccgfcorleans.org/
Eglise Evangelique Baptiste d'Orleans http://egebo.ca/
Grace Presbyterian Church http://www.graceorleans.ca/

Oshawa
MP Carrie, Colin, Conservative
Northminister United Church http://www.northminsterunited.com/
Islamic Centre of Oshawa http://www.oshawamosque.com/
The Governing Council of The Salvation Army
Christian Horizons

Ottawa Centre
MP McKenna, Catherine, Liberal
The Ottawa Muslim Association http://ottawamosque.ca/
Ottawa Chinese Alliance Church https://ottawacac.org/
Incorporated Synod of the Anglican Diocese of Ottawa https://ottawa.anglican.ca/
Ottawa Chinese Bible Church https://en.ocbconline.ca/
Fourth Avenue Baptist Church http://fourthavebaptist.ca/
The Shepherds of Good Hope http://www.shepherdsofgoodhope.com/
Jewish Youth Library of Ottawa http://www.jewishyouthlibrary.com/
SYNAGOGUE AND JEWISH COMMUNITY CENTRE OF OTTAWA https://www.jccottawa.com/
Islam Care Centre http://islamcare.ca/

Ottawa South
MP McGuinty, David, Liberal
Emmanuel United Church https://www.facebook.com/EUC.Ottawa/
St. Aidan's Anglican Church http://staidansottawa.org/
Congregation Machzikei Hadas https://www.cmhottawa.com/
Assunnah Muslims Association https://www.mymasjid.ca/
KHALED IBN ALWALEED ISLAMIC CENTER OF CANADA http://www.khaledcentre.com/about-us/

Ottawa West — Nepean
MP Vandenbeld, Anita, Liberal
"Ottawa Presbytery, United Church of Canada" http://www.uccanottawa.org/
Ottawa Torah Institute https://ottawatorah.com/
The Governing Council of The Salvation Army
Jewish Family Services of Ottawa http://www.jfsottawa.com/
Muslim Association of Canada
Vallavambiga Sri Taiyalnayaki Sametha Vaithiyanatha Swamy Koil Inc.
Ottawa Islamic School http://www.ottawaislamicschool.org/
The Ottawa Sikh Society https://ottawasikhsociety.com/

Ottawa — Vanier
MP Fortier, Mona, Liberal
OMI St. Peter's Province St. Joseph Parish https://www.omiworld.org/lemma/ottawa-saint-josephs-parish-1856-2007/

Oxford
MP MacKenzie, Dave Conservative
INNERKIP UNITED CHURCH http://innerkipunited.ca/
Conseil Scolaire Catholique Providence http://cscprovidence.ca/ssf/a/do?p_name=ss_forum&p_action=1&binderId=71721&action=view_permalink&entityType=folder&vibeonprem_url=1?vibeonprem_root=1 **** Catholic****
Norwich United Church http://norwichunitedchurch.ca/
Plattsville Evangelical Missionary Church https://pemchurch.ca/
Westminster United Church http://makingconnexions.com/
St Paul's UnitedChurch. http://stpaulsunitedchurch.net/

Parkdale — High Park
MP Virani, Arif, Liberal
"Church of the Epiphany and St Mark, Parkdale" https://www.facebook.com/The-Church-of-the-Epiphany-and-St-Mark-Parkdale-223992171043698/
Windermere United Church http://windermerechurch.ca/

Parry Sound — Muskoka none
MP Clement, Tony, Conservative

Perth — Wellington
MP Nater, John, Conservative
Ritz Lutheran Villa https://ritzlutheranvilla.com/
Bethel Pentecostal Church https://www.bethelstratford.org/

Peterborough — Kawartha
MP Monsef, Maryam, Liberal
St. John's Anglican Peterborough http://stjohnspeterborough.ca/
St. James United Church http://www.stjamesunitedchurch.ca/
Kawartha Muslim Religious Association https://www.kmrapeterborough.org/
Christian Horizons
Kawartha Christian Ministries no website

Pickering — Uxbridge
MP O'Connell, Jennifer, Liberal
St. Paul's Leaskdale http://saintpauls.ca/
Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama'at Canada Inc.
"St. Paul's on-the-Hill, Anglican Church" http://stpaulsonthehill.com/sunday-services/
Amberlea Presbyterian Church https://www.amberleachurch.ca/
Apostolic Pentecostal Church in Pickering http://www.apcministries.com/
Pickering Pentecostal Church http://www.ppclife.ca/
La Storta Jesuits no website JESUITS!

Renfrew — Nipissing — Pembroke
MP Gallant, Cheryl, Conservative
Golden Lake United Church Camp https://www.goldenlakecamp.ca/
Evergreen Christian Ministries http://www.evergreencm.org/
The Governing Council of the Salvation Army

Richmond Hill
MP Jowhari, Majid, Liberal
"KING'S COURT, THE REDEEMED CHRISTIAN CHURCH OF GOD" http://kingscourtbrampton.org/
Kingdom On The Rock Ministries https://www.gilgalchristiancommunity.org/kingdom-on-the-rock-markham.html
Richmond Hill (Chinese) Baptist Church http://www.rhcbc.org/
The Churchwardens of St Marys Richmond Hill http://saintmaryschurch.ca/
Jewish Russian SPEAKING Community Centre http://www.jrcc.org/

Sarnia — Lambton
MP Gladu, Marilyn, Conservative
Grace United Church https://www.graceucsarnia.com/
St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church Sarnia http://stdemetriossarnia.org/
Sarnia Missionary Church http://sarniaemc.org/
Society of St. Vincent de Paul Particular Council Sarnia Deanery

Sault Ste. Marie none
MP Sheehan, Terry, Liberal

Scarborough Centre
MP Zahid, Salma, Liberal
The General Council of the Salvation Army
St Peter's Anglican Church http://www.stpetersscarborough.com/
Muslim Association of Canada
MIRACLE CENTRE MINISTRIES CHURCH OF THE SOVEREIGN GOD http://miraclecentreministries.com/
Dorset Park Baptist Church http://www.dorsetparkchurch.org/
Scarborough Muslim Association http://smacanada.ca/
Catholic Cross-Cultural Services http://cathcrosscultural.org/ ***
The Governing Council of The Salvation Army in Canada
Catholic Children's Aid Society Toronto http://torontoccas.ca/ ****
Skyway Christian Assembly http://skywayca.org/sca/

Scarborough North
MP Chen, Shaun, Liberal
Muslim Welfare Centre of Toronto https://www.muslimwelfarecentre.com/
Conseil scolaire catholique MonAvenir https://www.cscmonavenir.ca/ ****
Immanuel Christian School Society no website
The Lighthouse Christian Social Services http://lighthousecentre.ca/
Grace Christian Reformed Church of Scarborough https://gracecrc.com/
ISLAMIC FOUNDATION OF TORONTO
Islamic Circle of North America
Jai Durga Hindu Society Scarborough http://jaidurgatemple.ca/
Toronto Central Baptist Church no website
St John's Milliken Presbyterian Church http://pccweb.ca/stjohns-milliken/
Rosewood Baptist Church http://www.rosewoodbaptistchurch.org/
Islamic Institute of Toronto http://islam.ca/

