Angus Reid poll: Canadians Want to Know Which Politicians are “Foreign-Influenced”
Very few respondents believe CSIS Director Richard Fadden should leave his post on account of his revelations. (full report)

KEY FINDINGS

• 67% believe the names of the politicians who are, according to the CSIS Director, “under at least the general influence of a foreign government” should be made public
• 73% say it is “very likely” or “moderately likely” that some politicians in Canada are under the influence of the Chinese government
• 59% think CSIS Director Richard Fadden should not resign on account of his statements

[VANCOUVER – Jul. 8, 2010] – Canadians have reacted with interest to the allegations made by Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) Director Richard Fadden, and believe that the names of the politicians who are supposedly under the influence of foreign governments should be revealed, a new Angus Reid Public Opinion poll has found.

In an interview broadcast last month, Fadden claimed that the agency believes that at least two provincial cabinet ministers and several British Columbia municipal politicians “are under at least the general influence of a foreign government.”

On Jul. 5, Fadden appeared before the House of Commons standing committee on public safety, and said that he will name the politicians to the federal government at a later date.

In the online survey of a representative national sample of 1,009 Canadian adults, two-thirds of respondents (67%) think the names of the ministers and politicians Fadden has referred to should be revealed to the public.

In March, Fadden stated during a speech to police chiefs and security experts that China is aggressively and surreptitiously recruiting future political prospects, and has funded university clubs that are managed by people operating out of embassies or consulates.

Three-in-four Canadians (73%) say it is “very likely” or “moderately likely” that some politicians in Canada are under the influence of the Chinese government.

Fadden told MPs that he will not offer his resignation. Three-in-five respondents (59%) believe Fadden should not leave his post on account of his statements.

From July 6 to July 7, 2010, Angus Reid Public Opinion conducted an online survey among 1,009 randomly selected Canadian adults who are Angus Reid Forum panelists. The margin of error—which measures sampling variability—is +/- 3.1%, 19 times out of 20. The results have been statistically weighted according to the most current education, age, gender and region Census data to ensure a sample representative of the entire adult population of Canada.

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(Globe and Mail) The timing of the CBC interview was not Mr. Fadden’s choice. This spring, CBC approached him to repeat remarks he had made at a private, but videotaped, speech at the Royal Canadian Military Institute. The public broadcaster kept the interview in its back pocket until it broadcast the exclusive this week.

Norman Spector of the Globe asks CBC to be responsible for the irresponsible interview:

In other words, CBC sat on the explosive interview for weeks, if not months. And it chose to make the interview public on the eve of a state visit to Canada by China’s President Hu, and on the eve of a summit to be attended both by him and by the Prime Minister of India.

Shame on the people who made that judgment. Heads should roll all right – heads at the CBC.

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Gordon Campbell will have a sleepless night. I bet he has not factored in “competition” from our neighbours when he and Stephen Harper cooked up the HST. Well, this is a free market, competition is always good.

So Campbell says HST will help small businesses in BC, and that the HST will drive prices lower? What about Campbell’s another famous pitch that he says BC will have the lowest HST in Canada? Lowest? Haha, what about none?

Anyway, this is not going to look good for the BC Liberals. It’s too bad we don’t have real alternatives in both provincial and federal levels.

B.C. and Ont. shoppers get Washington deal

CBC News

B.C. and Ontario residents will not have to pay sales tax in Washington state starting July 1, the state government announced Tuesday.

The savings would amount to as much as 9.5 per cent in some areas of the state, which has a basic sales tax of 6.5 per cent. Individual counties can add their own sales taxes of up to three per cent.

Washington state law allows a sales tax exemption to residents of jurisdictions that impose a sales tax of three per cent or less.

Residents of B.C. and Ontario previously did not qualify for the exemption but both provinces are adopting a harmonized sales tax July 1, which technically eliminates provincial sales taxes.

The state’s ‘non-resident sales tax exemption’ will apply to purchases of goods in Washington for use outside the state, the state’s Department of Revenue said in a news release.

“The exemption applies only to tangible personal property and does not apply to lodging, meals, or other retail services that are provided in the state,” the release said.

