Dion: Ottawa not protecting minority language rights

This was a slippery slope the Liberals got us on and I am glad the Conservatives have the guts and the brains to stop this program. Why should we pay organizations to sue us? Dion says "the program helped not only francophones outside Quebec, but anglophones in Quebec, to defend their Charter language rights." He fails to mention that when those anglophones won their court case against Bill 101 in Quebec that the Quebec Government promptly used the not withstanding clause of the Constitution to quash the victory. The Supreme Court of Canada ruled Quebec's Charter of the French Language (Bill 101) to be unconstitutional and the Bourassa government used the clause to reverse the decision. He then used it again when he introduced a new language law Bill 178 (the sign law) that required all commercial outdoor signs to be in French only, while allowing English signs inside. The new amendment invoked the notwithstanding clause.

Nothing good can come out of arguing over language in Canada. Hopefully the city of Ottawa will look at their own bilingual policy and make the necessary changes to stop discriminating against Anglophones.

Added Some New Polls

I added two new polls so please vote and feel free to comment on why you voted the way you did. It would be nice to get some dialogue to go with peoples votes so we can have a debate.

Andy, Andy, Andy

You know I feel bad picking on Andy Haydon all the time but I am really concerned about him getting elected. I am sure he is a wonderful guy and has a wealth of experience but I am afraid that his age will be a factor.

The other night he came to our Southpointe Community Association Meeting and fell asleep while the presenters were speaking. Well I don't know about you but I have a hard time believing he could be fully attentive at Council when he can't even stay awake for a short community meeting. It was observed that he was having trouble keeping his eyes open last night at the Stonebridge Community Association meeting as well.

Listen I understand that people get tired, I would love to be able to take a nap in the evening but you know most times I just can't. I would hate for something important to be getting discussed at council concerning our ward and my Councillor miss the discussion because they were sleeping. God knows that the average person would have to drink 10 cups of coffee just to make through one of Alex Cullens sermons at council.

Listen Andy, I am sure you are a fine man and have done a lot in your life for Nepean and the Ottawa Region. Take a well deserved break and let some of the younger people take a crack at this thing.

Got Eric's Answer About Canadian Flags!

Earlier in the week I was inquiring on where Eric Lamoureux got those little Canadian Flags to put on his Campaign signs. I have to admit I was a concerned that he had gotten them through pulling a few strings up on the hill where he works.

This is the answer I got from him, it is good enough for me you can judge for yourself, as a father with two young kids I can relate to it that is for sure. I thank Eric for answering me and demonstrating that you don't have to take short cuts and the low road to run a good campaign as some have done and continue to do.....Who the hell am I kidding we all know it is just one guy in the gutter and we don't even have to mention his name.

email from Eric to me

I want to thank you for your question. I have been an avid follower of your online publication, and would like to extend my thanks on behalf of the community, as you are providing a valuable community service.

To answer your question, following a busy day of planning and coordinating the popular Riverside South Community Association's July 1st event, my wife and I decided to bring our then 6 month old daughter to her first Canada Day experience on Parliament Hill. While enjoying the evening a number of people offered my daughter Canadian flags. By the evenings end, she was asleep but she had accumulated a number of flags on her stroller. You will notice that only a handful of signs have the flags, but we thought they would draw attention visually to our signs in a field of others. Apparently it worked, thank you for taking notice.

I want to again thank you for taking an interest in our campaign, should you have any further questions about me or the issues facing Ward 22, I would be happy to respond.

Sincerely,
Eric Lamoureux
Municipal Candidate for Ward 22, Gloucester South Nepean

Should Election Campaigns be Ethical?

What would you consider an ethical campaign? I guess that would depend on your election platform and whether you live up to what you say. If I were to tell you that a certain candidate who espouses himself to be Mr. Accountability was not only unethical in my opinion but potentially misleading the public. Imaging this happening to you...

You are sitting in your home and a knock comes on the door. You go and answer the door and there is Mr. Accountability and his big wonderful smile. He hands you his election literature and informs you when you read it you will take the lawn sign you have up now of one of his opponents and put his up. Ok that’s not so bad. But what about when you tell him that you will be supporting another candidate of which you already have a sign on your lawn? What about when he says to you what has that Candidate ever done for your kids? WOW!! After you regain your composure and ask him what he means by that he tells you once you read my literature I am sure you will change your sign and put mine up and avoid the embarrassment.

