We have a mutiny in this province:
the corrupt versus the uncorrupt,
the unethical versus the ethical,
the illegal versus the legal
.....the government versus the ones left holding the bag
......the PEOPLE...
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Practice of giving cash advances to promoters in return for ticket sale proceeds established in 2008 Auditor general to examine HRM’s role in concerts, staff guidelines
Sent: Tuesday, March 15, 2011 7:01 PM
Subject: transportation/Dartmouth North community
Hello ANSA,
There is a large Black population in Dartmouth North who more than likely do not have transportation/means to get to the Black Cultural Centre if in fact they ever get a opportunity to hear about these sessions as many do not hav access to computers.
Given the realities in this vulnerable community why are you not hosting one of these sessions at the Dartmouth North Community Centre, your site seems to say you want their included voices yet the behaviour of exclusion belies this..
Lets not have a repeat of the 'Imagine our Schools' low attendance, the lack of organizing families to attend these school sessions was shameful.
What have you done to organize and encourage participation from Blacks in this community on this recognition issue or do their voices not count being they are Impoverished?
G McIntyre
http://www.gov.ns.ca/ansa/specialevents.asp
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Residents of HRM not showing much trust in government and public institutions, survey shows Numbers are continually declining, too
While not a budget cut in the strictest sense, inflationary pressures will mean the funding freeze amounts to a 1.4 per cent — or $11.3-million — reduction in Capital Health’s budget.
“It’s significant. It means that we need to make a series of changes that we will come together on over the next several weeks,” said Amanda Whitewood, vice-president, sustainability, and chief financial officer of Capital Health.
“We need to make room for our transformation, our change, over the next several years.”
It’s the third indication the NDP government plans on going ahead with spending reductions in the upcoming budget. Last month, school boards were told to cut two per cent, and universities were notified the province will cut grants by $14 million.
District health authorities, however, have the added pressure of a government plan to move more toward primary care while cutting their budgets.
RESPONSE:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
_____________
HALIFAX - Nova Scotia's auditor general says while it's an issue that weighs on his mind, he can't see launching a wider probe of politicians spending unless he gets some indication of potential wrongdoing first.
Dartmouth North office ‘is and will always be open,’ says Zinck Canadian Taxpayers Federation’s Kevin Lacey ‘strongly’ believes he should step down
But spokeswoman warns ‘anything can happen’ All of the accused are scheduled to appear in court April 20
All four accused to appear in Halifax provincial court on April 20 Dave Wilson leads group with 33 charges in total ~~~~~~~~~
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~~~~~~~~~~~~
______________________
HRM’s legal department looking into recovering $359,550 from 2010 cash advance to concert promoter 
________________
The HRM MINIMALIST BY-LAW encouraging lazy public servants to be lazier
Discrimination against tenants to favour landlords is HRM FIRE/Building inspector Craig MacDonald's policy. more to come draft.
No one is happier than I that the Auditor General is investigating this pathetic sexist lazy public servants who allow slum landlords to abuse the rights of tenants while exploiting them for profits. The AG has no idea the role these lazyfecks play in the business of slumlandlording.
______________________
Kelly reaffirms he’s staying put
HRM’s legal department looking into recovering $359,550 from 2010 cash advance to concert promoter Ryan Taplin/Metro
Mayor Peter Kelly reads Auditor General Larry Munroe’s report into concert cash advances at city hall yesterday.
________________
The municipality’s administrative committee will consider enabling council to sanction members who breach the code of conduct for elected officials today.
The report, submitted in January by then-acting CAO Wayne Anstey and deputy CAO Mike Labrecque, was written to clarify the implementation of the code of conduct, adopted by council May 26, 2009.
It recommends councillors attempt to resolve disputes among themselves first, while explaining the mechanisms of complaints should that not be possible.
“If disputes or issues cannot be resolved at the informal level any member of council may submit a ‘notice of complaint’ in confidence ... to the mayor,” reads the report.
“If the complaint involves the mayor ‘notice’ may be made through another member of council’s administrative standing committee.”
The report repeatedly stresses the entire process should be conducted privately.
