The WAR on Science: Thursday, November 21, 2013, 7:00 pm Room 1900, SFU Harbour Ctr

[GLG]

ecoENERGY INNOVATION INITIATIVE Research and Development (R&D) Projects

Unconventional Oil & Gas
Low Grade Heat Driven Produced Water Treatment, Saltworks Technologies Inc.

or this one....

[TABLE="class: displaydetail, width: 599"]
<tbody>[TR]
[TH="bgcolor: #EEEEEE, align: right"]Recipient Name[/TH]
[TD]SALTWORKS TECHNOLOGIES INCORPORATED[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TH="bgcolor: #EEEEEE, align: right"]Location[/TH]
[TD]VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TH="bgcolor: #EEEEEE, align: right"]Date[/TH]
[TD]2014-12-18[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TH="bgcolor: #EEEEEE, align: right"]Value[/TH]
[TD]$3,000,000.00[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TH="bgcolor: #EEEEEE, align: right"]Type:[/TH]
[TD]Contribution (Non-Repayable)[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TH="bgcolor: #EEEEEE, align: right"]Purpose:[/TH]
[TD]To develop and test an innovative low energy technology for treating highly impaired waters in the Canadian oil sands industry. The technology is a Multi-Effect Concentrator (MEC)-SaltMaker that operates on humidification-dehumidification principles producing freshwater and solid salts from oil sands wastewater. It provides a zero liquid discharge (ZLD) alternative to expensive and energy intensive evaporators and crystallizers.[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TH="class: lastth, bgcolor: #EEEEEE, align: right"]Comments:[/TH]
[TD="class: lasttd"]- Amendment: Duration of agreement / Value / Award previously disclosed for the 4th Quarter of 2013-2014.
- Grant or contribution awarded and spanning more than one fiscal year.[/TD]
[/TR]
</tbody>[/TABLE]

http://www2.nrcan-rncan.gc.ca/dgc-d...lang=eng&fisc=2014-2015&qrt=03&id=5607&strt=1


I can think of a few things to do with 3 million dollars that would be better then helping the tar sand clean up their act. Why can't the tar sands use their own money to fund this? Why should I pay for it?

 

[agentaqua]

http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/...g_social_programs_built_over_generations.html

Conservatives dismantling social programs built over generations

A Toronto Star analysis has for the first time pulled together a detailed account of the range of recent cuts seen under Stephen Harper’s government.

Protesters outside the Services Canada building on St. Clair Ave., Toronto, voiced their concerns about the government's changes to employment insurance.

By: Les Whittington Ottawa Bureau reporter, Published on Mon Dec 09 2013

Nathaniel Parent, 21, cleans offices for $11 an hour while he awaits a chance to acquire better job skills. The former foster care ward says he often has to choose between making student loan payments and buying food. While he pays into employment insurance, he doesn't expect to benefit from the system if he loses his job.

OTTAWA—Nathaniel Parent has known hunger on and off for most of his life.

Now cleaning offices for $11 an hour while he awaits a chance to acquire better job skills, the 21-year-old former foster care ward from Midland, Ont., finds himself choosing between student loan payments and food.

“For the most part, I don’t eat very often,” Parent says. Sometimes when his debt has to be paid, he says, “I do choose to pay it and it’ll be like, OK, I’ll just wait to eat or maybe have something at a friend’s house.”

Parent, who says he often went without food as a child before being placed in foster care, adds that it’s a struggle for many of his acquaintances to keep from winding up on the street.

He currently pays employment insurance premiums but, Parent says, like most people he knows, he wouldn’t expect to see any of that money if he lost his job. “I have no faith in that system,” he says in an interview.

From the unemployed to low-income families and poor seniors, more people than ever are struggling with grim choices as they try to cope in the leaner, meaner Canada presided over by Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

Nathaniel Parent, 21, cleans offices for $11 an hour while he awaits a chance to acquire better job skills. The former foster care ward says he often has to choose between making student loan payments and buying food. While he pays into employment insurance, he doesn't expect to benefit from the system if he loses his job.

Dave Chan for the Toronto Star /

Nathaniel Parent, 21, cleans offices for $11 an hour while he awaits a chance to acquire better job skills. The former foster care ward says he often has to choose between making student loan payments and buying food. While he pays into employment insurance, he doesn't expect to benefit from the system if he loses his job.

Since winning power eight years ago next month, the federal Conservatives have chipped away at programs that helped define the compassionate, caring Canada built over the course of several generations.

“It is changing Canada,” former Saskatchewan premier Roy Romanow says of the current federal approach to social and economic policy.

“Unchecked, if we continue down this path, the big danger is a more regionalized and more unequal nation,” Romanow, who headed a royal commission on the future of health care in 2002, told the Star.

Social programs long valued by Canadians are in the Conservatives’ crosshairs.

Federal health-care spending is to be reined in. Canadians in future will have to work two years longer before receiving old age security — a measure Harper said was meant to address Canadians’ disproportionate focus on “our services and entitlements.”

And at a time when 1.3 million are without jobs, the federal government has toughened the criteria that employment insurance recipients must meet to hang on to their benefits. In all, only 37 per cent of jobless Canadians are eligible for EI benefits.

Dozens of groups dedicated to improving human rights or the well-being of the most vulnerable citizens have also seen their funding reduced or eliminated as Ottawa redraws its priorities and budget allocations.

At least 10 aboriginal organizations and more than a dozen environmental groups, including the Experimental Lakes Area research site and the Hazardous Materials Information Review Commission, were hit. Groups working on child care, rights advocates, health-care researchers, numerous immigrant support organizations and women’s groups — including the National Association of Women and the Law as well as the National Network on Environments and Women’s Health — received less support from Ottawa. The list goes on and on.

Many believe the Harper agenda is turning Canada into a more unjust society where free-market, business-driven values trump a commitment to fairness, equal opportunity and community-building.

NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair said the government is reducing “services that Canadians rely on” — from health care and pensions to basic municipal infrastructure — to pay for across-the-board corporate income tax breaks, a practice he says started with previous Liberal governments.

“Families are getting hit three times at once,” Mulcair said. “They’re getting fewer services. They’re paying a bigger share of the tax bill. And while incomes have increased for the top 20 per cent of families, the bottom 80 per cent of families have seen their incomes decline.

“In short, we’re becoming the first generation in our country’s history to leave our children and grandchildren with a lower quality of life than we inherited from our parents,” Mulcair said.

The government does not provide a comprehensive list showing all the federal programs that have been cut or eliminated, or naming the non-government groups that have seen part or all of their funding axed by Ottawa. A Star analysis has for the first time pulled together a detailed account of the full range of recent cuts.

In 2006, in their first year as a minority government, the Conservatives unexpectedly began chiselling away at programs and spending on the same day Finance Minister Jim Flaherty announced a $13-billion budget surplus from the previous fiscal year.

Acting on long-held Tory objections to what was considered unneeded spending by the previous Liberal government, Flaherty eliminated $1 billion in spending. Gone were the Court Challenges Program, which had funded legal actions by gays and rights activists, and the Law Commission of Canada, a respected federal law reform agency. At the same time, the Conservatives took aim at Status of Women Canada, closing regional offices and barring the federal organization from funding women’s groups involved in advocacy and research.

Also among Harper’s first moves was cancellation of the $5-billion, five-year national child care program set up by the Liberals. It was replaced by a program that provides $100 a month to parents for each young child. Debate over whether the Conservative plan — which has now cost $17 billion — has really helped parents, particularly when the majority of mothers with young children are working, has raged ever since.

During the 2008-09 global recession, the Harper government spent heavily to prop up the economy. But by 2010 the Conservatives had resumed their efforts to reduce Ottawa’s spending. The 2012 budget — coming less than a year after the Tories won a majority government — carried the full imprint of Harper’s thinking.

It laid out plans for billions in annual spending cuts by government departments, including a reduction of the federal workforce by 19,000 over three years. An analysis by then parliamentary budget officer Kevin Page said $783 million, or 15 per cent, of that year’s cuts came out of social programs.

The pivotal budget axed the renowned Katimavik youth program; cut the Canadian International Development Agency’s budget by $319 million; trimmed spending in the Aboriginal Affairs Department by $165 million and reduced Environment Canada’s budget by $88 million. It also scrapped the independent National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy that had been created in 1988 by the Mulroney government, and it informed everyone younger than 54 that they would have to work to the age of 67 — not 65 — to receive old age security.