Now if I was that Candidate and was campaigning on the principle of bringing honesty and accountability to City Hall what would you think? Do you think that someone who would run a campaign like that would be the person to bring integrity back to city hall? Integrity has to begin on the Campaign trail and carried over into council. I have heard this candidate described as a typical politician...looks like we are gearing up for a dirty campaign in Ward 22.

Alex Munter Got WOOD!!!!

I know I couldn't pass it up. After my post about Alex's Electile Disfunction I thought I would have to comment on the fact that many of his signs now seem to be more erect. I noticed on my way home from work this evening that a lot of his signs now have wooden stakes holding them up, well at least the ones that are still standing that is. I guess he must have gotten an injection of funds from somewhere to buy the sticks. Maybe the Carpenters Union donated the materials and the labour to do it. What ever the reason I am glad that he decided to take more pride in his campaign.

Please Tell Me Why I Should Vote For Andrew Haydon!!

Why the hell should I vote for Andy Haydon? I have heard that he is not going to be putting up any election signs and he doesn't have a website. Is he planning on getting elected based on his name? That is the only explanation I can think of for his total disregard for the voters and the other Candidates in this race.

Well Mr Haydon I got news for you, your name doesn't mean anything to most of the people living in Ward 22. Fact is many of us were not even born when you were in your heyday in politics. We need new blood at City Hall and quite frankly if you are not willing to put yourself out to the public for scrutinization like the rest of the candidates then you don't deserve this seat at council.

From what I have seen and I am no expert but it appears that you must be counting on the senior citizen vote to get you elected. That is not a bad plan considering that they are the most likely to get out and vote on Election Day. The only thing is I think that strategy would work better in Old Barrhaven than it will in this new ward. The demographic here is much younger and people are pretty savvy when it comes to getting their information. We are always checking the Internet for information on candidates so we can compare and contrast different views.

I must say you look pretty intimidating in that picture that was in the citizen, kind of like a grandfather when he is scolding his grandkids or great grandkids for that matter. If that is your whole campaign strategy then I wish you the best, I just don't think it will work and I hope for the sake of the other candidates in this race that it doesn't. I don't have a problem with you being older but I do have a problem with your old style politics that you seem to practice.

If we were to elect people based on past experience and reputation all the time then there would be no need for elections, we would just stick with the status quo. That is what makes elections and campaigns important, the exchange of ideas and differing visions for the city from each candidate. If you want to make this election into a popularity contest then you are doing yourself, this city and most of all the residents of Gloucester-South Nepean an incredible injustice and turning democracy into a mockery.

Thanks but no Thanks!!

Don't Worry Alex You are Not Alone!!

You have some company within the incumbent councillors seeking re-election that are using City Staff on their Campaign. Atleast if we consider the Administrative Contact for their Web Sites using city staff.

Your fellow lefty Diane Holmes is also using her Assistant Robert Smythe as the Administrative Contact for her website according to CanReg.com.

Fact is that Alex Cullen is the only Councillor with a website that was stupid enough to have his website registered to the City and use a city staffer as the contact. I am not surprised that both he and Dianne Holmes are both using their city staff to work on their campaign.... why not it is just our money and they are entitled to spend it how they see fit. Good riddance to the both of you.

Is Alex Cullen Cheating or is Terry Kilrea Way off Base?

Terry Kilrea is accusing Alex Cullen of using his City Staff and resources to operate his campaign. Terry is specifically pointing to Cullen’s Web Site and the fact that the registered owner of the domain alexcullen.ca is "City of Ottawa, Councillor Alex Cullen" and the Administrative Contact is Mari Wellman who is Alex's Assistant at the City.

Alex says that it is all just a misunderstanding and that he owns the site and corrected the oversight a couple of weeks ago and bought the domain from the city. He said that prior to that the site was dormant and not in use. Now let me get this straight...We tax payers were paying for a website for Alex Cullen that was not being used? Now that the election campaign is underway he decides to activate it and pay for it himself. So what happens when the election is over and god forbid he wins does he then start charging the Tax Payer for the site again and make it inactive.

