Disqus - Latest Comments for tedbetts

Re: The country that dumbed itself to death

tedbetts — Thu, 05 Feb 2015 21:25:57 -0000

Good article. One of those quiet decisions this government made based on ideology, without campaigning on it, that will have huge long term consequences. People - and the Harper Conservatives in particular - are wrong to think that without the data there won't be public programs and services. We will have wasteful, cost ineffective policies. How many hospital beds do we need for this community for the next 20 years? We don't have the data so we'll guess: if we guess high we'll have waste, if we guess low we'll have to retrofit meaning even more waste. This was one of the most anti-conservative, fiscally dumb things (among many) this government has done.

And by the way, there is a significant mistake in your article Ms Devon: it was the short form census that was introduced in 1971; before that, we only had the long form, going all the way back to the beginning of the country.

Re: Rob Ford wants mayoral rivals to declare themselves now

tedbetts — Thu, 13 Feb 2014 08:43:56 -0000

Largest spending increases in the city's history, largest spending budget in the city's history, largest tax/fee increases in the city's history, about to increase our debt load more than ever in our history (because of the Scarborough subway he promised would not cost taxpayers a dime), uses city staff to do his personal errands (light bulb changes to his home, buying booze for him) and his family, got the city to put in a brand new road in front of his business for its anniversary, this part-time mayor skips out on city business whenever he's hung over (often) or had a football practice, hired his buddy Price to do nothing at city hall for $150K, lies constantly to us taxpayers and voters.
Is THAT what you would call respect for taxpayers? Really?!?!
Folks, get it in your heads: Rob Ford is NOT a fiscal conservative.

Re: Ford Nation

tedbetts — Thu, 12 Dec 2013 13:36:56 -0000

You clearly vote with your eyes closed and don't care about reality or facts. Ford has increased spending by about $200 million which is way over inflation. He has increased a number of taxes, not just property taxes (which he lies about). He balanced the operating budget by raiding the long-term capital budget. And he pushed hard for more spending on wasteful transit solutions which has committed us to borrowing $1.5 billion to build the subway and add $35-$60 million a year to run it (the LRT would have been paid by the province and would have broken even or made an operating profit). He's not a conservative.

Re: Parties split over source of soaring hydro costs

tedbetts — Mon, 09 Dec 2013 08:03:49 -0000

Where did they blame Harris? The independent energy consultant questioned by the Sun points out that some of our cost for power originates from decisions Harris and Eves made. And that's absolutely true. When you try to save money by not building and upgrading, eventually you have power outages and have to over-spend to catch up. Plus the hydro debt carried over from them is only now being fully paid off. Not the only reason rates are going up, but definitely a part of it.

Re: Rob Ford Has Trashed Political Decency and Dignity

tedbetts — Tue, 19 Nov 2013 15:35:09 -0000

No. That's not a mental breakdown we're seeing. What we're seeing is the real Rob Ford, unfiltered. He has not changed one bit since he was first elected a councillor.

Re: Ford Nation

tedbetts — Mon, 18 Nov 2013 21:39:44 -0000

So stating a few facts is trolling? Asking so-called conservatives to maintain conservative principles is trolling? What is false about what I wrote? Spending has gone way up under Ford. Taxes have gone up under Ford. He is putting us record debt for his subway to the tune of $1.5 billion. When a so-called conservative is acting anything but, it's not trolling to call him on it.

Re: Ford Nation

tedbetts — Mon, 18 Nov 2013 20:32:13 -0000

Disagree with me about what? Those are facts. Tell me what's not true about those facts?
And yeah, I do get my panties, and my jeans, and my suit in a knot when some politician makes a campaign out of respecting my hard-earned dollars and then does the exact opposite and wastes even more of them.

Re: Ford Nation

tedbetts — Mon, 18 Nov 2013 17:53:24 -0000

"have consequences for bad behaviour", "keep out of debt as much as possible", "respect Christian faith,"
Seriously? You wrote that? In defence of Rob Ford?
The guy who admits to illegal conduct as mayor, blames others for it and is trying to avoid consequences of his bad behaviour?
The guy who is setting records with spending with spending increases every year since he took over and putting us into more debt than we have ever been in our history?

The guy who has not shown one bit of compassion to the underprivileged in the city? The gone who voted against every other councillor, including his brother, when the province and the feds offered to fund a poverty program if the city would approve it? The guy who said we should be tough, not soft, on people who get involved with drugs?

