The Common Sense Conservative

The place for common sense conservative talk. Conservative way of thinking should not be looked upon by the masses and especially by the mainstream media as some evil. In fact most people still believe they are conservative in nature but do not align themselves with the far right agenda that has crept into our political systems. Nor do they feel they fall under the far left agenda, so a new way of thinking is emerging, called Common Sense Conservatism!

Monday 17 June 2013

Stephen Harper Stepping Up!

After Harper's comments, Putin cast as pariah at G8 hare on pr

Steve Rennie, The Canadian Press

Published Monday, June 17, 2013 11:26AM EDT

ENNISKILLEN -- If this G8 meeting if any indication, the next gathering of world leaders in Russia is shaping up to be a strained affair.

A chasm has emerged between Russian President Vladimir Putin and the rest of the Group of Eight leaders over the deepening crisis in Syria.

That division was laid bare on Sunday night when Prime Minister Stephen Harper called Putin, who hosts the G20 summit in St. Petersburg in September, the outlier of the G8.

How to persuade Putin to drop his seemingly unshakable support for the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad is the main challenge facing the other leaders at this meeting at the lakeside Lough Erne resort in Northern Ireland.

The bloody Syrian conflict has now raged for two years and at least 93,000 people have died.

Tensions escalated last week after the United States announced it would begin arming opponents of Assad's regime.

Russia -- which is in the G8 and has a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council -- has been highly critical of the U.S. move to give weapons and ammunition to the rebels.

"One does not really need to support the people who not only kill their enemies, but open up their bodies, eat their intestines in front of the public and cameras," a Reuters report quoted Putin as saying.

"Are these the people you want to support? Are they the ones you want to supply with weapons? Then this probably has little relation to the humanitarian values preached in Europe for hundreds of years."

Putin was apparently referring to a Syrian rebel commander caught on tape last month cutting into a dead soldier and biting into one of his organs.

Russia has steadfastly stuck with the Syrian regime even as the United States claims to have proof that forces loyal to Assad have used chemical weapons. Russian officials have dismissed those claims, saying they're based on flimsy evidence

Harper -- speaking on the eve of the summit -- said Putin is unlikely to drop his support for Assad at this gathering of the leaders of the world's eight wealthiest countries.

In doing so, Harper all but called Putin the pariah of the G8 when it comes to Syria.

"Look, I think that dialogue will be interesting. I think it's important to have that kind of dialogue," Harper said Sunday night in Dublin. "But I don't think we should fool ourselves. This is G7 plus one. OK, let's be blunt. That's what this is, G7 plus one.

"We in the West have a very different perspective on this situation. Mr. Putin and his government are supporting the thugs of the Assad regime for their own reasons that I do not think are justifiable and Mr. Putin knows my view on that."

British Prime Minister David Cameron on Monday said he hoped to narrow the gap between Putin and the other leaders over the course of the two-day summit.

Two senior Canadian government officials, who spoke to journalists on the condition their names not be published, said Putin can expect an earful from the rest of the G8.

"It won't be an easy discussion," one of the officials said.

"They get heated sometimes," added the second official, "particularly on these kinds of issues."

They also underscored what's at stake in these closed-door talks.

"It's part of the ebb and flow of the G8," the second official said. "You know, we had a different position from Russia on Libya and yet we managed to have that discussion and I think the value of the G8 is the small format.

"Leaders can have frank discussions behind closed doors. So this is not the first time it's happened where there's been a core difference of opinion among G8 members. You're right, this one's serious. So was Libya."

The Harper government, meanwhile, announced Monday that Canada would give $90 million in new humanitarian assistance to Syria this year. That's on top of $100 million announced on Sunday to help Jordan cope with the fallout from the Syrian conflict.

Monday 10 June 2013

Sick Days Come Into Question

Public servants’ number of sick days are ‘unsustainable’: Clement

BILL CURRY AND JOHN IBBITSON

OTTAWA — The Globe and Mail

Published Monday, Jun. 10 2013, 12:38 PM EDT

Last updated Monday, Jun. 10 2013, 12:54 PM EDT

The Conservative government is taking aim at sick leave in the public service, where it says the absenteeism rate of 18.2 days a year is more than two-and-a-half times the the private sector average.

