Haldimand "On-Line Petition asking for Commissioner Fantino's Resignation"

Caledonia residents launch petition for Fantino's resignation

Posted By KAREN BEST,

CHRONICLE STAFF WRITER

Ken Hewitt and another Caledonia resident want an inquiry into Ontario Provincial Police commissioner Julian Fantino's handling of issues in Haldimand County.

On Dec. 22, they launched a petition which will be distributed across Haldimand County including Dunnville. It demands an inquiry into Fantino's actions and into overall policing based on the "tainted" report from Ipperwash, said Hewitt, who was a key Caledonia Citizens Alliance spokesperson in 2006.

The petition also demands that Fantino be suspended until the inquiry is concluded and be removed from his job if cause if found.

The petition will be circulated across Ontario and will soon be available on the Internet. The petition sprung out of frustration and anger over a recent letter Fantino wrote in support of Clyde Powless of Six Nations, Hewitt indicated.

OPP officers charged him with assault and mischief related to events at the Dec. 1, 2007 smoke shop protest on Argyle Street South in Caledonia."He defies the charges made by his own officers by submitting a letter of support (for Powless)," said Hewitt. "I question why the commissioner of the OPP would submit a letter on a misdemeanour."In the letter filed for a Dec. 5 court hearing on Powless's charges, Fantino wrote that Powless was "instrumental in diffusing serious conflict and confrontation" and has acted as a peacemaker.

In Fantino's letter, which was released last week by Gary McHale, the commissioner said he was making no excuses for Powless's behaviour. Fantino also said the volatile situation and provocation could simply be avoided if McHale and his followers were not in attendance. Three of five paragraphs in the letter mention McHale.

You can read the rest of the article here, Article ID# 136158
http://www.dunnvillechronicle.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1361581


Open Letter to the Commissioner Julian Fantino,
(written by Ken Hewitt of Caledonia)

Mr. Fantino, unlike you, I have been involved with the ongoing land claim in Caledonia from the time the OPP botched up the removal of protestors from privately owned land known as DCE. I saw with my own two eyes, protestors pushing back the OPP and breaking many laws as we know them.

I saw the actions of men such as Clyde Powless exhibit very little concern for the people of Caledonia and much less concern for the misguided OPP officers on the street. Who were mostly un-prepared for the situations that they were put into.

I witnessed many occasions when the OPP, confused by the lack of leadership by both yourself and your predecessor Gwen Boniface, both of you allowing the Ipperwash Inquiry to influence your decision making, knowingly violated or ignored your own training and standard operating procedures.

I was thoroughly offended when you came to meet with business leaders through the local Rotary, to listen to you lay blame on the citizens of Caledonia for injuries sustained by your police force in several confrontations.

To hear you justify the lack of arrests made with respect to the many crimes committed by protestors around Caledonia. To hear you continue to use the phrase that you’re only the "meat between the sandwich" yet laws continue to be broken under your watch.

These are laws that have nothing to do with land claims but your fear and your mismanagement has created a fear amongst your officers in knowing when to apply the law and when not to.

On several occasions, to hear you comment on the ongoing costs of policing in Caledonia, and that it is not related to your inability as Commissioner to contain the criminal elements that still continue to exist, but to lay blame on those that choose to challenge you and the government of Ontario, how you have let the community of Caledonia down in what I would call an abysmal failure of leadership.

Most of all, however it is this most recent letter of support that you submitted in defense of Clyde Powless, that has finally brought me to this point in writing you, along with petitioning for your resignation as Commissioner of what was once known as an exceptional police force the OPP.

You were not there that day that Clyde Powless lead the protestors to block Argyle road for a month, you were not there when on his direction, the same road was dug up, you were not there when Clyde Powless and his associates specifically told me three days prior to the hydro station being destroyed, that should there be any resistance from the people of Caledonia, that the services such hydro or water could be targeted.

Instead, you allow your personal conflict with Gary McHale to cloud your judgement, and as such use your position of power to sway the courts in seeing Mr. Powless as a good man, a man who cares about his neighbors, and a man that would do everything to diffuse tense situations rather than the truth as already mentioned.

In football, they call this play the "Flim-Flam"; you have been played sir, and the confidence in your ability to lead and make the right decision without reservation is diminished.