Visitors from B.C. or Ontario to Washington need to show proof of residency, such as a driver’s licence or passport, to get the exemption.

The move is expected to entice shoppers south, especially in communities close to the U.S. Vancouver is about 30 kilometres from the border.

People who live in Newfoundland, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, which already have the HST, and Alberta and the three territories, which have no provincial or territorial sales taxes, already don’t have to pay the tax in Washington.

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I was quite shocked that former Chinese ambassador to Canada Mei Ping dare to talk about the June 4th massacre to Vancouver’s Chinese media today.

Mei Ping met with the media in the consulate general in Vancouver. He was asked about his thoughts on the June 4th massacre (as it was the 21st anniversary today). This is what he replied (and surprisingly in a solemn and slow-paced voice):

I’m here today to talk about Canada-China relation, thought I shouldn’t talk about affairs in China. However, as the media has raised about the June 4th issue, I’d look as if I was afraid of the question if I didn’t respond.

The Chinese government was compelled to do some action against its will (迫不得已) 21 years ago. No one would have hoped to have a result like that. However, 21 years ago, under the then historical circumstances, there was no way not to do what was done.

To a large country like China, stability is above everything (穩定壓倒一切). It’s so now, it was so 21 years ago and it will still be so. In retrospect, what was done 21 years ago was needed for further developing and opening up the country.

The matter is concluded. I don’t have more to add. I hope things like that will never happen again. And I believe it won’t.

Mei Ping was ambassador between 1998-2005. When Canada-China relation was at its lowest after the Tories took power, Mei Ping was the one who launched a “second channel of diplomacy” in 2008 when he made an eight-city visit blitz. He met with Canadian think tanks, businesses, research organizations, the media etc to seek answers why the bilateral relationship could deteriorate to such a point and seek solutions. He made several interesting observations (read here).

This year, Mei Ping sounds much more positive in the bilateral relationship. He predicted today that China-Canada trade will double in five years.

Mei Ping’s words, though sticking close to the known party line, came in a surprise. I cannot recall any ambassadors/consul generals who dare to respond in any way questions about June 4th. Mostly they’d say something like: “it’s something long past, let’s move on.”

Anyway, no matter what, we can see how powerful Mei Ping is within the CCP.

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In a La Presse column Monday, Alain Dubuc argued the Harper government’s stance on abortion funding is just another example of a “profound” shift to the right in Canadian society. “It’s not just that the government is very far to the right,” Mr. Dubuc wrote. “That, we already knew. What is more significant is that the support for its conservative ideas is much bigger than we could have imagined.”

Mr. Dubuc observed that when Mr. Harper panders to his “Reform base,” he doesn’t necessarily rise or drop in opinion polls, nor do his action solicit any significant amount of “popular indignation” from citizens. He went on to argue that the “wave” of conservatism that has swept across Canada since the election of the Harper government “has been strong enough to transform the political debate” and “shift the Canadian consensus” away from a traditionally more liberal approach to abortion and other controversial issues.

We all know that Stephen Harper et al are evangelicals. What we rarely see is Harper letting his religious self to appear in the public. An earlier article in the Vancouver Sun has dissected this side of Harper and why he keeps his evangelical faith under the carpet.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper is damned if he does talk about his evangelical beliefs and damned if he doesn’t. If he continues to avoid answering questions about his religious convictions, political observers say he appears secretive, like he’s hiding something. But, at the same time, most Canadians do not share the moral convictions of his evangelical denomination, the Christian and Missionary Alliance Church.

The Alliance Church, to which Harper has belonged for decades, believes Jesus Christ will return to Earth in an apocalypse, won’t ordain women, strongly opposes abortion and divorce, condemns homosexuality as the most base of sins and believes those who aren’t born-again are “lost.”

They believe:

The denomination also stresses that Jesus Christ’s return to Earth is imminent, says the evangelical specialist, who was raised in the Alliance Church.

Alliance Church doctrine, like those of other evangelical denominations, strongly oppose homosexual relationships, describing them as the “basest form of sinful conduct.”

The Alliance Church is also tough on divorce and holds that Christians who have been adulterous do not have a right to remarry.

The denomination’s leaders, in addition, oppose abortion, stem-cell research, euthanasia, the use of marijuana and ordained female clergy.