Scarborough Southwest
MP Blair, Bill, Liberal
Salaheddin Islamic Centre http://www.salaheddin.org/
Shouters National Evangelical Spiritual Baptist Faith International Centre of Canada http://shouterbaptist.org/
Warden Woods Church and Community Centre http://www.wardenwoods.com/
St. Paul's United Church https://www.stpaulsscarborough.org/
The Birchcliff Bluffs Congregation of the United Church of Canada https://www.bbuc.ca/

Scarborough — Agincourt
MP Yip, Jean, Liberal
St. Timothy's Anglican Church, Agincourt" http://sttims.ca/
Association of Christian Evangelical Ministry (Canada) http://www.acem.ca/
Living Stone Assembly no website
Bridlegrove Bible Chapel http://bridlegrovebiblechapel.ca/
The Governing Council of the Salvation Army in Canada
Toronto Youth for Christ

Scarborough — Guildwood
MP McKay, John, Liberal
Jesus Christ Is Alive Ministries International http://www.jciami.com/
Grace Apostolic Church of Scarborough Corporation https://www.gracelifecenter.ca/
Catholic Cross-Cultural Services ***

Scarborough — Rouge Park
MP Anandasangaree, Gary, Liberal
Toronto Youth for Christ
Canadian Council of Muslim Women http://ccmw.com/
Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama'at Canada Inc.

Simcoe North
MP Stanton, Bruce, Conservative
Orillia Christian Ministries http://orillialighthouse.ca/
Governing Council of the Salvation Army Can
Covenant Brethren In Christ Church https://www.covenantchurch.ca/
Sparrow Lake United Church Camp Inc. https://sparrowlakecamp.com/

Simcoe — Grey
MP Leitch, K. Kellie, Conservative
The General Council of the Salvation Army
Coptic Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria no website
Grace United Church Thornbury http://www.graceunitedthornbury.ca/

Spadina — Fort York none
MP Vaughan, Adam, Liberal

St. Catharines
MP Bittle, Chris, Liberal
Muslim Association of Canada
Conseil scolaire catholique MonAvenir Conseil scolaire catholique MonAvenir ****
Grace Church https://niagaraanglican.ca/parish/grace-church-st-catharines
The Salvation Army
Jubilee Fellowship Christian Reformed Church http://jubileecrc.org/
Stormont — Dundas — South Glengarry
MP Lauzon, Guy, Conservative
Harmony Community Church https://www.harmony-church.org/

Sudbury
MP Lefebvre, Paul, Liberal
All Nations Church http://allnationschurch.ca/
Christian Horizons
St. Mary's Ukrainian Catholic Church http://www.saintmarysudbury.com/

Thornhill
MP Kent, Peter, Conservative
Temple Kol Ami https://www.kolami.ca/
Chabad Lubavitch of Southern Ontario http://www.chabad.ca/
Jewish Services of Canada not sure of website
Jewish Family and Child Service of Greater Toronto https://www.jfandcs.com/
Beth Avraham Yoseph of Toronto Congregation https://www.bayt.ca/
Jewish Russian Speaking Community of Toronto http://www.jrcc.org/
The Canadian-Muslim Vote https://www.canadianmuslimvote.ca/
Islamic Shia Ithaansheri Jamaat of Toronto https://www.jaffari.org/
Chabad Russian Centre of Thornhill Woods http://www.jewishthornhillwoods.org/
The Joe Dwek Ohr Haemet Sephardic School http://www.jdohss.org/
Sephardic Educational Foundation https://jewishtoronto.com/directory/sephardic-kehila-centre
Chabad At Flamingo http://www.chabadflamingo.com/
Jewish Youth Network https://jewishyouth.ca/
Beth Chabad Israeli Community Centre http://www.chabadisraeli.com/?lang=en
Hesperus Fellowship Community of Ontario http://www.hesperus.ca/
Great Enlightenment Buddhist Institute Society (GEBIS) Toronto http://gebis.org/
Jewish Learning Initiative on Campus https://oujlic.org/

Thunder Bay — Rainy River none
MP Rusnak, Don, Liberal

Thunder Bay — Superior North
MP Hajdu, Patty, Liberal
The Governing Council of The Salvation Army in Canada

Timmins — James Bay
MP Angus, Charlie, NDP
Evangel Pentecostal Tabernacle no website
CONSEIL SCOLAIRE CATHOLIQUE DE DISTRICT DES GRANDES RIVIÈRES https://www.cscdgr.education/ *****

Toronto Centre
MP Morneau, Bill, Liberal
Toronto Christian Resource Centre http://tcrc.ca/
The Yonge Street Mission https://www.ysm.ca/
The General Council of the Salvation Army
"Churchwardens, Church of the Holy Trinity"

Toronto — Danforth
MP Dabrusin, Julie, Liberal
The Jamiatul Muslemin of Toronto http://madinahmasjid.ca/
Eastminster United Church http://www.eastminsteruc.org/
Bethany Baptist Church no website

Toronto — St. Paul's
MP Bennett, Carolyn, Liberal
Beth Tzedec Congregation https://www.beth-tzedec.org/
Chabad of Midtown http://www.chabadmt.com/
New Dawn Moravian Church no website

University — Rosedale
MP Freeland, Chrystia, Liberal
Muslim Association of Canada
Student Christian Movement of Canada http://scmcanada.org/
Church of the Messiah http://www.churchofthemessiah.ca/
The General Council of the Salvation Army
The Lighthouse Christian Social Services http://lighthousecentre.ca/
Miles Nadal Jewish Community Centre http://mnjcc.org/
New Direction for Life Ministries of Canada no website

Vaughan — Woodbridge
MP Sorbara, Francesco, Liberal
New Life Christian Church http://www.newlifecc.ca/

Waterloo
MP Chagger, Bardish, Liberal
Islamic Humanitarian Service http://www.al-haqq.net/
Glen Acres Baptist Church http://www.glenacres.on.ca/
Parkminster United Church http://www.parkuc.ca/
Elevation Church http://elevationwaterloo.org/
Kitchener-Waterloo Chinese Alliance Church https://www.kwcac.ca/
Waterloo Mennonite Brethren Church https://wmbchurch.ca/
Parkwood Mennonite Home https://parkwoodmh.com/
Emmanuel United Church http://www.emmanueluc.ca/
The Canadian Council of Churches https://www.councilofchurches.ca/
Waterloo Catholic District School Board https://www.wcdsb.ca/ ****
Mennonite Economic Development Associates https://www.meda.org/

Wellington — Halton Hills
MP Chong, Michael, Conservative
Grand River Community (Baptist) Church http://grcc.ca/
Erin Village Alliance Church http://erinvillage.ca/
St James' Church (Fergus) http://www.stjamesfergus.ca/
Grace Christian Fellowship of Fergus Inc http://igrace.ca/
Norval United Church http://www.norvalunited.ca/
LifeHouse Church http://lifehousechurch.faith/?kw=life%20house%20church&mt=p&loc=9061009&n=g&d=c&adp=1t2&cid=1347713421&adgid=54448093899&tid=kwd-435517004785&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI8O3Bz62A2wIV0KZpCh2ERglYEAAYAiAAEgKD5vD_BwE
Ignatius Jesuit Centre https://ignatiusguelph.ca/ ****
The Salvation Army Correctional and Justice Services MacMillan Centre

