Team Canada at the Winter Olympics in Vancouver

Blogging the Vancouver Olympics

Jotman's there.

How did Canada rank on corruption for 2009?

The top ten least corrupt are the Nordic countries, plus New Zealand (#1), Canada and Australia (tied at #8). Netherlands isn't exactly Nordic, but it comes in at #6. Singapore (#3) is perceived as the least corrupt country in all of Asia.

More here.

Canadian Omar Khadr, denied jury trial, to get military commission

Glenn Greenwald:

Omar Khadr -- the Canadian "child soldier" imprisoned at Guantanamo for the last seven years, since he was 15 years old, for allegedly throwing a grenade at an American soldier in Afghanistan (that's apparently "terrorism") and the subject of a difficult-to-watch video of him weeping like the child he is while being interrogated -- will reportedly be one of those denied a trial and instead allowed only a military commission, according to Canada's Canwest News Service (h/t sysprog):

Canadian-born terror suspect Omar Khadr faces continued prosecution in the U.S. military tribunal established in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. . . .

The federal system offers the full panoply of defendant rights available to U.S. citizens under the U.S. Constitution, while civil rights groups have argued the military commissions at the U.S. naval base in Cuba do not meet that standard.

So that's how the US treats the citizens of a nation that is its ally in the war in Afghanistan?

Ontario, BC, and Alberta at the Solar Decathlon in Washington, DC

Canada had two successful entries in the US Department of Energy's Solar Decathlon.
Out of a field of twenty contenders, the BC/Ontario entry placed 4th and Alberta placed 7th overall.

More pictures and thoughts about the contest here.

BC and Ontario entry:

Alberta's entry:

Norway puts Canada to shame at Bangkok Climate Talks

Dale Marshall from the Suzuki Foundation explains how.  

More on the Bangkok Talks at Jotman.com.

Arctic sovereignty issues

Russia and the Arctic: Strategic Resources Exploited Using Existing and New Infrastructure on the Northern Sea Route

Impact of a coalition government on Quebec separtist movement

Between snowstorms, a few days ago I had a layover at Toronto's Pearson Airport on the way to DC. I listened to two Nova Scotia men with heavy accents and salty language discuss their work experiences on Alberta's tar sands.

Overhearing the conversation reminded me that a Canadian friend pointed me to this blog post by Howard Galganov. Galganov examined the impact a Liberal Party led coalition government -- one that included the Quebec separatist party -- might have on the future of Canadian unity. I am told that Galganov's post presents a perspective that the mainstream Canadian media has been reluctant to touch.

The gist of the argument is that the present Harper-led Conservative Party government represents the Western provinces, but a coalition would govern with hardly any seats from the West. Such a government would come to power at a time when wealth and power within Canada is shifting from the decaying manufacturing center of Ontario -- home to branch plants of the Big Three American automakers -- to the resource rich provinces of the West. Most notably, Alberta, with its vast oil reserves.

Howard Galganov blogs:

The next consequence really shook her when I explained that a coalition with the Quebec Separatist Bloc would hasten the departure of Quebec from Confederation, allowing Canada to finally grow without the Quebec anchor around our neck.

The interview became more of a discussion as she asked me if I thought the rest of Canada would throw Quebec out. And if they did, why would they do that now and not before?

My answer stunned her even more. And from the sound of her voice, she was more than somewhat depressed when I explained to her that Canada does not need Quebec. More to the point, Canada will be far better off without Quebec.

It is Quebec that needs Canada, since Quebec brings nothing to the table other than threats, costs and complications that hinder the growth of our country.

I also explained that the rest of Canada didn’t need our domestic and foreign policies decided upon by a beggar province. Not to mention that Canada’s official bilingualism policies are discriminating against more than 97% of the Canadian population (English speaking) living outside of Quebec.

With this proposed coalition, the Bloc will win several big concessions that will include:

MORE MONEY from the rest of Canada - But the rest of Canada is broke.

Ontario is a HAVE-NOT province. And if it isn’t yet, it certainly will be soon.

At less than $50 per barrel, and still falling like a lead balloon, Alberta is dying with the lack of demand for its petroleum products, and will not earn enough money to sustain its budgetary goals without cutting programs, raising taxes, or dipping into its Heritage Fund. All of which are akin to cancer for Albertans.

Where else will Quebec expect to get the BILLIONS of dollars their deal with the two idiots, Stephane Dion and Taliban Jack have promised?