“Under no circumstances will an allegation of breach of the Code of Conduct be discussed or disclosed during a public committee or council meeting, nor the circumstances surrounding the allegations be disclosed publicly.”
Any resulting sanctions will also be determined behind closed doors. That means a complaint could be launched, a councillor found in breach of their own code of conduct, and subsequently reprimanded without the knowledge of voters.
“That’s not my understanding, but again I haven’t finished thoroughly reading the document yet,” Mayor Peter Kelly, who chairs the administrative committee, said yesterday.
Kelly said he presumes if any councillor found in breach of the code, that information would be released publicly.
Metro Halifax could find no such indication in the report.
The report, submitted in January by then-acting CAO Wayne Anstey and deputy CAO Mike Labrecque, was written to clarify the implementation of the code of conduct, adopted by council May 26, 2009.
It recommends councillors attempt to resolve disputes among themselves first, while explaining the mechanisms of complaints should that not be possible.
“If disputes or issues cannot be resolved at the informal level any member of council may submit a ‘notice of complaint’ in confidence ... to the mayor,” reads the report.
“If the complaint involves the mayor ‘notice’ may be made through another member of council’s administrative standing committee.”
The report repeatedly stresses the entire process should be conducted privately.
“Under no circumstances will an allegation of breach of the Code of Conduct be discussed or disclosed during a public committee or council meeting, nor the circumstances surrounding the allegations be disclosed publicly.”
Any resulting sanctions will also be determined behind closed doors. That means a complaint could be launched, a councillor found in breach of their own code of conduct, and subsequently reprimanded without the knowledge of voters.
“That’s not my understanding, but again I haven’t finished thoroughly reading the document yet,” Mayor Peter Kelly, who chairs the administrative committee, said yesterday.
Kelly said he presumes if any councillor found in breach of the code, that information would be released publicly.
Metro Halifax could find no such indication in the report.
RESPONSE:
Oh yes indeedy, any misconduct of any city councillor should be public...so why did the mayor and the city council of 2005 sit on an email about Patrick Murphy being a rapist and no one did a thing...oh wait yes they contacted the police who sat on it until a year later I walked into the station to lay charges for rape and they still did nothing...but abuse me.
Oh yeah the Commonwealth Games Bid was on the table so I contacted each CEO there and gave them the information about our corrupt police, council/mayor, minister of justice, police commission and rapist Murphy. The mayor, Wayne, each sitting councillor should have been charged with obstructing justice for personal and political gain/ favour from the Games.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Are you one of the few voters who counts?
METRO HALIFAX Published: March 28, 2011 2:00 p.m. Last modified: March 27, 2011 4:38 p.m.
And they’re off … to another election in which most of us won’t count. No one will admit it, of course, but take it from me.
This won’t be an election about ideas. Ideas don’t win elections. Can you say carbon tax? Or Kim Campbell? Forget meaningful debate about corporate tax cuts, budget deficits, debt, wars in Afghanistan and Libya, environment, globalization, poverty — except, of course, as those issues nudge numbers.
Like all recent elections in our first-past-the-post system, this one will be all about numbers — a small number of numbers in 50, give or take, of the 308 federal ridings in which one party or another believes, for one reason or another, it can wrest a particular seat from its rivals.
Start with the standard-issue 40 ridings in which the margin of victory last time was miniscule enough that the losing party hopes a leader-kissed baby here or a strategically timed announcement there will change the outcome. They will count.
But the only ever-shifting-winds-of-change riding in Nova Scotia is West Nova, where the difference between a Tory or Liberal MP is traditionally a few popular-vote percentage points. West Nova voters will matter.
Each party also maintains its own additional list of ridings in which, for whatever reasons — its own star candidate, the stumbles of an incumbent, a particular policy — it hopes to make a gain.
The NDP is targeting one such Nova Scotia riding — Dartmouth-Cole Harbour — where it believes former provincial leader Robert Chisholm can knock off Liberal Michael Savage.
The Tories thought they had their own star candidate to take down another Liberal — Geoff Regan in Halifax West — but, for some reason, they’ve stopped talking about that particular “star:” Halifax Mayor Peter Kelly.