Whitby
MP Caesar-Chavannes, Celina, Liberal
Burns Presbyterian Church https://www.burnschurch.org/
Muslim Welfare Centre of Toronto https://www.muslimwelfarecentre.com/
Chabad Jewish Centre of Durham Region http://www.jewishdurham.com/
Westminster United Church http://westminster-uc.ca/
St. Andrews Presbyterian Church http://worship-with-us.org/
Durham Christian Homes Society Inc http://www.dchomes.ca/
St. Mark's United Church https://www.st-marks.ca/
Hebron Christian Reformed Church of Whitby http://www.hebronchurch.ca/

Willowdale
MP Ehsassi, Ali, Liberal
Willowdale Pentecostal Church http://www.willowdalepc.com/
The Governing Council Of The Salvation Army
Triumph Chinese Evangelical Missionary Church https://www.tcemc.net/
Ufaratsta Jewish Outreach Centre no website
CONSEIL SCOLAIRE DE DISTRICT CATHOLIQUE MONAVENIR https://www.cscmonavenir.ca/ ****
Willowdale Community Christian Assembly http://willowdale.com/
Cummer Avenue United Church http://www.cummeravenueuc.ca/
The Sisterhood of Saint John the Divine https://www.ssjd.ca/
Catholic Children's Aid Society http://torontoccas.ca/
Spring Garden Baptist Church http://springgardenchurch.ca/
Toronto Youth for Christ
Willowdale Emmanuel United Church https://www.willowdaleunitedchurch.com/
Beth Tikvah Synagogue https://bethtikvahtoronto.org/
Jewish Russian Speaking Community of Toronto

Windsor West
MP Masse, Brian, NDP
Christian Horizons
GILGAL CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY https://www.gilgalchristiancommunity.org/one-church-windsor.html
Ontario Church of God in Christ http://www.harrisonmemorialchurch.com/

Windsor — Tecumseh
MP Hardcastle, Cheryl, NDP
Conseil Scolaire Catholique Providence http://cscprovidence.ca/ssf/a/do?p_name=ss_forum&p_action=1&binderId=71721&action=view_permalink&entityType=folder&vibeonprem_url=1?vibeonprem_root=1 ***
The Governing Council of the Salvation Army in Canda and Bermuda
Society of Saint Vincent de Paul Windsor Essex Central Council

York Centre
MP Levitt, Michael, Liberal
The Jewish Educational Experience
Chabad Lubavitch of Laureleaf no website
Toronto Grace Alliance Church http://tgac.ca/
B'nai Brith National Organization of Canada https://www.bnaibrith.ca/
The Beth Joseph Anshai New York Synagogue http://www.bethjosephchabad.com/
Building a Jewish Tomorrow https://jewishtoronto.com/tomorrowcampaign
The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs http://cija.ca/
Jewish Literacy Foundation of Canada https://jewishtoronto.com/directory/jewish-literacy-foundation
United Israel Appeal of Canada https://www.jewishcanada.org/home/history
JIAS (Jewish Immigrant Aid Services) Toronto http://www.jiastoronto.org/
Jewish Family and Child of Greater Toronto
Jewish Russian SPEAKING Community Centre
Adath Israel Congregation http://www.adathisrael.com/young-families.aspx
Bnei Akiva Schools https://bastoronto.org/
Congregation Darchei Noam https://www.darcheinoam.ca/
Beth David B'nai Israel Beth Am https://www.bethdavid.com/
Beth Emeth Bais Yehuda https://www.beby.org/
Torah in Motion https://www.torahinmotion.org/
Bais Chaya Mushka School For Girls https://bcmschool.ca/
Jewish National Fund of Canada (Keren Kayemeth Le'Israel) Inc. http://www.kkl-jnf.org/
Jewish Vocational Service of Metropolitan Toronto
Emrnanuel Church of the Nazarene http://www.thewellonbayview.ca/

York South — Weston
MP Hussen, Ahmed, Liberal
ANJUMAN-E-ISLAHUL-MUSLEMIN OF TORONTO
Islamic Social Services and Resources Association (ISSRA)
Governing Council The Salvation Army Canada


Feel free to do what you want with this. Like maybe stick it in the face of a whining, grandstanding Christian squealing about "totalitarianism."

Credit would be nice.

Scientists: They're not mad, they're angry.

Kady O'Malley's news story about the scientists' march and protest is here.

Slide show of inspiring placards and slogans. Take note of the inflated planet earth with "scorch" zones, and the chart that explains climate change succinctly in 50 words or less to open minds. I met the scientists who brought these items to the march: they work at a local university, and this was the first political protest they attended.

As Mike Soron said here: It’s extraordinary and inspiring to see the research and scientific community speaking up in this way.

The march and protest was organized to coincide with this well-attended international and interdisciplinary scientific event, held at the Ottawa Congress Centre.

This will be the first time that these five societies have met together, creating a truly international event that spans the fields of ecology and evolution. The meeting will be the premier showcase in 2012 for the presentation and discussion among peers of the latest, leading-edge research in ecology and evolution, and will also be an important forum for outreach and education.

Over 2000 scientists, people working in support of scientific research and graduate students marched to Parliament Hill last Tuesday, bearing a coffin that held scientific evidence the CPC government wants to bury.

Meanwhile, the Harper Regime's decision to slash funding for Parks Canada programs and services but to generously endow one single site, has been trumpeted by none other than Tony *Cashmere* Clement. The tourist attraction is CONveniently located in his riding, of course.

Compare and contrast: the G20 Fake Lake and the Experimental Lakes Area project.

Located in Northwestern Ontario, the Experimental Lakes Area is a series of 58 lakes that have been the site of environmental research for over 40 years. The lakes have served as an invaluable natural laboratory where scientists have been able to study issues such as acid rain, climate change and farm fishing. Scientists at the ELA have been responsible for discoveries that have impacted freshwater systems across the globe.[...]

The loss of this vital facility will be a deep one for Canada. Not only will we lose our place on the world stage as leaders in freshwater ecology science, but we’ll lose our ability to predict how our freshwater will be affected by external factors such as pollution and fish farming — and thus, protect our own water supply.

The closure of the ELA research facility will not only impact the health of lakes and rivers, but for the health of Canadians, as our lakes are our direct source of drinking water.

And last, but not least ...

from virtually the moment the Conservatives took power, scientists in the employ of the government have not been permitted to speak freely to journalists, at least not without the con-sent of media relations officers. This approach, which has much in common with the way cults operate, effectively limits the dissemination, to the public, of the fruits of scientific endeavours. So too does the elimination of the National Science Advisor position, which the Conservatives axed in 2008.

In fact, government control over information, scientific and otherwise, has become so intense that Canada's freedom-of-information ranking has now fallen to 51st out of 89 countries scored by the Halifax-based Centre for Law and Democracy. That places us below such bastions of freedom as Angola, Colombia and Niger.

