General Canadian Politics eh.

Welcome to our Community
Wanting to join the rest of our members? Feel free to Sign Up today.
Sign up

DiSmAnTLeR

Well-Known Member
Apr 5, 2016
906
890
My support is unwavering, apparently we can't say the same about yours.
LOL. Your support has to be unwavering, anything else from you would be killing the golden goose. You will do it and like it.

You can actually put a dollar value on the amount of support that Alberta has given to your province (and the rest of the country). We pull almost as much weight as Ontario with a fraction of the population. If Alberta ever separated, Quebec would damn near bankrupt Canada in a single quarter. Your entire existence is subsidized by Alberta oil.





 

Freeloading Rusty

Here comes Rover, sniffin’ at your ass
Jan 11, 2016
26,916
26,743
Canada announces $53-million in aid for Venezuela and refugees
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced $53-million in new Canadian funding to support the needs of Venezuelans, including the three million refugees who fled the humanitarian crisis in the South American country.

The Prime Minister made the announcement Monday morning in Ottawa at the 10th meeting of the Lima Group, a regional bloc tasked with finding a peaceful resolution to the Venezuelan crisis. Mr. Trudeau said the bulk of the funding will go to “trusted” organizations on the ground in Venezuela and neighbouring countries to support them as they handle the influx of refugees.

“We know that the people of Venezuela are facing tremendous hardship and they need our help, as do the countries who have taken in those fleeing violence,” Mr. Trudeau said.

The funding will provide emergency food assistance, health-care, water, sanitation, education and protection services, with a focus on the needs of women and girls. It will also help monitor and report on the human rights situation in Venezuela.

Since 2017, Canada has provided $2.21-million in humanitarian assistance to help the most vulnerable people affected by the Venezuelan crisis. Monday’s announcement brings that total to more than $55-million.


Last month, Canada joined the United States and other Lima Group members in recognizing opposition leader Juan Guaido, who declared himself the interim president of Venezuela on Jan. 23. Mr. Guaido is in a leadership showdown with socialist President Nicolas Maduro, whose regime has been accused of crimes against humanity, including ordering the military to commit extrajudicial killings and use of excessive force against protesters.

Mr. Trudeau said he spoke to Mr. Guaido on Sunday and personally conveyed Canada’s support for him. Speaking to the Lima Group Monday, Mr. Trudeau condemned the Maduro regime’s claim to power following “fraudulent” elections last May.

“The violation of human rights and the complete disregard for the rule of law shown by the [Maduro] regime has been both inexcusable and unacceptable,” Mr. Trudeau said.

“Juan Guaido has shown immense courage and conviction to follow the legal path to democracy.”

Mr. Guaido, a virtually unknown politician until he was elected leader of the National Assembly on Jan. 5, electrified Venezuela’s beleaguered opposition when he proclaimed himself interim president. He told Venezuelans the move was constitutional because the presidency was “vacated” after Mr. Maduro was re-elected last May in a vote that all key opposition leaders were barred from participating in.



Mr. Trudeau also took the opportunity to recognize Mr. Guaido’s representative to Canada, Orlando Viera-Blanco. However, the Venezuelan embassy in Ottawa remains under the control of the Maduro regime, so Mr. Viera-Blanco does not have any official diplomatic credentials in Canada.

Ministers from 13 of the 14 Lima Group member states – Canada, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Panama, Paraguay, Peru and Saint Lucia – attended Monday’s meeting in Ottawa. Mexico, which has remained neutral on the situation in Venezuela, did not.

Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland said the group is meeting with the aim of aiding the peaceful restoration of democracy in Venezuela. A spokesperson for her office told The Globe and Mail that Canada opposes the use of military intervention in the country – a marked contrast from the U.S. approach.

In an interview with CBS on Sunday, U.S. President Donald Trump said military intervention is “an option,” adding that he turned down a meeting request from Mr. Maduro months ago.

Canada has led an international effort to seek support for Mr. Guaido, with Mr. Trudeau calling numerous world leaders to discuss the Venezuelan crisis in recent weeks. Last year, Canada joined Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Paraguay and Peru in referring the situation in Venezuela to the International Criminal Court, which has since launched a preliminary investigation into alleged crimes against humanity by the Maduro regime.