Conservatives say they’re also targeting rural Liberals and New Democrats like Peter Stoffer, who voted for the federal gun registry. But even they aren’t dumb enough to think they can actually defeat the popular MP, who gobbled up more than 60 per cent of the votes last time.
Which means…
In most Nova Scotia ridings, our numbers don’t add up. Our votes won’t matter.
We will once again be spectators at our own democracy. Welcome to Election 2011.
RESPONSE:
You mean after all the crimes Peter Kelly committed and all the injuries he did to my family on behalf of Sorry Tory Mike Baker, Murray Scott, Nadine Cooper Mont, Frank Beazley-Peter Kelly is now the ugly girl at the dance?
Peter Stoffer takes full advantage of the elders/vets in his riding, he plays them like a cheap fiddle and it is hard to watch, what has he really done besides kiss the cheeks of too much blush?
I met Chisholm weeks ago at a health community event- he had nothing planned for this community to meet him/platform but had posters for his white Woodlawn event....yeah he us just like the rest, and I never seen Savage in this community of Dartmouth North at any time either.These are the communities that need to most encouragement to vote yet who is meaningfully engaged in this community?
~~~~~~~~~~~
Forgivable grant given for concert
Practice of giving cash advances to promoters in return for ticket sale proceeds established in 2008 Auditor general to examine HRM’s role in concerts, staff guidelines 
HRM’s acting chief administrator Wayne Anstey was on the hot seat yesterday as council got “upset” over his giving a $400,000 forgivable grant to a concert promoter who is now out of business.
Two weeks prior to the Halifax Rocks concerts on the Common last summer, Harold MacKay with Power Promotional Events told HRM he needed more money or the concerts couldn’t go ahead.
The first show on July 23 with Kid Rock as headliner was cancelled about a month before the concert. The Black Eyed Peas performed as scheduled the next night.
“Mr. Anstey, thinking the concert might not go and we’d be embarrassed, gave a forgivable grant of $400,000,” said Coun. Gloria McCluskey who is also the chair of the audit and finance committee.
The municipality had already provided a $1.8 million loan and might have lost that money if the concert was cancelled.
The cash advance came out of the Metro Centre’s budget. Power Promotional Events went under last October.
McCluskey said the cash advance goes against the Municipal Government Act and the policies of HRM.
“Council is very upset but Mr. Anstey was very forthright and he acknowledged that he did these things,” McCluskey told reporters after yesterday’s council meeting.
“It certainly isn’t criminal, it’s just a very bad error of judgment and he didn’t bring it to council.”
Some of the grant was paid back through ticket sales, but HRM still owes the Metro Centre $359,550.
Council voted last night to investigate if insurance would cover some or all of the cost, and if not, funds were set aside from a surplus account.
RESPONSE:
LMAO, even Al Capone went down on a lesser charge...The entire city council/mayor/Anstey should have been criminally charged and fired on their role in the Murphy rape cover- up in 2005 . I will take it as I can...the selective moral outrage of city council is pathological and conveniently political especially Sue Uteck's reaction on this new issue, she and Fougere and Sloane played an extra role in the Murphy rape cover-up.
Why didnt McClusky know about this if she sits on the audit/finance committee, no wonder she is down playing Anstey's antics..I am sure we can handle concert embarrassment, after all we endure global embarrassment with this mayor and city council daily and we do not get a penny for it. If they are admitting to this what else are they hiding? And who will investigate them, certainly not the HRM police who have acted criminally with Kelly on Murphy rape cover-up.
Why didnt McClusky know about this if she sits on the audit/finance committee, no wonder she is down playing Anstey's antics..I am sure we can handle concert embarrassment, after all we endure global embarrassment with this mayor and city council daily and we do not get a penny for it. If they are admitting to this what else are they hiding? And who will investigate them, certainly not the HRM police who have acted criminally with Kelly on Murphy rape cover-up.
~~~~~~
Tourism minister’s ad appearance creates debate between parties
Ryan Taplin/Metro Halifax
Percy Paris
The Progressive Conservatives and the NDP traded barbs yesterday over Tourism Minister Percy Paris’ appearance in a new government advertising campaign.
