BC Liberals Criminalize Homelessness

BC's Gordon Campbell Liberals passed two controversial bills this legislative session, both unfairly, unreasonably and probably unconstitutionally targeting homeless and other marginalized people.

And both just in time for the Olympics...but that has nothing to do with it (wink, wink).

The first bill is the Assistance to Shelter Act.

Under this bill, the minister can issue an "extreme weather alert" which gives cops the power to force people into shelters against their will.

The police are allowed to use "reasonable force" to get homeless people off the streets. The Housing and Social Development Minister Rich Coleman has said that he's asked police to "use very little force."

My favorite part of this is that the target of this legislation are 'people at risk.' The determination of whether someone is 'at risk' or not is entirely up to the police. Take heed Olympic protesters.

The second Orwellian masterpiece from the Campbell Liberal brain trust is the Housing and Social Development Statues Amendment Act.

Under this law, people with outstanding warrants could be denied income assistance.

Sounds reasonable, right?

Well, the law was supposed to target people with warrants for major offences, like assault and robbery. However, as passed, the bill allows the government to deny income assistance to people with warrants on all indictable offenses.

That means a person with a warrant for a shoplifting offense could be denied welfare.

Earlier this year, the Vancouver Police conducted a major ticketing sweep and issued hundreds of tickets for panhandling, loitering and jaywalking in the city's Downtown Eastside. Most, if not all, of those who got tickets will not be able to pay them. That means there will be a warrant out for their arrest. That could mean no welfare cheques.

Just for clarification, THIS HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THE OLYMPICS. Nothing whatsoever.

Just forget all of that pesky evidence from previous Olympics that poor and marginalized folks are negatively impacted by the games.

Worst Idea Ever

Just when you thought Conservatives couldn't get any more partisan...

Globe and Mail: MP defends plan to give water bottles with Tory logo to Kids

No word if the bottles were like the one pictured, which costs $11.95 from the "Conservative Store" online.

Tories, New Democrats test Tactics in BC By-election

The federal by-election tactics of the Conservatives and the New Democrats will likely be the same as the next general election, rumoured to be in the Spring after the Olympics:

The Conservatives - "The Curious Case of the Missing Tory"

The New Democrats - "NDP's Fin Donnelly focuses on HST in New West-Coquitlam"

Update: "Layton and Donnelly Woo the HST Haters"

The Conservatives "tactic" of avoiding media interviews and/or all-candidates meetings is not new. Last federal election they eschewed anything but strictly controlled media events where candidates played the role of a potted plant.

The New Democrats will be looking to capitalize on the anger against the HST in Ontario and BC. Since the federal Conservatives will have to enact the HST through the budget, or some other 'money' bill, look for this to be a major wedge issue in the next federal election.

We have a "Winner!"

Despite wide-spread and systematic irregularities in the last round of elections, Hamid Karzai has been declared the "winner" of the run-off election by Afghanistan's Independent Election Commission.

Earlier in this saga, Prime Minister Harper declared, "Canada has consistently stated that all parties must respect the Afghan electoral process and the Afghan constitution."

Well, the Afghan constitution isn't built to handle a run-off election with only one candidate:

Article 61 [Direct Election]

(1) The President is elected by receiving more than 50% of the votes cast through free, general, secret, and direct voting. [Karzai got 49.67% votes + or - a few thousand 'irregular' votes]

[and...]

(4) If none of the candidates succeeds to receive more than 50% of the votes in the first round, a run-off election shall be held within two weeks.
(5) In this round, only two candidates with the highest number of votes will participate.
(6) In the run-off, the candidate who gets the majority of the votes shall be elected as the President.

So, where does this leave the West?

The Obama administration has declared support for Karzai. Will the other coalition members fall in line and support Karzai?

Former challenger Abdullah Abdullah has said that he'll continue to work to improve the lives of Afghans.

Lofty goal, to be sure, but are our troops going to be in a position of enforcing Karzai's questionable rule while his rival continues to try to build support in the lead-up to next year's parliamentary elections.

I hope not.

Indeed, we have a winner. It ain't the West. It ain't Afghans. Only Hamid Karzai wins this one.

Send Ted Morton to the Senate

You gotta hand it to the Progressive Conservatives - they really know how to waste taxpayers' money.

