Canadian Politics and more

Bach after a break to attend to business

2011-01-22T10:41:00.000-08:00

I'm back after a break to attend to my business during the recent economic slowdown . We've survived and business has come back ( we are exporters ) . In the interim the Harper party has broken more promises and spent wildly - money that will be paid by our children for years to come . They do not show any signs of creative thinking for the benefit of Canada and it's people .

The most recent personal attack advertisements clearly show they are the same old mean spirited people - that personally attack others they perceive to be a threat to the party . They do not bring forward any of the programs that would actually benefit Canadians .

They could make the EI program a true U I program - they won't because they take in too much revenue from the taxing of workers and employers .

They could forget about new expensive jets that Canada doesn't need and instead begin a Canada wide program to install ground source heating / cooling throughout most of Canada over the next 15 years .

They could have a replacement for the aging Buffalo aircraft built in Canada - but they won't .

They could do more for student education costs in Canada - but they won't .

They could make private pensions portable from job to job and province to province - but they are planning to create another layer of private pensions to the Flaherty business friends in financial circles .

I could go on and on but you already have your own lists .

Expensive Jets or Heating our Homes / Offices

2011-01-22T09:58:00.000-08:00

The announcement by the Harper government to buy a fleet of really expensive jet fighter airplanes has bothered me ever since . The price of at least 65 billion dollars can be used in so many other more beneficial places . Why does Canada need these ? Are we going to wage a war against another country soon ? Not likely . Will we need them to defend our country ? Not likely any time soon . The " old " F18s can be kept running for another 20 years if we have some military that want to fly fast . The only aircraft that we can use is a replacement for the aging Buffalo aircraft ( and that can be built by a Canadian company in Victoria , B.C. )

As a country , Canada will be better regarded by helping emerging nations , rather than gearing up to blast them with fast airplanes . If the USA wants to wage a war against another country - let them go to it by themselves . Expand trade with / to these emerging countries - thus craeating jobs for Canadians and buying some less expensive goods from these countries instead of from a repressive regime like China . Perhaps we can sell some of our softwood lumber to the emerging countries instead of to the USA ( a country that seems to not want less expensive Canadian softwood for it's citizens ) .

Seems to me that using a portion of the jet fighter funds , we can begin a Canada wide program to install ground source heating / cooling into most every home and business in

Canada . Just imagine how much oil and natural gas that would free up for sale outside Canada . And just imagine how much fewer air emissions we , as a country , would emit . the amount of money incoming from outside our borders is mind boggling . So too is the amount of money we will save as home owners and business owners . This would reduce the cost of manufacturing and management of goods made in Canada . And just imagine how many worker days and months this major refitting will create for Canadians ALL across our country .

In contrast , the jet fighter program will create a small number of jobs within one industry at relatively few locations in Canada . Leaving the rest of Canadians to fend off increasing home heating and business heating costs .

Your help is needed

2008-03-22T08:41:00.000-07:00

Today I am asking for the help of all who can offer ideas of how to contact significent persons interested in a change of Federal Government from the Conservative / Reformers and Liberals of yesteryear policies . You know - the party's whose MPs take cash in Brown envelopes , and send untendered jobs to friends . Ignore Canadians at risk in other countries , etc .

How do we contact Students , Women of all ages , Working Canadians , and Seniors ?

Please email me your ideas - as a comment below or more privately via email to me directly ;
pdpofcanada@gmail.com

If you are retired or have some spare time available in the evening or weekends , and would like to help our party contact people , please contact me . We need your help in all Provinces and the north .

Renewable energy for Canadians

2008-03-22T07:39:00.000-07:00

While it is snowy and blowing outside this morning I think of warming things - one of which is energy . As a Nation , we are doing very little generally to address the significant savings that accrue to those using the newest available technologies to heat interior space, to heat water , and to reduce the use of ever increasing hydrocarbon sourced energy.
There are individual building projects that are using free geothermal heating and cooling. And others that are using solar water heating panels , and still others that are using solar electrical power generating panels . Some are using a combination of two or all three of these sources of heat from the sun and earth . Tooo expensive you are already thinking ? Read on .

Once installed , the ongoing maintenance is very little for all of these sources . Have you priced a new heating system for a home lately ? Including installation and maintenance ? Don't forget a water heater . Then factor in fuel costs over 30 years - this is impossible to do as during that time we are not even sure of a supply at any cost .
The cost of grid electricity is accelerating , and will continue to do so , and in many places , we may experience " brown outs " or none at all on very hot days .