This lack of confidence exists within and without your own police force; it does not only exist in Caledonia, but reaches beyond its borders.

The reality that Ontario will be heading into deficits for the next several years supports the idea of a public inquiry on your actions and those of the OPP and its decisions in the past three years in Caledonia. Up to now there has been a blank cheque and there is no clarity to the costs up to now let alone to the future.

As a taxpayer who must shoulder the burden of these deficits, have the right to call for accountability and the right to call for your resignation.
Ken Hewitt

The following is the petition on line (written by Ken Hewitt);

To: People of Ontario
Petition for Caledonia Public Inquiry

TO THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF ONTARIO:

The background for this petition is as follows:

1. Commissioner Julian Fantino has proven through his own court testimony and published documentation that he is no longer unbiased or neutral. Along with native leaders having his personal cell number exclusively; he also uses his position to support them in court against charges by his own police force.

2. Following the flawed results and recommendations of the Ipperwash Inquiry, the OPP and the command decisions made by the OPP have violated and ignored the rules and guidelines as set out by a number of statutes. These include the Criminal Code and the Ontario Police Services Act. In addition the OPP have violated or ignored their training and standard operating procedures. There is documented and electronic evidence that the OPP did so knowingly.

3. The costs surrounding OPP is grossly underestimated. As taxpayers, we have the right to know the true costs of Caledonia. As the province of Ontario enters into years of deficits, how much more money will be wasted on flawed policing and the inability of leadership to change to tactics.

We petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario as follows:

1. To request the Premier of Ontario to immediately launch a public inquiry into the actions and decisions made by the Commissioner of the OPP Julian Fantino and impose his immediate suspension without pay and upon confirmation of the facts, his immediate resignation.

2. To request the Premier Of Ontario to immediately launch a public inquiry into the actions and decisions made by the OPP with respect to Caledonia over the past 3 years.

Sincerely,

Here is the link to sign the petition on line;
http://www.petitiononline.com/4625FA46/petition.html

Haldimand "74% of Canadians voted Against the Liberals in the Federal Election 2008"

It seems the Liberal Party has been given yet another chance to revamp itself, although not long ago we heard the same thing when Dion won the race. How many Liberals does it take to screw in a light bulb anyway? Just a reminder that in the last Federal election 74% of Canadians voted "against" the Liberal Party!

Here is a good read regarding how some Liberals feel in regards to the "race" for yet another leader;

Bitterness lingers for Rae's loyalists

Liberal MP Bob Rae makes his way to a news conference in Ottawa Dec. 9, 2008, where he announced he's withdrawing from the leadership race. "It's just politics. It's not the end of the world here, folks," Rae said.

While Rae looks serene, his seething supporters accuse Ignatieff camp of rumour-mongering

Dec 10, 2008 04:30 AM

Joanna Smith Staff Reporters

OTTAWA–He realized that he just couldn't win.

Toronto MP Bob Rae looked neither dejected nor weary – two of the many adjectives used to describe his demeanour following his loss in the Liberal leadership race two years ago – as he explained why he had changed from defiant to co-operative in less than a day.

But while supporters publicly applauded his decision to withdraw from his second campaign yesterday, privately there was bitterness over a perception of rumour-mongering at Rae's expense by the Michael Ignatieff campaign. Said one Rae backer: "This is all pretty difficult to accept."

Rae acknowledged yesterday some of his supporters had to be convinced the decision was for the best. He said he would still be vying to become Liberal leader if party officials had decided in a late-night conference call to consult with all party members instead of the few hundred elite, who likely favour his old friend and rival Ignatieff.

But they didn't.

"I slept very soundly last night because I went to bed without knowing what the decision was. When I woke up this morning, I read the decision. I said, `Well, that's it,'" Rae, 60, told reporters yesterday after clearing the way for Ignatieff to succeed outgoing Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion.

"You have to be realistic about these things. It's just politics."It's not the end of the world here, folks. I mean, a decision had to be made."

If this past week was a long time in the life of Dion, then Rae must have been reeling from a single day.

Rae had been defiant Monday afternoon as he portrayed himself as the champion of grassroots democracy opposing the "coronation" of his rival.

"I don't think coronations are generally very successful in political parties," Rae told reporters in Toronto Monday as he pushed for the party to hold a one-member-one-vote leadership selection in January.