Ottawa has also imposed sanctions against 70 Maduro regime officials, freezing any Canadian assets they may have and banning them from travelling to Canada.


Eight European countries joined Guaido allies in recognizing his interim leadership Monday, including the United Kingdom, Germany, Austria, France, Spain, Portugal, Sweden and Denmark. Although not part of the Lima Group, representatives from many of those European countries attended the meeting in Ottawa.

Ministers will use Monday’s meeting to discuss ways to channel humanitarian assistance into Venezuela, where the Maduro government has blocked foreign aid in the past.

“What Maduro should do immediately is grant proper access for the delivery of humanitarian products to Venezuela. He has been in denial about the humanitarian needs there,” British Minister of State for the Americas and Europe, Alan Duncan, told reporters at the Lima Group meeting.

The Venezuelan military is a key force that could determine who wins the showdown between Mr. Guaido and Mr. Maduro. Over the weekend, the country’s air force commander, General Francisco Esteban Yanez, publicly backed Mr. Guaido, saying he no longer recognizes Mr. Maduro as President.
 

BeardOfKnowledge

The Most Consistent Motherfucker You Know
Jul 22, 2015
60,546
56,267
Canada, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Panama, Paraguay, Peru and Saint Lucia
One of these things, is not like the other things.
 

SoupCan

how bout dat
First 100
Jan 18, 2015
2,659
3,190
history will continue to repeat itself, your literally watching it unfold on a global scale with trump but still you eont change.

I dont like Notley, her constant hair flicking and stunted look annoyes but Kenney is dogshit.
 

Sheepdog

Protecting America from excessive stool loitering
Dec 1, 2015
8,912
14,237
Hey buddies, just thought I'd pop in to remind you all that you're a pack of cunts and I hope you all freeze to death in a polar vortex, eh.

Sorry, I'm still mad about the illegal whores last time I visited.

Sorry.
 

BeardOfKnowledge

The Most Consistent Motherfucker You Know
Jul 22, 2015
60,546
56,267
What? That shit is a stat in BC.. So not a Federal stat yet a Provincial. Informative.
The only people in Ontario that get it as a stat are those whom work for the government. It's the biggest shopping day of the year. Makes me sick.
 

Freeloading Rusty

Here comes Rover, sniffin’ at your ass
Jan 11, 2016
26,916
26,743
So again, for most of the country. Not a stat.
Correct, your provincial govt decided to opt out of recognizing our vets and giving you a paid day off to do so.

It takes effort for a provincial govt to opt out of a Federal stat, good job Ontario.

Maybe you should lobby Ford to man up.
 

Freeloading Rusty

Here comes Rover, sniffin’ at your ass
Jan 11, 2016
26,916
26,743
'There's people going to jail': B.C. Speaker, chief of staff allege officials broke the law
Just weeks after releasing a bombshell report accusing senior legislature staff of gross misspending, B.C.'s Speaker has come out with yet another explosive allegation, saying he believes elected officials broke the law.

"How could all of this go on without elected officials knowing? That's just not possible," Darryl Plecas told CTV News in an exclusive sit-down interview.

"Elected officials absolutely had to know what was going and they did nothing about it."

For the first time since his eyebrow-raising allegations against suspended Legislature Clerk Craig James and Sergeant-at-Arms Gary Lenz became public late last month, Plecas made clear he believes MLAs not only contravened spending rules, but also the law.

Criminal investigation already underway
He and his chief of staff, Alan Mullen, were adamant that additional allegations coming in the months ahead go far beyond the allegedly inappropriate work and travel expenses outlined in the initial Jan. 21 report.

Scroll down or click here to view the full report

"Given what I've seen over the past over a year, yeah, there's people going to jail," Mullen told CTV.

"The RCMP are spending a lot of resources and they're working around the clock," he added. "They're not looking about who expensed a glass of orange juice or a breakfast when they shouldn't. They're looking at some serious criminal matters."

Neither Plecas nor Mullen would go as far divulging whether that investigation includes sitting politicians. They also refused to detail exactly what the allegations might be or who they're against, citing the possibility that their answer could affect the RCMP investigation currently underway at the legislature.