Yet as totalitarian governments have always learned, evidence has a way of getting out. And when uncomfortable evidence rears its head, the Conservatives have been right there, ready to twist it off. Consider for example, the 2008 Health Canada report on chrysotile asbestos.

After trying, and ultimately failing, to hide the report, Industry Minister Christian Paradis falsely claimed that panel members disagreed about the safe use of chrysotile - a move that prompted the panel's chair to speak out about the "gross misuse and misinterpretation" of the report.

Similarly, after 130 physicians and scientists accused former Health Minister Tony Clement of misrepresenting and suppressing the scientific findings on Vancouver's supervised injection site, Clement proceeded to, well, misrepresent and suppress the findings.

Indeed, Clement convened his own hand-picked panel of experts to assess the site's value, and after the expert panel's report was submitted, two members of the panel lamented that Clement misrepresented their findings. And if that weren't enough, Clement then tried to pass off a poorly writ-ten opinion piece about the site as the equivalent of two dozen published studies - a clear indication of the value Clement places on science.

Source of illustration.

Eenie-Meenie, Pro or Anti

After I wrote the open letter to opposition women's caucuses and Antonia Zerbisias retweeted it, it got some attention from Elizabeth May and Carolyn Bennett. (Djaouida Sellah is on twitter [@DSellahNDP] but hasn't weighed in and BQ's Maria Mourani seems not to have a twitter account.)

May said:

@ElizabethMay: @AntoniaZ @DSellahNDP @Carolyn_Bennett Thanks so much for your work! Do not leave out #CPC women MPs. Many (most?) are pro-choice. #cdnpol

Well, Antonia and I got busy checking both at ARCC and Campaign Lie.

According to ARCC, there are only six known pro-choice CONs: John Baird, Michael Chong, Peter Kent, Gordon O'Connor, Joe Oliver, and Lisa Raitt.

This surprised Ms May.

@AntoniaZ @fernhilldammit @DSellahNDP @Carolyn_Bennett I am surprised. Thanks for checking. #TellAntiChoiceMPsEverything #cdnpoli

— Elizabeth May MP (@ElizabethMay) March 27, 2012

ARCC's 'probable' anti-choice MPs list

Listings are based on voting record, anti-choice designation in previous elections, partial survey responses to Campaign Life Coalition, indicative public statements, and/or statements made to individual constituents. They are all Conservatives unless otherwise noted, and newly elected MPs are in bold. These MPs are also included on the Unknown list.
• Eve Adams
• Steven Blaney
• Ray Boughen
• John Carmichael
• Tony Clement
• Jim Flaherty
• Parm Gill
• Ed Holder
• Kevin Lamoureux (Liberal)
• Ben Lobb
• Lawrence Toet
• John Weston
• Terence Young

All of these are rated by CLC as 'caution', with a cute little yellow traffic light. They are 'still evaluating'.

There are a good number of MPs whose position is unknown, including three Liberals, rated by CLC with a 'caution': Sean Casey, Kevin Lamoureux, and Francis Scarpalggia.

Interestingly, CLC rates Shelly Glover and Mike Wallace, who told a constituent he'd vote against M312, as pro-abortion.

For CON MP Bruce Stanton, who told a local paper he'd vote against it, CLC has 'evaluation pending', but notes his position on M312.

For the record, here is Carolyn Bennett's reply:

@ElizabethMay @AntoniaZ @DSellahNDP #cdnpoli We are appalled @pmsh gone back on promise not2 reopen #choice debate nds2 reel in @woodworthmp

— Carolyn Bennett(@Carolyn_Bennett) March 27, 2012

Do you know whether your MP is pro-choice or anti-choice? Take advantage of Campaign Lie's handy-dandy search tool. All you need is the MP's last name. When the 'Bio' comes up, click on the next tab 'Contact' and zip him or her a quick question on M312, or as I'm calling it, Woodworth's Wank. You might want to include this link to ARCC's counter arguments.


ADDED: Go read JJ. Is there a blogburst brewing? Do we have WOMBemtum?

#CPCCluetheboardgame

As with the cascade of revealing tweets from @Vikileaks30 and #TellVicEverything, people expressed healthy sarcasm to leaven the heavy, lumpen realization that the CONtempt Party lied, cheated and used illegal methods to "win" the last election. We call it rightfully Election Fraud.

When the CPC decided to throw a lowly flunkie under the bus, people were incredulous. A 23 year-old engineered a multi-riding scam all by himself - did he have the savvy, the authority and the budget to do that? C'mon!

So a Twitter game was launched, based on Clue, the board game which has set characters, locations, weapons. The point is to find who committed a murder. It's a game of logic and deduction, quite amusing actually.

The resolution comes when one player, confident that she or he knows the identity of the killer, declares: "It was Colonel Mustard in the study with the pistol."

This trope lent itself to a diverting exploration of "a CON committed a crime; where and how?" Here are some of the best responses I've gathered.

It was the entire CPC in the parlour bludgeoning the truth with a blunt object.

It was a ConBot in the #cdnpoli thread with a load of horseshit.

It was Jason Kenney, in the Library, with a samosa in hand.

It was Pierre Karl Péladeau with the Rupert Murdoch manual on how to create a network that reports fake news.

It was not Bev Oda, not smoking a cigarette, not rolling her eyes every time Poilievre opens his mouth. Not.

It was Vic Toews at the babysitter convention with a copy of Yeats' greatest pick up lines.

It was Bruce Carson in the water treatment plant with a monkey wrench.

It was Stephen Harper at the NAC with a tone-deaf version of "With a Little Help from My Friends".

It was Bernard Généreux in Kamouraska/Rivière-du-Loup with a deforestation project.

It was a call centre, in Montana, with ill-gotten voter lists.

It was James Moore with funding cuts to Canadian Theatres and Festivals.

It was Peter MacKay in the Conservatory joining the Reformers.

It was Leona Aglukkaq, in the restaurant, with 50 pounds of unlabelled Trans Fats.

It was Baird Clement and Flaherty in the kitchen with the Mike Harris cookbook.

It was Rob Nicholson in a brothel with unreported, I repeat UNREPORTED, criminals.

It was Jim Prentice at CIBC with the last laugh.

It was Doug Finley in the Senate with an In-and-Out scheme.

It was Bev Oda in an NGO's Office with a rope tied in NOTS.

It was David Emerson in the cabinet with the Olympic Torch.

It was Dimitri Soudas, at a meal with Port de Mtl board members, with the support of the PMO.

It was Brad Trost and Maurice Vellacott and Stephen Woodworth in the wombs of the nation with a Bible.

It was the National Citizens Coalition in the lobby, with the batshit.

It was Candice Hoeppner at a victims' rally shouting: "in your face!"

It was Stephen Harper, in the bathroom, with a tantrum.

It was Steven Blaney with a 'denied' rubber stamp inside a cone of silence.

It was Rona Ambrose in Copenhagen with a pipe line.

It was Joe Oliver in the #tarsands with a dead duck.

It was Diane Finley, in the retirement home, with a knife in the back to seniors.

It was that fool Preston Manning who opened the way for a more powerful, nastier Harper.