...continued...

 

[agentaqua]

The budget legislation overhauled environmental protections established over many years, weakened equal pay rules meant to protect women, aboriginals and others working for federal government contractors, and launched a crackdown on charities, including environmental groups, suspected of doing too much political advocacy.

Overall, it is estimated that by 2017 Ottawa will have reduced spending by a cumulative total of $13.6 billion since 2010.

But it was changes to the EI system that sparked some of the angriest responses to the Conservative agenda. The new rules require laid-off workers to take jobs they might previously have considered unsuitable, possibly with up to 30 per cent less pay. If not, they could lose their EI benefits.

Labour organizations see the new approach as unfair, particularly because it comes when shifts in the job market are forcing more workers into part-time or contract employment that doesn’t make workers eligible for benefits.

“It’s a downward spiral that this government is putting us in and they need to seriously look at what they’re doing to Canadians,” said Tracey Newman, a special needs educational assistant who joined a recent protest against the EI changes in Toronto. “The Harper government has made changes to our employment insurance system that puts workers like me at risk. The changes have been made without a mandate at election to do so and they have been made without consultation with the public.”

But the government says the vast majority of workers who pay into EI and leave work through no fault of their own receive benefits. Employment and Social Development Minister Jason Kenney said the EI changes are meant to ensure unemployment payments are not a “disincentive” to job seeking. He said the initial indications are that more people are working year-round in high-unemployment regions as a result of the reforms.

As for fewer people having the kind of permanent, full-time jobs that lead to EI benefits, Kenney said the trend toward self-employment and contract work has been building for decades and “is just a reality.”

Overall, say anti-poverty activists, Harper’s policies have contributed to a glaring social deficit. Food bank usage in Toronto is still higher than before the recession began in 2008. The number of children living in poverty is down 200,000 since the Tories came to power, but it still totals 967,000 — or one in every seven children, according to Campaign 2000, a national coalition of social organizations. The Canada Child Tax Benefit, the main federal tool for combating family poverty, needs substantially more funding, the group says.

An estimated 30,000 people are homeless every night in Canada, and federally subsidized housing units have been on the decline for years. While the 2013 budget earmarked $1.25 billion for affordable housing, that’s seen as not nearly enough to deal with a housing situation that is getting worse as a result of skyrocketing shelter costs across the country. Some 72,000 households are stuck on the waiting list for social housing in Toronto alone, according to the Ontario Non-Profit Housing Association.

More needs to be done to address income equality, opposition MPs say. A recent study by Statistics Canada said the top 1 per cent of Canada’s tax filers accounted for 10.6 per cent of the nation’s total income in 2010, up from 7 per cent in the early 1980s.

With wages stagnant, the middle class is falling deeper into debt, says Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau. “Canadians are struggling at a time when our economy is supposedly doing well, and people I meet across the country have a lot of questions as to why their government hasn’t been able to help them through these difficult times,” he commented.

There are also calls for Ottawa to take the lead to head off what many call an impending crisis of inadequate pensions. The current lack of action is “an outrage” and is giving people “very little hope,” said Susan Eng, vice-president of advocacy for CARP, the seniors group.

And the government’s critics say the Conservatives’ policies are not dictated by a lack of money, since they have forgone an estimated $23 billion a year with cuts to the GST and business tax breaks.

In an interview, Kenney rejected the notion that the Conservatives are undercutting social programs. “This is a government that has been far more humane in its approach to balance the budget and fiscal discipline” than the Liberals in the 1990s, he said. Unlike the Liberals, the government has chosen not to attack the budget deficit by reducing transfers of federal money to persons or transfers to the provinces. Instead, he said, the Conservatives are finding efficiencies in internal government operations.

As for cutbacks to immigrant settlement agencies, he said funding has been increased but shifted away from some groups to others because of changes in the pattern of where people settle. Kenney added that changes had to be made to old age security eligibility and health-care transfers to the provinces in future to ensure they are financially sustainable.

And he made no apology for the Conservatives’ decision to bar funding for non-governmental groups engaged in advocacy, saying it was a deliberate policy to favour “programs that help real people.”

 

[walleyes]

ecoENERGY Efficiency and Alternative Transportation Fuels

The ecoENERGY Efficiency program is investing $195 million between 2011 and 2016 to maintain the Government of Canada's momentum to improve energy efficiency in Canada - at home, at work and on the road. These efforts will make the housing, building and equipment stock more energy-efficient, energy performance more visible, and industry and vehicle operations more efficient. Improving energy efficiency will contribute to a cleaner environment, reducing greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) while saving Canadians money and making the most of our natural resources.

The ecoENERGY Efficiency program features the following components:
ecoENERGY Efficiency for Buildings provides information and benchmarking tools to improve building energy performance of new and existing buildings.
ecoENERGY Efficiency for Housing encourages the construction and retrofit of low-rise residential housing, making the stock more energy-efficient.
ecoENERGY Efficiency for Equipment Standards and Labelling introduces or raises energy efficiency standards for a wide range of products and promotes energy-efficient products through the ENERGY STAR® initiative in Canada.
ecoENERGY Efficiency for Industry aids the adoption of an energy management standard and accelerates energy-saving investments and the exchange of best practices information within Canada's industrial sector.
ecoENERGY Efficiency for Vehicles provides both individual Canadians and Canada's commercial/institutional fleet sector with decision-making tools for buying and operating their vehicles to reduce fuel consumption. It also promotes vehicle efficiency by introducing improved vehicle fuel consumption labels and a light-duty tire information system.
Related Natural Resources Canada efforts include the following:
ecoENERGY for Alternative Fuels ($3 million between 2011 and 2016) supports the diversification of energy used in the transportation sector through education and outreach activities and codes and standards development for natural gas.
ecoENERGY for Biofuels (up to $1.5 billion between 2008 and 2017) supports the production of renewable alternatives to gasoline and diesel and encourages the development of a competitive domestic industry.
Federal Buildings Initiative helps facilitate energy efficiency retrofit projects (in buildings owned or managed by the Government of Canada) that lead to reduced energy and water use, GHG emissions and operating costs.
For more information, visit oee.nrcan.gc.ca.

 

[walleyes]

PM ANNOUNCES SUPPORT TO OPEN NEW MARKETS FOR SMALL AND MEDIUM-SIZED BUSINESSES

Prime Minister Stephen Harper today announced a number of measures to assist small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) seize opportunities abroad as part of the Government’s pro-jobs and pro-export plan. These measures will help SMEs expand their businesses and create jobs by exploring new export opportunities for their goods and services, including to new and emerging markets. He was joined by Brad Butt, Member of Parliament for Mississauga-Streetsville.

The Prime Minister first announced a new export market development program that would provide direct financial assistance to entrepreneurs seeking to develop new export opportunities and markets, especially in high-growth emerging markets. These initiatives will be particularly helpful in helping SMEs finance activities such as participation in trade fairs and missions, and market research to create new business opportunities.

He also announced that the Canadian Trade Commissioner Service (TCS) will receive new staffing and programming resources to further assist Canadians doing business with the world. The TCS has more than 160 trade offices in Canada and around the world to help provide export advice and guidance to entrepreneurs.

Today’s announcements build on the Government’s commitment to encourage and support entrepreneurship by connecting them with the tools and resources they need to succeed. Small and medium-sized enterprises represent 99 per cent of all businesses in Canada and account for nearly 90 per cent of jobs in the private sector.

Following the conclusion of negotiations of the trade agreement with the European Union and the coming-into-force of the Canada-Korea Free Trade Agreement on January 1st, 2015, Canadian businesses will soon benefit from preferential access to more than half of the entire global marketplace. These measures build on the Government’s Global Markets Action Plan’s goal to nearly double the number of SMEs exporting to emerging markets to 21,000 and our “Go Global” export workshops that provide SMEs the tools and practical information they need to take advantage of international business opportunities to export.

The announcements made today were informed by consultations with SMEs and would be implemented on an expedited basis.

