Rick Mercer tells it like it is: Tories spend $620M to tell you how good they are. *Barf*

"The final circle [of Hell] is basically sitting in a room watching Canada Action Plan ads over and over again on a loop."

Yeah, Rick Mercer really does not like the new ad campaign from Canada's Conservative government. His latest rant targets commercials promoting the government's new slate of tax cuts, the largest of which will send cheques to Canadian parents on the eve of the next federal election.

The measures have not yet been approved by Parliament, but the government is airing the the ads now -- at taxpayers' expense.

Mercer also takes issue with another recent ad promoting government services for veterans. The CBC host has been a regular critic of Conservative policy, attacking the government for failing to show respect to veterans who criticize measures such as closing support offices. He has also spoken out on allegations that injured soldiers were booted from the Canadians Forces before becoming eligible for benefits.

The NDP has said it will lodge a complaint with Advertising Standards Canada (ASC) about the ads for the tax plan. Last year the ASC ruled that government ads for the Canada Jobs Grant , which had also not been approved by Parliament (or the provinces), were inaccurate and unclear. Both ad campaigns include a small print text disclaimer at the end of the ads which reads "subject to parliamentary approval."

Stephen Harper's government has deployed ads under the Action Plan banner on a wide number of subjects since the campaign debuted in the wake of the financial crisis. While Mercer says the Tories are not the only government, past or present, to use such ads, he says they have "turned it into a fine art."

"They have spent over 620 million tax dollars on such advertising since they’ve been elected. Partisan advertising has become like doping in sports. Those who do it, defend it. But we all know it’s designed to give one party an unfair edge. And we all know it’s cheating."

 Source: The Huffington Post.

15% reduction in auto insurance premiums? Not. It's all in the bold print.

Kathleen Wynne has gone to battle in the board rooms of the auto insurance industry, and has snatched defeat from the jaws of victory. In fact, while she was fighting for our cause with tea and crumpets, she gave the ‘enemy’ several lucrative gifts for good measure. So, please, ‘Blunder Woman,’ don’t do us any more ‘favours.’

The Ontario legislature has passed a bill aimed at reducing car insurance premiums an average of 15 per cent by next August.

The government says the bill will help tackle fraud to lower costs for insurance companies, which "is expected to help lower insurance rates for Ontario drivers."

The bill, which was supported by the Progressive Conservatives but opposed by the New Democrats, is also supposed to help those injured in collisions settle disputed claims faster.

The NDP forced the then-minority Liberal government to agree to legislate a 15 per cent cut in car insurance rates in exchange for allowing the 2013 budget to pass.

The government promised to bring the rates down an average of eight per cent in the first year, but admitted last month that so far they have seen only a six per cent decrease.

New Democrat Jagmeet Singh says insurance companies saved $2 billion a year when the Liberals changed regulations in 2010 to cut the cap on payouts for routine accident claims in half, but never passed the savings on to drivers.

The bill calls for more oversight of the billing practices of health clinics that treat accident victims, and allows only licensed service providers to be paid directly by insurers.

It also moves a dispute resolution system for injured drivers from Ontario's insurance regulator to an existing tribunal run by the Attorney General's office, which the industry has said would eliminate one step in the appeals process.

Read more: http://barrie.ctvnews.ca/ontario-passes-bill-to-cut-auto-insurance-rates-an-average-of-15-per-cent-1.2111099#ixzz3JjX7EHgt

From income splitting to raising child benefits, Harper goes where the votes are...

By the time Wynne and the auto insurance industry get finished watering-down the 15% reduction legislation there won't be any water left in Lake Ontario!

Can you think of a bigger insult on Remembrance Day than to refuse to honour Canada's war dead?

Well that's what some Muslims are doing, and the Essex School Board thinks it's quite alright!

Source: "Lest only some of us forget" ~ Ezra Levant QMI AGENCY

Sign the petition: http://www.loveitorleave.ca/

It’s Remembrance Day. But not for everyone. The Greater Essex County District School Board in Ontario circulated an e-mail to the 75 schools it runs in places like Windsor and Leamington. The memo says teachers should be prepared to exempt Muslim students from Remembrance Day.

“Some families may be reluctant to have their children attend your location municipality’s ceremonies. Please note that meaningful alternate activities should be provided at the schools for those families who do not wish their children to participate in any Remembrance Day ceremonies.”

In case you were wondering which families they might be referring to, the school board didn't say specifically but pointed teachers to two Muslim-themed websites, including the story about the first Muslim soldier in the Canadian Forces who wore a hijab, an Islamic head covering.