Paris appeared in a 31-second TV advertisement promoting the My Nova Scotia competition that began running on Monday.
Tory MLA Chris d’Entremont called a minister appearing in a non-partisan government ad a “slippery slope.”
“Will every NDP minister now have television ads promoting the activities of their departments?” he asked in a statement.
The NDP were quick to point out several instances of former Tory cabinet ministers appearing in Government of Nova Scotia ads.
Attached to a response from Paris were two ads, one print and one radio, from former Tory Labour Minister Mark Parent. A similar radio spot from former Tory and former Education Minister Karen Casey was also included. “I find this particularly surprising considering members of the previous government regularly appeared in advertising on past government initiatives,” Paris said in a release.
The ads, including the My Nova Scotia television spot, were non-partisan in nature. There are no explicit rules prohibiting cabinet ministers from appearing in Government of Nova Scotia advertisements, according to Communications Nova Scotia Managing Director Rick Alexander.
The My Nova Scotia ad was not produced by CNS, however, like most tourism media, it was handled by the marketing firm Colour Creative Persuasion.
RESPONSE:
Percy is a joke so he is going for popularity contests. He did a terrible job organizing Black families for the Imagine OUR Schools consults, he did a pathetic job on the Arts/Culture consultation with public and he ignored including vulnerable Black communities such as Dartmouth North in his new Recognition program-again for popularity. He is doing what any one without any substance does, distract the peeps with shiny things.... Get rid of him, he is draining the public purse via popularity gimmicks.
Email to Percy Paris
From: gaidheal mcintyre
To: ansa_newsletter@gov.ns.ca Sent: Tuesday, March 15, 2011 7:01 PM
Subject: transportation/Dartmouth North community
Hello ANSA,
There is a large Black population in Dartmouth North who more than likely do not have transportation/means to get to the Black Cultural Centre if in fact they ever get a opportunity to hear about these sessions as many do not hav access to computers.
Given the realities in this vulnerable community why are you not hosting one of these sessions at the Dartmouth North Community Centre, your site seems to say you want their included voices yet the behaviour of exclusion belies this..
Lets not have a repeat of the 'Imagine our Schools' low attendance, the lack of organizing families to attend these school sessions was shameful.
What have you done to organize and encourage participation from Blacks in this community on this recognition issue or do their voices not count being they are Impoverished?
G McIntyre
http://www.gov.ns.ca/ansa/specialevents.asp
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Public trust in tailspin
Residents of HRM not showing much trust in government and public institutions, survey shows Numbers are continually declining, too RICK EMBERLEY Published: March 04, 2011 12:00 a.m Last modified: March 04, 2011 12:41 a.m.
We are certainly living in cynical times.
Only 17 per cent of HRM residents surveyed rate our trust of the provincial government at eight or higher on a scale of one to 10.
Our trust of the federal government is even lower on the same scale, sitting at 11 per cent. The highest reported sense of trust is reserved for charities, churches and the health-care system at 31 per cent.
But even these numbers show a dramatic decline in recent years.
It is also noteworthy trust in churches among young urban dwellers is even lower at 19 per cent.
The major factors driving the negativity and distrust of governments include the recent MLA expense scandal and what is perceived as a history of broken promises from the past several governments.
Yet, the recent changes to a new government here in Nova Scotia has held the line or improved folks’ level of trust among 50 per cent of residents.
Another 15 per cent actually reported that trust has increased.
The federal government has not fared as well. Only seven per cent say their trust in the federal government has increased over the past year.
How is this decreasing trust playing out in the daily lives of people in HRM?
Well the most obvious indication is what might be described as “dropout.”
Fewer people are voting. Fewer people are going to church. Charities are finding it more difficult to recruit volunteers and raise money.
There is little magic in what people see as the solution to this deteriorating situation.
It rests almost entirely in the sphere of leadership. People want more honesty, integrity and accountability from all levels of government and public institutions.
As for political parties, only five per cent of our younger population report high levels of trust in them.
Fixing this circumstance may be a necessary first step in restoring public trust in many of our public institutions.
Only 17 per cent of HRM residents surveyed rate our trust of the provincial government at eight or higher on a scale of one to 10.