Quick Facts

One Canadian job in five is directly dependent on exports.
There are more than one million SMEs across Canada, with 41,000 currently exporting.
The Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development’s new export market development program announced today could assist between 500 to 1,000 Canadian exporters per year.
The Government’s expansion of the TCS will include additional funding on an ongoing basis to add new trade commissioners in priority markets, including high-growth emerging markets and new free trade partners such as Korea and the European Union. It would also add new programming resources to expand promotion and outreach efforts.
Since 2006, our Government has concluded trade agreements or concluded negotiations of trade agreements with 38 countries, bringing the total to 43 countries.
Quotes

“Our Government is committed to creating jobs and opportunities for Canadians and we understand that the majority of private sector jobs are created by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). We have made it a priority to support the men and women who run SMEs, especially as they explore opportunities in emerging markets and look to take advantage of Canada’s new trade agreements in Europe and Asia, where they now have preferential access to half of the world’s consumers.” – Prime Minister Stephen Harper

“Our Government continues to enhance the ability of SMEs across Canada to seek out emerging markets for their goods and services, generating economic growth, increasing our global competitiveness, and creating jobs as a result.” – Prime Minister Stephen Harper

 

[walleyes]

PM ANNOUNCES MEASURE TO SUPPORT JOBS AND GROWTH IN THE LNG INDUSTRY


Prime Minister Stephen Harper today announced the Government’s intent to support the creation of new and well-paying jobs in the emerging liquefied natural gas (LNG) industry. He was joined by James Moore, Minister of Industry, Alice Wong, Minister of State (Seniors), Wai Young, Member of Parliament for Vancouver South, and Bob Zimmer, Member of Parliament for Prince George–Peace River.

In order to ensure that Canadian natural gas can reach new and growing international markets, and make it accessible for new domestic uses, the Government intends to establish a capital cost allowance rate of 30 per cent for equipment used in natural gas liquefaction and 10 per cent for buildings at a facility that liquefies natural gas. This tax relief will be available for capital assets acquired after February 19, 2015, and before 2025.

Canada has an important opportunity to build on its record of developing natural resources in a responsible manner while securing long-term prosperity for Canadian families. Canada benefits from large reserves of natural gas but has limited capacity to supply it to emerging international and domestic markets where demand is growing.

This measure will allow companies investing in new facilities that liquefy natural gas to create jobs and economic growth, while recovering their investment more quickly. It will also encourage investment in facilities that liquefy natural gas to supply emerging international and domestic markets.

Quick Facts

The supply of LNG to both domestic and international markets represents an important new market for Canadian natural gas production.
The International Energy Agency expects global LNG trade to rise by 40 per cent between 2013 and 2019.
Over the International Energy Agency’s projection period, growth in natural gas demand in Asia is expected to represent half of the world’s incremental needs.
In domestic markets, LNG is increasingly used in remote power generation and the high-horsepower engines used in trucking, shipping, rail, drilling rigs and pressure pumping services.
LNG has the potential to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions internationally when it replaces coal for power generation and replaces diesel in many domestic applications.
Quotes

“Our Government is committed to providing the right conditions so that industries and businesses can succeed and compete in the global economy, by lowering taxes, cutting red tape and encouraging entrepreneurship. Today’s announcement builds on our low tax plan for jobs and growth, strengthening the already strong case for business investment in Canada.” – Prime Minister Stephen Harper

“Through our ambitious trade agenda, we are opening new markets for Canadian businesses and developing the infrastructure to transport Canadian products to new markets, which is essential for Canada’s future prosperity and security.” – Prime Minister Stephen Harper

 

[walleyes]

FUTURPRENEUR CANADA – SUCCESS STORIES


Brampton, Ontario
5 February 2015
Since its inception in 1996 to December 31, 2014, Futurpreneur Canada, formerly known as the Canadian Youth Business Foundation (CYBF), has helped more than 7,500 young entrepreneurs launch over 6,200 businesses and create 29,800 jobs.

The Government of Canada has provided substantial support to Futurpreneur since its inception, contributing significantly to the organization’s success.

The following are a few of the many Canadian companies who have benefitted from support provided by Futurpreneur Canada:

Intellijoint Surgical (Ontario)

Owners: Armen Bakirtzian, Andre Hladio & Richard Fanson
Jobs Created: 17
Inception: 2010
Location: Waterloo, Ontario
Website: Intellijoint Surgical

One of Intellijoint’s owners, Armen Bakirtzian, initially designed a device – known as Intellijoint HIP – to make hip replacement surgeries more accurate. While surgeons use their experience, professional judgment as well as x-rays to determine implant choices, there can always be resulting complications. The disposable device just received Health Canada approval, and uses a combination of hardware and software to calculate the right angles. Futurpreneur Canada (when still the CYBF) provided Intellijoint with a crucial first infusion of money which then allowed the company to apply for other government grants and loans.

For more information visit: Futurpreneur Canada - Intellijoint Surgical

Idénergie (Quebec)

Owners: Denis Bastien & Pierre Blanchet
Jobs Created: 15
Inception: 2011
Location: Montréal, Quebec
Website: Idénergie

Idénergie has developed a portable river turbine that joins with existing renewable energy technologies to provide a reliable source of green energy. Idénergie is in the final stages of testing a model that generates 275 watts – enough to power a small home. The product will first be marketed to niche North American customers who live or have homes off the grid. The Idénergie team recently started a relationship with Futurpreneur Canada.

For more information visit: Futurpreneur Canada - Idénergie

The Battered Fish (Nova Scotia)

Owner: Ryan MacIsaac
Jobs created: 100
Inception: 2009
Location: Halifax, Nova Scotia
Website: thebatteredfish

Inspired by a love for Nova Scotia and a passion for exquisite food, Ryan MacIsaac founded The Battered Fish in 2009. He wanted to offer the people of his home province fresh fish and chips, prepared to order, at a fair price. With help from Futurpreneur Canada, Ryan launched his business as a food truck in Halifax and has since grown it into a fast-casual franchise that recently opened its seventh store. Ryan was a delegate to the 2014 G-20 Young Entrepreneurs’ Alliance Summit in Sydney, Australia.

For more information visit: Futurpreneur Canada - 2013-2014 Annual Review

3Twenty Solutions Inc. (Western Canada)

Owners: Bryan McCrea and Evan Willoughby
Jobs created: 20
Inception: 2009
Location: Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
Website: 3Twenty Solutions Inc.

3Twenty is a leading designer and manufacturer of modular workforce housing and offices. Their builds are durable, stackable, transportable and comfortable, featuring a wide variety of styles and floor plans. Based in Western Canada, 3Twenty's team expertly converts shipping containers into steel-framed modular structures providing perfect solutions for mining, construction, industrial markets, and oil and gas.

For more information visit: Futurpreneur Canada - 3Twenty Solutions Inc.

Husky Bus (Yukon)

Owner: Jesse Cooke
Jobs created: 5
Inception: 2012
Location: Dawson City, Yukon
Website: Husky Bus

Husky Bus offers Yukoners and tourists regular, reliable passenger transportation and parcel service between DawsonCity and Whitehorse, and everywhere along the Klondike Highway. Husky Bus specializes in the transportation of canoes, kayaks, and world adventurers.

 

[GLG]

PM ANNOUNCES MEASURE TO SUPPORT TFW JOBS AND CORPORATE WELFARE FOR THE LNG INDUSTRY


Prime Minister Stephen Harper today announced the Government’s intent to support the creation of new and temporary foreign worker (TFW) jobs in the emerging liquefied natural gas (LNG) industry. He was joined by James Moore, Minister of corporate welfare, Alice Wong, Minister of selling out (Seniors), Wai Young, soon to be X Member of Parliament for Vancouver South, and Bob Zimmer, Member of Parliament for Prince George–Peace River and soon to be board member of any NG company.

In order to ensure that Canadian natural gas can reach new and growing international markets, and make it accessible for new domestic uses, the Government intends to establish a welfare state for natural gas liquefaction companies. This 100% tax relief will be available for capital assets acquired after February 19, 2015, and before 2025. If that's not enough grants will be available 24/7, just pick up the phone and let us know what you need. We have trucks standing by.

Canada has an important opportunity to build on its poor record of developing natural resources in a responsible manner while securing long-term prosperity for our friends and families. Canada benefits from large reserves of natural gas but has limited capacity to supply it to emerging international and domestic markets where demand is slowing. Come on folks lets sell this stuff off before our kids need it. Save it for a rainy day? Hell no we have plans to retire down south.