But Remembrance Day is a central part of Canada. It remembers our history, and the men and women who fought and died to keep us free. It is not a dark day, an embarrassing day, a racist day or a day of shame.

t is a day of remembering why we are free, and what we stand for, and who sacrificed to make us this way.

It’s not a religious day, like Christmas. It’s a day for everyone.

It’s a disgrace that any family would object to it – especially an immigrant family who came here to benefit from our country. It would call into question the basis on which they applied for and were granted citizenship.

And even if some old bigot from a backwoods village in Pakistan or Somalia doesn’t want to respect Canada, that’s where our schools come in and teach those bigots’ kids and grandkids what it means to be Canadian.

Harper announces another $4.6B in family and child benefits. What did seniors and singles get out of it? ... The Bill!

Recently, Harper announced another $4.6B in tax credits and subsidies for families with children. This is on top of the $17.5B that will be spent on these two classifications by the end of this year.

In case you missed it, Harper announced two big changes in family and child benefits. The first is a tax credit, worth up to $2,000, calculated by letting the higher-earning spouse in a couple with kids transfer up to $50,000 of income to the lower-earning spouse. In total, Canadian families will pay $1.9 billion less in taxes as a result of this income-splitting measure in 2015-16.

The second is a boost to the so-called Universal Child Care Benefit, from $100 to $160 a month for each child under the age of six, as well as a new $60-a-month payment for each kid aged six to 17. This measure will cost Ottawa an estimated $2.6 billion in 2015-16.

Harper also announced a hike to the deduction for child care expenses, to $8,000 a year from $7,000, which is, no doubt, of great interest to moms and dads paying for daycare, but overall, this measure is expected to amount to only about $65 million for 200,000 tax-paying families.

Total expenditure = $4.6 BILLION

To see the full article, goto: https://ca.news.yahoo.com/sorting-out-who-wins-with-harper-s-family-tax-package-004412765.html

Take note: Corporations are rich enough to set-up job-creation programs to help their communities, and yet they are axing peope ... BIG TIME!

Scotiabank axes 1,500 jobs

Source: CBC Business News

When you're a bank raking in more than $6 billion in profit this year, the optics aren't good when your newly minted CEO comes out and announces you plan on firing 1,500 employees, 1,000 of them across Canada. It's a big, ugly number that's sure to dominate the news cycle

But that's exactly what Scotiabank CEO Brian Porter did this week, saying the bank would be streamlining its workforce as part of a cost-cutting plan that also includes writing down hundreds of millions of dollars.

The reaction was swift, and predictable, with critics panning the company's apparent heartlessness in their slavish devotion to the almighty dollar. But as Don Pittis wrote in one of our most-read stories this week, there's nothing particularly shocking about it.

Banks are in the business of making money, and there's nothing wrong with that. That's good for them, good for their shareholders, good for their employees — and good for Canada, Pittis wrote.

Scotiabank has long had a reputation for being one of the more international banks we have, with a track record of expanding into areas where it sees growth, like it did in Asia and Latin America decades ago. Sometimes those bets don't go well, but more often than not they do. Banks must manage their risk, so if they think it's a time to retrench a little before the next bout of expansion, that may prove to be best for everyone in the long run.

Watch Rick Mercer's sketch - "Hole Town." ... There is much truth in jest.

http://www.cbc.ca/player/Shows/Shows/The+Rick+Mercer+Report/ID/2587997421/

Upper middle class Americans are rapidly losing ground ...

A recent posting detailed how upper middle class Americans are rapidly losing ground to the one-percenters who averaged $5 million in wealth gains over just three years. It also noted that the global 1 percent has increased their wealth from $100 trillion to $127 trillion in just three years.

The information came from the Credit Suisse 2014 Global Wealth Databook (GWD), which goes on to reveal much more about the disappearing middle class.

1. Each Year Since the Recession, America’s Richest 1 percent Have Made More Than the Cost of All US Social Programs

In effect, a reverse transfer from the poor to the rich. Even as conservatives blame Social Security for being too costly.

Much of the 1 percent wealth just sits there, accumulating more wealth. The numbers are nearly unfathomable. Depending on the estimate, the 1 percent took in anywhere from $2.3 trillion to $5.7 trillion per year. (All numeric analysis is detailed here.)

Even the smaller estimate of $2.3 trillion per year is more than the budget for Social Security ($860 billion), Medicare ($524 billion), Medicaid ($304 billion), and the entire safety net ($286 billion for SNAP, WIC [Women, Infants, Children], Child Nutrition, Earned Income Tax Credit, Supplemental Security Income, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families and Housing).