Because I am addressing these very real problems and high costs from the point of view of a Federal Politician , the following applies to all of Canada .
The Federal Government can kick start the following;

Installation of Geo thermal heating / cooling for all new buildings . Retrofit a majority of existing homes and buildings .

Installation of windmills for large buildings , and for small communities where it is windy enough to do so , storing the power in battery banks within a building for use when needed.

Installation of solar electrical generating panels on rooftops that will charge battery banks within the building .

Feed the excess generated into the "mains grid " , crediting the power sent out to the building's owner. This helps defray the cost of initial installation , and reduces the load generation on coal fired plants .

In thousands of places within Canada there are creeks and rivers that have energy available within the flow of the water - some are tidal , but many are not . Small turbines can be installed that remove the power from the flowing water , return the water to the source , and send the power out to a nearby community or plant , with the excess sent out to the "mains grid " for routing where needed .
Again this reduces the load on coal fired power plants .

In the nearby province of New Brunswick there are a few river dams with hydro turbines installed , but there is potential on those same rivers for many more turbines , yet they are seriously considering installing another nuclear plant with all it's tremendous cost and eventual pollution worries and wasted fuel storage problems , and tremendous expensive maintenance .
I urge Premier Graham to cost out ALL the costs - not just the expense of building same .

And I urge the Premiers of all Provinces to look at tidal power generation on all the rivers exiting those provinces . These projects are more cost effective than is installing windmills that actually generate only about 33% of the time . Water power is constant . Maintenance is low .

The Federal Government needs to take the lead and secure a manufacturing plant for solar electric generating panels or we will end up buying from Germany , China or India .
This results in lost jobs opportunity for Canadians , a loss of technology for Canadians , and an outflow of earned income to another country .

In addition to Solar heating of water for home and other uses , the tank type water heater should be banned because it is so wasteful of energy . All models being sold in Canada today are very wasteful in comparison to Tank-less water heaters , especially when used down line from solar heated water from storage tanks in homes and buildings .

The National Building codes require changing immediately to reflect modern times and these newest ways of heating , cooling , and energy management .

Builders and Homeowners using these methods will see a significent increase in building value , over the value of a similiar home using old furnace , heater technology .

The final benefit to all of the above is the new jobs that these forward measures will create for Canadians in engineering , manufacturing , installation , and construction .

Have I forgotten anything ? If so , please use the comments section to tell me .

Thanks.

More of the Same old , same old

2008-03-05T15:00:00.000-08:00

Politics in Ottawa is much like the weather we have here in eastern Canada - we would all like it to just go away . But what are the alternatives ? We have a one issue party - the Green party . And an NDP that has policies everywhere except near " center " .
It has become clear as the days go by that something nefarious happened back when Mr. Cadmen was still alive . We'll not likely ever know exactly but that isn't important . We can see the low morals that some political types showed at that time .

And today we read the Harper Party has begun another series of ads that are a personal attack on Iggy - so low .

Old Time Polititions - a new attitude needed

2008-02-29T13:46:00.000-08:00

Some would kindly say " Old Fashioned polititions " - but what ever one calls the strange goings on that we see on TV from Ottawa during question periods , the display is often childish , and embarassing for Canadians to watch ( Jerry Springer would like the display though ) . The people we see in Parliment sure don't look like they can run Canada Inc. You see , running Canada is not unlike running a hugh corporation that also has social responsibility for it's employees .
Until we get a party elected that has some serious MPs sitting on the government benches , Canada will continue the aimless drifting about of certain large corporations and of the major banks .

All of the major banks in Canada have just shown us they do not have sensible management at the helm - who in right mind would invest in Billions of very poor credit ? Now they are having to write off those loss' at the expense of working Canadians . Bank shareholders lose , and tax revenue is lost to government , and everyday users of bank services are going to have to pay increased fees . You don't get any more or better service - you just get to pay more for those services .

Then there is the matter of Brown envelopes with cash stuffed inside being given about - seems it went on during the Mulroney era , the Chietien era , and who knows when else. The old line parties are morally bankrupt . The current Conservative / Reform party , it appears , has offered cash or an insurance policy , in lieu of cash to influence a vote in the House of Commons .

It is no wonder so few females want to be involved in politics - it has been a very dirty and dishonest business . Students and young Canadians are so turned off by politics that they are seldom visible in this area . Yet the outcomes are so important to these same young people .

How can we get these people more involved in our new party ? We badly need the communication interaction with them . So too does the governing party - the current one just know it or doesn't care , more likely . Canadians that are now age 18 thru 21 will soon be available to run for office ( I hope ) , and we would like to see them get started down that road soon .