This measure will allow companies investing in new facilities that liquefy natural gas to create TFW jobs and uneconomic growth, while recovering their investment more quickly and paying for re-election MP's. It will also encourage investment in facilities that liquefy natural gas to supply emerging international and domestic markets. And if you believe that I have some ocean front property in Alberta.

Quick Facts

The supply of LNG to both domestic and international markets represents an important new market for Canadian natural gas production. With that we will sell buggy whips with every BTU because that's what we are thinking after all it's the twentieth century right?
The International Energy Agency (IEA) expects global LNG trade to rise by 40 per cent between 2013 and 2019. But what do they know they have been wrong so many times. Heck green peace has better projection on what the market is doing. IEA told us coal was growing but it's not. Over the International Energy Agency’s projection period, growth in natural gas demand in Asia is expected to represent half of the world’s incremental needs. Or was that coal? We are old men that things seem to slip by from time to time. In domestic markets, LNG is increasingly used in remote power generation and the high-horsepower engines used in trucking, shipping, rail, drilling rigs, drilling rigs, drilling rigs and pressure pumping services. You know all those thing that are needed to do more drilling so our friends can keep on denial of climate change and have a few bucks to spare to keep it going.
LNG has the potential to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions internationally when it replaces coal for power generation and replaces diesel in many domestic applications. except that according to science they say that it doesn't but who are you going to believe? Them scientist or us at CAPP Oh strike that I meant the Harper Government.

Quotes

“Our Government is committed to providing Tax Payer Dollars so that industries and Foreign businesses can succeed and compete in Canada's economy, by eliminating taxes, cutting red tape and encouraging our friends to seek board appointments. Today’s announcement builds on our no tax plan for TFW jobs and growth, strengthening the already strong case for strip & ship in Canada.” – Prime Minister Stephen Harper

“Through our ambitious trade agenda, we are opening new markets for Foreign businesses and developing the infrastructure to transport Canadian products to new markets, come hell our high water our friends will get their future prosperity and security.” – Prime Minister Stephen Harper

Fixed it for you.... no problem...

 

[walleyes]

Jobs, Growth and Long-term Prosperity

Stephen Harper’s Conservative Government is focused on the priorities of Canadians – job creation and economic growth.

With the support of our Economic Action Plan, the Canadian economy has created approximately one million net new jobs since the depths of the global economic recession. While the job isn’t done yet, this job creation record is the best in the G7 and shows that Canada is on the right track.

Our Conservative Government continues to support job creation and economic growth by:

keeping taxes low
helping connect Canadians with available jobs
investing in roads, bridges, transit and other important infrastructure in our communities
staying on track to balanced budgets in 2015
Key elements of our plan include:

renewing the popular Hiring Credit for Small Business, making it more affordable for the small businesses at the heart of Canada’s economy to expand and hire
proposing to place skills training decisions in the hands of workers and employers through the Canada Job Grant, which would provide up to $5,000, matched by the provincial government and the employer, to train for a new or better job
helping ensure Canadians always get the first chance at jobs by reforming the Temporary Foreign Worker program and making sure our immigration system is focused on the needs of Canada’s economy
creating the Building Canada Plan, the largest-ever federal investment in infrastructure, supporting:
roads
bridges
transit
safe, clean water on reserves
border infrastructure
promoting the responsible development of Canada’s natural resources to create jobs and better protect the environment
Canadians can count on our Conservative Government to stay focused on jobs, growth and long-term prosperity

 

[walleyes]

OECD says Canada to lead G7 in growth for next 50 years

The Paris-based Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development predicts Canada will lead the Group of Seven industrialized economies in growth over the next half century.

In a report released Friday, the OECD says it expects Canada's real gross domestic product will average 2.2 per cent growth annually over the next 50 years.

Canada, it predicts, will be near the top on a per capita basis – possibly a truer measure of success — with only Japan sneaking ahead.

Of the other G7 nations, only the United States and the United Kingdom with 2.1 per cent average advances come close.

That doesn't mean Canada will beat all industrialized nations, however. Australia, New Zealand, Israel and Norway — whose economies are too small for admittance to the G7 club — are projected to experience even stronger average growth rates.

In part, Canada's superior growth rates are based on expectations that its labour force will continue to grow, although more slowly in the age of retiring baby boomers. Some countries, like Japan and Germany, are likely to experience outright contraction, which is why they do well on the per capita measure.

"For Canada, it's a fairly young population, fairly well-educated workforce and you have all these natural resources that give you higher growth than other countries," said Matthias Rumpf, a spokesman with the organization.

India expected to eclipse Japan in a year or two

The OECD report also predicts the balance of global economic power will shift dramatically, with China overtaking the U.S. as the world’s biggest economy as early as 2016.

The organization says China is expected to surpass the eurozone in a year or so.

It forecasts that India’s GDP will surpass that of Japan in the next year or two, the euro area in about 20 years and the U.S. "over the long term."

The report came a day after Prime Minister Stephen Harper wrapped up a six-day trade mission in India and moved on to Manila.

Together, it says, the two emerging Asian economies will overtake the collective economy of the G7 nations in size by around 2025 and Indonesia and Brazil will outpace Japan and the eurozone.

"The economic crisis we have been living with for the past five years will eventually be overcome, but the world our children and grandchildren inherit may be starkly different from ours," said OECD Secretary General Angel Gurría.

'Education and productivity will be the main drivers of future growth.'
—OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurría
"As the largest and fastest-growing emerging countries fully assume a more prominent place in the global economy, we will face new challenges to ensure a prosperous and sustainable world for all."

"Education and productivity will be the main drivers of future growth, and should be policy priorities worldwide," Gurria said.

But in terms of per capita standard of living, the OECD says China and India will still be well below that of the Western world. The organization represents most of the world's wealthiest countries.

The OECD cautions that the projections should be taken with a grain of salt, given the extended timeline horizon, but Bank of Montreal economist Doug Porter says in some ways long-term forecasts are more reliable. Time tends to smooth out short-term shocks, he explains.

Porter said nothing in the OECD overviews strikes him as being unrealistic.

"I don't have a huge quarrel with the conclusion, I think we can or will likely lead the G7, but it'll be a horse race with the U.S. in particular," he said.

"I'm not sure I would be as positive on a per capita basis. Canada hasn't seen that kind of per capita gain in the past 30 years and I'm not sure we can really ramp it up in the next 30 to 50 years," he added.

 

[walleyes]

Creating Jobs and Opportunities for Canadians

Creating jobs and securing economic growth is a priority for Canadians and it remains our Conservative
Government’s top priority.

Our Government’s decisive and pragmatic measures have bolstered the strength and resilience of the
Canadian economy. In the midst of an uncertain global economy, Canada has earned a well-deserved
global reputation for sound fiscal policy and economic strength.
In fact:
• Canada has the best job growth record in the G7 with one million net new jobs since the
depth of the global recession
• Canada is the only G7 country to have the highest triple-A credit rating from all major
agencies
• Canada’s gross domestic product (GDP) is significantly above pre-recession levels
• Canada’s debt-to-GDP ratio is the lowest among G7 countries
• both the International Monetary Fund and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and
Development expect Canada to be among the strongest-growing economies in the G7 over
the next couple years
• growth in foreign direct investment into Canada has been the strongest among G7 countries
since the depth of the global recession
• the World Economic Forum has ranked Canada’s banks as the best in the world for six years
in a row
• Canada is consistently ranked as one of the best countries in which to do business
Strong fiscal management is the cornerstone of our Conservative Government’s economic policy, and our
continued focus on fiscal responsibility will help preserve Canada’s fiscal advantage.

 

[walleyes]

PM ANNOUNCES THAT THE CANADA APPRENTICE LOAN PROGRAM IS NOW ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS

Prime Minister Stephen Harper meets British Columbia Institute of Technology students while touring the British Columbia Institute of Technology Annacis Campus.



