Canadian Politics: Brownnosing

[Zorral]

So it turns out the man who attacked Paul Pelosi when he couldn't get hold of Nancy Pelosi, is a Canadian, here illegally.  WRF? to all of it.  I mean how is there even such a thing as a Canadian here being illegal?  Don't we have mutual travel privileges?

 

[Lord of Oop North]

1 hour ago, Zorral said:

So it turns out the man who attacked Paul Pelosi when he couldn't get hold of Nancy Pelosi, is a Canadian, here illegally.  WRF? to all of it.  I mean how is there even such a thing as a Canadian here being illegal?  Don't we have mutual travel privileges?

 

Well, if he was working there then he would need a Visa.

To visit as a tourist does not require a visa, but I believe the visit is up to a maximum of 6 months.

[Paxter]

3 hours ago, Zorral said:

So it turns out the man who attacked Paul Pelosi when he couldn't get hold of Nancy Pelosi, is a Canadian, here illegally.  WRF? to all of it.  I mean how is there even such a thing as a Canadian here being illegal?  Don't we have mutual travel privileges?

 

Haha. You would be shocked at how many 20-something year old Canadians are stopped at the border as they are found to have previously been living in the US illegally. 

Visiting the US is one thing, but living and working there another entirely. 

[Zorral]

36 minutes ago, Paxter said:

Visiting the US is one thing, but living and working there another entirely

Was he working?

He has pleaded "not guilty", btw.

Edited November 3, 2022 by Zorral

[Lord of Oop North]

ATU Local 113, the transit workers Union in Toronto will be joining the strike/protest tomorrow afternoon:

https://wemovetoronto.ca/atu-local-113-will-be-at-queens-park-on-friday-november-4th-in-support-of-cupe-education-workers/

Quote

ATU Local 113 will be at Queen’s Park on Friday, November 4, 2022, noon onwards, in support of CUPE education workers.

We invite members to join us if you are available.

Meeting point will be at the north-east corner of University and College, at the subway station entrance.

There is a crisis at hand, not only for CUPE’s education workers but also for all Labour Unions.

This a rapidly developing and urgent situation and we need to mobilize and present a united front – a voice for all workers.

 

[Lord of Oop North]

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/bill-28-ontario-education-strike-1.6639027

 

Quote

Ontario has now passed legislation making it illegal for 55,000 education workers represented by the Canadian Union of Public Employees to strike and imposing a contract on them.

The workers are expected to walk off the job Friday after mediation between the Ontario government and the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) failed to reach a deal. There's no word on when the job action will end. School boards are advising parents to make alternative child-care plans into next week.

Union leaders said education workers will be off the job "until our members decide otherwise."

Quote

"We are on strike until this government recognizes that you can put in all of the legislation in place, but you cannot control a worker movement that is so fed up with your overreach," said Laura Walton, president of CUPE's Ontario School Board Council of Unions.

Quote

The legislation also includes the Constitution's notwithstanding clause, which allows the legislature to override portions of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms for a five-year term.

 

[Aemon Stark]

I'm hoping that it becomes obvious in Ontario that Doug Ford and his government of scum-sucking puss buckets will be entirely responsible for this strike and the associated disruption. Because they are. 

Also the Notwithstanding Clause is becoming untenable. It should be repealed. If Quebec's politics around language and religion make its use there something of an aberration, the Ford government is using it to rule by decree and avoid judicial scrutiny, running roughshod over Canadians' rights. If this continues, it will end up like Article 48 of the Weimar Constitution that let the Reichsprasident rule by decree. That didn't end well. 

[Lord of Oop North]

https://beta.ctvnews.ca/local/toronto/2022/11/3/1_6137585.amp.html

Quote

Unifor just announced they are donating $100,000 to help striking CUPE education workers hit by government fines.

"The national union and the ORC will each donate $50,000, for a total of $100,000 to CUPE’s strike support for paying fines imposed because of the strikebreaking Bill 28, the law passed on November 3, 2022, that strips education workers of their Charter-protected right to strike and which imposed an undemocratic contract," the union said in a news release. 

 

https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/unifor-denounces-bill-28-pledges-full-support-for-cupe-education-workers-809877337.html

Quote

Unifor notified its local unions with school board members that the union called on them to respect picket lines and will support those who face loss of pay or discipline. CUPE's bargaining directly affects 800 Unifor members at four school boards in the province.

"Our members work side by side with CUPE members every day, and it's unconscionable that we would cross picket lines during this unprecedented assault on collective bargaining rights. We are respecting picket lines and calling for a fair deal for CUPE members across Ontario," continued Payne.

There are not really picket lines at schools (as they are closed in most cases) but good to see some real support for CUPE.

[JGP]

 

I hate it here sometimes

[meaning Canada, I've been out of AB for almost 1.5 years] 

[Fragile Bird]

7 minutes ago, JGP said:

I hate it here sometimes

[meaning Canada, I've been out of AB for almost 1.5 years] 

Now I’m afraid to watch and that.

 

A totally unrelated topic. OMG Buffalo.