Our trust of the federal government is even lower on the same scale, sitting at 11 per cent. The highest reported sense of trust is reserved for charities, churches and the health-care system at 31 per cent.
But even these numbers show a dramatic decline in recent years.
It is also noteworthy trust in churches among young urban dwellers is even lower at 19 per cent.
The major factors driving the negativity and distrust of governments include the recent MLA expense scandal and what is perceived as a history of broken promises from the past several governments.
Yet, the recent changes to a new government here in Nova Scotia has held the line or improved folks’ level of trust among 50 per cent of residents.
Another 15 per cent actually reported that trust has increased.
The federal government has not fared as well. Only seven per cent say their trust in the federal government has increased over the past year.
How is this decreasing trust playing out in the daily lives of people in HRM?
Well the most obvious indication is what might be described as “dropout.”
Fewer people are voting. Fewer people are going to church. Charities are finding it more difficult to recruit volunteers and raise money.
There is little magic in what people see as the solution to this deteriorating situation.
It rests almost entirely in the sphere of leadership. People want more honesty, integrity and accountability from all levels of government and public institutions.
As for political parties, only five per cent of our younger population report high levels of trust in them.
Fixing this circumstance may be a necessary first step in restoring public trust in many of our public institutions.
RESPONSE:
Stop blaming the recent scandal, folks did not trust and if they knew the truth about how many govt agencies have been hiding other scandals/crimes/corruption/public servant abuse they would vomit.The NS govt does not deserve any trust until it earns it and until some of the perps in govt and public servantry have done prison time.For 20 years I have watched and reported public servants get away with permanently harming families and then watched police brutalize folks talking about police brutality, I have watched Carvery get away with the most violent racial hate crimes, I have watch the mayor collude with corruption on a rape case I have watched ministers ignore the crimes being committed in their dept that have harmed disabled people...I have seen how pathological and depraved our govt is...recent? hell nah...unless you are calling 20 years of evidence to the criminality recent.
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Funding freeze squeezes health agency
Ryan Taplin
Health Minister Maureen MacDonald
Health Minister Maureen MacDonald
Keeping funding at last year’s level will cost the Capital District Health Authority over $11 million.
The province announced on Thursday Nova Scotia’s nine DHAs will be asked to “manage” with the same amount of funding they received last year — about $1.6 billion.
The province announced on Thursday Nova Scotia’s nine DHAs will be asked to “manage” with the same amount of funding they received last year — about $1.6 billion.
While not a budget cut in the strictest sense, inflationary pressures will mean the funding freeze amounts to a 1.4 per cent — or $11.3-million — reduction in Capital Health’s budget.
“It’s significant. It means that we need to make a series of changes that we will come together on over the next several weeks,” said Amanda Whitewood, vice-president, sustainability, and chief financial officer of Capital Health.
“We need to make room for our transformation, our change, over the next several years.”
It’s the third indication the NDP government plans on going ahead with spending reductions in the upcoming budget. Last month, school boards were told to cut two per cent, and universities were notified the province will cut grants by $14 million.
District health authorities, however, have the added pressure of a government plan to move more toward primary care while cutting their budgets.
RESPONSE:
The only freezing that should be are the wages and benefits for Maureen Macdonald who did knowingly commit the most depraved illegal acts in hiding the racial violent hate crimes organized by Irvine Carvey and relentless police brutality against my family in Mulgrave Park-she knew that this violence that was done to me deliberately to silence me about black on white crimes, Housing /Carvery corruption and depravity of police were harming my family daily and she knew it was putting me in medical crisis on a regular basis and she was called 04/02 about it all and did nothing, the white coward that she is, she should be in prison for contributing to the cover up of racial hate crimes and police brutality against vulnerable families with disabilities...she IS disease, she is illness...fire her and save money
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Closed-to-public meetings to be examined
RESPONSE:
In 2005 each sitting HRM city councillor received an email about Patrick Murphy being a rapist and not one responded. Not one contacted the victim not one said anything publicly nor is anything on minutes. Everything said was behind closed doors. You should be very concerned that this council and mayor Kelly deliberately acted in a corrupt manner to keep from the public that Murphy was accused of rape while he was a sitting council and nothing was discussed openly and on record.What had to have been said for them to pretend they didnot get that email 02/05 and for the police to have been contacted 02/05 and did nothing so a year later the victim was forced to go to police to lay charges which never came. When sprayed painted once council said nothing, when done twice still nothing. Each council committed a complicit crime by being covert about it.
