Haldimand "Warning, Reading this may Cause fits of Dizziness and Nausea"

A friend of mine read an interesting article to me over the phone in regards to the deal that was struck between GM and the Autoworkers Union. You can decide for yourself after reading this if in fact this deal is good enough for our government to give them money! In my opinion it is not!

The article is written by Greg Weston, Opinion Columnist for the London Free Press;


Deal by GM, union fails to impress
By GREG WESTON

Judging by all the breathless media coverage of the "historic" deal between General Motors and its Canadian union, one would think the autoworkers agreed to sacrifice their left lugnut for company and country.

Alas, objects in this mirror are much smaller than they appear.

The federal and Ontario governments have been demanding the unions take a tire-iron to their gold-plated employment contracts before GM gets a dime from taxpayers.

With upwards of $7 billion in government loans on the table, GM and its workers have oh-so- reluctantly agreed to a deal, which union president Ken Lewenza describes as "a major sacrifice by our members and retirees."

Here are some of those heart-wrenching sacrifices, with a warning that what follows may cause ordinary hard-working taxpayers to experience fits of dizziness and nausea.

* The deal freezes base wages until mid-2012.

In fact, it changes almost nothing -- last year, the union agreed to a pay freeze until mid-2011.

* Quarterly cost-of-living increases are suspended until 2012.

Those pay hikes had already been suspended until mid-2010, and with inflation near zero, the increases wouldn't have amounted to much anyway.

* Ditto for annual cost-of-living increases to pensions until 2012.

Increased pensions had already been nixed for a year, and with low or no inflation, GM pensioners will barely notice them missing for another three years.

It is worth noting that unionized GM employees do not contribute a dime to their pensions during their working lives.

We would also note that at a time when the car companies are asking for billions, the GM pension fund is short, um, billions.

* Spa time is reduced by 40 hours per year.

Before your head explodes, "spa" stands for "special paid absence," an extra week of paid time off that all GM unionized workers get in addition to their annual vacations.

A union exec explains spa weeks were originally negotiated in part to force GM to hire more workers to replace the ones on spa weeks.

This also helps to explain why the company is now broke.

* "An annual $1,700 special bonus payment is being diverted to help offset the cost of retiree health care benefits."

Translation: Unionized autoworkers are giving up their $1,700 Christmas bonuses so their retired brethren will each get an extra roughly $250 a year to cover new health premiums (see below).

The net benefit to GM -- and taxpayers -- is precisely zero.

* GM is cutting its contribution to a whole range of employee perks by a third.

Those include subsidized daycare and even legal services for union workers buying a house or getting divorced.

* Finally, unionized auto workers will have to pay a staggering $30 a month each for their health and other benefits; retirees $15.

Truth is, all those years of huddling around the flaming oil drums on the picket lines have left the auto workers with the sweetheart of all benefit packages covering health, dental, disability and even tuition.

Until now, the employee contribution to the premiums has been exactly zip.

Add it all up, and the "major sacrifices" being made by the autoworkers for billions of taxpayers' dollars are as follows:

Their pay and pensions stay the same. They lose a spa week, and give their Christmas bonus to the oldtimers. They have to pay a bit more for daycare and a divorce, and $30 a month for a benefits package to strike for.

Hold the hankies.

http://lfpress.ca/newsstand/News/Columnists/Weston_Greg/2009/03/10/8688506-sun.html

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