It was "Prof" Tom & "The Honourable" Doug with a $1M insurance policy, in Cadman's office.

It was Harper & McKay holding cement shoes & stuffing Richard Colvin into a big bag of lies.

It was us with apathy in the last election.

It was Stephen Harper in China with a "Canada For Sale" sign.

It was Tony Clement with his $50Million at the G8 in Muskoka.

It was Clement at the shredder with the long-form census & any semblance of evidence-based decisions.

It was Kellie Leitch in the oncology ward with a bag of asbestos.

It was Kenney at a fake citizenship ceremony with a recipe for curry in a hurry.

It was John Duncan in Attawapiskat with a third-party manager.

It was Peter Kent in Durban with a denial.

It was Helena Guergis in the PEI airport with her stiletto boots.

It was Gary Goodyear in the lab without a clue about evolution.

It was Rob Nicholson in Bad Cop Drag with his HardOnCrime bill.

It was Gerry Ritz in the House of Commons with Maple Leaf baloney.

It was Jim Flaherty in a hole with the largest deficit in Canadian history.

It was Peter Mackay in the Search & Rescue chopper using F-35 estimates as bait for fishing trip.

It was Trost in the kitchen with the turkey baster singing Every Sperm is Sacred with Vellacott on violin.

It was the Blogging Tories in their own words.

It was Diane Ablonczy in a Denny's with the unfounded allegations and lies about Jane Stewart.

It was Rob Anders in the House of Commons with a pillow.

It was Stephen Woodworth in the kitchen with the medical dictionary.

It was Julian Fantino in the cargo container with the sand and rocks.

It was Lisa Raitt in the limousine with the isotope.

It was Maxime Bernier in the cleavage with the classified documents.

It was Michael Sona on the grassy knoll with a cell phone reading from an old union handbook.

It was Peter Kent in the main hall with the large crock.

It was Jason Kenney in the vestibule with the unregistered squirt gun.

It was Ezra Levant in the bitumen with the ethical shovel.

Depending on the point of view, it almost reads like a list of reformaTory *accomplishments*.

There's much, much more on Twitter. Search the hashtag #CPCCluetheBoardGame.

"I want MY justice!"

Just when you thought the Contempt Party couldn't be any more leg-humping contemptuous and arrogant, along comes Tony "Cashmere" Clement to crank it up a notch.

[...] the Treasury Board president is demanding an apology from the NDP, which levelled the accusation last week.

"Now they've been shown to be a bunch of liars and I want my justice," Clement said Tuesday, moments after being cleared by House of Commons Speaker Andrew Scheer.

Clement added that "a liar should apologize" and even hinted at legal action should New Democrat MP Charlie Angus refuse to apologize for initiating a "smear campaign full of lies." [...]

The issue arose last week when the NDP noticed that the official transcript, known as Hansard, had been altered to delete Clement's response of "sure" when asked if he would publicly disclose all the applications from municipalities in his riding for a share of the $50-million G8 legacy fund. [...]

Clement told reporters his repeated use of the word "sure" is a verbal tick, a way of hesitating while he formulates his response to questions, much the same way other people use "you know" or "OK." He said he had no intention of agreeing to the NDP request to produce the application forms for funding.

Boulerice said Clement's continued refusal to produce the documents shows the NDP has nothing to learn from Clement "about telling the truth."

Methinks the knave doth protest too much and way too vigorously. The Politburo will be coming along shortly to check Tony's meds, as per Stevie's instructions, to avoid a messy melt-down.

Merci to our friend in car-wreck hilarity, canadian cynic.

Contempt of Parliament by the Cons

Dan Gardner is a respected journalist. He takes great care to remain scrupulously objective, at times maddeningly so.

Thus his article about the Harper government is a powerful deconstruction of the neo-Conservative modus operandi.

Parliament has been a particularly nasty place for years but that was a consequence of minority government, many pundits said. The government was always in danger and so the Conservatives behaved as if they were in a non-stop election campaign. A majority would change that, the pundits said after the election. The Conservatives will calm down, drop the nastiness, and deliver a more statesmanlike government.

But that hasn’t happened. [...]

They are the party of Stephen Harper.

Tom Flanagan recently described the prime minister’s personal interests. “He doesn’t really care much about money,” Flanagan told the Hill Times. “He likes to watch hockey and so on, but he doesn’t have a lot of active interests that he wants to pursue. He doesn’t play golf. He doesn’t play tennis. He doesn’t care much for travel. He doesn’t paint. He doesn’t fish. You know, he loves politics.”

Indeed. Stephen Harper has been obsessing about political power his whole life. It’s what he does. It’s all he does.

The same is true of many of the top people around him. John Baird, Jason Kenney, Tony Clement, Peter Van Loan. They’ve spent their entire lives in politics. It’s all they know.

But Harper is more than a political obsessive. He’s a passionate obsessive. Almost frighteningly so.

As Conservative strategist Rod Love told author Lawrence Martin, Harper and other Reformers seethed — and rightly so — at the way the Chrétien-era Liberals framed them as the lunatic fringe. “Others got over it,” Love observes in Martin’s book Harperland. “Harper? It was just burned in his psyche. So when he came to power it was payback time. This wasn’t just about going after someone in the Commons in the day, then going out for a beer at night. This was about destruction.”

The same description surfaces over and over. Stephen Harper doesn’t want to beat the other side; he wants to destroy them. They’re not opponents; they’re the enemy. As for the depth of his ideological feelings, the prime minister’s colleagues use the word “hatred” to describe his antipathy to liberalism.

When politics is everything, when opponents are enemies, when there’s hatred in your belly, certain things follow. Ruthlessness, for one. Personal attacks. A refusal to accept the legitimacy of different views and to work with those who hold them.

Stephen Harper is only one man, of course, but unlike every Liberal prime minister his dominance of his party is total. He effectively built it from the ground up. It is his party. And its personality mirrors that of its creator and master.

The Conservatives did not behave the way they did in the past because they had a minority of the seats in the House of Commons. They behaved that way because they are the party of Stephen Harper. They still are. And so they still behave that way.

In their lavish and deliberate use of Rovian tactics, Stalinist control and Goebbelsian communication strategies the former Reformatories, as directed by Harper have rebranded themselves by securing the name of a once honourable political party, but they are fundamentally still the cabal of greedy, ideologically-bound carpet-baggers that Preston Manning gathered and released - like a herd of rapacious hyenas.

The robo-calling they deployed during this year's election campaign may be surfacing again, this time to unseat Montreal MP Irving Cotler. It would seem Con insiders expect the Liberal veteran will shuffle off into the sunset and that his riding will be the next battlefield for a quick and dirty by-election campaign.

The practice of *strategic incapacitation* the Cons apply in Parliament is ^NOT inadvertent. It is all-encompassing and it is indeed ruthless.

*Cashmere Tony* - Trick or Treat?

Gawd knows we try to stay on top of Cashmere Tony's various dodges and Con jobs.

It seems the NDP has just uncovered another discrepancy in his Ministry, a possible misappropriation of funds.

