olyoffcourse:

The Lonely Lefty: Canadians can’t seem to get ahead, banks doing just fine thanks.

thelonelylefty:

The struggling Bank of Montreal, the poorest of Canada’ big banks, reported profits of $970 million last quarter. This amid growing national debate about companies sitting on record piles of cash while most Canadians struggle to stay afloat.

Bank of Montreal’s profits were due in some part to the fact they bought a Wisconsin finance company for $4.1 billion.

Scotiabank, Canada’s third largest lender cleared record profits of $2.05 billion over the last three months after selling their Toronto headquarters.  The skylines of most Canadian cities are overwhelmed by such monuments to monetary madness and government largesse.

The other big banks are expected to report similar profits August 30, one week after the governor of the Bank of Canada urged corporate Canada to boost economic growth by spending their piles of “dead” money.  Studies show that corporations are sitting on $526 billion in cash.  Last week was not the first time Carney has called on companies to step up and fill the void that will be left as debt-laden households and governments rein in spending to pay down their loans.

Canadian banks continue to suggest they are doing better than their European and American counterparts because they are smarter, ignoring the $114 billion that their friends in Ottawa bailed them out with and years of bank friendly legislation that supports them on the backs of ordinary Canadians.

Fuck everything about this

pewpewlasernipplez:

filzahforpm replied to your link: Liberal Party in One Riding Charged with Robocall….

I don’t understand how an MP is charged for calls made in one riding INFORMING voters of the opponents stance on abortion when the tories made MISLEADING robocalls in DOZENS of ridings and get away with it? What is wrong with this country?

^This

On Monday, the prime minister attended a barbecue just outside Whitehorse in the Yukon. He was introduced by Ryan Leef, the local Conservative backbench MP, when the obviously nervous politician referred to his boss as “the prime minister of cannibal.”

Harper laughed it off and was quoted by CBC as saying, “You confirmed some rumours about me.” A mere two days later, it happened again. As Yahoo News reports, Harper was in the Northwest Territories with Environment Minister Peter Kent where an announcement about a new national park was made. Kent, who was a veteran national broadcaster before entering politics, also referred to the PM as “the prime minister of cannibal.” The minister quickly corrected himself. Kent blames his gaffe on the fact he had just been told about Leef’s reference to cannibalism on Monday and was thinking about it when introducing Harper. Once again, Harper was quick with a comeback. He is quoted by CBCas saying, “So I see my reputation precedes me.” It was never made clear exactly what was being cooked at Monday’s barbecue.

Read more: http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/331451#ixzz24avsckjy

The Conservative government has quietly given Canada’s national police force and the federal border agency the authority to use and share information that was likely extracted through torture.

Newly-disclosed records show Public Safety Minister Vic Toews issued the directives to the RCMP and the Canada Border Services Agency shortly after giving similar orders to Canada’s spy service.

The government directives state that protection of life and property are the chief considerations when deciding on the use of information that may have been derived from torture.

They also outline instructions for deciding whether to share information when there is a “substantial risk” that doing so might result in someone in custody being abused.

As key members of Canada’s security apparatus, both the RCMP and the border services agency have frequent and extensive dealings with foreign counterparts.

The directives are almost identical to one Mr. Toews sent last summer to the Canadian Security Intelligence Service — instructions that were roundly criticized by human rights advocates and opposition MPs.

Not that criticism has ever stopped Vic! He’s the guy who said that either you’re with the child pornographers, or you’re with the totalitarian regime I run a spy agency for. Now he’s telling us either you’re for the regime that is passive in the torture of other human beings, or you’re a terrorist and deserve to be tortured yourself. Great job Vic, you’re touting that party line so fast and so far, with any luck it will become taught and snap, taking your silly looking head off while it whips through the annals of one of the most shameful times in Canadian history.

mashkwi:

To all my American followers: please don’t let him. 

The Tar Sands are like a growing tumor on Planet Earth and the Keystone XL Pipeline will do nothing but make this tumor grow exponentially. 

Big oil is big problems….

August 23rd - BREAKING NEWS - The Harper Government has awarded AECL, a Crown Corporation until it was sold to SNC-Lavalin last year, with the first federal license issued in 30 years to build new Nuclear Reactors. This of course is despite the fact that the RCMP are currently investigating SNC-Lavalin for unexplained payments in connection to Muammar Gaddafi in Libya, among various other charges nationally and internationally of fraud, bribery, and corrupting public officials.