There were two high-profile MLAs named in the initial report - former Speakers Linda Reid and Bill Barisoff - but it's unclear if either of them are part of the probe.

The RCMP itself was tight-lipped on the details this week, saying "we are not in a position to confirm any specific details with respect to the ongoing and active investigation at the B.C. legislature."

The Speaker's scathing 76-page report accuses James and Lenz - who have strongly denied any wrongdoing – of "flagrant overspending" of public money on things such as travel, souvenirs, luggage, clothing and even a wood splitter worth thousands.

In the report, Plecas also raises questions about more than $257,000 he alleges James may have received in 2012 as part of a retirement allowance program "that had in fact ended in 1987."


In the immediate aftermath of the report, Plecas and Mullen suggested the allegations against the suspended officials were just the tip of the iceberg, but both stopped short of saying whether any of the allegations might be criminal in nature.

"I think what will happen down the road in the coming weeks and months - people will be very disturbed by what else is yet to come," the Speaker said.

According to the BC Prosecution Service, two special prosecutors were appointed to the case following a request from the RCMP on Sept. 28. Days later, David Butcher and Brock Martland were appointed to provide police with legal advice during the investigation.


More whistleblowers coming forward: Mullen
Mullen told CTV whistleblowers have been contacting them daily since the report's release.

"I'd say I'm speaking to a couple of new people every day," he said, adding that the number of people who have come forward with information is now in the dozens and isn't limited to just those who have worked at the legislature.

"I'm seeing people from private sector, from Crown Corporations as well as the legislature coming saying, 'Boy, have I got something to say about wrongdoing in this province,'" Mullen said.

None of the allegations against anyone who might be involved in the investigation have been proven in court.

In addition to voting to make Plecas's report public last month, the Legislative Assembly Management Committee voted to launch a workplace review that will be submitted to an auditor outside the province as well as conduct an audit of the legislature's financial issues.

"We have this long history of issues being called to the attention of the Speaker, elected officials… and absolutely nothing being done about it," Plecas said.

"The legislature is the only place that operates like an island. It's like the Vatican. Nobody has jurisdiction. The police can want to come on the property to investigate something and the way it's been in the past, they just tell police to take a hike."

Just days after the report was released, B.C. Auditor General Carol Bellringer announced she had started a deep audit into the allegations, expressing concern about why the existing system had not picked up on alleged irregularities outlined in the report by the Speaker.

The report also triggered calls for more transparency at the legislature by groups including the B.C. Freedom of Information and Privacy Association.

The activities and expenses of staff - including James and Lenz - are currently not subject to the Freedom of Information rules—which means they're not directly accountable to the public when it comes to how they're spending taxpayer dollars.

Mullen and Plecas continue to defend the motivation behind their probe into spending at the legislature as non-partisan, despite critics suggesting the Speaker had an axe to grind with the BC Liberals after leaving the party to become an independent and take the role of Speaker.


Vitriol and vindication: B.C. reacts to damning report
In the weeks between James and Lenz's suspension and the release of the report, Plecas came under fire from all sides, with Liberal Leader Andrew Wilkinson going so far as to suggest the Speaker was "building his own little empire, staffed with expensive lawyers, with investigators with no credentials."

Following the release of the document, however, some said Plecas had been vindicated, while the Liberals - under whom most of the alleged misspending outlined in the report would have taken place - tried to shift the narrative from placing blame to inter-party co-operation.

Plecas said the reaction since the report was made public has been "comforting given what happened in the two months prior to that."

"At least what I'm hearing is that the general public is very happy that something is being done to call attention to inappropriate spending of taxpayer dollars," he said.

But Mullen said "that quickly turns to sadness and shock and outrage at times. British Columbians want answers and they want more answers."

The Speaker has also been lambasted for at one point suggesting Mullen himself could serve as interim Sergeant-at-Arms.

"My rationale for doing that will become blatantly obvious in the weeks or at least months ahead," Plecas told CTV.

That too, the Speaker said, is a matter of police investigation, which means taxpayers could be waiting months for the next chapter in a scandal that has already rocked B.C. politics to its core.