We need leaders that will organize groups within senior high schools , colleges , and universities . Your groups can make a difference - more than you know .

Send me a comment or an email today . pdpofcanada@gmail.com

Banking in Canada

2008-02-26T10:13:00.000-08:00

The Bank Act in Canada is long overdue for a change . This might be a boring read for some of you But we all have to bank somewhere . Over the past 46 years I've met a lot of undereducated and somewhat lazy bank reps . Others were just ignorant . Banks didn't pay very well for a lot of years ,and they got what they paid for, unfortunately for the customers . Before I go further , I did meet, and do some business with, a few very good managers and other employees . Actually the employees were often better on the job than was management at any level - 19 times out of 20 .

However from a Government standpoint , Banks have recently made my case herein by investing so heavily in sub-prime debt and mortgages from the USA . Banks in Canada can't go broke as they are the only area of business that is protected by the Federal Government . They can do stupid investments , and be poorly managed, and still not fail .

They have repeatedly made investments outside Canada that failed _ remember CIBC and Enron ? remember BOM and sub-prime debt ? Yet in spite of writing off millions and millions of dollars , they still show a profit . It appears they are overcharging Canadians so badly that they still show a profit . The Bank act should be revised so to instruct the Domestic Banks to form a separate company for " out of Canada " business ventures . Taxpayers should not be guaranteeing this non domestic business . Nor should these hugh loss's be paid for by domestic bank customers .
And since they have a monopoly , they should pay corporate taxes just like any other corporation . Presently they write off Billions , and a great portion of that reduces taxes paid on profits of other Canadian business . Yet Flaherty and Harper have not said a word about that . Neither has the mainstream media .
Harper has never run a business , and it appears Flaherty hasn't run a successful one either .

The Banks handling of Student loans , the interest rate on them , and the repayment terms and collection hassels should be reviewed . Possibly taken away from the Banks if they refuse to have an attitude change . There are other alternatives , but that is the subject of another blog to come .

Tell us your Horror story about Banks in Canada . I had a Bank Manager stealing from my business account some years ago in Hamilton , Ontario . Fortunately I had an office manager / girl friday that was smarter than he was . He was married ,but was wining and dining one of his tellers . I eventually got the funds back from the bank , but it nearly bankrupted me .

Grad Students - tell me your horror story about repayment problems - send me an email please .
donwilson21@gmail.com

A New Beginning

2008-02-25T20:42:00.000-08:00

Today makes the first blog for this site . This is a site to present your ideas about where Canada and Canadian Politics should be going . We are governed today in Canada by those that don't seem to have any real idea about how ordinary Canadians live on a daily basis . Recent decisions by minister Flaherty would indicate he has never run a business successfully. Neither has the Prime Minister . Yet this same PM dictates what the MPs ,that were elected to represent us , say , do , and vote . That is not democracy . Not even close .

I have set the wheels in motion to eventually form a New Federal Party that will better represent ordinary Canadians , Students , and Seniors . A party that will curb the waste that is now occuring with our Aid dollars outside of Canada . A Party that will curb the waste of funds the present Conservative / Reform / Alliance party has done with the 1.5 billion slush fund they have set up that has no accountability to the Auditor General . Sounds like what Justice Gomery found out about in Quebec under the Liberals . Both of the Old Line parties are corrupted by self interest .

If you would like to post your thoughts , please do so . If you rant and rave in print in this blog , you will be removed asap . Please keep your criticism professional - don't destroy your creditability .

If you would like to support a New conservative minded party , please send me an email . Don't send money - but we'll need some of that later .

First we have to set up a Federal Organization , draw up rules to govern our party by , and find people that can donate some time to help out in all areas of running a party .
All ages are needed . You are not too old nor to young to help . I'll find you a job.

Then we have to appoint a VP for each province / territory , who will gather a volunteer staff . That staff is your " grass roots " organization who will dig up party members .

Finally we will need to sell memberships - initially about a thousand - to raise funds to run the party and make our voices heard in the media and to other Canadians .

And in all facets of the organization we need Females - you represent just over 1/2 of the population and you should be represented equally , and have a place to put in your thoughts .
This is your place to be represented . To represent yourselves .

We need University age folks - you are not represented well at the Federal level - we want to change that . I need one of you to set up a face book page - any volunteers ?

Send me an email if you would like to join , if you can help out in some way , or just to post your views - we don't operate in a vacuum . Your ideas are needed and welcomed .

Don Wilson. Email: pdpofcanada@gmail.com