_____________
N.S. auditor would examine further complaints
KEITH DOUCETTE Published: February 15, 2011 3:53 p.m.Last modified: February 16, 2011 1:08 a.m.
HALIFAX - Nova Scotia's auditor general says while it's an issue that weighs on his mind, he can't see launching a wider probe of politicians spending unless he gets some indication of potential wrongdoing first.
Jacques Lapointe said Tuesday a forensic audit that resulted in 52 charges laid against three former and one current member of the provincial legislature only occurred when information was given to his office to follow up.
The charges laid Monday by the RCMP included fraud, theft over $5,000, and breach of trust by a public officer.
"I need to have something to indicate that other work needs to be done," Lapointe said in an interview. "If anyone has any information ... they should bring it to me and if they did I'd go back."
Lapointe's initial audit of politicians spending was released last February and covered the period between July 2006 and June 2009.
The report ignited public outrage and rocked the political establishment in revealing that thousands of dollars had been spent on a range of items from home-installed generators and big screen TVs to custom-made furniture and laptops and cameras.
Soon after Lapointe followed up with the forensic audit and turned over files on specific transactions in May that prompted the RCMP criminal investigation of five former members and one current member of the legislature.
Those facing charges are former Conservative Richard Hurlburt and former Liberals Dave Wilson and Russell MacKinnon, along with Independent member Trevor Zinck, who was elected as a New Democrat.
Court documents indicate some of the charges date back to events that allegedly happened in 2005.
All of the men are scheduled to make their first appearance on the charges in provincial court in Halifax on April 20. None of the allegations against them has been proven in court.
Despite the high profile of the scandal when he released his report last year, Lapointe said no new information has subsequently turned up.
"I would have thought that if there was ... something that somebody knows that they would have talked to us by now," he said.
Lapointe said even though charges have been laid he doesn't believe a general investigation would be the best use of his office's resources at this point.
Police investigators have also said they would investigate further if there were specific complaints from the public.
However, at least one political watchdog believes it shouldn't take much to prompt a wider investigation.
Duff Conacher of Ottawa-based Democracy Watch said a general complaint from the public should suffice.
"I think the RCMP and auditor general would be negligent to not go further based on general concern expressed by the public," said Conacher. "They shouldn't need specific information to be doing a random audit of the past."
Conacher contends the recent spending scandals in Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador have had their effect at the federal level, although he said all parties with the exception of the Bloc Quebecois have conspired to "circle the wagons" when it comes to greater scrutiny of spending by MPs.
He also said federal auditor general Sheila Fraser compromised by opting to look into the general spending of the House of Commons and Senate in a report due this fall rather than spending by individual MPs.
Regardless, he said the public mood and the message for all politicians is clear.
"We are going to go through a transition period where it will be tough for current politicians because people will be very skeptical that they are acting in honest, ethical and open ways. But that's no reason to protect past politicians who have done wrong."
Kevin Lacey, Atlantic director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, also believes that wider examinations of politicians spending is required, particularly in Nova Scotia.
"The only way we are going to clean up the system is by first burning it down and starting over," he said.
Lacey suggested that if the auditor general lacked the resources to delve deeper, then an arms-length body should be designated by either his office or the government to carry out the task.
RESPONSE:
AG says he has not received any thing else. Excuse me AG but I have been asking for investigations since 1994, all hidden by many a public servant/ elected official and agency such as Human Rights/Police Commission, Ombudsman Office and several critics/ministers. There are almost 1000 documents drafted by me alone on the corruption of public servants, so sorry I have been a bit busy working on those documents. However I am getting them ready for you so you will have them in the next few months. Having said that where were you when the Patty Murphy trial was all in the papers or do you think women just commit crimes against councillors for fun?