Treasury Board President Tony Clement outlined the new policies Monday in the foyer of the House of Commons, releasing the first details on plans that were hinted at in the March 2013 budget.

Mr. Clement wants to replace the existing rules, which haven’t been changed since 1970, with two new programs. A short-term disability system will be put in place for workers with temporary illnesses.

The long-term disability program will be reformed with an aim to improve reintegration into the workplace.

Mr. Clement points out that the current system of banked sick days leads to an absenteeism rate that is well above the average of 6.7 days in the private sector.

“That is simply unsustainable for any employer that intends to run a modern, high-performing and effective work force,” said Mr. Clement.

The minister argues that not only is the current system a problem for taxpayers, it is not fair to employees.

Relying on banked sick days is an “inefficient and haphazard” way of managing human resources, according to the minister, because it does not involve case management and rehabilitation support.

“It’s also unfair to employees. If you are stricken with a sudden illness and you need an operation that will force you to be off work for three or four months, but you don’t have enough sick days, you are simply out of luck,” he said.

According to the minister, 11 per cent of public servants do not have any banked sick days and nearly 60 per cent don’t have enough sick days to cover them until the 13-week mark, when long-term disability insurance kicks in. This is seen by the government as discriminatory toward newer and younger employees.

It is not clear exactly what the change in policy will mean for sick days and whether there will be an annual amount set aside.

This latest government proposal will become part of the bargaining mix when negotiations get seriously under way in 2014. Changing the rules surrounding sick leave and disability will require changes to collective agreements, many of which expire in 2015.

Monday’s announcement is the latest tranche in a serious of reforms and proposed reforms aimed at saving money and improving productivity.

Previous changes included requiring workers to foot half the cost of pension programs, eliminating voluntary severance for workers who quit their jobs and implementing mandatory performance management reviews.

The changes – combined with consecutive years of budget cuts in federal departments – have led to a sometimes hostile relationship between the government and public sector unions. The largest federal union – the Public Service Alliance of Canada – has run several versions of a campaign called “Harper Hates Me” that criticizes Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

Mr. Clement notes that at annual cost of $43-billion, spending on public sector pay and benefits is the most significant federal expenditure.

Friday 7 June 2013

Will The US Back Down Now?

Ottawa to retaliate against ‘illegal’ U.S. meat labeling rules

BARRIE MCKENNA

OTTAWA — The Globe and Mail

Published Friday, Jun. 07 2013, 1:37 PM EDT

Last updated Friday, Jun. 07 2013, 3:05 PM EDT

Canadians could be paying more for imported U.S. wine, ketchup and chocolate bars as the federal government prepares to retaliate against meat labeling rules deemed illegal by the World Trade Organization.

The items are on a hit-list of 38 possible targets for punitive tariffs unveiled Friday by the federal government.

The list includes a wide range of mainly agricultural and food items, ranging from live pigs to cookies and California chardonnay. Also on the list are mattresses, wooden furniture and swivel chairs.

“Despite consistent rulings by the World Trade Organization, the U.S. government continues its unfair trade practices, which are severely damaging to Canadian industry and jobs,” Trade Minister Ed Fast and Agriculture and Agri-Food Minister Gerry Ritz said in a joint statement. “Our government is extremely disappointed that the United States continues to uphold this protectionist policy . . . and calls on the U.S. to abide by this WTO ruling.”

Ottawa isn’t yet saying how much it hopes to reap from the punitive tariffs. But Canadian hog and cattle producers have estimated that U.S. country-of-origin labeling rules have cost it more than $1-billion a year in lost sales, higher costs and depressed prices.

The move is the latest chapter in a long-running dispute that began in 2008, when the U.S. required grocery stores to put country-of-origin labels on meat and other products.

The WTO ruled last year that the country-of-origin rules discriminated against Canada and Mexico. The U.S. had until last month to bring its regulations into line with the WTO.