This is just the kind of inept spending policies we need to get rid of in this city. One thing for sure we have learned about Alex Cullen over the years is that he has never been short of ideas on how to spend our money. Hopefully Terry Kilrea can put a stop to him and his free spending ways.

Where Did Eric Lamoureux Get Those Little Canadian Flags??

There is something that has been bugging me about Eric's road signs and I just can't get it out of my head. I noticed that he has all of these little Canadian Flags attached to them. Now I don't have a problem with his putting them there but I would like to know where he got them.

I am emailing his campaign and will post his answer here.

This is the email I am sending

Hi Eric,

I have a question for you with regards to your Campaign signs. I noticed that you have those little paper Canadian Flags on them. First of all I think that it is a nice touch and we can never see enough of the Canadian Flag in my opinion. The thing I would like to know is where did you get them? The reason I ask is because our Community Association tried to buy some of them a couple of years ago for our Canada Day celebrations but we couldn't buy them. Apparently they are only available through Heritage Canada and have to be donated so we got them donated by our MP at the time. Is this how you got them and if so was there an endorsement attached to them from one of our local MP's.

The Likes of Alex Cullen MUST Be Stopped!!!!!!!

I was reading an Editorial in the Nepean This Week last night that Alex Cullen had written. Terry Kilrea's tough stance against crime must be worrying him. I was reading the article and the impression I was getting from it was that Mr. Cullen is more than pleased with the Crime Rates in Ottawa and he was going on and on with all kinds of stats concerning the police and their budgets. He was talking about how many police are on patrol and how long it takes them to get to calls and comparing it to the mandated provincial guidelines.

Quite frankly I feel like sending an email to the paper to ask them to limit Alex's columns like they have limited him in the Council Chamber. I have never read so many words that said so little. I wish Nepean This Week was online so I could link to the story so you could see what I am talking about.

Any ways if Mr Cullen thinks that Ottawa is so safe and his ward in particular then he should open his eyes and look at what the hell is going on in this city recently. Last night a young man was stabbed to death on an OC Transpo Bus for the cities 14 Murder of the year. There have been three murders this week Alex and you are happy with the safety of our city?
I don't care what the stats say about crime being down in this city, I don't believe it. What I do believe is that many people have stopped reporting many crimes because it is just a waste of time. If you call to report a property crime the police may come within a couple of hours if they come at all. I don't blame the police for this because they can only work with the resources they have...the resources you have given them Alex and in my opinion we deserve better protection from our Police and they deserve the support they need from Council.

Munter Gets More Left Wing Support....God Help Us!!

Looks like Alex Munter just got some more of his Broad Based support. His support is broadly covering the left and we should be very worried. The Ottawa District Labour Council who backed Chiarelli in the 2000 election is moving its support to Munter. This should come as no surprise that a labour group would support the most left wing candidate.

The real troubling point here is the slate of other candidates they also support. It is a smorgasbord of the type of councillors we want to get the hell out of power. How do these names strike you, Alex Cullen, Diane Holmes, Clive Doucet and Peggy Feltmate? The council also supported Vicky Smallman, Kitchissippi Ward, and Yusef Al Mezel, Alta Vista Ward.

God help us if all these people get elected and start spending the hard earned tax dollars that we all send to this City. Say good-bye to any hope of getting city spending under control and trying to cut cost as City Hall.

People it is time to wake the hell up in this city and put people in power that have the interest of all tax payers as a priority. This is just a group of left wing nuts that will fund every special interest project that comes across the council table and as usual stick the average taxpayer with the bill.

Where is Andrew Haydon?

Is he in Andrew Haydon Park? How about Andrew Haydon Hall? Hell I don't know where he is or where he stands on the issues in this campaign. I know the guy has been out of politics since before many residents of Barrhaven were even born but he has got to get with it.

I have no idea what his platform is, where is his website? Is he planning on bringing his message to the people by Carrier Pigeon? Maybe he will use Smoke Signals or Post Riders and get his message out that way. I know he is going to use something a little more modern like the Electrical Telegraph.