To me, the most distasteful aspect of this belief is that they force others to become them. Otherwise, if you go practice whatever you believe in private and not meddling with others’ life, every belief is equal and should be respected.

The Canadian church’s website features a list of sample prayers “for the lost,” so members can pray for sinful non-Christians they hope Jesus Christ will save from “eternal damnation.”

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Kash Heed inaugurated as MLA in 2009. (file)

Am I hearing this right? Former BC solicitor general Kash Heed has resigned AGAIN?? How do we address him now — Former-former solicitor general? What a joke…

Well, with all this flip-flop-flip-and-flop’s, the credibility of Heed is devastated. Even if he’s eventually be cleared AGAIN his credibility and the government’s credibility is crushed. Politics is all about perception. This is the worst time for the Liberals for such a scandal when 85% of British Columbians are already angry over the HST.

Well, perhaps an old Chinese saying best describes it: “Rotting is a precondition for the birth of worms (that would eventually kill the host)” — 物先腐而後蟲生. Being in power for a decade, it’s time for the BC Liberals — in fact any political party — to rot.

B.C. solicitor general Kash Heed resigns from cabinet post… again

THE CANADIAN PRESS

VICTORIA – B.C. Solicitor General Kash Heed resigned from cabinet again Wednesday, just a day after being reinstated.

Heed told reporters that the events have been “a whirlwind of circumstances.”

“It’s night and day and it’s stormy. It’s unpredictable this set of circumstances,” he said.

The former police chief said he went home Tuesday night, discussed the matter with his wife, and decided he needed to step down again.

He then contacted the premier, who is in Europe, and informed him of his decision.

Heed first resigned his cabinet post last month after revealing there was an investigation into allegations related to his campaign in last May’s provincial election.

A special prosecutor appointed by the Criminal Justice Branch cleared him Monday of any wrongdoing, while charges were laid against three of his top campaign officials.

Premier Gordon Campbell re-appointed him to cabinet Tuesday but within hours, the special prosecutor who cleared Heed resigned, citing revelations his law firm had contributed $1,000 to Heed’s campaign.

Lawyer Terrence Robertson admitted he knew about the donation when he was appointed special prosecutor but when the RCMP asked him about it, Robertson told them he felt there was no conflict of interest.

In the wake of the revelation, Heed at first said he was staying put because he’d been completely cleared.

“The findings exonerated me,” Heed said Tuesday. “I’m living by that right now, and we are ready to move forward.”

But by Wednesday morning he had informed the premier he would step down again.

“Mr. Heed anticipates a new special prosecutor will be rapidly reappointed and is confident that individual will confirm the findings of his predecessor, which was the basis of his reappointment to cabinet,” the premier’s office said in a statement.

Heed was elected in a south Vancouver riding by less than 750 votes after being recruited as a star candidate by the B.C. Liberals.

The former Vancouver police officer and West Vancouver police chief was quickly appointed solicitor general and minister of public safety.

But his election came under a cloud last month over complaints about an inflammatory campaign leaflet mailed to Chinese-Canadian voters in his riding and two neighbouring ridings.

The Chinese-language mail-outs, which did not identify themselves as official campaign literature, accused the New Democrats of planning to legalize illegal drugs, including heroin and cocaine, and said the party would also consider bringing in an inheritance tax.

The criminal justice branch announced Monday that Heed’s campaign manager, his financial officer and the owner of a printing business face a host of criminal and Election Act charges.

The Opposition New Democrats condemned Heed’s initial reinstatement, saying he should remain out of cabinet until the charges go through court.

Critics also suggested Heed step down as MLA and face a byelection, arguing the original vote was tainted by the campaign dirty tricks.

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According to the Globe and Mail:

“We have five weeks or whatever until the G8 starts. Shut the fuck up – on this issue,” Ms. Ruth said.

Ms. Ruth issued her salty warning on Monday, at a Parliament Hill gathering to discuss the declining place of women’s rights in Canada’s foreign policy. When the aid groups criticized the Harper government’s decision not to fund abortion as part of its initiative to reduce the deaths of mothers and young children, Ms. Ruth counselled self-censorship.