Prime Minister Stephen Harper today announced that the Canada Apprentice Loan initiative is now open for business and accepting applications. The initiative will help those already apprenticing to complete their training and encourage more Canadians to pursue a career in the skilled trades, allowing participants to take advantage of the many job opportunities across Canada. The Prime Minister was accompanied by The Honourable Jason Kenney, Minister of Employment and Social Development and Minister for Multiculturalism, The Honourable Kerry-Lynne Findlay, Minister of National Revenue, The Honourable James Moore, Minister of Industry, The Honourable Alice Wong, Minister of State for Seniors, Dan Albas, Parliamentary Secretary to the President of the Treasury Board, Nina Grewal, Member of Parliament for Fleetwood–Port Kells, John Weston, Member of Parliament for West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast—Sea to Sky Country, and Senator Yonah Martin.

The Canada Apprentice Loan, which was introduced in Economic Action Plan 2014, will provide apprentices in Red Seal trades across Canada with access to interest-free loans. These loans will help apprentices address the costs they encounter during technical training, including educational fees, tools and equipment, living expenses and forgone wages. It will be managed by the Canada Student Loans Program, within Employment and Social Development Canada.

Apprentices registered in a Red Seal trade apprenticeship will be able to apply for loans of up to $4,000 per period of technical training. The loans are interest-free until after loan recipients complete or leave their apprenticeship training program, up to a maximum of six years.

Those interested in applying for the Canada Apprentice Loan can do so through the Canada Apprentice Loan Online Service which is available through Canada.ca/apprentice.

The Canada Apprentice Loan is one of many initiatives that the Government has undertaken to encourage apprenticeships and career training. Other significant efforts include apprenticeship grants, Employment Insurance benefits for apprentices taking technical training, tax credits and deductions for employers and apprentices.

Quick Facts

It is estimated that at least 26,000 apprentices a year will benefit from over $100 million in Canada Apprentice Loans.
According to Statistics Canada, almost 360,000 people are enrolled every year in over 400 apprenticeship and skilled trades programs; however, only half of apprentices are completing their programs, (in part, because of the financial demands incurred during their technical training.)
There are approximately 2.9 million skilled trade workers in Canada which represent 17 per cent of the workforce.
Red Seal trades include 57 skilled trades, such as bakers, bricklayers, carpenters, electricians, gasfitters, heavy equipment operators, ironworkers, machinists, painters, plumbers, sheet metal workers, and truck mechanics, to name a few.
The Conference Board of Canada predicts that Canada will need one million additional skilled workers by 2020.
From March through June 2014, the Government of Canada held discussions on the Canada Apprentice Loan with key stakeholder groups including training providers, apprenticeship organizations and industry representatives as well as with provincial and territorial governments.
Quotes

“Apprenticeships play an important role in Canada’s post-secondary education system and are a key provider of the vital skills and knowledge necessary to power and grow the Canadian economy. The Canada Apprentice Loan initiative will allow young people from across the country to access jobs in the skilled trades that are in-demand in different sectors and regions – from shipbuilding in the East, to mining in the North, to oil and gas projects in the West.” – Prime Minister Stephen Harper

“I’m pleased to announce that the Canada Apprentice Loan initiative is now open for business and accepting applications. We encourage Canadians to use these loans, learn a trade, gain hands-on experience, and take advantage of the largest and longest federal infrastructure investment in our nation’s history.” – Prime Minister Stephen Harper

- See more at: http://pm.gc.ca/eng/news/2015/01/08...w-accepting-applications#sthash.S2uWkfc4.dpuf

 

[walleyes]

CANADA SMALL BUSINESS FINANCING PROGRAM

Small businesses face greater challenges accessing financing for a variety of reasons, including having little or no credit history, few tangible assets to use as collateral and more volatile sales and earnings. Recognizing this, on January 22, 2015, Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced the Government’s intent to make changes to the Canada Small Business Financing Program that will allow more small businesses to apply and will facilitate more loans for real property. These measures will enhance the ability of small businesses across Canada to secure much needed capital, generating economic growth and job creation.

The new measures, which would be implemented once the supporting legislation and regulations are passed, were informed by consultations with financial institutions and small businesses.

The Canada Small Business Financing Program has been helping small businesses with their financing needs for over 50 years. Under the Program, the Government of Canada makes it easier for small businesses to get loans from financial institutions by sharing the risk with lenders.

The program's main objectives are:

To help new businesses get started and help established firms make improvements and expand;
To improve access to loans that would not otherwise be available to small businesses; and,
To stimulate economic growth and create jobs for Canadians.
Since 2006, the program has assisted more than 50,000 businesses, with loans totalling approximately $1 billion each year.

Who is eligible?

Currently, small businesses or start-ups operating for profit in Canada, with gross annual revenues of $5 million or less, are eligible. In keeping with today’s announcement by Prime Minister Harper, this threshold would be increased to $10 million.

Not eligible under this program are farming businesses (Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada has a similar program for the farming industry – for information, visit www.agr.gc.ca), not-for-profit organizations, or charitable and religious organizations.

How much financing is available?

Up to a maximum of $500,000 for any one borrower of which no more than $350,000 can be used for purchasing leasehold improvements or improving leased property and purchasing or improving new or used equipment.

In keeping with today’s announcement by Prime Minister Harper, the maximum loan amount would be raised from $500,000 to $1 million for borrowers seeking to acquire real property.

How do I apply for a loan?

Private sector financial institutions deliver the program and are solely responsible for approving the loan. Discuss your business needs with a financial officer at any bank, caisse populaire, or credit union in Canada. The financial officer will review your business proposal and make a decision on your loan application. Once the decision is made to offer financing under the program, the financial institution will disburse the funds and register the loan with Industry Canada.

What can loans be used for under this program?

Loans can be used to finance the following costs:

Purchase or improvement of land or buildings used for commercial purposes;
Purchase or improvement of new or used equipment; and,
Purchase of new or existing leasehold improvements, that is, renovations to a leased property by a tenant.
For example, you can use a loan to finance:

Commercial vehicles;
Hotel or restaurant equipment;
Computer or telecommunications equipment and software;
Production equipment; and,
Admissible costs to buy a franchise.
You cannot use a loan to finance items such as:

Goodwill;
Working capital;
Inventories;
Franchise fees; and,
Research and development.
What are the costs?

The interest rate is determined by your financial institution and may be variable or fixed.

Variable rate: The maximum chargeable is the lender's prime lending rate plus 3 per cent.

Fixed rate: The maximum chargeable is the lender's single family residential mortgage rate for the term of the loan plus 3 per cent.

A registration fee of 2 per cent of the total amount loaned under the program must also be paid by the borrower to the lender. It can be financed as part of the loan. The registration fee and a portion of the interest are submitted to Industry Canada by the lender to help offset the costs of the program for the Government.

What are the terms of the financing?

Lenders are required to take security in the assets financed. Lenders also have the option to take an additional unsecured personal guarantee.

In keeping with today’s announcement by Prime Minister Harper, the maximum term for real property loans would be increased from 10 years to 15 years in order to reduce administrative burden and align with conventional lending practices. For more information, please visit: Canada Small Business Financing Program.

Other major initiatives that the Government has initiated to help small businesses across Canada to prosper include:

Name: Red Tape Reduction Action Plan

Description: Since it came into effect in 2012, the Red Tape Reduction Action Plan has provided a successful, system-wide control on the growth of regulatory red tape impacting business. To date, the Plan has resulted in over $22 million less in net administrative burden annually and businesses spend 290,000 fewer hours annually dealing with regulatory red tape. By reducing red tape, our Government has helped businesses save an estimated $75 million annually in costs, including for over 5,000 small businesses.

Name: New Small Business Job Credit

Description: The New Small Business Job Credit is expected to save small businesses more than $550 million over the next two years lowering small businesses’ Employment Insurance premiums from the current legislated rate of $1.88 to $1.60 per $100 of insurable earnings in 2015 and 2016. Any firm that pays employer EI premiums equal to or less than $15,000 in those years will be eligible for the credit. Almost 90 per cent of all EI premium-paying businesses in Canada will receive the credit, reducing their EI payroll taxes by nearly 15 per cent.

Name: Venture Capital Action Plan

Description: The Venture Capital Action Plan is improving the access of high-growth companies to venture capital financing so that they have the capital they need to create jobs and growth. The Plan makes available federal resources to help increase private sector investments in early-stage risk capital, and to support the creation of large-scale venture capital funds of funds led by the private sector.