Well Mr. Haydon, those of us who were born in the latter 1/3 of the 1900's and who fit the demographic of Ward 22 would like to welcome you to the new age of communication. It is called the Internet. You can have a web page that is dedicated to your election campaign and you can put your ideas there for everyone to read. It is quite fascinating really, many people have been using it and find it a great medium for getting information.

I can only assume that you don't use the Internet but if my chance someone that supports you sees this post they should direct you to this Guide to the Internet to get you started. Hopefully you will soon get your platform out there so we can all see it and learn more about you. This election is very important and if you can't even bring yourself to inform the voters of your intentions why the hell should we vote for you?

Alex Munter Has ELECTILE Disfunction!!

I have noticed that ever since Alex put up his election signs in Barrhaven they have been looking pretty limp. Why would someone put signs of that size with Step Spikes in them? All of his signs are blowing over with the slightest bit of wind and it really looks stupid.

This guy wants to lead this city and he can't even make a smart decision as to how to erect his signs. All I can say is Go Alex Go!! The more you make yourself known in this election the worse you look, thank you.

Munter's Idea of Broad Based Support is Laughable!

On his home page Alex describes his latest endorsements as Broad Based Support. I guess he considers Senator Norman Atkins as a conservative because of his Progressive Conservative title. What a joke......Mr Atkins refused to sit as a Conservative and chose to remain a PC member of the Senate because he doesn't like the New Conservative Party. In a speech before the senate in response to the Conservatives Speech from the Throne he didn't have a lot of good things to say. He is against the Accountability Act, Against the GST cut, Against Senate Reform, Against the Child Care allowance, Against the rebuilding of the Military. In fact he was Against almost everything the Government put forward.

Now if Alex Munter wants to call him a Conservative that is up to himself....I guess he is Conservative compared to a Far Left wing candidate like Alex. The other spokes to that Broad-Based support are John Manley and Ed Broadbent....do I even have to mention their political leaning.

I guess if someone wants to consider this Broad-Based Support I guess he can. Seems to me he starts on the Left with a Liberal Senator disguised as a Progressive Conservative, then a little more to the left with a Former Liberal Leadership Candidate, then farther left with former NDP Leader and finally out on the fringe Left with himself. Now that is what I would call broad-based support at it's best. I guess when you are as left wing as Alex Munter even Karl Marx and Marxism would be right wing. Alex has the Left wind broadly covered....except for the part Chiarelli has that is.

Signs Signs, Everywhere a Sign

Had a great time last night putting up signs for a local Candidate in Ward 22. We also ran into Eric Lamoureux and his gang putting up their signs. We were lucky the rain stopped around midnight when we started. Bob Chiarelli's people must have gotten pretty wet because it was raining pretty good after 10:00 when I started to see Chiarelli signs in Barrhaven. I thought there were rules that you couldn't put up signs until 12:00....I guess that doesn't apply to the Mayor, as usual he does what ever the hell he wants.

One thing that I did notice however and found it quite interesting is that I never saw Steve Desroches erecting any signs. I guess only the people who are really serious about this election and driven to succeed battled the elements last night to get this campaign started. I guess the lighting and weather were not ideal for taking pictures so Steve decided to wait for more ideal conditions.

I am not saying that it is crucial to have your signs up on the first night but I think it is a bit telling about a candidate’s work ethic and how serious they are taking this election. If that is the case then Tanya Thompson and Eric Lamoureux sure look like they are serious.

Hollinshed Research Poll

Has anyone heard anything about this poll that was done for CFRA by Hollinshed Research? The poll was done on Sept 1, 2006 and the results were quite surprising. I got the numbers from here

Alex Munter 24.2%
Bob Chiarelli 22.5%
Larry O'Brien 18%

These were the results from a previous poll by the same firm on July 28.

Alex Munter 25%
Bob Chiarelli 20%
Terry Kilrea 14%
Larry O'Brien 6.8%
Others 1.7%
Undecided 29%

It appears that the main benefactor from Kilrea's withdrawal is indeed O'Brien. Hopefully he can continue to make strides and attract new voters because there are a lot of votes out there that are either undecided or not voting. I think the key for Larry is to motivate these people for a change and this election could be his.