[Lord of Oop North]

Is Danielle Smith okay?

I feel bad for Alberta.

[JGP]

Dude, she's crazy. 

I just posted this lol

 

 

[Lord of Oop North]

9 minutes ago, JGP said:

Dude, she's crazy. 

I just posted this lol

 

 

Yeah I saw that earlier today. 

She can do a lot of damage to that province.

[JGP]

Oh yeah. If she doesn't delay the next election in 23, it's going to be lit. 

Manning and his group of shitgoblins are going to have their filthy fingerprints all over mis and disinformation in the lead up.

AB is so fucking weird. 

[Fragile Bird]

Oh hell, Borje Salming, who was just in town a few weeks ago for induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame, has died, at age 71. He had ALS, Lou Gehrig’s disease, which he had just revealed a few months ago. A great Leaf player.

edit: not the Hall of Fame, he’s been there forever, but a special Leafs ceremony.

Edited November 24, 2022 by Fragile Bird

[Fragile Bird]

I actually came here to bitch about the bizarre super power the Ford government has given to (some? all?) mayors, the right to pass by-laws on 1/3 votes, no majority required.

Imagine that. The change to democracy being brought in by these assholes.

[Lord of Oop North]

29 minutes ago, Fragile Bird said:

I actually came here to bitch about the bizarre super power the Ford government has given to (some? all?) mayors, the right to pass by-laws on 1/3 votes, no majority required.

Imagine that. The change to democracy being brought in by these assholes.

This Government is slowly dismantling this province, it is depressing.

I think that right now the Strong Mayor powers only apply to Toronto and Ottawa, but they have said they would be expanded.

Here is some info:

"The province recently passed legislation that gives mayors of Toronto and Ottawa veto power over bylaws that conflict with provincial priorities, such as building housing"

"The new law also gives mayors of those two cities the responsibility for preparing and tabling their city’s budget instead of the council, appointing a chief administrative officer, and hiring and firing department heads, except for statutory appointments such as an auditor general, police chief or fire chief."

 

"A council could override the mayor’s veto with a two-thirds majority vote."

[Lord of Oop North]

The new housing bill for a example is just a major grift that will raise all our taxes and line the pockets of developers.

https://thenarwhal.ca/ford-ontario-greenbelt-cuts-developers/

"In September, a company run by a prominent Ontario developer paid $80 million for two parcels of land that could not be developed. Totalling nearly 700 acres, they sit entirely within Ontario’s protected Greenbelt.

Weeks later, that investment by Michael Rice is set to pay off. The seemingly untouchable swath of fields and trees in King Township, just north of Toronto, is now on the Ontario government’s list of lands it wants to remove from the Greenbelt. If the change goes through, the properties Rice purchased in September could be ripe for development, and worth far more than $80 million. "

"Of the 15 areas slated to be removed from the Greenbelt, eight include properties purchased in the four years since the election of Doug Ford, who in 2018 was recorded telling a private audience he would “open a big chunk” of the protected area should he become premier, a Narwhal/Toronto Star investigation has found."

Who would pay $80MM for land they know is undevelopable? This company (Michael Rice/Rice Group) is a property developer - we know why they buy property.

Hmmm.

50% of the lands being removed from the Greenbelt purchased since the 2018 election.

Hmmmm.

https://globalnews.ca/news/9297577/ontario-development-charge-bill-23-steve-clark-responds/

"Ontario’s housing minister is defending his government’s plan to eliminate and reduce development charges even as municipalities warn the province its approach could significantly increase property taxes.

The Ford government’s Bill 23: More Homes Built Faster Act, introduced on Oct. 25, would curtail the fees municipalities can charge developers for the cost of building city infrastructure to support a new community."

So now we are supposed to subsidize the developers and hope that their "savings" will magically trickle down as lower housing prices.

Houses will sell for whatever the market will bear, full stop 

"In spite of the barrier the Ford government believes development charges pose, Ontario recorded its best year for housing starts in 2021. Approximately 100,000 new homes began construction last year — the highest number in 31 years."

And this is the rub. I work in this business, we barely have the people to build the record number of buildings that we do now. The biggest constraint is actually labour, not land or fees. Obviously the latter two play a role, but they aren't the smoking gun.

Edited November 24, 2022 by Lord of Oop North

[maarsen]

1 hour ago, Fragile Bird said:

Oh hell, Borje Salming, who was just in town a few weeks ago for induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame, has died, at age 71. He had ALS, Lou Gehrig’s disease, which he had just revealed a few months ago. A great Leaf player.

edit: not the Hall of Fame, he’s been there forever, but a special Leafs ceremony.

I saw him a few times back in the 80s in a nightclub. The scars on his face were like a roadmap. I still remember him blocking a slapshot with his balls, shrugging it off and continue playing. One of the greatest ever.

[maarsen]

Another slap down for Doug Ford. This time by the courts finding that Bill 124 is unconstitutional in limiting pay increases in the public service to 1%.  I hope Ford beats Harper's record in getting bills and laws ruled unconstitutional.