The Obama administration responded by modifying the labeling requirements, which it says are designed to help consumers make more informed food choices.

Canada insists they remain afoul of WTO rules.

The Canadian Pork Council (CPC) says that the new rule “increases the discrimination against imported animals.”

“The U.S. is making a mockery of the WTO rules,” said Rick Bergmann, first vice-chair of the CPC.

The labelling rules have been devastating for Canadian cattle and hog producers, which saw exports drop by more than 40 per cent as U.S. food producers found it cheaper to source meat at home rather than track it through a long cross-border food chain.

The rules, for example, require that Canadian-raised animals remain segregated from U.S. hogs and cattle at slaughtering facilities and meat processing plants.

Ottawa said it will soon publish the retaliation list in the Canada Gazette – the first step in a process that could take as long as two years to resolve.

Federal officials said they won’t impose retaliatory duties until authorized by the WTO.

O.P.P. You Know Me!

Just like the old Naughty by Nature song suggest, you know me! Seems that if you run for office these days you book your brain at the door. Not only elected officials but their support staff seem to do the same! Just why is it so hard to have elected officials use common sense? Maybe if we start tossing these people in jail it would shake the foundation a bit and make these people use their head for more than a hat rack!

The Ontario Provincial Police will open an investigation into the erasing of documents in the offices of former premier Dalton McGuinty and his energy minister.

The Progressive Conservatives asked the OPP to get involved after the information and privacy commissioner revealed this week that David Livingston and Craig MacLennan, chiefs of staff to Mr. McGuinty and the former energy minister, respectively, had deleted all of their e-mails. In addition, Mr. Livingston asked the head of the civil service how to “wipe clean the hard drives in the Premier’s Office” shortly before Mr. McGuinty stepped down earlier this year.

Deleting these electronic records may have obliterated evidence in the costly cancellation of gas-fired power plants.

On Friday, OPP Commissioner Chris Lewis wrote to the Tories to inform them he had referred the matter to the force’s criminal investigative services branch “for investigation.”

“I appreciate the opportunity to respond to your concerns,” Commissioner Lewis wrote.

The New Democratic Party, meanwhile, has uncovered evidence that three more top aides to Mr. McGuinty also had their e-mails deleted.

What’s more, the e-mails of at least two of the staffers – who were both involved in the gas plant file – do not appear to have been wiped by the staffers themselves. Their e-mails were deleted on the same day, a significant time after the pair had stopped working for Mr. McGuinty.

New Democrats said Friday the former premier and several Liberal staffers must testify again before a legislative committee on the deleted records.

“Dalton McGuinty needs to come back and answer this new information from the privacy commissioner that in fact his chief of staff asked for information to destroy all the records on computers and frankly, we need to know: did he tell him to do that?” said NDP Energy Critic Peter Tabuns. “On the other hand, did he in fact, make it clear to him that information had to be preserved and the law followed?”

A Freedom of Information request filed by the NDP reveals that Chris Morley, who preceded Mr. Livingston as Mr. McGuinty’s chief of staff, Jamison Steeve, Mr. McGuinty’s principal secretary and Sean Mullin, a policy adviser in his office, also had their correspondence wiped clean when they left Mr. McGuinty’s office. It is not clear who erased the e-mails.

But in the case of Mr. Steeve and Mr. Mullin, their e-mail accounts were deleted on Aug. 17, 2012 – 10 months after Mr. Mullin had stopped working in Mr. McGuinty’s office and six weeks after Mr. Steeve had left.

When the government cancelled the Oakville gas plant in the fall of 2010, Mr. Steeve and Mr. Mullin were charged with breaking the news to TransCanada Energy, the firm contracted to build the plant.

According to their notes from that meeting, Mr. Steeve and Mr. Mullin told TransCanada the government wanted to “preserve value” of the company’s contract – a key pledge that informed later negotiations.

The province is estimated to have spent $585-million to cancel the Oakville plant and a second facility in Mississauga.

The cancellations were widely seen as a partisan ploy to save Liberal candidates from defeat in the 2011 election.