2. Almost None of the New 1 percent Wealth Led To Innovation and Jobs

In 2005, for every $1 of financial wealth there was 66 cents of non-financial (home) wealth. Ten years later, for every $1 of financial wealth there was just 43 cents of non-financial (home) wealth.

What happens to all this financial wealth?

Over 90 percent of the assets owned by millionaires are held in low-risk investments (bonds and cash), the stock market and real estate. Business startup costs made up less than 1 percent of the investments of high net worth individuals in North America in 2011. A recent study found that less than 1 percent of all entrepreneurs came from very rich or very poor backgrounds. They come from the middle class.

On the corporate side, stock buybacks are employed to enrich executives rather than to invest in new technologies. In 1981, major corporations were spending less than 3 percent of their combined net income on buybacks, but in recent years they’ve been spending up to 95 percent of their profits on buybacks and dividends.

3. Just 47 Wealthy Americans Own More Than Half of the US Population

Oxfam reported that just 85 people own as much as half the world. Here in the US, with nearly a third of the world’s wealth, just 47 individuals own more than all 160 million people (about 60 million households) below the median wealth level of about $53,000.

4. The Upper Middle Class of America Owns a Smaller Percentage of Wealth Than the Corresponding Groups in All Major Nations Except Russia and Indonesia

The upper middle class in the US, defined as everyone in the top half below the richest 20 percent, owns 11.9 percent of the wealth. Indonesia at 10.5 percent and Russia at 7.5 percent are worse off, but in all other nations the corresponding upper middle classes own 12 to 27 percent of the wealth.

America’s bottom half compares even less favorably to the world: dead last, with just 1.3 percent of national wealth. Only Russia comes close to that dismal share, at 1.9 percent. The bottom half in all other nations own 2.6 to 10.2 percent of the wealth.

5. Ten Percent of the World’s Total Wealth Was Taken by the Global 1 percent in the Past Three Years

As in the US, the middle class is disappearing at the global level. An incredible one of every ten dollars of global wealth was transferred to the elite 1 percent in just three years. A level of inequality deemed unsustainable three years ago has gotten even worse.

Solution: A Financial Transaction Tax (FTT)

More appropriately called a Financial Speculation Tax, it would help to limit the speculative trading that contributed to the financial meltdown in 2008.

The FTT has extraordinary revenue-generating potential, on a global scale. The Bank for International Settlements reported in 2008 that annual trading in derivatives had surpassed $1.14 quadrillion. Just one-tenth of 1 percent of that is a trillion dollars.

It’s also a fair tax. While average Americans pay up to a 10 percent sales tax on shoes for the kids, millionaire investors pay a zero sales tax on financial purchases. They pay just a .00002 percent SEC fee (2 cents for every thousand dollars) for a financial instrument.

In addition, the FTT is easy to administer and difficult to evade. Clearing houses already review all trades, and serve as collection agencies for transaction fees.

And as evidence of its suitability, three of the top five countries on the Heritage Foundation’s Index of Economic Freedom are Singapore, Hong Kong and Switzerland, all of whom have FTTs.

People in the US and around the world are being rapidly divided into two classes, the well-to-do and the lower-income majority. This severing of society will change only when progressive thinkers (and doers) agree on a single, manageable solution that will stop the easy flow of wealth to the privileged few.

Gettting back to the hog trough at Ontario Power Generation...

Recently some outfit has been running infomercials for OPG and Hydro One (not mentioned in the commercial) saying that Ontario customers are paying less for electricity “than telephone, internet and cable combined. 

I don’t buy it.

My hydro bill for the month of October was $117.00. That’s $3.77 per day. My internet bill was $53 ($1.70 per day). So where are they getting their numbers from? My guess is OPG, Kathleen ‘Wonder,’ and Charles “let them drink coffee” Chiareli.

Actually, according the official ‘Sunshine List’ there are 8,000 OPG employees making over $100,000.

Proportional Representation: We've been too long without it!

Thanks to thousands of you, last weekend #PR2015was trending on Twitter in Canada! Working together, with allies such as Leadnow, Democracy Watch, the Council of Canadians and many others, we WILL make proportional representation a 2015 election issue. We can elect a majority of MPs committed to making votes count. Help us build the campaign for fair voting by SIGNING and SHARING the Declaration of Voters' Rights - www.fairvote.ca/declaration - 41,600 signers today!