A few days ago, the Hon. Len "Toady" Webber introduced Bill 55 - the Senatorial Selection Amendment Act, 2009.

Pretty simple bill, really. It just amends previous legislation so that Albertans can vote for a "senator-in-waiting," and that person will dutifully wait their turn to "be chosen from among persons whose names have been submitted by the government of the province to which the vacancy relates."

In other words, this isn't a real election. The person with the most votes might get appointed to the Senate by Prime Minister Harper. Bert Brown, has be granted this honour.

The last Senate race cost taxpayers about $3 million dollars for 714,709 ballots cast, or $4.20 per ballot.

Premier Ed Stelmach should save taxpayers' money and ask, no, get down on bended-knee and beg Prime Minister Harper to appoint one of Alberta's legions of "senators-in-waiting."

He's got quite a list to choose from: Betty Unger, Link Byfield, Cliff Brietkreuz...a veritable smorgasbord of old Tory warhorses too old to take to the battlefield, but too young to be put out to pasture.

We here at the Alberta Report would think its hight-time Ted "Master Blaster" Morton was called up to Canada's Upper Chamber.

Not only would this save money, it also might save some of Alberta's few remaining grizzly bears.

Also, Stelmach could get rid of a potential rival for the Tory helm.

It all adds up. Save money, save wildlife, save Ed's skin...send Ted Morton to the Senate.

Alberta Liberals admit, then prove, irrelevance

News item #1 - Alberta Liberal strategist admits party is "irrelevant."

News item #2 - Alberta Liberals prove irrelevance by launching on-line attack ads against party with one (1) seat in the House.

'Nuff said.

Peter MacKay admits Incompetence

"Rick Hillier, when he was Chief of the Defence Staff, says he kept his political masters fully informed about the harsh conditions of detainees in Afghan prisons, even though Prime Minister Stephen Harper and cabinet ministers claim they were told nothing," reports the Globe and Mail today.

Mr. Hillier wrote about this in his new book, "A Soldier First: Bullets, Bureaucrats and the Politics of War."

Former Chief of Defence Staff Rick Hillier knew about the possible abuse and torture of Afghan detainees because he received, and read, reports from former diplomat Richard Colvin, according to MacLean's.

Hillier dutifully passed these reports on to Defence Minister Peter MacKay.

Defence Minister Peter MacKay, in the Globe and Mail article, says: "There are hundreds if not thousands of documents, reports, memos, advice that come through all departments. The fact that one report or a series of reports weren't read by a minister or a deputy minister shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone."

There you have it: the Defence Minister doesn't have the time, the patience or ability to read "one report or a series of reports" that Afghan detainees turned over to local authorities risked being tortured.

What else has the Defence Minister missed on the Afghanistan file? Are there other reports from military commanders in Afghanistan that are gathering dust on the Minister's desk?

Peter MacKay should resign as Defence Minister for such profound incompetence.

Afghan Detainees could be Federal Election Issue

Golly, I hope Chris Alexander, Canada's former ambassador to Afghanistan, gets nominated for the federal Conservatives in Ajax-Pickering.

If he does, maybe some light will be shed on what the Harper government knew, and when they knew it, on the possible torture and abuse of Afghan detainees.

Mr. Alexander was in Afghanistan in May 2006 when Richard Colvin, another Canadian diplomat, warned the Conservative government that there “serious, imminent and alarming” problems with the surrender of Afghan detainees to Afghan officials and jailers.

The Conservative government denied (and continues to deny) knowledge of torture or abuse of Afghan detainees handed over by Canadian troops to Afghan officials.

Hon. Helena Geurgis, Rahim Jaffer's better half, affirmed that the Harper government knew nothing about these allegations on May 1, 2007:

"Mr. Speaker, if the hon. member has specific evidence for these allegations we would be happy to receive it. I do not know why he would continue to hold onto it if he had something that our brave Canadian men and women and the Afghan police have no evidence of whatsoever, with no specific evidence to support any of these allegations."

So either the Harper government or former diplomat Chris Alexander are incompetent, or they don't care. Or both.

If Mr. Alexander wins the Conservative nomination, he'll be forced to either tow the party line and side with Harper's version that they knew nothing, or he'll defend the word of one of his diplomatic colleagues.