Is Jane Scharf a Viable Candidate?

The reason I ask is because she seems to have put a lot of thought into her platform and makes some valid arguments. I don't agree with 99.99% of what she stands for but I suspect she will garner some support from the extreme left wing voters that are even farther left than Mayor Bob and Munter.

Piotr Anweiler, a man of the future?

This picture from Mr Anweiler made me laugh so I thought I had to post it. I guess his idea of public transit is flying cars.........The caption reads New Face - New Ideas. These are definitely new ideas but I think the cost of that plan would even make Alex Munter look like a Conservative to the n'th degree.

I decided to take a look at his platform and I was blown away by these ideas for PRT (Personal Rapid Transit) or H2 (hydrogen) Fuelled Buses. Then he goes on to talk about an underground subway . No offence Mr Anweiler but I think you are a certified wacko. I guess your next platform plank will be planting money trees at the Experimental Farm to pay for all of these ideas.

I am all for new ideas and the use of new technologies but please give me a break. Mr Anweiler all I have to say to you is GOOD LUCK becoming Mayor of Disney Land.

Mayoral Debates...They should produce Transcripts

Are the Mayoral Debates of any use to us as voters? It appears that there are 17 requests for debates so I wonder how many will actually take place. It is in Mayor Bob's interest to debate as little as possible so I suspect he will only participate in as few as he can. I think it is incumbent on who ever is holding these debates to make transcripts available so that the general public can read them. Obviously we are not going to attend all the debates and I doubt many people will so a transcript would be the best logical solution. I guess we will be stuck with sound bites and stories covering the main points in the paper.

Sample Poll

I just figured I would try this sample poll for Ward 22 just to see how people are thinking. Feel free to leave comments as to why you are voting the way you are.

Larry, You Had Better Step it UP!!

If Larry O'Brien wants to win this election he had better step up his game. His election platform is still not listed on his website and many people are still left wondering where he stands on the issues. One Campaign launch speech does not evolve into an election win. Larry many of us in the Right-Centre spectrum of municipal politics are craving an alternative to Munter and Chiarelli but if you don't soon pick up the pace we may be forced to hold our noses and vote for Mayor Bob because the alternative is just too risky.

RED FRIDAY'S to SUPPORT OUR TROOPS

CFRA are promoting RED Friday's to show support for our troops. This is an excellent idea and I and my wife and kids all have our red on today. I have several friends in the military and I know they appreciate anything that is done to recognize the sacrifices they make. Spread the word and show your support.

Has Andrew Haydon's Time Passed?

I think so. Despite the use of the younger sounding Andy instead of Andrew I think he is out of touch with the issues facing families in Ward 22. I am sick to death with the politics as usual environment at City Hall and think it is time for new blood. We need to elect someone that has roots in this community and not the community of 20 years ago. There are so many issues facing Barrhaven right now that require an untainted approach and an infusion of new ideas. Mr Haydon may be a political icon in the Nepean area but as far as I am concerned he is also a political dinosaur.

We need a councillor that can grow with the community and possibly serve a couple of terms to get the job done right. How can we take Andrew Haydon seriously when he doesn't represent the demographic in this ward. Please Andrew stay in retirement.

Munter...Stop Crying and Start Fighting!!

If Alex Munter ever hopes to beat Mayor Bob he needs to stop all this cry baby complaining. Alex you are facing a seasoned politician in Bob Chiarelli and if you want to beat him you had better learn to fight. Mayor Bob is a master at arm twisting and heavy handed tactics to get what he wants. He knows how to fight in the trenches and if you want to compete you had better be willing to get down and dirty with him. Frankly I hope you continue to do what you are doing so the voters can see you for what you are....An opportunist that will destroy this city if you are elected. If a man like Terry Kilrea was pushed under by the mayor and forced to capitulate to his wishes then I fear you will have a similar fate.