"Most people believe it's better to have a contest, it's better to have a choice."

The national executive instead chose to consult with the 77 MPs and 58 senators of caucus, defeated candidates from the October election and the presidents of riding associations and commission clubs.

Rae, who officially launched his leadership campaign less than three weeks ago with calls to broaden the party base and even make membership free for life, saw the writing on the wall.

"I recognize that my leadership campaign depended on a whole lot of new members – and it depended on a campaign," Rae said yesterday.

His campaign got off to a rocky start. Rae had to rush a press conference in Ottawa to announce he would be running in order to counter a media report he might not.

A Rae source told the Toronto Star it was difficult to combat all the rumours that weakened Rae: he wouldn't run; his brother John, always a powerhouse in his political campaigns, was ill; former prime minister Jean Chrétien was putting pressure on him to drop out; Rae's ideas for choosing the leader were unconstitutional; and Ignatieff had more than 50 of 77 MPs on board as early as Dec. 1.

In fact, yesterday, Ignatieff's website said 46 MPs had endorsed him.

"The steamroller of the Michael Ignatieff campaign – Bob wouldn't run, John was sick ... it just never stopped," said the source.

"The strategy was to show Michael was inevitable. It's been going on since Oct. 14 and now Mr. Ignatieff has won without having to make one speech on policy."

He said it was hard to wake up yesterday to a race that was essentially finished, knowing "we never had a chance to have a vote."

Several MPs came over to Ignatieff's camp in the last couple of days, including Toronto MPs Jim Karygiannis (Scarborough-Agincourt) and Maurizio Bevilacqua (Vaughan).

The Ignatieff team ran a telephone blitz to simultaneously bring people onside and push Rae (and New Brunswick MP Dominic LeBlanc) to drop out.

The message for Rae, according to an Ignatieff strategist, was "to paint a scenario in which it was better to come over to Michael as opposed to being humiliated if he chose to stay."

Last Thursday, after Dion's amateurish videotaped address to the nation about the prospect of a coalition becoming the government, Karygiannis publicly said Dion had to go and was sternly criticized by Ignatieff. But Karygiannis told the Star he had already made the point in caucus earlier that day, saying his riding association favoured the coalition accord – but not with Dion.

Karygiannis had been talking to Rae's people but, by last weekend, a Liberal MP had arranged for him to speak to Ignatieff and Monday he announced his support for his leadership.

"I have a sense that my skills will be appreciated in the new Liberal order," Karygiannis said last night. "I feel (Ignatieff) is appreciative of my courage (in speaking out in caucus) and the skills I can bring to the table."

He said he received congratulations from a lot of people for his bluntness last week, adding some insisted the party could not accept Rae as leader.

Yesterday, Rae said nice things about "Michael" – whose leadership campaign had been so polarized against his own in 2006 that it became a major factor in allowing Dion to come up the middle – although he made it clear he did not speak to Ignatieff before announcing his decision as he did not want anyone to suspect he had been offered a plum in return.

Ontario Liberal MPP Greg Sorbara (Vaughan), who helped engineer Rae's transformation from former New Democrat premier of Ontario to Liberal leadership candidate in 2006, said his friend likely realized there was little point delaying the inevitable when so much was at stake.

"I think it was a huge step for him simply to acknowledge that," Sorbara said. "I mean, we've all been in contests where before the end of the contest the result is clear.

"If we put our personal interest – the interest of being on stage and being in the spotlight – ahead of the interest of the common good of the party, I think that's one thing. I think Bob did the opposite."

Doing the opposite meant giving up on the dream that brought him to the Liberal party in the first place – a dream he yesterday called a "past aspiration" – but Rae stressed yesterday staying on was not a paradox.
Others complimented Rae. Toronto Liberal Michael Levitt, who had strongly supported Rae, said yesterday he feels "we're all singing from the same hymn book now. Bob acted to reunite the party and bring us all together in the interests of everybody."

He added: "There was a lot of rumour and innuendo and I don't know who said what or when or why, but I think the Conservatives also did a lot to stir up trouble."

Richard Clausi, president of the Kitchener-Waterloo Liberal riding association, has been fighting through a national petition for a greater grassroots voice from the membership, particularly in the choice of leader.