Did I mention Senator Hugh Segal, one of the former board members, is both linked to Gaddafi and credited with helping Harper become Prime Minister? Oh, and Gwyn Morgan from the Board of Directors was appointed to chair a new public appointment commission in 2006 by his close friend Stephen Harper, greeted by objections from opposition MP’s due to statements blaming refugees for crime in Canada. Oh, one more thing as this is already a large post, Chair of the Canadian Public Accountibility Board, and also a director of the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, the Canadian Oil Sands trust, etc. also sits on the SNC Lavalin board. Connect the dots people.

“The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) has formally issued a site-preparation licence allowing pre-construction activities for up to four proposed nuclear reactors on land adjacent to Ontario Power Generation’s (OPG) existing four-reactor Darlington nuclear generation station, near Bowmanville, east of Toronto.

The federal permit is the first of three required to build and operate a new nuclear reactor. It covers work at Darlington such as land clearing, excavating and grading and the installation of services and utilities to service two proposed reactors.”

http://www.ottawacitizen.com/technology/Federal+government+grants+licence+nuclear+reactors+first+time+years/7129945/story.html

References:

SNC-Lavalin’s Montreal offices raided by RCMP
http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/story/2012/04/13/snc-lavalin-montreal-raid.html

Former SNC-Lavalin exec arrested in Switzerland
Riadh Ben Aissa held over fraud, money-laundering allegations stemming from dealings in North Africa
http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/story/2012/04/29/snc-lavalin-swiss-probe-ben-aissa.html

Former SNC-Lavalin exec accused of funneling cash to Gadhafis
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2012/05/01/snc-lavalin-executive-gadhafi-email.html

The World Bank has cancelled a $1.2 billion loan for construction of a bridge in Bangladesh, saying it has credible evidence of corruption involving a Canadian engineering company.

The global lending agency said it did not receive a satisfactory response from the Bangladesh government after it raised the issue of corruption last year.

It said in a statement Friday that it has evidence pointing to “a high-level corruption conspiracy” among Bangladesh government officials, executives of Canadian engineering and construction giant SNC-Lavalin, and private individuals in connection with the planned 6.5-kilometre (4-mile) Padma Multipurpose Bridge Project.
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/business/world-bank-cancels-12-billion-loan-for-bangladesh-bridge-over-corruption-allegations-160938475.html

Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd sold for a mere $15M to SNC-Lavalin - “AECL has been a headache for successive federal governments and has cost Canadian taxpayers about $1.2 billion over the past several years in subsidies.” http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/story/2011/06/29/aecl-sale.html

Stephen Harper’s Conservative government has agreed to sell the reactor division of its billion-dollar crown corporation, Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd., to the private firm SNC-Lavalin Inc.

But taxpayers aren’t guaranteed any money from this sale. In fact, when the back and forth is totalled (Lavalin gives Ottawa $15 million; Ottawa gives Lavalin $75 million), we end up paying $60 million for the privilege of no longer owning that chunk of AECL.

Lavalin gets the lion’s share of the nuclear technology company’s $1.1 billion worth of assets — including land, buildings and tools.

The public, on the other hand, is stuck with all of all of AECL’s $4.5 billion worth of liabilities. http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/politics/article/1018123—walkom-aecl-saga-shows-conservatives-have-no-business-being-in-government

_____________________________

SNC LavalinCanada’s Halliburton: Building jails in Libya, ties with Gaddafi, corruption, contracts and an ex Harper adviser turned senator.

SNC-Lavalin ties to Saadi Gadhafi

Accused Gadhafi Plotter Met With SNC-Lavalin Exec
http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2012/02/03/snc-lavalin-gaddafi-cyndy-vanier_n_1252563.html?ref=canada

One of the people accused in an alleged plot to smuggle members of Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi’s family to Mexico was with an SNC-Lavalin executive when police took her into custody, CBC News has learned.

SNC-Lavalin has spent more than a decade in Libya constructing water projects, a prison and an airport in deals worth billions of dollars. The company acknowledges it has had close business dealings with Saadi Gadhafi, the son of the former dictator, and has in the past paid for many of his bills, including hotels, security and transportation when he travelled to Canada in 2008.