This city/province reeks of depravity and pathology and you sat by and did nothing, how much evidence do you need to ask the question,what the feck is going on here?
The AG ONLY started after the Tories left office and after Mike Baker's death have no doubt that is not an accident.He was clearly too afraid of the Tory retaliation which is both criminal and depraved.The AG was assigned his post in 2006-where was the person before him-have him investigated too. The fact that AG-JP fact waited until the Tories left and the NDP were siting reveals something very calculating on his part and the part of his office. We cannot afford to have cowards policing the govt/public servants-get rid of him and put in someone who actually has a watch that works. I contacted Fed-AG in 2006 (Fraser) to investigate Tories et al-she said she couldnt, that I had to take it all to my own AG-I was quite shocked, told her we didnot have one. This is not the time for passive govt...we need a govt that actually deserves to be called govt...as in Howe's RESPONSIBLE GOVERNMENT
~~~~~~~ Zinck still in office amid allegations
Dartmouth North office ‘is and will always be open,’ says Zinck Canadian Taxpayers Federation’s Kevin Lacey ‘strongly’ believes he should step downA Nova Scotia political scientist says calling for Trevor Zinck’s resignation may be presuming guilt before it’s proven.
Dr. Tom Urbaniak, who teaches political science at Cape Breton University, said yesterday because the independent Dartmouth North MLA doesn’t have executive responsibilities, he may not be put under the same pressure to step down as a cabinet minister or premier.
“We have to, while this is before the courts, we have to accept the doctrine of innocent until proven guilty,” Urbaniak said.
“He doesn’t have executive responsibilities, and usually, in those circumstances, a sitting politician continues ... until the case has been disposed of.”
Zinck, along with former MLAs Richard Hurlburt, David Wilson and Russell MacKinnon, faces numerous charges in relation to an RCMP probe into their expenses.
Zinck is charged with breach of public trust, fraud over $5,000 and theft over $5,000.
Urbaniak did note Zinck’s statement to the media Monday afternoon wasn’t typical of politicians facing such allegations, noting he did not deny the charges.
“Often, you do have sitting politicians facing charges (issue) media releases ... (insisting) they will be defending themselves vigorously against the charges,” he said.
Canadian Taxpayers Federation Atlantic director Kevin Lacey said Zinck should step down. “I think he deserves his day in court, and shouldn’t be presumed guilty,” said Lacey. “But I think the people of Dartmouth North deserve a representative, and I don’t see how he can represent the public while this is going on.”
Dr. Tom Urbaniak, who teaches political science at Cape Breton University, said yesterday because the independent Dartmouth North MLA doesn’t have executive responsibilities, he may not be put under the same pressure to step down as a cabinet minister or premier.
“We have to, while this is before the courts, we have to accept the doctrine of innocent until proven guilty,” Urbaniak said.
“He doesn’t have executive responsibilities, and usually, in those circumstances, a sitting politician continues ... until the case has been disposed of.”
Zinck, along with former MLAs Richard Hurlburt, David Wilson and Russell MacKinnon, faces numerous charges in relation to an RCMP probe into their expenses.
Zinck is charged with breach of public trust, fraud over $5,000 and theft over $5,000.
Urbaniak did note Zinck’s statement to the media Monday afternoon wasn’t typical of politicians facing such allegations, noting he did not deny the charges.
“Often, you do have sitting politicians facing charges (issue) media releases ... (insisting) they will be defending themselves vigorously against the charges,” he said.
Canadian Taxpayers Federation Atlantic director Kevin Lacey said Zinck should step down. “I think he deserves his day in court, and shouldn’t be presumed guilty,” said Lacey. “But I think the people of Dartmouth North deserve a representative, and I don’t see how he can represent the public while this is going on.”
RESPONSE:
Kevin Lacey, if you are so about the People of Dartmouth North then why dont you ask them what they want. No one else has offered to be a rep of the People here and despite the endless hardships of this forgotten community Trevor Zinck has stepped up. Should it not be up to us if we want him to step down before his day in court or not. Don't try to make out the martyr Kevin, you are doing no one but yourself the service.Quite clearly you speak out of your 'gluttonous maximus' assuming there is someone waiting to do all the dirty work Trevor must do because municipal (Jim Smith) and provincial (Jerry Pye) have failed this community for generations.