Kilrea to Battle Cullen

I was getting worried about Terry but now I am a little happier today....Finally he is getting the right idea. Change at City Hall can't be orchestrated by one person"The Mayor". Change has to be widespread and the more like minded people on Council the better. If we elect a clear majority of conservative minded councilors we can make the Left leaning Mayor who ever it may be pretty much irrelevant. If this city is ever going to more fiscally responsible it needs to happen throughout council and getting rid of Alex Cullen would be a great start. Now if we could only get Clive Doucet out of there we would be making real progress.

Can Catherine Gardner Give Jan a Run?

I doubt it! Quite frankly I have no idea why she decided to run in our ward. When I read her platform on her website I am struck by her appearance left leaning policies. Many of the policies that she advocates translate into more money from my pocket to be spent on pet social projects in this city.

Truth is the average family income in the Federal Riding of Nepean-Carleton as reported in the 2006 Federal Election was $94,830 and the unemployment rate was around 4.3%. Fighting Jan harder on issues of Low Income and Affordable Housing for Barrhaven is a waist of time in my opinion. That is not to say that people in our ward are not concerned about those issues but they are not at the top of our list. Fact is when it comes to low income housing I prefer if they don’t build it in Barrhaven. Areas of the city that have the greatest numbers of low income housing also have the highest crime rates. There is a direct correlation between income levels and crime rates and other social problems so why in the world why we want to bring these elements to our community. I know this sounds harsh but it is a reality and we have enough crime issues to contend with as it is.

I commend her for her stance on these low-income issues as well as accessibility for seniors and people with disabilities and I also believe that everyone regardless of their situation should have access to all city services and private services for that matter. I don’t believe however that I as a taxpayer should be stuck with a tax increase every time someone at City Hall has an attack of conscience and decides to implement a new policy.

Robert McKinney is Right! Look at the Small Details in This Election

Robert McKinney Candidate for Council in Ward 22 gives some very good advice when he says not to overlook the small details. With that in mind I decided to check out some of those particular details.

First of all he says that candidates that aspire to take the high road in this election and not stoop to mudslinging are somehow failing to realize their responsibilities. Well here are a few details I thought I would point out. When Mr Desroches distributed election literature implying that he was the Councillor for Ward 22 he may have intentionally or unintentionally mislead voters but the small detail that we must look at is that he did not break any rules in the election. Voters will decide for themselves if they feel mislead or not.

Another small detail that I find interesting is the fact that Mr McKinney states on his website that he has no political experience. Now that small detail in itself is not that important in my opinion but the lack of overall experience in the community, as a whole is a bit troubling. Where are his roots in the community and what has he done in his private life to make our City a better place to live? I have looked at the qualifications of all of the candidates in our ward and one small detail I have noticed about almost all of them is their involvement in the community.

Eric Lamoureux for instance has extensive political experience in the House of Commons and Senate and is also heavily involved in his Community Association.

I couldn’t find too many details about Don Dransfield but he states on his website that he has been involved in municipal issues for several years. And has been outspoken on many issues. So you can take it for what it is worth.

Steve Desroches despite his questionable campaign literature has been a big part of the community through his Community Association and participating as a member of the Library Board and other City committees.

Tanya Thompson who has shown to be a force in the community for several years through the Southpointe Community Association and various committees and advisory boards. She has shown without a doubt to be well connected in the community and has been recognized for her contributions to the city and most recently received the 2006 Adult Citizen of the Year for Ottawa.

Now when you stack these Small Details against Mr McKinney’s accomplishments it seems to me that the choice can be pretty clear. The small details I take from his campaign are these. He has no apparent ties to the community as a whole with the exception of being well connected in Conservative circles. This is abundantly clear as I have come accustomed to seeing Lisa McLeod’s and Pierre Poilievre names in every story I read about him and how he worked on their campaigns, I guess this qualifies him to be a Councillor.

I have to admit that he does have a catchy campaign slogan with his AAA Government: Affordable, Accessible, and Accountable. In light of Mr McKinney’s ability to name drop and associate himself with successful politicians to gain an advantage I have a new meaning for his AAA slogan: How about Advantageous, Arbitrary, Association. I guess Mr McKinney is right we should pay attention to the small details in this election.