Her comments – reported by the Toronto Star – were a suggestion of strategy, not a threat. She was arguing that if the activists let the abortion issue alone, there is a better chance the maternal-health plan will include programs for family planning and contraception.

The Globe says “Nancy Ruth is a Conservative senator and pro-choice feminist.”

Bob Rae has some colourful words in the House today:

“Senator Ruth gave perhaps the pithiest, sharpest description one can imagine of Conservative political policy that we’ve all heard for a long time,” Toronto Liberal MP Bob Rae said. “… If you have a disagreement with the government, just shut the F up.”

Foreign aid groups and womens’ groups are definitely not the only NGOs that got their federal funding cut — or threatened to cut if they choose to take an opposite stance from the government. Immigrant service providers in BC such as SUCCESS and MOSAIC have also been far less vocal over the last few years. The two organizations used to be strong advocates for immigrants’ and refugees’ rights. I can still vividly remember how the late SUCCESS CEO Lilian To went numerous times to Ottawa and Canadian to the embassy in China to learn about how unfairly Chinese family reunion applications were processed and to advocate for a a better and fairer system. Lilian was also vocal on a lot of immigrant-related controversies and she was a regular on government’s consultation meetings on immigration issues. And could we hear voices half that fearless of Lilian nowadays? Unfortunately, the answer is no.

Actually, not only NGOs are being tamed. Journalists — including the Press Gallery which is presumably to be most critical of Harper’s media strategies — are bent to their knees after years of PMO intimidation. We were shocked to see how timid Press Gallery members was responding to strict orders of PMO communications people during Harper’s visit to China in Dec 2009. Rather than speaking up against unreasonable control of free reporting for journalists on the tour, reporters of national media outlets chose to follow orders without uttering a word of complaint. In an earlier article appeared on The Globe which talked about Harper’s appearance on Youtube, the writer admitted that reporters may sometimes refrain from asking Harper pointed questions for fear of “bad relation” with the PMO.

Well, what a country Canada has become.

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Elections BC says government HST flyer too focused on anti-HST campaign

THE CANADIAN PRESS

VICTORIA – Elections B.C. says the provincial government can’t fight an anti-harmonized sales tax petition with a taxpayer-funded mail out.

Finance Minister Colin Hansen says he’s disappointed with the ruling and the government will pull its mail out until after former premier Bill Vander Zalm’s anti-HST campaign ends in July.

Hansen says he’s written a letter of complaint to B.C.’s chief electoral officer suggesting Vander Zalm, and some members of the Opposition New Democrats, are spreading false and misleading information about the tax.

Hansen says the government believed its mail out was about the latest budget, but Elections BC officials say the pamphlet is HST focused and goes beyond budget coverage.

The Liberal government is poised to pass the HST into law, using closure to end debate.

Vander Zalm’s petition to repeal the HST requires the signatures of 10 per cent of registered voters from every one of B.C.’s 85 ridings.

Good move, Elections BC! In a time when Canadian democracy has been flushed down the toilet by all levels of governments, it’s so good to hear independent bodies such as Elections BC and the federal Ethics Commissioner who ruled that Tory logo on cheques goes too far are able to do their job. Together with all the auditor generals, these bodies are the last straw to real democracy in this country.

The BC Liberals’ way of dealing the HST is angering more people by the day – people who are originally neutral on the implementation of the HST and its potential effects on the economy like myself. The way Gordon Campbell does things is resembling more and more like our Dictator/PM Stephen Harper – — only that Campbell has a majority and Harper doesn’t. Campbell’s iron fist and the determination to push through laws that the people don’t like is amazing. He reminds me how the government of Hong Kong forcefully pushes legislations that the people are strongly, emotionally against. *Sigh* Hong Kong still does not have a full democracy but Canada is supposed to have one. I am thinking, perhaps minority government should be the ONLY way of governance anywhere in this country, so that we at least could have an effective opposition in which the ruling party must broker a deal with another party on any legislation.

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To clearly stand out a guest blogger entry, all such headlines will begin with [GB]

I have two children. They both study in the public schools in our neighborhood. My elder daughter joined the school music band when she was at grade 5. She plays the trumpet. After getting into high school, she is still actively participating in the school band. The band goes on field trips and performs in different places every year.