Just imagine the outrage from the West, when Alberta has to write a check to a Separatist province that helped wipeout a government Albertans voted for near unanimously?

Just imagine the added outrage from the West when six Quebec Separatists are named to Canada’s Senate as part of the deal?

Just imagine the boiling-over outrage from the West when Quebec Separatists must first vet all of Parliaments business before it can be brought to the floor, much less implemented?

I CAN’T WAIT I TOLD HER!

Then I reminded her that certain inalienable decisions would be made the moment Quebec and Canada part company.

By federal law, Canadian Banks and Insurance Companies must be headquartered within Canada. There go the banks. By law, airlines cannot pick-up and deliver passengers from one national location to another national location unless that airline is headquartered in that nation. Goodbye Air Canada.

Then there’s the Canada Export and Development Corporation that underwrites just about all of Bombardier’s sales abroad. Goodbye Bombardier along with other federally financed corporations in Quebec.

Goodbye all the federal government jobs that disproportionately employ French Quebecers. Especially those who can speak some English.

And Goodbye official bilingualism.

At this point in our conversation, her voice was quite subdued when she asked if I think Canada will push Quebec out the door?

No was my response. I think Quebec and Canada will separate from each other much like Czechoslovakia did, when the Czechs and Slovakians both decided to go their separate ways without any fanfare, great debates, referendums or anything else.

It just happened, much the way I see it just happening between Canada and Quebec where there will be no reason for Quebec to stay within Canada once the financial tap is closed.

And there will be no reason for Canada to want Quebec within Confederation when the rest of Canada finally learns that we will be far better off without Quebec dragging us down.

Even though Harper bought himself and the Conservatives 6 weeks of political peace by suspending Parliament to the end of January, much of the damage has already been done to the long-term future between Quebec and Canada by this attempted Putsch by the Coalition of Idiots.

The rest of Canada really doesn't care much for what Quebec wants anymore, since the rest of Canada is more concerned with what it needs to stay afloat.

I explained to her that I am just one political Blogger out of thousands who are spreading a similar message by asking pertinent questions while bringing demographic FACTS to the table.

And in spite of what the out-of-touch conventional media seems to think, Quebec’s future within Canada is not looking all that good. And that looks pretty good for the rest of Canada.

We owe Duceppe, Dion and Taliban Jack our gratitude for finally pushing the envelope too far.

Although the blogger writes from a particular ideological standpoint, the tensions and trends which he identifies would be hard to dismiss. Regional disparities seem to be undergoing a shift. I am not convinced it follows that Quebec will choose to leave Canada. It seems more likely that in the near future Quebec will have an overpowering economic motivation to remain within Canada.

The Canadian election and the world

Under PM Harper, what has Canada done for the world? I try answer this question here.

The Economist tells Canadians to vote Conservative

The Economist is afraid Canadians are about to punish a financially responsible government when they go to the polls. In the view of the British news magazine, Canadians are demanding action -- their dollar experienced its largest one week decline in a generation last week. But rash action is uncalled for. The Economist says Canada's banking industry has been "well regulated" relative to that of other Western nations:

. . . much depends on where in Canada you live and work. In the industrial heartland of Ontario and Quebec, the American descent into recession is an additional worry on top of the pain in the car and lumber industries, which export to the United States and were already suffering from a strong Canadian dollar and weaker demand south of the border. A spat earlier this year between Jim Flaherty, the federal finance minister, and the Liberal provincial government in Ontario, the most populous province, has not helped the Tories’ chances. Mr Flaherty, himself an Ontarian, said that high taxes made the province “the last place” in Canada investors would go.

But in relative terms, Canada is doing rather better than most other rich countries. Its banks have declared some losses from dabbling in American sub-prime mortgages. But they remain in “considerably better shape than their international peers”, according to Mark Carney, the governor of the Bank of Canada, the central bank. Banks continue to borrow and lend money. Late last month, Teck Cominco, a mining firm, managed to borrow $9.8 billion to take over Fording Canadian Coal.

The carnage on Wall Street has not threatened institutions, but it has rattled nerves. For most borrowers, credit has tightened. That has prompted Mr Carney to inject liquidity. On October 8th the Bank of Canada cut its benchmark interest rate by 50 basis points (to 2.5%) in a co-ordinated move with the other main central banks around the world.

The economy is still growing, albeit slowly. The growth is mainly in the resource-rich western provinces. The fall in commodity prices will certainly slow things down. The plunge in the oil price means that some of the $110 billion of projected investment in Alberta’s oil sands may be postponed.