Premier Kathleen Wynne has called the deletion of e-mails “unacceptable” and says she has put in place procedures to make sure it does not happen again.

The power plants were cancelled, she said, because the towns where they were to have been built didn’t want them.

The Tories, however, say the Liberals only pulled the plug on them for political reasons.

“They’re concerned about protecting their own political hide and they’re concerned about protecting being in power,” MPP Monte McNaughton said Friday.

Biggest Jobs Gain In A Decade

Great numbers coming out of Eastern Canada, let's hope that this is the start of a trend and that employment starts to accelerate. Our numbers out west are weaker than expected but not surprising with the late spring/construction season.

Could we be starting to a rebound from Quebec and Ontario? Too soon to say but this is a good start, if we see this carry on for a few more months then we may be onto something.

I still feel that our country needs to figure out what to do with Atlantic Canada though. In the States the work force is much more mobile, they will go where the jobs are. Here in Canada our safety net system has become so liberalized that people will spend half of their lives unemployed or severely under-employed in Atlantic Canada while other jurisdictions are crying for workers. It may be high time the government reams in our employment insurance system so that it encourages more mobility. The rest of Canada should not have to continually pumps billions of dollars into economies in Atlantic Canada that cannot sustain itself. Their unemployment rate is typically 12%, that in no way is sustainable you simply need more employment in order to sustain the services for everyone who is needs them.

This may sound mean and all but some times some bad tasting medicine is the best for you. These people don't want to have to leave but should they be held up by the safety net for life? I don't think this is what the system was put in place for. It is not good for them and their families, nor good for local , provincial and federal governments to keep propping them up. Make it harder to continually be on un-employment year in year out and make it easier for them to get better training and maybe some help with moving to jurisdictions where the jobs are. There is no reason in this nation that our unemployment rate should ever be 7%, we should be trying for 3-4% tops.

Canada posts biggest jobs gain in more than a decade

TAVIA GRANT - ECONOMICS REPORTER

The Globe and Mail

Published Friday, Jun. 07 2013, 8:33 AM EDT

Last updated Friday, Jun. 07 2013, 10:31 AM EDT

The Canadian economy churned out 95,000 jobs last month, the second-biggest monthly gain on record, mostly in full-time positions in the private sector.

The jump in job creation is the largest since August, 2002, and sent the country’s jobless rate down a notch to 7.1 per cent in May, Statistics Canada said Friday. The increase was eight times what economists had expected.

The report shows a comeback in the private sector, where job creation had been lacklustre in preceding two months, a reflection of shaky business confidence. Last month, construction accounted for nearly half the job gains, with the retail, trade and business support services sectors also adding to head count.

“A pleasant surprise after a string of generally soft job gains in the prior six months,” said Avery Shenfeld, chief economist at CIBC World Markets in a note.

Jobs numbers have been volatile in recent months and one month does not make a trend. A smoothed-out average over the last half year shows gains of 19,000 a month, “indicative of a job creation engine chugging along, as opposed to revving up, noted Sonya Gulati, senior economist at Toronto-Dominion Bank.

She expects job creation to average 10,000 to 20,000 a month through the rest of this year.

Private companies led the way. The private sector added 94,600 positions while the public sector created 6,600 jobs. Self employment fell by 6,200. The construction sector added 42,700 jobs, the biggest gain on record.

Wage gains, though still modest, are running above the rate of inflation, with average hourly wages growing 2.3 per cent in May from last year.

Youth – a segment that has struggled in the job market – saw improvements in May. Employment among those aged 15 to 24 rose 54,400, pushing their jobless rate to 13.6 per cent from 14.5 per cent in April.

Core-aged workers saw little employment change while those over the age of 55 saw 34,000 new positions.

By province, employment rose in Ontario, Quebec, Alberta, New Brunswick and Manitoba. A gain of 50,600 jobs in Ontario sent the province’s unemployment rate to 7.3 per cent, the lowest rate since November, 2008.