My son is now at grade 4. Not long ago, my wife had a discussion with him about joining the school music band and the kind of musical instrument he would like to learn to play. It’s unfortunate that he might not get the same chance to get a music education like my daughter.

A few days ago, I bumped into the PAC chair of my son’s school. She looked sad and frustrated. She said due to the shortfall of education funding, the music band at my son’s school (as well as other schools) would have to be disbanded.

I must stress that when students join the school band, they’re responsible for buying or renting their musical instruments, and when they travel to perform in other places, the family has to pay for transportation and accommodation. The school band program doesn’t get much funding from the school board. Nevertheless, if the program is scrapped, it’s a big learning loss to our children.

Learning music is not just an after-school time-consuming hobby. Music is not only good for one’s soul, it’s also an important learning tool. When a group of students play music together, they acquire the skills of social communication, coordination, interaction and mutual support. This group experience is especially crucial when the youth in today’s world spend a great deal of their time alone on the internet and computer games.

Experts point out that music plays an important function in education. It is a kind of training in concentration, counting, listening, coordination and cooperation. Music also promotes a better understanding of languages, improves the ability to recall information, and creates an environment more conducive to learning in other areas.

A valuable educational program that doesn’t cost much has to be disbanded. No wonder parents are frustrated and angry. In the past week, thousands of parents, students and educators rallied against the shortfall of education funding and they condemned the Liberal government which caused the chaos.

The fact is, school music band is merely one of the items that would be cut in our school. If such a basic school program is cut, think how bad the funding situation is! ESL, special needs education, the library, youth counseling… and even the number of school days would be cut.

I have to say that the Liberal government is responsible for this mess. They have spent recklessly. They paid millions buying Olympic tickets for Liberal officials and their guests. Gordon Campbell’s projects are all grand schemes in hundreds of millions, and the estimates or budgets invariably overrun. The Vancouver Convention Centre expansion is a $300-400 million overrun. The BC Place retractable roof had an overrun of $200 million after the election and its work has not even started yet! Currently, the operating deficit for the Vancouver Convention Centre is tens of millions of dollars a year (whereas the Vancouver School Board funding shortfall is $18 million).

Several days ago the BC government wanted to make an announcement that they’re sending the Site C project for environment assessment. The Liberal press conference chartered five airplanes to fly officials, their cheering team and the media all the way to Peace River Valley to make the announcement. Simply to tell people that the project is to be assessed.

Whether our economy is good or in recession, the Liberal government has not provided sufficient funding for education. Every time when the funding formula is changed, it results in a cut in funding to school boards. What is even worse is that the Liberal government makes all sorts of decisions that will increase the cost of the school boards, like wage increases, MSP increases, carbon emission charge, hydro, etc. All these worsen the funding situation of the school boards.

The Liberal government say every year that they’re providing record-breaking funding for education but the statement is simply meaningless. In a capitalistic society, due to inflation and the increase of wages and expenses, if the education funding remains in the status quo or below inflation, it would mean the school board cannot maintain the same services as the previous year. In the past decade, the Liberals not only did not provide funding that kept pace with inflation, but they added many funding burdens. More ridiculous still, when things deteriorate to the current mess, the education minister tries to pass the buck and put the blame on the Vancouver School Board chair.

Although provincial government funding falls behind inflation, what they would get from taxpayers in various forms of taxes would see hikes way above the inflation rate. According to the BC budget released earlier, the provincial government is expecting to get more taxes from the public. Various tax revenues this year are expected to see a big jump: personal income tax revenue +6%, sales tax revenue (PST/HST) +9%, carbon tax revenue +34%, MSP +6%, liquor tax revenue +12%… whereas the funding for the Education Ministry has only added 1%.

The shortchanging of our education is totally unacceptable and the Liberals should be held responsible for the mess.

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Disclaimer: Views expressed by guest bloggers are theirs and may not represent those of CIV.

By inviting guest bloggers to write here, I’d like to see us grow together with more diverse ideas and perspectives. If anyone believe the idea is cool, please don’t hesitate to submit your stuff to me. We use real names and identities here. Thank you.

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