Official Opposition critic for the Treasury Board, Alexandre Boulerice (Rosemont--La Petite-Patrie), wrote today to the President of the Treasury Board Tony Clement to ask him to explain the latest example of flawed accounting practices in his department and the possible misappropriation of funds.

New Democrats are asking Clement to explain the error involving the apparent mismanagement of hundreds of millions of dollars by Industry Canada and to take steps to review the estimates for other problems as well as implement a review of internal accounting procedures.

Just business as usual for PMSHithead's Contempt government; whatever happened to transparence and accountability?

It should be entertaining to uncover which of the ReformaTory pigs at the trough were the beneficiaries of Tony's prestidigitational largesse.

Image from this DJ! post.

'Farcically Ill-Equipped'

'Farcical' is right.

Stephen Maher in The Vancouver Sun yet takes Tony Slush apart. Title: 'Up Muskoka River without a paddle'.

So Clement's defence is that the mayors made the recommendations, which they didn't, and that Baird made the decision, which he didn't.

We need to know why there was no paperwork for the auditor general, because we are up Muskoka River without a paddle if politicians are able to hide their files from the auditor general, the only official with the power to pierce the veil of secrecy in Ottawa.

Clement's explanations are gibberish, and he does not appear to have the judgment necessary for his current job as president of Treasury Board, the minister in charge of enforcing spending rules.

Whether it's gazebos, the long-form census or the InSite file, Cashmere Tony is an embarrassment.

To everyone but PM SHithead himself, of course.

Prime ministers need loyal servants, so even though Clement's G8 shenanigans show that he is farcically ill-equipped to carry out his job, Harper is unlikely to move him or to force him to fully account for the rule-breaking porkfest in Muskoka.

But good on the MSM for staying on this.

Shame

So. How did a guy who won his House of Commons seat by a measly 28 votes in 2006 wallop his competition by nearly 11,000 votes two years later?

Simple corruption.

The NDP is accusing federal Conservative cabinet minister Tony Clement of using a controversial, $50-million G8 legacy fund to buy re-election, prompting a heated denial from the government.

Municipal documents obtained by the New Democrats show Clement met with local mayors and councillors in the midst of the 2008 election campaign. They discussed how to identify projects that could be eligible for the legacy funding.

Twelve days after that meeting, a local news outlet reported that Clement had posted video endorsements from "local townspeople, mayors and council members" on his campaign website.

Somebody needs to investigate. In particular, this bit:

The auditor general has also criticized the government for shutting bureaucrats out of the process and for maintaining no paper trail to explain how or why the projects were selected.

However, hundreds of pages of municipal documents obtained by the NDP through provincial freedom of information legislation, show that federal bureaucrats did in fact participate in local meetings about the legacy fund -- including the one held during the 2008 campaign.

The documents also show that municipal officials were told to direct all questions and send funding applications to Clement's constituency office, not the government.

Shame on the people of Muskoka who sold their vote for a bunch of crappers. But the bureaucrats who sold their integrity should be fired and prosecuted.

As for Tony Slush, I'll keep my opinions on his just punishment to myself.

For now.

Image source. The blogger said presciently back in April this year:

Sweet for Tony Clement and the Conservative Party. They’ll probably get re-elected in Clement’s riding given all the tax money which has been spent there.

ADDED: Alison does the math.

Compare and Contrast

Vancouver's Georgia Straight has a blog called *Blogra* where they've done the heavy lifting that the Globbin'Male won't do.

So it presents everything that you, the elector who didn't vote for the Contempt Party, needs to know about SHitehead's cabinet. For example, my virtual roomie's favourite, Cashmere Tony now President of the Treasury Board.

Globe: “He built a huge profile as the populist industry minister: protecting Canadian firms from multinational takeovers and consumers from excessive Internet bills.”

The unmentionable truth: Clement enraged producers and users of alternative medicine by introducing a bill to amend the Food and Drug Act, which would outlaw up to 60 percent of natural-health products on the market. Let's not even talk about the $50 million that went into his riding before the G8 and G20 summits.

There's more but not enough.

Every single one of Stevie Spiteful's bobble-heads in cabinet needs to have the real facts about his/her incompetence and propensity to do SHitehead's bidding exposed in public view. Peter Kent? Jim Flaherty?

How about MinJKenney? Now, there's a piece of work we've written much about and that a real journalist, if he or she had the backing of their news gathering organization, should investigate. I'd like to know how much tax-payer funded support his buddy Parm Gill received to advance his election campaign.

Bribery and a Boot to the Nads

So, the pork ladelled into Cashmere Tony's riding was supposed to have been to reduce border congestion.

The Canadian Press dropped an incendiary bomb on an otherwise torpid campaign on Monday, reporting that an early draft of Fraser’s report found that “Parliament was misinformed” about some of the spending. It indicated that the government asked Parliament to okay $83 million for a fund to reduce border congestion, while intending to use $50 million of it to spruce up Industry Minister Tony Clement’s Huntsville riding, far from any border.

I'd say it did a dandy job of that. I can personally confirm that there are no big rigs idling on the streets of Huntsville waiting for their turn at US Customs.

No. Wait. That money was intended as a 'thank you' to Muskokans.

Claude Doughty, mayor of Huntsville, the main site of the summit in Ontario’s Muskoka region, defended the program, saying some of the projects were meant more as a “thank you” to area municipalities for being host than as G8-related facilities.

“I don’t think there was ever any intent that some of them would be used by the world leaders,” he said. “You have to appreciate that a lot of people in Muskoka did a lot of work to prepare for the G8, myself included. And for those municipalities that went out of their way to really do those things, this was a bit of a token of saying, ‘Thank you.’ ”

A great big thank you that Muskokans are really really grateful for.

Oh. Wait.

However, some of the “legacy” items are largely unused. The University of Waterloo’s environmental research centre, completed 11 months ago, remains deserted and without signage. The echoing hallways of a summit centre are largely bare save for pieces of community art, while a brand-new seniors centre, banquet hall and drop-in daycare were empty on Monday afternoon.

But. But. Other sites of big events have had thank-you dough thrown at them too.

From the second, later, version of the draft:

2.2 - In the past, federal funds have been made available to some regions hosting international or Prime Minister-led events on Canada's behalf. Regions have benefited from several million dollars made available for hosting. For example, in April 2001, Quebec City received about $4.5 million as it hosted the Summit of the Americas, and we noted a $5 million fund attached to the June 2002 G8 Summit in Kananaskis.

I haven't seen anybody note this. Muskoka is worth TEN TIMES Quebec City or Kananaskis?

Even 5 million bucks fraudulently acquired divvied up by a lying (see census) cabinet minister, a small town mayor, and a resort (?????) manager is too much.

But TEN TIMES that?

And leaving aside the corruption, lying, and sheer greed, the whole deal is a GINORMOUS slap in the face to Torontonians, as noted by that left-wing scribbler, Joe Warmington, who, remember, himself got caught up in the police state.

But my favourite expenditure of the dozens to spruce up Industry Minister Tony Clement’s Parry Sound-Muskoka riding is the $274,000 on portable toilets. It may be a crappy business, but not on the day you cash the cheque from the federal government. At least the Muskoka outhouses had doors, unlike the humiliation the wrongfully incarcerated experienced at the Eastern Ave. lockup.