Unemployment rates fell in every province from Manitoba east, while they rose in the Western provinces. Saskatchewan has the lowest jobless rate in the country, at 4.5 per cent.

Compared with a year earlier, employment has grown 1.4 per cent or by 250,000, all in full-time positions.

Thursday 6 June 2013

Unions Will Have To Get In Line Like The Rest Of Us

Proposed union finances bill passes constitutional muster, ex-Supreme Court justice says

BY TYLER DAWSON, POSTMEDIA NEWS JUNE 5, 2013

A proposed bill would require all labour unions to provide the Canada Revenue Agency with financial information. That includes spending on education and training, and the percentage of time union employees spend on political activities. Some observers say the Supreme Court of Canada should test the constitutionality of the law.

Photograph by: The Canadian Press , Postmedia News

OTTAWA – A controversial private member’s bill that would require unions to reveal staff salaries, operating expenses and political activities to the Canada Revenue Agency doesn’t run afoul of the Constitution, says a former Supreme Court justice.

Michel Bastarache, who retired from the Supreme Court in 2008, wrote that “if Bill C-377 is enacted into law, it would likely be upheld by the courts as a valid enactment of (the) federal Parliament’s power over taxation.”

That view from a respected senior jurist will dismay opponents of the bill, who have argued it is invasive of privacy and would be costly to carry out. Bastarache’s view is not shared by all legal experts.

What financial information a union should disclose might be a perfectly legitimate debate, said Osgoode Hall Law School Prof. Bruce Ryder, but the reality is “most of this law falls under provincial jurisdiction.”

The bill would require that all labour unions provide the Canada Revenue Agency with financial information. That includes spending on education and training, and the percentage of time union employees spend on political activities.

Merit Canada, an organization that advocates for a union-free construction industry, commissioned Bastarache’s opinion. No one from Merit Canada could be reached for comment Wednesday.

Bob Linton, director of legislative affairs for the United Food and Commercial Workers Canada, said the big concern is the added expense of this system, as unions will need to collect and report this information, and the Canada Revenue Agency will need staff to monitor information and enforce the new provisions.

The Canadian Labour Congress, which will testify before the Senate on the bill, is also concerned about the level of personal information that would be disclosed. In a brief, CLC president Ken Georgetti said it would require disclosure of all transactions over $5,000, which, for example, could include personal information about a union member who is receiving money under a health plan for a prescription.

Ryder, the law school professor, said the proposed legislation, introduced by Conservative MP Russ Hiebert, is a “labour bill dressed up as a tax bill,” which Ryder predicted could lead to an expensive battle in the courts.

Provincial governments have the bulk of the responsibility over labour law, and the federal government has power over taxation law. It is this distinction – and, ultimately, which sort of law Bill C-377 actually is – that raises the question of constitutionality.

In a legal opinion released Wednesday, Bastarache wrote that as long as the motive of expense disclosure is “rationally and functionally connected” to an area of federal jurisdiction — that is, income tax law — then it is constitutional.

Bastarache wrote that the link between the Income Tax Act and this legislation is that there are tax benefits accorded to labour unions.

“In exchange for these benefits, it appears, the new section (of the Income Tax Act) would make public certain financial operations of these organizations,” he wrote.

However, Ryder disputed this assessment, saying there isn’t a rational connection between expense disclosure and income tax, and that Bastarache cites no examples of “benefits” or provisions under the act.

“The amount of information that needs to be disclosed is quite extraordinary, and how that has any connection to the goals of the income tax act is completely obscure,” he said. “The bill comes as (a) transparency and accountability measure for unions.”

Ryder proposed that, in light of the constitutional questions, the government should refer the bill to the Supreme Court of Canada, to determine whether or not it is constitutional.

Hiebert, the MP who introduced the bill, said the connection to the Income Tax Act lies in benefits received by unions.

“I modelled my legislation after the existing clauses within the Income Tax Act that deal with disclosure,” he said. “Union members receive benefits, unions themselves operate tax free and strike pay is also deemed tax free.”

He said that charities, for example, are already required to disclose finances. This is no different, he said.

Time For The Liberals To Come Clean In Ontario?