"We truly need to evolve our grassroots. If you want grassroots support, you've got to support the grassroots," said Clausi.

However, he said last night he understood Rae's decision, because "we are in a time of crisis and we have to have our ducks lined up.
"What he did had real class."

"We want to win this," Rae's wife Arlene Perly Rae told the Toronto Star in November 2006 during his first bid for the leadership.

"But there is a side of this (leadership race) that says no one is dying ... . This is not the absolute core of life. The core of life, at the very heart of things, is about relationships."

And yesterday Rae suggested he looked forward to one of his relationships being characterized in a new way.

"The last couple of years, of course, there's always been this issue of what might or might not happen if and when and whatever," Rae said.
"That's all gone now and I'm quite happy to work with Michael as a great friend and a great supporter. I think you may all be surprised and you might have to write about something else."

http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/551334

Haldimand " Bob Rae the Prime Minister in Waiting"

The last week in Canadian politics has been quite interesting and invigorating to say the least.

What amazed me the most was how the Canadian Public got involved in this crisis. There were polls and petitions across the country and thousands of Canadians voiced their concerns! The result? Regardless of the legitimacy of a Coalition government, the overall majority of Canadians sent a strong message to Ottawa. That message was "NO" to a Coalition Government!

It seems that on the most part this was like an election. So what if an election is held would there be a clear winner? We may be finding that out sooner than later.

As I was scanning the news story's this morning I came upon a very interesting read. It shows the inside workings and mentality of one of the Coalition partners. The Liberal party had a meeting and basically slammed Dion for not being "tough" enough in his speech. Bob Rae who is in the running for the leader of the Liberal party has taken over as the salesperson for the Coalition. Some Liberal members want Dion to step down immediately!

Now what is interesting about this read is that the Governor General prorogued government and there is going to be a "cooling" off period for six weeks. Thank goodness someone had the wisdom to make the right choice! Yet despite this decision and the outcry from the Canadian public, the Coalition is determined that they will overturn the present government! It looks like they are on a "mission" to topple Harper regardless of the cost, and what Canadians think!

Harper will be putting together a budget for January 27th and has asked for input from the opposition parties. Harper recanted the $1.95 funding cut to parties (this seems to be what started this whole issue) and yet this still was not good enough. The Coalition states that Harper has not given enough to get the economy going. In saying that we have not heard of what the Coalition would do in a budget to boost the economy except bailing out the three major car companies. So I guess the Coalition thought that they would have the blessings of the Canadian People to just take power and do as they wish! This is a major flaw in their theory, Canadians are not willing to give the Coalition a "blank cheque".

My prediction for January 27th when Harper brings in the budget is that the opposition parties will once again push their "No Confidence Vote" and we will be in election mode yet again. My prediction on the outcome of another election is that the Liberals will loose even more seats than they did in the last election! Time will tell.

Here is the article;

A CRISIS OF CONFIDENCE: THE LIBERALS

Rae steps in as coalition's chief salesman Dion pushed aside 8 Rae takes charge with Liberal Leader seen as too soft on Harper budget fix Ignatieff hesitates 8 Leadership front-runner says party will be 'thinking hard' until new session JANE TABER

SENIOR POLITICAL WRITER;
With a report from Bill Curry
December 5, 2008

Bob Rae is preparing a coast-to-coast campaign to sell Canadians on the concept of a coalition government, taking over as chief salesman and manoeuvring around Stéphane Dion, whose leadership is becoming increasingly irrelevant.

Mr. Rae, the Toronto Centre MP and Liberal leadership candidate, began staking out his territory yesterday as the champion of a coalition government aimed at taking down Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

"He's going to carry the can," said one of his chief strategists. "He's going to stand up and let his voice be heard and encourage Liberals to hang in and we can take down Harper and put in a good government that will do the right thing."

Michael Ignatieff, Mr. Rae's main rival for the leadership and his former best friend, was not as aggressive in his approach, telling reporters that Liberals will be "thinking hard" and "responsibly" until the Harper Conservatives deliver their budget on Jan. 27.

Many of his supporters are uncomfortable with the idea of a coalition government with the NDP supported by the Bloc Québécois. They have advised him to stay out of a coalition cabinet if one is ever formed. Yesterday, there was a hint of Mr. Ignatieff's hesitancy after it became known he was the very last Liberal to sign a letter endorsing the coalition, which was sent to the Governor-General before her meeting with Mr. Harper.