Name: Business Innovation Access Program

Description: The Business Innovation Access Program is a Government of Canada pilot program, announced in the 2013 Budget, that provides $20 million in funding to small- and medium-sized enterprises to help them access business services or technical assistance at Canada’s learning institutions and publicly-funded research organizations to bring bigger and better innovations to market faster.

Name: Lifetime Capital Gains Exemption (LCGE)

Description: Budget 2013 increased the LCGE on qualified small business shares to $800,000 in 2014, and indexed the new limit to inflation. On account of indexation, the LCGE limit increased to $813,600 for 2015. Previously, Budget 2007 increased the LCGE to $750,000 from $500,000, the first increase in the exemption since 1988. The LCGE is estimated to be delivering over $1 billion of federal tax relief annually to small business owners, farmers and fishermen.

Other measures that the Government has taken that will benefit small businesses include:

Concluding negotiations for the Canada-European Union Trade Agreement and concluding negotiations and securing passage of implementing legislation for the Canada-Korea Free Trade Agreement, Canada’s first free trade agreement in the Asia-Pacific region (2014);
Creating jobs, economic growth and productivity by launching the $53 billion New Building Canada Plan, which will support the construction or renewal of provincial, territorial and municipal infrastructure (2014);
Reducing the red tape burden on small businesses, including allowing business owners to go paperless when dealing with the Canada Revenue Agency (2013);
Introducing a Code of Conduct for the Credit and Debit Card Industry to help small business owners when dealing with credit card companies (2010); and,
Reducing the small business tax rate to 11 per cent (2008) and increasing the amount of income that is eligible for this lower rate to $500,000 (2007 and 2009).
- See more at: http://pm.gc.ca/eng/news/2015/01/22/canada-small-business-financing-program#sthash.Q3y06puc.dpuf

 

[Cuba Libre]

Gee-- anyone would think there is an election coming up......................

 

[walleyes]

Double post.

 

[walleyes]

5 Ways Socialism Destroys Societies
John Hawkins | Feb 25, 2014
John Hawkins


"The inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of blessings; the inherent virtue of socialism is the equal sharing of miseries." -- Winston Churchill

There are a lot of arguments about whether communism, socialism, and liberalism are the same thing. What shouldn't be arguable is that they're all closely related branches of the same tree. If you don't want to live in a house made out of Aleppo Pine, you probably won't like a Coulter Pine or Eastern White Pine house either. However, since socialism has failed so often, socialists of every stripe bend over backwards to disassociate themselves from the many other disasters created by their ideology. Still, a pine by any other name is still a pine.

Socialism is particularly dangerous because it's so perfectly suited for the modern era. It's the ultimate "miracle" product: it's "nice," it's "fair," it'll make you feel good about yourself, it'll "help" people who "deserve it" by taking things away from people who "have so much" they'll barely miss it. It sounds wonderful, doesn't it? But, like most products with sleazy salesmen and hidden track records, the promises socialism makes are all a mirage. Since our schools do a terrible job of teaching history and economics these days, it's our job to explain how socialism slowly, insidiously eats away at the core of a society.

1) It kills economic growth: Strong economic growth is what produces jobs, tax revenue and a better standard of living for everyone, including the poor and middle class. That's what John F. Kennedy was driving at when he said, "A rising tide (in the economy) lifts all boats." Socialism strangles economic growth in the crib by penalizing success and rewarding failure. When you loot the successful people in a society to give it to the less successful, you quite naturally reduce the number of successful people and encourage more people to fail. This leads to a never-ending cycle. The more people in need there are, the more the successful must be penalized to pay for them. The more the successful are penalized, the fewer successful people there are. This causes wealth to concentrate in fewer hands, the economy slows down, and even more people need help. It goes on and on until you get a slow economy that can't produce enough tax revenue to sustain itself. That's exactly what killed the Soviet Union, it's killing Greece right now and sadly, the United States and most of Western Europe is on exactly the same path.

2) It stifles free speech: Why is there ridiculous government propaganda in nations like North Korea? Why are most schools, papers, and colleges run by liberals in the United States? Why do liberals often try to disrupt conservative speakers on college campuses? Why are there such extreme speech codes in Canada that it practically makes some conservative arguments illegal? Why does speaking out against the government risk imprisonment in China and the old Soviet Union? Because socialism requires protection, propaganda, intimidation, and darkness to survive. Socialism can't survive honest, informed debate about its merits among people who are free to choose or reject it because it would not survive the conversation. As Reagan said, "How do you tell a communist? Well, it's someone who reads Marx and Lenin. And how do you tell an anti-Communist? It's someone who understands Marx and Lenin."

3) It leads to an increasingly tyrannical government: Freedom and socialism go together like oil and water. The more socialism you have, the less freedom you will have because socialism can't survive if people are free to choose whether they want socialism or not. People who are free to say what they want will criticize socialism's many failures. Areas that aren't tightly controlled will move towards the free exchange of ideas and goods, not socialism. So, socialism requires a massive bureaucracy that almost inevitably grows. As government grows, it inevitably becomes more centralized, more distant from the people and ultimately more menacing.

4) It creates strife and division: Socialism is all about turning people against each other. It has to be. After all, if you believe in controlling people's lives, the people who don't wish to be controlled need to be vilified. If you believe in confiscating the wealth of successful people who won't give it up willingly, then others must be convinced they're terrible human beings who deserve to be punished. "Victim" classes must be created for the socialists to defend because if everyone is responsible for himself, what need is there for the socialist? Eventually, those who depend on government for their livelihood and those that the government smears and loots to pay them off come to hate each other.

5) Socialists believe the ends justify the means: Like the pigs in Orwell's Animal Farm, socialists believe that, "All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others." For a socialist, the overriding concern is always promoting socialism; so process, rules and regulation mean different things for different people. Fidel Castro may have been the leader of a Communist revolution against the evil "rich people" in Cuba, but he’s worth 900 million dollars today. A law broken by a Democrat and a Republican may be treated very differently by the papers, the courts, and even the Department of Justice under Eric Holder. As Margaret Thatcher explained,

"Left-wing zealots have often been prepared to ride roughshod over due process and basic considerations of fairness when they think they can get away with it. For them the ends always seems to justify the means. That is precisely how their predecessors came to create the gulag."

One of the reasons so many socialist nations are wracked with violent protests and revolutions is because when the rule of law is abandoned, only outlaws have any hope of receiving justice

 

[agentaqua]

http://thetyee.ca/Opinion/2015/04/0...ce=daily&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=030415

Corporate Greed? Enough Already

Record profits have produced lousy jobs.

By Murray Dobbin, Today, TheTyee.ca


Cartoon by Ingrid Rice.

A news story this week blandly described the perverse reality that is the current state of the Canadian economy. The headline read "Corporate profit margins at 27-year high and likely to stay there." Pretty heady stuff if you took it out of context. But the context is everything: pathetic growth projections, record high personal debt, stagnating wages, hundreds of billions in idle corporate cash, a multi-billion dollar infrastructure deficit, a growing real estate bubble and a Bank of Canada chief who has no idea how to fix things. And, of course, a prime minister who thinks fixing things is heretical.

The headline describes the conclusion of a report by CIBC World Markets the gist of which is that not only has the profit margin hit a 30-year-high of 8.2 per cent (the historic average is less than five per cent) but the signs are that it is going to stay there: "profit margins are fully supported by the fundamentals."

Ah, yes the fundamentals. The study doesn't purport to make any ethical or moral judgments (or even economic ones for that matter) -- it just states the facts. Indeed it doesn't talk about the context of those facts at all, nor that this hyper-profitability might indeed be bad for the economy in general, for growth, for employees, families and governments. It's as if the fundamentals were somehow God-given, having fallen from the sky.

But of course "fundamentals" don't fall from the sky, they are the result of the actions of governments, corporations, individuals and other agents -- some random, some planned, some unpredictable -- like the crash in oil prices. Economists love to talk about fundamentals, but in this case they are related to a structural change in the profit rate: that is, a permanent shift from the below five per cent level to over six per cent -- a 20 per cent increase. The key fundamentals, says the report: "globalization, innovation, lower cost of capital, high barriers to entry, and reduced bargaining power of labour..."