It's sheer WIN for the ReformaTories. Bribe greedy, small-minded yahoos and AT THE SAME TIME boot TO in the nads.

Who's the Weaseliest of Them All?

Tony (Cashmere) Clement.

Rosemary Barton has the goods.

There has been a lot of talk in recent days about Industry Minister Tony Clement suggesting that one person, one Canadian complaining about the scrapping of the mandatory long-form census is a enough to convince the government to change policy.

The minister doesn't agree that's what he said.

In fact, just yesterday the minister tried to defend his statement by saying this, "Let me interpret what I said, because the question was more of a general question."

For the record, I was the reporter asking the questions in this case and I thought it might be worthwhile to transcribe the entire exchange and let you decide what the Minister actually said and interpret it for yourself.

The transcript follows, ending with this:

Barton: "Sure, but we don't change public policy for one person do we?"

Clement: "Why not? If they're right."

Barton: "We change public policy for one person?"

Clement: "If they're right."

Seems pretty clear to me.

And for more fun, the bozo from the Beauce, as Montreal Simon styles him is in a spot of bother today too over the census.

209 to 6

From Census Watch.

209 -- and counting; the list hasn't been updated since Wednesday and there are a bunch more in the comments -- truthy, sciencey, facty organizations versus these guys:

1. National Citizens Coalition census
2. The Fraser Institute
3. Lorne Gunther and Ezra Levant, National Post
4. Canadian Taxpayers Federation
5. Toronto Sun editorial
6. Terence Corcoran, Columnist National Post

And now add ambulance chasers.

The group representing Canada's lawyers says changes to the census will make it tougher for people who suffer serious personal injuries to get proper compensation.

In a letter to Industry Minister Tony Clement, the Canadian Bar Association calls for the return of the mandatory long-form census, saying lawyers and judges use the information to help determine how much injured clients should claim in court.

I mean, really, could the ReformaTories have chosen a stupider issue to deflect attention from the G8/G20 fiasco? No. Really. Could they?

The systemic erosion of democracy (more)

This is how it starts. A narcissistic sociopath takes control of a political party and proclaims: "We can create a country built on solid Conservative values [...] the kind of country I want to lead." Here are a few more quotes:

"Education is a weapon whose effects depend on who holds it in his hands and at whom it is aimed."

"Gratitude is a sickness suffered by dogs."

"The writer is the engineer of the human soul."

"Ideas are more powerful than guns. We would not let our enemies have guns, why should we let them have ideas."

"Print is the sharpest and the strongest weapon of our party."

"It is enough that the people know there was an election. The people who cast the votes decide nothing. The people who count the votes decide everything."

The first pronouncement is from Stephen Joseph Harper. The rest are from Joseph Stalin.

Notwithstanding his tactical deployment of tricks perfected by contemporary Republican operatives, Stevie Spiteful's strategy is eerily similar to Stalin's view.

Of the Stalinist regime, Alexander Solzhenitsyn said: "In our country the lie has become not just a moral category but a pillar of the State."

Yesterday's display in Parliamentary committee of the contempt which Harper and his thugs have for Canadians is breath-taking. Tony Clement reprised his Attack Parrot™© role, but it was Stockwell Day who cranked it up to a new level of sheer political chutzpah with this:

“Do you think it is right that you can threaten your neighbour with jail time if she doesn’t tell you if she has mental issues or not?” he wrote. “Or who does what chores in the house? Or whether she is a Jew or not? Don't you find that one even a little bit chilling?”

What I find chilling is the sustained campaign of propaganda and disinformation Stevie Spiteful's PMO has waged on every issue it has shoved down the throat of the electorate since the ReformaTories formed their first minority government in 2006.

And as the continuing debacle over the G-8/G-20 demontrates, the Cons' electoral promise of transparence and accountability in government is nothing more than a typical Con job.

The only obstacle to a Canada controlled by Harper's steel fist and administered by his cowering cadre of lying bullies is a purposeful response by Canadian voters.

More crumbling away: Who needs to get nasty feedback or pesky facts entered into the public record?

Federal civil servants won't get to fill out a workplace survey this year because the Conservative government has axed it. [...]

A Statistics Canada official broke the news to colleagues last month in an email obtained by The Canadian Press. "I regret to inform you that plans for the 2010 Public Service Employee Survey are cancelled," Geoff Bowlby, head of the agency's labour statistics division, wrote on June 2. "We received notice from Treasury Board secretariat yesterday evening that funding for the project was not approved for this year. [...]

Neither Treasury Board President Stockwell Day nor his department were immediately able to say how much the survey cost. The government solicits voluntary feedback from its workers every three years to improve programs and services. The survey gives a snapshot of workers' demographics, skills, career expectations and concerns.

ADDED by fern hill: A plug for the Facebook group, Canadians Rallying to Unseat Stephen Harper, which today passed the 5,000 member mark. We've been raising money and placing newspaper ads to raise awareness of just this issue. Totally grassroots, volunteer. Check it out.

Keeping score of the Harper Cons' Lying Circus stunts.

Another minister has just been shoved onstage. Jim "When Irish Eyes Are SmiLying" Flaherty claims:

“My experience with Canadians is that when you ask them to do something for the good of the country, they'll do it voluntarily,” Mr. Flaherty told The Canadian Press over the weekend. The finance minister is the latest member of the Tory cabinet to defend the Conservative government's decision to scrap the long census and replace it with an optional one.

Mr. Flaherty said he thinks census data can be collected voluntarily without being compromised.

He thinks. Without even checking the PMO-supplied cheat sheet that features all the speaking points to date, plus the newly minted prevarications.

So far Tony "Soprano" Clement, Stockwell "Doris" Day and Maxime "Beaucebasket" Bernier (ex-minister but putative dauphin) have been sent out to justify what may be the most idiotic ReformaTory decision to date.

If this petard foisted by Harper's New©™ Government wasn't the latest nail Stevie Peevie and his bullies are pounding in the coffin destined to bury democracy in Canada, it would be downright hilarious. The Cons' performances at the Industry, Science and Technology Committee meeting on Tuesday will be entertaining and infuriating, no doubt.

Heads, They Win. Tails, They Win.

Thirty per cent of us are going to get the long-form census to fill out.

Being good Canadians who really haven't minded filling out the long form for bloody decades and who recognize the value of good data to all kinds of projects, a lot of us will do it voluntarily, right?

But then the Cons win. 'See?' they'll say, 'The data is still coming in.'

So, we shouldn't voluntarily fill them out. Just throw 'em in the recycling bin.

But then the Cons win. 'See?' they'll say, 'The silent majority of Canadians hate intrusive government.'

I didn't think I could loathe these ignorant thugs any more thoroughly. Amazingly, this stunt has shifted them even lower in my estimation.

BONUS: A great round-up on the evolving lies of Cashmere Tony Clement.

(Personal note: I am swamped with work but hope to get back to blogging regularly sometime soon.)

And also. Too. (Blame it on k'in - she made me look - deBeauxOs)

Harper Cons' Lying Circus

If the Opposition parties agree to participate in the parliamentary committee that MUST BE urgently reconvened to discuss the census, I encourage their MPs to arrive armed with Olympic-style scorecards.