The Liberal whip had asked caucus members to come to his office at 11 p.m. Wednesday or 7:30 a.m. yesterday to sign the letter; Mr. Ignatieff finally put pen to paper around 10 a.m.

Meanwhile, Mr. Rae left no doubt where he stood on the coalition concept. In a remarkable intervention during a raucous closed-door caucus meeting yesterday, Mr. Rae interrupted Mr. Dion, taking him on for being too conciliatory toward Mr. Harper.

The Prime Minister had just dodged a confidence vote, which he would have surely lost, by winning permission from the Governor-General to shut down Parliament until late January.

Mr. Dion appeared to be open to changing his mind about defeating Mr. Harper's government, saying that a "monumental change" on Mr. Harper's part would alter that.

That phrase angered some Liberals, who began shouting at Mr. Dion, accusing him of not going far enough, according to a caucus insider. That is when Mr. Rae approached the microphone, telling Mr. Dion that even "monumental change" was not acceptable.

Mr. Dion appeared shocked, the insider said.

While the Governor-General provided Mr. Harper with a reprieve yesterday in the game of parliamentary chicken that has been playing out for the past week, the NDP and the Bloc are still vowing to keep the coalition together.

But the clear victim in yesterday's proceedings was Mr. Dion, who has put so much of his personal capital into the initiative that he was hoping to lead.

Just days after emerging as a hero with an accord in hand, he appeared yesterday as a wounded leader who botched a major national address with an amateur video that didn't even get to air on time.

"He cooked up this deal," the Rae strategist said. "He did not cut people in. He drove it and his team and the results were there for all to see. ... The question for the Liberal Party now is, in a world where we're not likely to have Dion in the deal, do we get rid of the deal along with Dion or do we keep the deal?"

Several MPs suggested to Mr. Dion yesterday that a new leader should be in place by January in the event the government is defeated over the budget, and the Governor-General grants the Prime Minister dissolution rather than choosing the coalition government.

"We need to be prepared," Nova Scotia MP Scott Brison said, according to an insider. "We need to get the leader in place." Although Mr. Brison praised Mr. Dion for weakening Mr. Harper's leadership by successfully forming the coalition, he and several other MPs said Canadians have to be given the chance to get to know the new Liberal leader. If there was a snap election, it wouldn't make sense for Mr. Dion to run for Prime Minister only to be replaced by someone else in May, they said.

Scarborough MP Jim Karygiannis broke ranks outside of caucus, saying he wants Mr. Dion to leave "sooner than later."

Mr. Ignatieff and Mr. Rae, however, dismissed any notion of replacing Mr. Dion before the May leadership convention.

"Questions of leadership are not of the hour," said Mr. Ignatieff, who criticized Mr. Karygiannis for calling for the leader to resign.

The Rae strategist said Mr. Rae isn't even bothering to worry about a leadership change, however: "We can't wait around for that because if we tie our view on the coalition to sorting out leadership mechanics, the whole thing is going to fall apart. So Rae is just saying, 'Gun the engine, man, let's go.' "

The advantage yesterday went to Mr. Rae, as the leadership race is evolving into a bare-knuckle fight that doesn't play to Mr. Ignatieff's more patrician strengths. Mr. Ignatieff evoked the ghost of Aristotle in a scrum, while a combative Mr. Rae called the Harper government "illegitimate" and accused the PM of asking for prorogation because he's "afraid to show up for work."

Still, Mr. Ignatieff is winning the leadership race, according to a new Globe and Mail/CTV poll by the Strategic Counsel. The poll shows that 32 per cent of Canadians say Mr. Ignatieff is the "preferred Liberal winner," compared to 22 per cent for Mr. Rae and 9 per cent for New Brunswick MP Dominic LeBlanc; 37 per cent of respondents don't know.

And while Mr. Ignatieff is to travel to New Brunswick today, Mr. Rae and his team are preparing to attend rallies across the country in support of a coalition government. He is also going to take to the airwaves.

"He's going to campaign for this thing because the Conservatives are going to unleash a full-style campaign against the coalition," the Rae strategist said. "And Rae is going to war on that ... Rae is planting his flag and he's planting it from coast to coast."