Re: Rob Ford is Right – “Enough is Enough”

tedbetts — Mon, 18 Nov 2013 13:41:29 -0000

You may want to listen to this clip form the John Oakley Show this morning: http://soundcloud.com/am640.... Rob Ford called in. If you don't know John Oakley, he was the biggest supporter of Rob Ford, going way back. Ford announced his campaign on John's show. This is a really interesting interview, especially given the history between the two of them. This man is clearly, certifiably delusional. the clip needs to be heard to be believed. When you are lying outright to your biggest supporters, and they are giving you every chance to come clean but not letting you off the hook, basically calling you on it to your face, it is a really sad thing to see unfold and leaves listeners with but one conclusion: Ford's days are numbered.

Re: Rob Ford is Right – “Enough is Enough”

tedbetts — Mon, 18 Nov 2013 13:36:37 -0000

Sorry but I have to correct you on the claim Ford has saved taxpayers money. He has cost us more money than Miller in truth. The spending in our budgets has gone up every single year under Ford to record highs, now nearly $200 MILLION more per year than under Miller. That's now what we elected him for. He cut some minor taxes, but has increased our property taxes. That's now what we elected him for. He has committed the city to going into debt to support the subways by $1.5 BILLION, the biggest debt in our entire history. That's now what we elected him for. Rob Ford is NO fiscal conservative. Let's put that claim to rest, please. It is clouding our judgement and helps keep him thinking he can win (and even become Prime Minister) and as long as Ford is running for mayor, Olivia Chow is guaranteed to be our next mayor.

Re: Debt ceiling, shutdown — Canada style | Columnists | Opinion | Ottawa Sun

tedbetts — Mon, 14 Oct 2013 06:56:34 -0000

You forgot one important piece of information in your article. Obama and the Republicans actually did reach an agreement and all was good. The GOP actually got all that they asked for and a billion dollars was going to be cut from spending.
But then the Tea Party wing of the House decided that wasn't good enough and balked at the all-party deal. They wanted to defund Obama's health care law, even though it was duly passed by the House and Senate, there had been a whole election about it and the Supreme Court said it was constitutional. They didn't have the votes to get rid of it and so are using the government shutdown. They don't even deny this.

Re: Will Justin put Canada first? | Home | Toronto Sun

tedbetts — Tue, 28 May 2013 14:51:07 -0000

Not any worse than these from our Prime Minister:

“Whether Canada ends up as one national government or two national governments or several national governments, or some other kind of arrangement is, quite frankly, secondary in my opinion.”

“[S]ome basic facts about Canada that are relevant to my talk... Canada is a Northern European welfare state in the worst sense of the term, and very proud of it.”

“Westerners, but Albertans in particular, need to think hard about their future in this country. After sober reflection, Albertans should decide that it is time to seek a new relationship with Canada. Having hit a wall, the next logical step is not to bang our heads against it. It is to take the bricks and begin building another home – a stronger and much more autonomous Alberta. It is time to look at Quebec and to learn. What Albertans should take from this example is to become “maitres chez nous”.”

“You’ve got to remember that west of Winnipeg the ridings the Liberals hold are dominated by people who are either recent Asian immigrants or recent migrants from eastern Canada: people who live in ghettoes and who are not integrated into western Canadian society.”

“It is imperative to take the initiative, to build firewalls around Alberta, to limit the extent to which an aggressive and hostile federal government can encroach upon legitimate provincial jurisdiction.”

“Make no mistake. Canada is not a bilingual country.”

“I think in Atlantic Canada, because of what happened in the decades following Confederation, there is a culture of defeat that we have to overcome. …Atlantic Canada's culture of defeat will be hard to overcome as long as Atlantic Canada is actually physically trailing the rest of the country.”

“I think there is a dangerous rise in defeatist sentiment in this country. I have said that repeatedly, and I mean it and I believe it.”
No wonder people wondered if Harper really loved Canada.

Re: http://www2.macleans.ca/2011/09/08/from-the-backroom-to-centerstage/

tedbetts — Sun, 11 Sep 2011 00:33:17 -0000

Hugh Segal, anyone..

Re: On MPs and lobbying – where does it end?

tedbetts — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 16:43:07 -0000

OK.

You are naive.

Re: On MPs and lobbying – where does it end?

tedbetts — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 16:40:28 -0000

Lobbying on public policy issues does not require registration, Wilson.

Lobbying registration is required when there is a specific gain for a specific party, like a contract to be won.

"Lobbying" for a public policy issue is more properly called advocacy, like a gun supporter hired to push the government to change gun control laws or a poverty group hiring someone to increase public housing funding.

As for facilitating inter-governmental relationships, I really can't see what the issue is there.

Conflict of interest and lobbying are two entirely separate issues governed by two entirely different sets of rules.