Thus when Tony Clement performs his long program:

Privacy Issues! Voluntary Questionnaires! Statistics Canada Said So!

followed by Maxime Bernier with his short one:

Bedrooms of the Nation! Jedi Knights! My Staff Deleted The Emails!

NDP, Bloc and Lib members of the Industry, Science and Technology Committee can hold up numbers that rate the credibility of their statements.

I can safely predict that the industrious and dynamic duo won't be winning any medals in individual or pairs competition.

Did I mention how urgent the PMO the Forces of Authority have declared the re-Con-vening of this committee to be?

There also a rumour that Senator Porky Duffy will lumber out to issue a public service announcement on behalf of Stevie Spiteful:

STFU!

but only if there's Timbits. Lots of them.

It's all fun and games for the Cons until Stevie throws a temper tantrum.

Tony Clement, a minister of the cabinet (and perpetual bridesmaid Con leadership candidate hopeful) grovels to keep his job.

Maxime Bernier, an ex-minister (and self-projected putative dauphin) brown-noses to get his old job back.

These two, and all ReformaTory members of Parliament, are in thrall to Emperor Steve the First. When first informed that data or facts could not be provided, tweaked or procured to support his policies, Stevie Spiteful declared that henceforth there would no longer be a long-form data collection process at Statistics Canada.

And, as our savvy commenter Niles pointed out here, there is no originality or content in the Con "brain trust". Harper is cannibalizing the achievements of previous PMs and repurposing their shine to disguise the cavernous depths of his ideological depravity.

"We can create a country built on solid Conservative values, not on expensive Liberal promises, a country the Liberals wouldn't even recognize, the kind of country I want to lead."

Given his track record on spending Canadians' money, Harper isn't leading the country, he is eating it.

Bernier regurgitates Con speaking points about long-form census. (more and more)

Today on Radio-Canada the putative dauphin to the ReformaTory leadership Maxime Bernier mouthed PMO speaking points, 'splaining why the Stats Canada practice of compelling citizens who receive the census long form to fill out the questionnaire is EVIL. (Note: Bernier was Minister of Industry when he first joined Harper's cabinet.)

1. It is a blatant and intrusive invasion of privacy. (The interviewer said that only 3 complaints were filed with the Privacy Commissioner in the last decade. Bernier did not respond to this fact.)

2. There are too many questions, people don't want to fill it out and Harper's New©™ Government gives the people what it wants. Power to the sheeple!!!

3. There are thousands of people (not just with the long form, though) who have said that their spiritual beliefs are informed by the religion of Star Wars. Heathens!!! Why do they hate Canada?

Bernier churlishly added that critics - municipalities, academics, and other "special interest" groups can damn well pay for the research, studies and data they need.

Opposition to yet another ill-advised and capricious Stevie Spiteful decision, here.

Update. Tony Clement's communiqué - which desperately attempts to justify the abolition of the mandatory long-form census - is, as Hill Queeries observes: "full of half-truths, red herrings, misdirection, scaremongering, and a straw man or two".

As for census data users - a wide range of federal, provincial and territorial governments departments, municipalities, non-profit organizations, community groups, academia, private industry (which includes licensed distributors and the media) - their needs were conveyed to Stats Canada during a scheduled consultative process. There's a report here.

Has anyone suggested this may be a Con attempt to undermine Stats Canada and to privatize data collection? Data users could be forced to pay twice and three times as much as Stats Canada charges now (read BCL on that issue) for less consistent/reliable information from profiteers.

It was almost 2 years ago that a MASSIVE poll was run by KLR Vu Research for an anti-abortion group. Perhaps Stevie and his bullies are cancelling our national, exemplary and internationally respected data collection service for the benefit of push-polling outfits owned by ReformaTory benefactors.

More delicious insider info, at Impolitical.

From the Toronto Star:

“Harper does not like StatsCan, that’s what we kept hearing,” according to a longtime employee of the agency. “In particular, he does not like the analytical work we’ve done for years.” The Prime Minister thinks of it as fodder for critics.

Sure enough, it’s the analytical work that he has been decimating. Gone, truncated or privatized are surveys that kept track of pensions and benefits at our places of work; the proportion of our incomes going to housing, vacation, medical expenses to see how well or badly we all were doing; the level of inequality among Canadians; the economic integration of immigrants; and how people with physical and mental disabilities were coping.

“When these surveys were being cut back, the concerned federal departments were told not to comment on how that might muck up their work,” said the source. “They were told to shut up. The message had come from the top.”

Will Harper reverse his decision? Will glass be shattered and furniture smashed, will rugs be chewed and holes gouged in the walls, and will the temp help have to coaxed out from underneath the desks again? Stay tuned.

We got 'em on the run!

Yesterday, local CAPPers confronted Tony (aka Tony Cashmere) Clement at York University. It was twittered but not widely reported otherwise.

Today, Saskatoon CAPPers forced Tony C. to slink out the back way and then put out a press release about it, on Facebook of course. (emphasis mine)

More than a dozen members of the Saskatoon Chapter of Canadians Against Proroguing Parliament attended a flash rally outside the Radisson Hotel in downtown Saskatoon between 11:30am and Noon today. The group marched back and forth along the sidewalk bringing their message to members of the Saskatoon Chamber of Commerce who were attending a luncheon with Minister Tony Clement at the Radisson.

"We want to keep the pressure on until Parliament resumes and the Harper government is held accountable to Canadians and a working democracy," said Mary Jean Hande a participant at today's Flash Rally.

Chants of “Pro-democracy not prorogue,” “You can prorogue but you can’t hide,” and “This is what democracy looks like” echoed through the buildings in Saskatoon’s downtown core. Minister Clement escaped the scrutiny of the demonstrators by slipping in the back door of the hotel and staff at the hotel barred entry to the demonstrators who wished to bring their concerns to the Industry Minister.

"Our group braved -30 Degree wind chills to bring a message to Minister of Industry Tony Clement that the abuse of Canada’s democratic institutions for political reasons is not acceptable," said Flash Rally participant Peter Garden. "We are urging other chapters of Canadians Against Proroguing Parliament and any concerned Canadians to monitor public appearances of the Harper government, Cabinet Ministers and other MPs, and then publicly confront them on the prorogation of parliament and the attacks on democratic institutions."

The flash rally follows the mobilization of more than 25,000 Canadians in over 60 communities, including over 450 people in Saskatoon, on January 23 against what many Canadians see as the erosion of Canada’s democratic institutions under the Harper government. The leaderless, grassroots, national group, Canadians Against Proroguing Parliament (CAPP), has vowed to continue the pressure on the Harper government to return to work and be accountable to the Canadian electorate.

CAPPers are planning other flash rallies.

They're turning up at constituency offices trying to ask questions.

They 're holding constituency office vigils.

And the best part -- all that photo-op grandstanding on Haiti seems not to have done the ReformaTories any good, according to the latest poll.

Membership is still growing at Canadians Against Proroguing Parliament. A few minutes ago, it stood at 219,133.

I'm having too much fun!