Hugh Segal an ex Harper adviser, now a senator, was on the board of directors for SNC Lavalin just months ago. His name has been removed from the site.
source: http://www.snclavalin.com/about_board.php?lang=en

Confirmed: “The anonymous email was sent to SNC-Lavalin’s executives, as well as to board members including chair Gwyn Morgan, Hugh Segal.”
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2012/05/01/snc-lavalin-executive-gadhafi-email.html

Hugh Segal is credited with helping Stephen Harper become Prime Minister by moderating his image.
source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugh_Segal

Hugh Segal, appointed by the Liberals to the Senate in 2005, is a highly regarded Conservative thinker with long ties to the party. He was chief of staff to prime minister Brian Mulroney and has acted as an adviser to Prime Minister Stephen Harper.
source: : http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/Canada/20070221/hugh_segal_070221/#ixzz1lLKVRmso

Hugh Segal: Canada should push for a North American union In the last of three excerpts from a new book, Senator Hugh Segal says that Canada’s future lies in closer co-operation, even perhaps union with, Mexico and the United States.http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/2011/02/18/hugh-segal-canada-should-push-for-a-north-american-union/

Hugh Segal, Senator - Harper Con
source: http://www.parl.gc.ca/SenatorsMembers/Senate/SenatorsBiography/isenator_det.asp?Language=E&M=M&senator_id=2786&sortord=N

Harper’s Toronto G20 summit fence costs $9.4M, nearly double original estimate SNC Lavalin Inc, the engineering and construction group which supplied the fence, had originally valued the contract at $5.4 million, said Public Works spokeswoman Natalie Pennefather. source: http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/torontog20summit/article/833495—g20-fence-costs-9-4m-nearly-double-original-estimate

Robocall complaints rise to 1,394 ‘specific occurences’

The number of complaints about fraudulent or misleading telephone calls in last year’s federal election has almost doubled, according to court documents filed by the Commissioner of Canada Elections.

By mid-August, Elections Canada had received 1,394 complaints “alleging specific occurrences” in 234 of Canada’s 308 federal ridings, the lawyer for the elections watchdog says.

That’s up from the more than 700 specific complaints that the commissioner’s office publicly reported in March to clear the air after an online campaign attracted 30,000-plus expressions of concern by Canadians.

But the elections commissioner, in his latest court offering, declined to respond to a number of other disclosure requests by advocacy group the Council of Canadians.

Read the rest at CBC

nekonezume:

A Call To Arms: AVRIL LAVIGNE IS ENGAGED TO CHAD KROEGER. THIS IS NOT A TEST. THIS IS A REAL EMERGENCY. PACK YOUR SURVIVAL KITS AND HIDE…

spectralradiance:

And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see.

And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer.

And…

I think this is a sign: I have to move away from Canada.

mashkwi:

CJPME is delighted to announce that the United Church of Canada (UCC) voted earlier today to boycott products from Israel’s illegal colonies (a.k.a. “settlements.”) CJPME was present at the Church Convention, and had been speaking with (and distributing information) to church delegates attending the convention since Saturday. This vote, and related church resolutions represent a significant and exciting step forward for the boycott movement in Canada.

The vote today solidified broad support within the church for Palestinian human rights. CJPME representatives found church convention delegates to be highly informed on the issue of Israel-Palestine. Many of the church delegates had been to Israel-Palestine, and had observed first-hand the human rights abuses against Palestinians. The UCC resolution echoes similar motions passed by Presbyterian and Methodist churches in recent months in the United States.

The resolution, however, was not without its powerful opponents. The pro-Israel lobby was also active at the church convention, as evidenced by the presence of the “Centre for Israel and Jewish Advoacy” (CIJA), and “Faithful Witness,” a Christian Zionist organization.

The United Church of Canada (UCC) has been considering some type of economic action in support of Palestinian human rights for several years. CJPME supported this direction within the church as actively as it could, both formally and informally. For example, in 2011, CJPME leaders met with the UCC Working Group on Israel-Palestine and challenged the church to act on its deep knowledge of the human rights abuses suffered by the Palestinians.

CJPME and the other Solidarity organizations active on the UCC file have much to celebrate through this vote. CJPME members and supporters have much to be proud of. May the momentum from this vote carry on to other boycott issues, organizations and companies in the coming months and years in Canada.

Sincerely,

Thomas Woodley

President, CJPME

CJPME Email - CJPME website    

#fuck yea boycott israel