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20081205.PARLLIBERALS05/TPStory/National

Haldimand "Stephane Dion May Appoint Elizabeth May to Senate for Her Party's Support"

Elizabeth May discusses Senate seat with Dion
BILL CURRY
December 3, 2008

OTTAWA -- The number of political parties playing a role in the proposed coalition government could climb to four, as Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion left open the possibility of appointing Green Party Leader Elizabeth May to the Senate.

In announcing her party's support for the coalition proposal, Ms. May told reporters she had discussed a Senate appointment with Mr. Dion and said she expected her party would play a role in the coalition.

"We wouldn't have a veto. We would have influence," Ms. May said.

The Liberal Leader did not refute Ms. May's comments.

"I have made no commitments to anyone about appointments for Senate or for ministry portfolios. And before [doing] so, I will consult [NDP Leader Jack] Layton. This being said, I have a great regard for Mme. May," said Mr. Dion, when asked about the Green Leader's remarks.

The Green Party failed to elect a single MP in the Oct. 14 election, but Ms. May said her party's support adds legitimacy to the coalition because nearly one million Canadians voted Green.

Ms. May's party launched a website aimed at encouraging the public to endorse the coalition.

The site at http://www.defendourdemocracy.ca/ urges visitors to sign a petition.

"We need to make it clear that the majority of Canadians want the coalition government," Ms. May said.

She told reporters she has had discussions with Mr. Dion, Mr. Layton and Bloc Québécois Leader Gilles Duceppe about possible roles for the Green Party.

Both Mr. Duceppe and Mr. Layton said there have been no decisions regarding Senate appointments.

"I told Mr. Dion, 'Don't offer me any because I'll refuse,' " Mr. Duceppe said, ruling out appointments for Bloc supporters. "I mean, we are not discussing that at all. I don't believe in senators."

Mr. Dion was heavily criticized by the Conservatives during the last campaign for making a deal with Ms. May not to run candidates against each other. The deal was the main reason why Conservative Leader Stephen Harper strongly opposed Ms. May's participation in the leaders debates during the campaign.

While Ms. May stressed that her exact role with the coalition remains hypothetical, she confirmed that she has spoken with Mr. Dion about the possibility of her being appointed to the Senate.

"I'd be the only senator, in the Senate, that received a million votes," she said, lumping together the 940,297 votes for Green candidates across the country. Ms. May ran as a candidate in the Nova Scotia riding of Central Nova in the election, where she finished second to incumbent Conservative Peter MacKay.

Appointing Ms. May to the Senate would signal a clear departure in policy from the current Harper government. The Conservatives have been highly critical of the unelected nature of the Senate. They have proposed legislation aimed at imposing term limits and provincial elections that would produce Senate nominees for the prime minister to choose from.

In its first term, the Harper government appointed Michael Fortier to represent Montreal in cabinet. It also appointed Bert Brown from Alberta, who had been elected in a provincial referendum. The Conservatives have made no other Senate appointments, and Mr. Fortier resigned his seat for an unsuccessful bid for election to the House of Commons. As a result, there are 18 vacancies in the 105-seat Senate.

Conservatives said yesterday that Ms. May's comments show the Liberals are making backroom deals and are already fighting over the spoils of power.

"This is just like [what] Brian Mulroney used to say about the Liberal party: After they rob the bank, they all meet up to divvy up the cash," said Conservative Transport Minister John Baird.

During her news conference, Ms. May said the Greens will continue to support the coalition even if the party has no formal role.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20081203.GREENS03/TPStory/National

Haldimand "Rally for Canada"

This online petition already had over 50,000 signatures on it last night when I signed it. (I was 50,856) I checked this morning and the petition now has 78,275 signatures. I have never seen a petition on line grow so fast!

"Our Right to Vote on the Coalition Government"
http://www.petitiononline.com/CANADIAN/petition.html

'Rally for Canada' in works
Anti-coalition protests planned coast to coast while pro-coalition groups power up online
By DON PEAT, SUN MEDIA
Last Updated: 3rd December 2008, 4:31am

They were already rallying in Peterborough and online yesterday but come Saturday thousands are expected to turn out for a "Rally for Canada" in cities coast to coast.