Re: Senator Finley calls for an inquiry on the erosion of free speech in Canada

tedbetts — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 16:28:29 -0000

Kenn2:

Frum was indeed fired, Kenn.

The really funny and very telling part? Commenters here cheering Finley for wanting an "inquiry" into free speech, attacking U of O and the CHRCs for their attacks on free speech, and at the same time cheering Frum getting fired... for saying stuff they don't like!

Scratch a conservative, find a censor... be it contrarian opinions, erotica, pro-Palestinian speakers (eg. Galloway), wardrobe malfunctions, political opponents, contraception, planned parenthood, etc.

Re: Senator Finley calls for an inquiry on the erosion of free speech in Canada

tedbetts — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 16:20:19 -0000

So, Stephen Harper and the Conservatives...

- won't change a word of the Canadian Human Rights Code

- actually praise the work of the Canadian Human Rights Commission

- increase funding to the CHRC in an self-declared "austerity" budget

- increase the number of employees at the CHRC in a time of ballooning deficits

- Harper bans his caucus from attending Ann Coulter's speech (according to Coulter)

- Harper routinely punishes any civil servant for providing their expert opinion if it doesn't help his electoral chances (eg. firing a scientist who wrote a book on his own time on environmental change)

- Harper uses a SLAPP defamation case to silence/chill the opposition parties when they start asking questions about the "financial considerations" his party offered Cadman for his vote

- Harper refuses to do anything about the election gag laws and third party election spending laws he railed against before becoming PM

... but the Conservatives are defenders of free speech because one senator wants to hold an "inquiry" into free speech.

Taylor says Finley is doing this as a result of the Ann Coulter debacle.

I think it probably far more likely that it is cover for their inaction and anti-free speech actions.

Re: Senator Finley calls for an inquiry on the erosion of free speech in Canada

tedbetts — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 16:18:25 -0000

You think increasing the CHRC funding and increasing the number of employees is a very good day?

Interesting.

Re: O Canada?

tedbetts — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 13:28:48 -0000

This is one of the reasons I like your writing Stephen. Tongue in cheek humour that sometimes deflates the egos on Parliament Hill, even making light of your own party and its strange plan in this post.

Re: Speech from the Throne, what to expect

tedbetts — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 17:35:15 -0000

Ignatieff has already said he will support the throne speech since there is nothing new in it - other than Seniors Day and Vimy Ridge Day - and he supported all of these measures the first time Harper introduced them.

My comment about you not reading much has to do with your question about what Ignatieff was doing during the extended Harper Holiday.

Re: Speech from the Throne, what to expect

tedbetts — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 17:32:54 -0000

So are you saying that Harper didn't work between December 11 and March 3? Because he is claiming that he spent all that time working and that he needed the super long time off to "re-calibrate". Whether or not there was 22 fewer days of QP, there was 83 days of prep time for this Throne Speech. It is not as if Harper only thinks and plans on QP days. Puhlease. Those 61 days didn't just get prorogued right off of the calendar, Mary.

Re: Speech from the Throne, what to expect

tedbetts — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 17:12:39 -0000

Actually, the change to the anthem is going back to original language so even I would give him a pass here.

Re: Speech from the Throne, what to expect

tedbetts — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 17:11:49 -0000

Don't read the news much, eh, Mary?

Re: Speech from the Throne, what to expect

tedbetts — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 17:10:50 -0000

Oh, MaryT, still on this?

Parliament has not sat since December 11. Which means Harper has been freed up from the "distractions" (as Kenney put it) of QP to "re-calibrate" for 83 days in preparation for this moment.

Surely you are not claiming that, in that 83 day break, the only prep time Harper used was the 22 days that Parliament might otherwise have been sitting, are you?

Re: Speech from the Throne, what to expect

tedbetts — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 15:51:06 -0000

Haven't had the full chance to read this myself yet so thank you for your summary (especially noting that they spent half their time bragging about themselves).

But their economic platform/plan seems really at odds, speaking out of both sides of their mouths. Not that that is atypical of Harper but he's had 3 months off to get this right so I'm surprised.

On the one hand, they "will outline plan for longer term infrastructure (including skills investment and R&D)" (a complaint the Liberals had of the EAP).

But on the other hand, they will be "winding down stimulus as economy recovers, restraining federal spending overall and protecting provincial transfers that protect Canadians (including healthcare transfers" and "will outline longterm plan for economic growth (including investments listed above)".

These two positions are at odds. You can't plan to increase spending and restrain spending at the same time. And you certainly can't do that and say you are planning to pay down the deficit.

Another sad day for fiscal conservatives under the Harper regime, including me, after reading this.