Tories ask OPP to probe deleted gas plant emails

The Canadian Press
Published Thursday, June 6, 2013 7:26AM EDT
Last Updated Thursday, June 6, 2013 12:35PM EDT

TORONTO -- The Progressive Conservatives said Thursday they want the Ontario Provincial Police to investigate the destruction of government documents by senior Liberal staff in former premier Dalton McGuinty's office as theft.

"My intention is to actually phone the (OPP) commissioner and report a crime," said PC energy critic Vic Fedeli.

The police must investigate the conclusions of Ontario's privacy commissioner, who found the chiefs of staff in McGuinty's office and the Ministry of Energy broke the law by deleting emails on cancelled gas plants in Oakville and Mississauga, added Fedeli.

"The decision by premier McGuinty's office to remove electronic records from government computers and put them onto USB sticks needs to be investigated by the OPP," he said.

"These vital records are government and taxpayer property, and until they are returned they should be considered stolen."

The Tories and New Democrats accuse the Liberals of destroying emails to hide the true cost of cancelling the two gas plants, which has grown to an estimated $585 million, well above the government's original claims of $230 million.

The Conservatives went on the attack against Premier Kathleen Wynne during question period, insisting the police should be called in.

"Premier, since you won't acknowledge any wrongdoing, will you at least get out of the way when the OPP comes to your office to get to the bottom of this scandal on behalf of the people of Ontario," asked Tory Rob Leone.

Wynne bristled at the suggestion she wouldn't fully co-operate with police.

"I take offence at the suggestion that I would not," the premier told the legislature.

"I would absolutely comply with anything that I was asked to do by police, and I think the member opposite actually knows that."

Wynne didn't dispute the privacy commissioner's conclusion that the emails on the cancelled gas plants should never have been deleted by Liberal staffers.

"I agree with her conclusions that this should not have happened," she said. "I have committed to making changes to ensure that all staff follow the rules."

The New Democrats said Wynne can't wash her hands of the problem by saying she's changed practices to make sure political staff know their obligations on document retention since she took over from McGuinty.

"I know for sure, or at least I believe that the premier has known about this all along," said NDP Leader Andrea Horwath.

"I don't believe for a minute that she took the reins of power of this party without knowing all along what had been done in terms of the cover-up."

The Conservatives also called on the NDP to vote against the budget next week to defeat the minority Liberals, saying only a change in government will help get to the truth about the cancelled gas plants.

However, the NDP warned an election would kill the justice committee hearings into the gas plants, where they say the truth is slowly coming out.

"Our first responsibility is to do what's right for people back home and that's what we did in the budget, we got concessions that are important for people like a 15 per cent cut in auto insurance," said NDP house leader Gilles Bisson.

Privacy Commissioner Ann Cavoukian reported Wednesday that McGuinty's former chief of staff, David Livingston, tried as late as January to have email accounts for several Liberals permanently deleted from government databases.

There are no penalties for violating Ontario's Archives and Recordkeeping Act, but Cavoukian's findings could help the opposition parties find the Liberals guilty of a rare contempt of parliament motion, which can carry legal sanctions.

Federal Conservatives Unraveling?

Is this the beginning of the end for the federal Conservative party as it currently sits? Is this going to be the start of calls made quietly for Harper to step down and have a new leader for the next election?

Having met Mr. Harper and finding him a very sincere person I think it may be time for the conservative movement to look for a successor. Although getting no kudos from the left leaning media for guiding Canada through some very rough waters the past 5 years or so, Prime Minister Harper has done a great job. Our country is strong coming out of the world wide recession that still grips most of Europe and our neighbours to the south. Though not helped by provincial governments here, looking at you BC, Quebec and Ontario! Were it not for these three governments fighting anything the Harper government put forth to move our country forward I think we may have been in an even better position than we currently are.

So, what do we need in a new leader? Well, one that is more open to the media for starters! You know that any conservative leader will be vilified via the media, you still need to be able to get your message across and let the voters decide who to believe. So a more outgoing leader is a must in my opinion.