The report points out that the crashing Canadian dollar is a big factor but for the economy as a whole, for Canadians' standard of living and for future investment it is the last item that matters: the "reduced bargaining power of labour." Wages and salaries have been flat literally since 1980 and personal debt has tracked upwards in parallel as inflation ate into disposable real incomes. This is not sustainable for any functioning capitalist economy that depends on growth to survive.

Here are some of the consequences of a continuing high-profitability/slow growth scenario:

• The rich will continue to get rich and income and wealth inequality will continue to grow. Stock prices will continue to rise, as corporations accumulate more and more idle cash, dividends will increase. According to the IMF Canadian corporations are accumulating "dead money" faster than in any other G7 country.

• As increasing amounts of the wealth created every year accumulates in corporate coffers, personal debt, now at a record high of 163 per cent of annual income, will continue to rise increasing the already bloated profits of the big banks.

• Corporations exist to make profits, not to invest for the sake of investing. What is the motivation to invest if your profits are at record levels and the bargaining power of labour remains low? According to the CIBC report, "No less than one third of Canadian GDP last year was produced by sectors with falling labour unit costs."

• With corporations relying on falling labour costs there is even less incentive to invest in innovation, training, or new equipment and technology to increase productivity.

Weakened labour

Those costs -- a reflection of labour's weakened bargaining power -- are not likely to increase anytime soon. The labour participation rate (the number of employable people working or looking for work) is at its lowest since 2000 -- providing a reserve of workers that will continue to suppress pay. The economy produced fewer jobs in 2014 than at any time since 2009. At the same time, corporations are on a binge of hiring part-time to avoid paying benefits. Partly as a result, Canada has the second highest percentage of low-wage jobs in the OECD.

Another CIBC study revealed that job quality is at its lowest level in 25 years. The bank's job quality index has fallen 15 per cent since the early 1990s. The index "examines the distribution of full- and part-time positions, the gap between self-employment and the higher-quality jobs for paid employees, and whether full-time jobs were created in low-, medium- or high-paying sectors."

Perhaps the key observation made by the report's author, CIBC deputy chief economist Benjamin Tal, was that "The findings reveal a descending path in labour quality, a gravitational pull the study's author warned will persist unless it's addressed."

Addressed by whom? He doesn't say. But like any other economist, he clearly knows the answer. The structural nature of low quality, low paying and insecure work is not an accident of nature -- it is the result of both corporate practices and government policies.

The so-called "labour flexibility" policies of the 1990s are still in place: the slashed accessibility to Employment Insurance, impoverished social assistance programs, and the abandonment of labour standards enforcement. Rather than addressing the issue of low job quality, the federal government has been exacerbating it with the Temporary Foreign Workers Program (TFWP), allowing hundreds of thousands of young people to work for nothing as so-called "apprentices", and making commitments in trade agreements to allow companies to bring in skilled workers with none of the "red tape" involved in the TFWP.

Even though the TFWP rules have been abused, at least under that program there is supposed to be an assessment of whether Canadians can do the job before a foreign worker is brought in. Under trade agreements, corporations have been guaranteed the right to outsource high paying jobs to foreign workers without any such assessments. According to the government's own data, most of the foreign workers in Canada are here without any responsibilities placed on their employers to prove they tried but failed to find Canadians to do the job. For example, only one of the 14 jobs in the infamous Royal Bank example -- where Royal Bank workers had to train their replacements from India -- were brought in under the TFWP. The rest are likely to have got their positions through the intra-company transfer visas provided for by trade agreements. While the jobs outsourced through the intra-company transfer program are referred to as "temporary," clauses in the program allow them to stay for up to seven years. The motivation appears to be pure greed: displacing highly paid Canadian employees with much lower paid foreign nationals.

Outsourcing expanded

The program was supposed to be limited to executive and managerial positions (applicants are supposed to have university degrees) but has rapidly expanded by exploiting a clause that says workers with "specialized" skills can also be brought in. Concerns have been expressed by insiders that companies are exaggerating employee resumes to expand the scope of their outsourcing.

No wonder Canadian graduates are having so much trouble finding jobs -- the Harper government is determined to give them away.

As bad as things are they are about to get much worse. At the urging of the Canadian Services Coalition, a corporate lobby group, the multiple trade and investment agreements the government is intent on signing (or has signed) all contain sections allowing for such transfers. International Trade Minister Ed Fast boasted that the next generation of trade deals such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership will be much more ambitious about enabling the entry of foreign workers.

For sheer callousness it is hard to outdo the Harper government. But the academic cheerleaders for expanded trade agreements aren't far behind. Shih-Fen Chen, with Western University's Richard Ivey School of Business, opined that while the displaced Royal Bank workers would have a hard time finding other jobs, "Outsourcing is just international trade in the service sector and the rationale to support it is similar to the trade of manufactured goods."

Well, yes that sounds about right, if the Harper government's rationale in trade negotiations is to do to Canadian service sector jobs what NAFTA and other trade agreements have done to jobs in the manufacturing sector: outsource them.

At no time in the past 70 years have Canadian workers and their families been confronted with such a ruthlessly indifferent combine of corporations and the state. Neo-liberalism, the so-called freeing of market forces, is thus revealed as having no limits, ethical, moral or political to its greed and its contempt for society. And it has little to do with "market forces." It's simple corporatism.

 

[walleyes]

News to leftists: Canadians aren’t surrender monkeys

by Joel Johannesen on Tuesday March 24, 2015 at 12:00 pm in Canada, Joel Johannesen

Polls show most Canadians want war in Iraq/Syria extended;
and the niqab banned in public

Even though the Liberals and the even more socialist You’ve Got To Be Kidding party are bent on being so, Canadians are actually surrender monkeys no more. Canada seems to have mostly, finally, shaken free of that sad era of effete neo-liberalism and its abject pacifism; and have shunned the left’s incessant failure to match the commitment of our enemies, and fight to maintain our own beliefs, whatever it takes, for however long it takes.

…An Ipsos Reid poll released on Monday suggested that two in three Canadians support an extension of the military mission. The poll, conducted for Global News between March 16 and March 19…
- Globe & Mail

Just what level of evil would be required for the left to rise to the occasion and defend Canada and its values, and to do its part as a member of the free world to battle a threat to our freedom and a global menace, is an open question. We don’t have the answer, because since it must be an evil even greater than the current Islamist terrorism threat, nobody can even imagine that kind of evil. Therefore we are forced to suspect that they will do utterly nothing, ever, under any circumstances. Well, that is unless the menace starts smoking, or emitting carbon, or worse, starts talkin’ all Jesus ‘n stuff.

In the interest of transparency, and since we pay their wages, and since it’s an election year, and it is our country and our lives, after all, I do think the opposition leftists owe us a clear, detailed description of exactly what kind of evil would whip up their desire to defend our nation and its interests and deploy our defense forces militarily, and as an “exit strategy,” to do so “until we win.” Failure to do so would conjure up suspicions of a “hidden agenda,” and if I understand the Left and their news media division correctly, they’re dead set against that.

In other happy news, very much related, Canadians apparently also unite behind Conservative prime minister Stephen Harper on the issue of Muslim women wearing those dreadful bodybags known as niqabs at their Canadian citizenship ceremony. In fact Canadians actually go further:

…The Leger poll, for the Association for Canadian Studies, indicates 70% of respondents agree with Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s strong view against wearing the niqab while taking the oath to become Canadian.

“It’s very easy to understand,” Harper told the House last week. “Why would Canadians, contrary to our own values, embrace a practice at that time (of gaining citizenship) that is not transparent, that is not open and, frankly, is rooted in a culture that is anti-women?”

Canadians agreed with the prime minister 70%, according to the Leger poll taken Tuesday to Thursday.

And 60% of the 1,711 respondents went even further, agreeing “the niqab should be banned in public spaces (i.e government offices and courts).”

– 24 Hours Vancouver

It’s almost as if Harper has a finger on the pulse of the nation. And the nation has a pulse. And both Harper and the nation want to maintain a pulse.