A website, rallyforcanada.ca , is urging Canadians to protest the Liberal-NDP-Bloc Quebecois coalition pact to topple Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

The site urges people to turn out Saturday on Parliament Hill, Queen's Park, Halifax, Montreal, Kitchener, London, Winnipeg, Saskatoon, Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver.

Matthias O'Brien, 19, one of the organizers, said the protests are part of an effort to save Canada's democracy.

"This is a very bad move on the Opposition part and it lowers our entire country's (democratic) standard," O'Brien said from Hamilton.

He's expecting 10,000 protesters on Parliament Hill, thousands in Toronto and hundreds in other cities.

"I'm hoping that this is going to be a really big rally," O'Brien said. "If we do get a large turnout ... we hope this will tell MPs how displeased (people) are."

In Peterborough, Conservative MP Dean Del Mastro wasn't waiting for the weekend. He called a noon-hour "Rally for Canada" yesterday outside Peterborough's city hall. It brought out about 150 anti-coalition protesters and a pro-coalition rally of about 35.

"We will be holding a rally to stand up for Canada and show the political parties our disgust about this possible coalition government and to show support for Canada, which does not include the Bloc," Del Mastro's press release said. "Stand up to the separatists and support Canada's democratically-elected government."

Not everyone weighing in online and on the streets was against the coalition.

Two websites -- makeparliamentwork.ca and defendourdemocracy.ca - urge support for the Opposition.

Make Parliament Work called for cross-country rallies tomorrow and a rally at Toronto City Hall on Saturday.

Defend Our Democracy urged coalition supporters to get friends involved, contact MPs and the media.

A Facebook group "Stephen Harper's Last Day as Prime Minister" was gaining steam, with almost 8,000 members by yesterday afternoon. It calls for Canadians to take part in a "goodbye party" for the PM on Monday, Dec. 8 -- the date set for the vote which could topple the government.

The party has a dress code: "Sweater vests for all."

http://www.torontosun.com/news/canada/2008/12/03/7614271-sun.html

Haldimand "Hostile Takeover of the Canadian Government"

If you have been following the news the last couple of days, it has been "45" days since the election and the opposition leaders have a plan in place for a "hostile takeover" of the Canadian Government! The markets "plunged" yesterday after the news of this was made public. Job well done on the part of these very wise individuals, your news certainly helped out the economy of Canada! I can't wait to see what is going to happen if this "hostile takeover" actually comes in to play!

Of course they are not calling it a "hostile takeover", they are calling it a "Coalition Government". The reasoning behind this is best said by NDP leader Jack Layton; the house has no confidence in the Conservative government. I would like to state for the record that "I" have no confidence in their plan for a "hostile takeover" of our Government!

In November (just last month) approx. 60% of Canadians went to the polls. The result of this was the Conservatives won "143" seat, Liberals "77" seats, NDP "37" seats and the Bloc "49" seats. During one of the debates the leaders of the opposition parties "promised" the Canadian Public that they would make this government work if a minority government was voted in again by Canadians.

Well that "Promise" was broken in "45" days! In my opinion we have a bunch of adolescents that are taking tantrums in the house! This is their way of working together for the betterment of the Canadian people?

A majority government is "155" seats, the Conservatives came in "12" seats short of a majority government. The liberals under the leadership of Dion went from "95" seats to "77" seats, the worst election results in Liberal history. To boot during the election many liberals had no confidence in Dion, and the result of this is a new leader of the Liberal party will be chosen come I believe May of 2009 . So if this "hostile takeover" comes to light we will be calling Dion "Prime Minister", or rather the "interim" "Prime Minister Dion".

Now the way I see it is this has come about because the opposition leaders don't believe that Harper is doing enough to help out the economy in today's tough times. So what will this "hostile government" do if they go forth with their plan? First they will bail out the big car companies! Billions of our tax dollars will be given to these companies because their sales are down. How will this help? Will people go out and buy all those new cars? Or is there a possibility that these car companies will still go tits up in six months from now!

Maybe the new "hostile government" will open up a new department and have a new Minister? Well let's call it "The Ministry of Business Bailouts". This new department will give money to "every" Canadian Business that is in trouble, no questions asked. Oh I forgot to mention this will create new jobs! All on the backs of the rest of us trying to make it from paycheck to paycheck!