Our next leader should also work on transparency within government and stick to it, meaning if we elect you to clean up government, do so! This is where this conservative party has failed us. We want a clean, lean government and they have failed to provide us with one.

Cut spending, our next leader needs to sign onto deep cuts in government spending. We do not need the federal government creating an economy with spending. Mr. Harper buckled under pressure by the EU and President Obama to turn the taps on and spend out of recession. Although not going as far as some would have liked I feel we spent and continue to spend too much.

Our next leader should start to move the Canadian economy away from depending on resources and into the new era of technology. We need to foster growth in this industry as it is the way of the future and we currently are being left behind. We need to entice companies to set up her, develop here, we need to have our universities involved in the science, we need more in order to remain relevant in the world. Our dependence on resources as a major driver of the economy although has served us well in the past should not be looked at as a leader in our future. Most resources are finite and if we do not move on to a more technology based economy I fear for our nation's future. Our next leader should call on companies, universities, provinces and more to invest, foster and make our nation attractive for businesses to come to Canada, this is the future.

Our new leader must tackle immigration as well. Our immigration system is so flawed that a complete tear down may be required. We have provinces(Alberta & Saskatchewan) that desperately need immigrants but are being handcuffed by the federal limits. While provinces such ad Ontario, Quebec and BC have much higher unemployment numbers and continue to take in their quota of immigrants. Either raise the quota for the provinces that need more or have an overall quota for all of Canada and limit areas with higher unemployment. Makes sense doesn't it? I mean do provinces with over 7% unemployemnt and much large under-empoyment rates really need to bring in more immigrants while other provinces are crying for help, help that would drive growth across the nation and help out the "have not" provinces?

Is it time for a new leader, I think it is, but feel Harper is content trying his hand at the next election. This I feel will be a terrible mistake and hand the country over to Trudeau who has proven time and time again that he is not a person capable of leading a nation.

Dismayed Conservatives confront news that MP Brent Rathgeber has quit Harper’s caucus

BY MIKE DE SOUZA & MICHAEL WOODS, POSTMEDIA NEWS JUNE 6, 2013 11:08 AM

Conservative MP Brent Rathgeber

Photograph by: THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick , Postmedia News

OTTAWA — Alberta MP Brent Rathgeber’s decision to quit the federal Conservative caucus over what he believes is a lack of commitment to transparency by the government left his Tory colleagues in turmoil Thursday.

Several said they were disappointed by the news. Rathgeber announced his decision late Wednesday, saying the government was trying to dilute a private member’s bill he has introduced on financial disclosure of senior public service salaries. He fears the government is not living up to its own rhetoric on transparency and openness in government.

Conservative government whip Gordon O’Connor disagreed, saying Rathgeber would have to explain himself.

“We are open and transparent,” O’Connor said. “We provide all the financial information. Every day we explain what we’re doing. We have announcements here all the time. There’s no secrets going on. People know what’s going on in the government.”

Some Conservative MPs, including John Williamson, a New Brunswick MP and former head of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation which supports more transparency, declined to comment.

Ontario Tory MP Larry Miller said he had supported the intent of a financial transparency bill for public servants that Rathgeber has been trying to have passed, but had concerns it could actually drive up wages of some senior government officials.

“At the same time, if his bill was totally gutted, which it sounds like that’s what he’s ticked off about, then I have some concerns. But until I actually see what came out of the committee or whatever, I can’t really comment,” said Miller.

Rathgeber tweeted his decision to sit as an independent from the Conservative caucus after the governing party rewrote his legislation designed to improve transparency about federal records and information.

“My decision to resign from the CPC caucus is because of the government’s lack of commitment to transparency and open government,” the Edmonton MP wrote on his Twitter account late Wednesday.

Thursday morning, in an extensive blog post, he called it the “straw that broke the camel’s back.”

My decision to resign from the CPC Caucus is because of the Government’s lack of commitment to transparency and open government.