Not so the opposition Left. The opposition create false dilemmas and fatuous claims about their desire to offer humanitarian aid instead of defending Canada militarily, as if Canadians can’t walk and chew gum at the same time. This tweet by the PM, following the motion to extend the anti-ISIS mission in the House today, beclowns the left and their specious, milquetoast political posturing:


“We will continue” as long as the Conservatives remain in power. If they don’t, everything – everything – is up in the air

 

[walleyes]

CCPA – a socialist advocacy group, offers socialist classroom propaganda – with the aid of teachers union

Joel Johannesen on Friday October 24, 2014

The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (where the “Alternative” they speak of is actually socialism, but they purposely don’t say it out loud because they’re Fabian socialists) is touting socialist “climate justice” propaganda for teachers to use in CCPA-logotheir classrooms.

Seriously.

This indoctrination scheme was created in concert with the far-left BC Teachers Federation, which, as anybody who has been paying attention knows, is nothing short of a militant left-wing public-sector union division of the socialist NDP in Canada. (I don’t think even they would deny that description – in fact they might wear it proudly.)

Let’s be completely clear: The CCPA is an overtly socialist political advocacy group, as we see it in our sane, eyes-wide-open minds.They hilariously claim not to be a political group, but all they do is advocate for transformation of our nation – its economy and its entire social policy, and its politics generally, to that of a socialist nation. They use all the code-words of the extreme left: aside from the aforementioned “alternative” there is “progressive,” “social justice” and “climate justice,” and “redistribution” (of wealth), and they constantly stress “equality” in all things including incomes and wealth. In case you haven’t been paying attention for the last 20 years, these concepts are literally the language of the extreme-left – the socialist.

Here’s an excerpt from their email sent out this morning in which they glibly prattle on about a new socialist indoctrination of our kids in our public schools, under the glorious heading of “Lessons for Transformation” – by which they mean the socialist revolution they are pursuing and want your children to pursue:

Climate Justice in BC: Lessons for Transformation

Since 2007, the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives’ Climate Justice Project has been researching the two great inconvenient truths of our time: climate change and rising inequality.

In order to address these problems, however, we need to ensure that they’re well understood by all British Columbians. That’s why we’ve designed a curriculum for students in grades 8–12, which explores climate justice within the context of BC’s communities, history, economy and ecology.

Today, together with the BC Teachers’ Federation, we’re proud to launch teachclimatejustice.ca, which offers free classroom-ready materials, developed by teacher Ryan Cho. The lessons—which are divided into eight modules—tie into subject matter and prescribed learning outcomes (PLOs) already in BC’s curriculum, while providing a framework to unpack modern social and environmental issues, such as our industrial food system, consumerism and waste, transportation, and the development of a green economy.

So if you’re a teacher looking to include climate justice concepts into your classes, a student hoping to learn more about sustainability and equality, a parent who wants to equip your children with the skills to meaningfully address the important issues of our time, or a community member interested in a healthier and better-informed democracy – this is for you.

Visit teachclimatejustice.ca to check out the curriculum.

When you check out the “lesson plans,” or what sane people would call their socialist propaganda and indoctrination, you find passages like this, which the teachers are instructed to read aloud to the children:

In short, to achieve sustainability with justice we will have to deliberately scale back the global economy (or at least reduce the throughput of energy and material) and consider means to redistribute ecological and economic wealth at national and local levels. … We do not face a technological challenge so much as a challenge of finding the political will to make change.

So yeah, this isn’t about socialist politics advocacy at all. For our children. In our public schools.

The various pages of the “lesson plan” are replete with links to other left-wing and far-left resource web sites, including those that warn the kids about the nefarious “deniers” – their word. You know who they are – they’re the “conservatives” – again, their word. “Deniers” is, as we all know, a politically-charged – and frankly fascist – term for people who aren’t buying into the “man-made global warming” theory’s hype. The message that these “deniers” put forth are variously described at this linked web site as “counterfactual denialist/hoax message.” I’m not hoaxing you, folks! They teach the kids how to disarm “right-wingers” – yup, “right-wingers” – and commentators “on Fox News,” when they dare to speak up about their skepticism regarding the man-made global warming hoax. Oh sorry I meant theory.

Who exactly is in charge of the curriculum in the classroom? Socialists at the CCPA and the extreme, militant-left BC Teachers Federation? Is this propaganda and left-wing indoctrination seriously allowed to occur? Is there no law against this? Is this the only remaining area upon which big, huge progressive governments haven’t yet slapped a massive regulatory and policy requirement regime and bureaucratic oversight?

Alas, as with so much of what we see in our daily lives in this country, which isn’t socialist enough for the CCPA and teachers and other extreme-leftists, we see this logo among others at the bottom of their indoctrination plans’ “funders” page:

It’s not enough that the CCPA and the unions are tax-exempt “charities”, but taxpayers further encourage socialism by directly funding this sort of crap

 

[walleyes]

Militant left-wing BC teachers union advocates against Canada’s military recruiting

by Joel Johannesen

Math, science, and actively advocating against joining the Canadian military? Well yes, and “man-made global warming,” and business is bad, government is good, and socialism is the way to go, and unions are the best, and its for the kids, etc. Also LGBQT of course — that other stuff is only if there’s time.

Featured as one of their “Lesson Ideas” on their union web site (in their “Social Justice” section, like good leftists), they suggest the teachers in the classroom teach our sons and daughters a load of left-wing propaganda points, including advocating against Canada’s national military defense and opposing any recruitment efforts; urging that kids act as spies and “inform” on the Canadian military to the appropriate authorities (teachers and their militant left-wing union) should they witness any recruitment efforts by our evil Canadian military defense.

• Ask your local to pass a motion opposing recruiting in the schools.
• Ask your board to pass a motion opposing recruiting in the schools.
• Encourage industry and workers in your community to resist military contracts, and ask local politicians to work with you on this. Take this issue to your labour council as well.
• Let teachers know to inform the union and/or your social justice committee when they see recruiters in the schools.
• Let students know to inform teachers when they are approached by recruiters.
• Ensure that students are being informed of every side of the story about current events, Afghanistan, and the statistics about military casualties, liabilities, and suicides.
• Support counter-recruitment messages and programs in schools.
• Make materials available to teachers in your local to help counter-recruiting messages.
• Go to the Operation Objection website for kits: www.operationobjection.org
• Call in to television and radio, and write to your local papers to counter military propaganda.

Whose side on they on? Obviously not our national defense.

Their ironically militant left-wing anti-Canadian propaganda materials includes this helpful poster, designed to raise all manner of questions and cast a negative shadow with regard to joining our national military defense effort.

But as you saw with their own printed words, they’re not merely be altruistic here. They’re casting aspersions, planting the seeds of doubt, and hoping to discourage our young people from joining the Canadian Forces. They want to arm our youth not with guns, but with left-wing propaganda. Al-Qaeda loves it when we do that.

BCTF union boss. It's for the kids
BCTF union boss. It’s for the kids. Wink.
That makes the BCTF anti-military and against the defense of our country. How else can you describe “Encourage industry and workers in your community to resist military contracts“? They want to actively ensure that our military fails — starved of supply and equipment. Food. Medical supplies. Gas masks.

How can you describe them asking that union locals and school boards oppose military recruitment efforts? They don’t want people to join the military. So it fails. And we have no effective defense.

“Let students know to inform teachers when they are approached by recruiters.” They want your kids to act as militant leftists on the union’s behalf. Little soldiers for their far-left extremist cause.

“Support counter-recruitment messages and programs in schools“? Huh? Why? They want our military to be as ineffective as possible in defending Canada and its interests.

Who are these people?

What country is this?

Who thinks like that?

Why are they even remotely allowed to do this?

I suppose it’s no real surprise that a far-left militant union, deeply ensconced in socialist politics, would act in this way. It’s a free country and they can be as extremist as they want to be (thanks to our military and sane people who support a national defense). They can be as loony as they want, and be as ostracized as they will be. That’s their problem — or at least it should be. But these people are public servants. Being paid by your tax dollars and mine. These people are working against you. They’re aiding the enemy more than Canada with this anti-Canadian propaganda.

I could not find any teaching “resources” like the one above, advocating teaching the students about the radical Islamist jihadist threat. Nor about the failings of socialism/communism. Nor about the benefits of free enterprise and free markets and freedom generally. No, they only advocate for far-left nonsense like destroying our Canadian Forces.

Are these teachers? Or left-wing propagandists?

Whatever they are, I’m the exact opposite. I strongly support the military — all military. I’m a normal conservative Canadian