I am disgusted with this plan for a few reasons, the main reason is we went to the polls and we had our say, and now their is a takeover within the government that we did not vote on! Another reason is that with the Liberals and the NDP together this only amounts to "114" seats, so in order to make this a majority "Hostile Government" the Bloc is throwing in their "49" seats! This will make it a majority. The Bloc, my god what is going on? Part of the plan is that the Liberals will have "18" new Ministers and the NDP will have "6" new Ministers! So there will be some "ousting" going on in the house, where and who one can only guess.

I am not saying that we are not in an economic crisis here in Canada. I personally know a few people that have been laid off in the last couple of weeks. And I certainly don't have the answer to this crisis, but is this the best that the Liberals and the NDP could come up with? If anything they will accomplish only one thing.....Driving our Country into the Ground....

This could be the biggest "Green Shaft" in Canadian history. I could go on but I am really pissed! At least I can vent, I feel a bit better! How about You?

The following is a bit of background from Wikipedia on "Coalition Governments", and a good news story from the Toronto Star.

A coalition government, or coalition cabinet, is a cabinet of a parliamentary government in which several parties cooperate. The usual reason given for this arrangement is that no party on its own can achieve a majority in the parliament. A coalition government might also be created in a time of national difficulty or crisis, for example during wartime, to give a government the high degree of perceived political legitimacy it desires whilst also playing a role in diminishing internal political strife. In such times, parties have formed all-party coalitions (national unity governments, grand coalitions). If a coalition collapses a confidence vote is held or a motion of no confidence is taken.


In practice
To deal with a situation in which no clear majorities appear through general elections, parties either form coalition cabinets, supported by a parliamentary majority, or minority cabinets which may consist of one or more parties. Cabinets based on a coalition with majority in a parliament, ideally, are more stable and long-lived than minority cabinets. While the former are prone to internal struggles, they have less reason to fear votes of non-confidence. Majority governments based on a single party are typically even more stable, as long as their majority can be maintained.

Coalition cabinets are common in countries in which a parliament is proportionally representative, with several organized political parties represented. It usually does not appear in countries in which the cabinet is chosen by the executive rather than by a lower house, such as in the United States (however, coalition cabinets are common in Brazil). In semi-presidential systems such as France, where the president formally appoints a prime minister but the government itself must still maintain the confidence of parliament, coalition governments occur quite regularly.


Dec 02, 2008 04:30 AM
Richard J. Brennan Ottawa Bureau

OTTAWA–Immediate action to help the auto industry, increased spending on urban reconstruction and other measures to boost the economy and aid the jobless are being promised by the three-party coalition bidding to replace the Conservative government.

"Times are tough. This agreement is all about the economy. It's why we are together, to fight this economic crisis," said Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion after a historic accord involving his party, the New Democrats and the Bloc Québécois.

The deal signed by Dion, the NDP's Jack Layton and the Bloc's Gilles Duceppe was born last week out of their angry reaction to the lack of a major economic stimulus package in Finance Minister Jim Flaherty's fall policy statement.

In a press conference, the three coalition leaders said their timetable for action will depend on when they might form a government. But they vowed to move as quickly as possible to pump billions of dollars into the economy to counteract the recession, jump-start manufacturing, spark housing construction and support workers.

The federal purse is already headed for a deficit under the Harper government, the coalition agreement says, but "this new reality does not reduce the necessity to stimulate the economy." Without giving specifics, the coalition members said they'd run deficits for up to four years to spur growth.

Planned corporate tax cuts would go ahead, the leaders said. To guide the coalition's economic policy, the Liberals would like to create an advisory panel made up of such figures as former prime minister Paul Martin and one-time New Brunswick premier Frank McKenna.

Dion said coalition members "have a commitment to act promptly" to provide the auto sector with financial assistance.

The Big Three Canadian auto makers are asking collectively for between $3 billion and $4 billion to help stave off collapse.

At Queen's Park yesterday, opposition leaders expressed concern the jockeying for power in Ottawa would stall aid for the auto sector.

Late last night, Ontario's Economic Development Minister Michael Bryant and federal Industry Minister Tony Clement announced they had appointed former Molson chief executive Jim Arnett as a special advisor on the auto industry.

http://www.thestar.com/News/Canada/article/546894