— Brent Rathgeber, MP (@brentrathgeber) June 6, 2013

The government had just voted major changes to his bill, which would be similar to “sunshine” laws in some provinces by requiring highly paid public servants to disclose their salaries at federal departments and agencies as well as Crown corporations such as the CBC. The Conservatives amended it so that the minimum salary that would trigger public disclosures would be more than $444,000, not the $188,000 level Rathgeber proposed.

A spokesman for the prime minister’s office confirmed via Twitter that Rathgeber had resigned from caucus, and said the MP should resign from the House of Commons. “The people of Edmonton-St. Albert elected a Conservative Member of Parliament. Mr. Rathgeber should resign and run in a by-election,” Andrew MacDougall wrote.

The people of Edmonton-St. Albert elected a Conservative Member of Parliament. Mr. Rathgeber should resign and run in a by-election. (2/2) — Andrew MacDougall (@PMO_MacDougall) June 6, 2013

“It really smacks of hypocrisy,” Rathgeber told the CBC, referring to MacDougall’s comments. “It’s a little rich.” He pointed to the example of David Emerson, who quit the Liberal caucus after the 2006 election to join the Tories. The Conservatives did not suggest he should run in a byelection.

In his blog entry posted, entitled “I Stand Alone,” Rathgeber outlined the rationale for his decision.

“Clearly, the Government’s decision not to support my Private Member’s Bill on CBC and Public Sector disclosure and transparency in Committee was the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back; however, this decision and my comfort level in caucus has been evolving for at least a year.”

“Recent allegations concerning expense scandals and the Government’s response has been extremely troubling. I joined the Reform/conservative movements because I thought we were somehow different, a band of Ottawa outsiders riding into town to clean the place up, promoting open government and accountability. I barely recognize ourselves, and worse I fear that we have morphed into what we once mocked.

“My constituents demand better. My constituents simply do not care what somebody, who they hope will never become Prime Minister, did or didn’t do seventeen years ago. They do care, however, about the relations between a sitting Senator and Langevin Block (PMO). For a government that was elected on a platform of accountability, my constituents are gravely disappointed.

“I still support and greatly respect the Prime Minister; I continue to question the decisions and actions of many of his advisors. I will continue to support the government generally, but not unequivocally. I will deploy my independent vote on a case by case, issue by issue basis.

“I can only compromise so much before I begin to not recognize myself. I no longer recognize much of the party that I joined and whose principles (at least on paper), I still believe in. Accordingly, since I can no longer stand with them, I must now stand alone.”

Tory MP Mark Warawa responded to Rathgeber’s announcement via Twitter on Wednesday, saying, “Brent, you are a man of integrity and will be missed.”

@brentrathgeber Brent, you are a man of integrity and will be missed.

— Mark Warawa (@MPmarkwarawa) June 6, 2013

Two days before the amendments to his bill were made, Rathgeber had recommended a sweeping review of existing laws granting people access to government records, saying that Canada is a “laggard” in making information available to taxpayers.

He made the comments this week as a parliamentary committee continued its review of the private member’s bill which would expand the existing federal access to information law.

NDP MP Alexandre Boulerice said Thursday that the resignation from Tory caucus shows that Conservatives, who had come to change Ottawa, were being changed themselves. He also said some Tory MPs are privately complaining that they no longer have the freedom to speak freely without permission from the prime minister, and are warning opposition members to be careful they don’t suffer the same fate.

But Miller rejected Rathgeber’s suggestions that the Conservative party had changed.

“That’s totally wrong,” Miller said. “I’m sure that Brent said some things when he was not in very good humour and that’s fine. But I totally disagree with that and that’s all I’m going to say.”

NDP leader Tom Mulcair said Rathgeber’s frustration was part of a pattern of behaviour with the Harper government that incuded recent events in the Senate.

“That’s the reality of Ottawa. These are people who got themselves elected on a promise of transparency and accountability.

Rathgeber has argued his government’s suggestion of a high baseline salary to trigger public disclosure was too high and would only allow for information on salaries of some CEOs at Crown corporations, chairs of boards and commissions or a few judicial appointments, while excluding information on salaries of deputy ministers across government.