~~~~~~~~~~ Fraud over $5,000 could yield 14 years
But spokeswoman warns ‘anything can happen’ All of the accused are scheduled to appear in court April 20 ALEX BOUTILIER METRO HALIFAX Published: February 16, 2011 1:05 a.m. Last modified: February 16, 2011 1:08 a.m
Nova Scotia’s Public Prosecution Service will spend the next two months poring over thousands of pages of RCMP evidence on four MLAs charged in relation to the MLA expense scandal.
Public Prosecution spokeswoman Chris Hansen said yesterday it’s “completely inappropriate” to talk about possible sentencing — considering Richard Hurlburt, Trevor Zinck, Russell MacKinnon and David Wilson have yet to appear before the courts, let alone be found guilty.
“Before you talk about penalty, you have to go through a prosecution and there has to be a finding of guilt,” Hansen said.
Nevertheless, the Criminal Code of Canada does provide maximum sentences for the offences.
For fraud over $5,000, which all four face, the maximum sentence is 14 years in prison. For breaching public trust, the highest penalty is five years.
For uttering a forged document, which Hurlburt, MacKinnon and Wilson are each charged with to varying degrees, the penalty is up to 10 years in prison.
Zinck is also facing two counts of theft over $5,000, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years.
Public Prosecution spokeswoman Chris Hansen said yesterday it’s “completely inappropriate” to talk about possible sentencing — considering Richard Hurlburt, Trevor Zinck, Russell MacKinnon and David Wilson have yet to appear before the courts, let alone be found guilty.
“Before you talk about penalty, you have to go through a prosecution and there has to be a finding of guilt,” Hansen said.
Nevertheless, the Criminal Code of Canada does provide maximum sentences for the offences.
For fraud over $5,000, which all four face, the maximum sentence is 14 years in prison. For breaching public trust, the highest penalty is five years.
For uttering a forged document, which Hurlburt, MacKinnon and Wilson are each charged with to varying degrees, the penalty is up to 10 years in prison.
Zinck is also facing two counts of theft over $5,000, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years.
RESPONSE
Dang if fraud can get you 14 years then the public servant scum who deliberately harmed my family since 1992 will be spending the rest of their lives in prison...Dang AG....I will get the paper work for you ASAP...though these scum should have been prison already since my first request for investigations to Mike Baker and despite these thugs getting to enjoy all they took from my family while being paid by tax payers, I will have to settle knowing they will spend their senior years in prison where they belong, this would include several crown in the Public Prosecution Office starting with Susan Potts and Martin Herschorn
~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Auditor general says he’s not surprised with charges
Ryan Taplin/Metro
Jacques Lapointe
ALEX BOUTILIER METRO HALIFAX Published: February 15, 2011 1:15 a.m. Last modified: February 15, 2011 1:25 a.m.
Auditor general Jacques Lapointe said he had no expectations when he turned over a list of six MLAs to the RCMP for possible criminal wrongdoing.
But he said he wasn’t surprised to learn yesterday four of them had been charged.
“I knew there’d be some kind of result. And then like everyone else I (had) to wait and see what the (RCMP) announced,” Lapointe commented at his office yesterday.
Lapointe said he was satisfied with the government’s changes to the expense system, enacted after his office’s damning report released a year ago this week. But he said that whether or not there were criminal wrongdoings before 2006 is impossible to say.
“We have no way of knowing,” he said.
But he said he wasn’t surprised to learn yesterday four of them had been charged.
“I knew there’d be some kind of result. And then like everyone else I (had) to wait and see what the (RCMP) announced,” Lapointe commented at his office yesterday.
Lapointe said he was satisfied with the government’s changes to the expense system, enacted after his office’s damning report released a year ago this week. But he said that whether or not there were criminal wrongdoings before 2006 is impossible to say.
“We have no way of knowing,” he said.
“We just followed up, as is our professional requirement, followed up information that came to us. So we judged at the time that well, going back that far, was far enough ... to look. Where do you stop?
RESPONSE:But these charges are but a snip of the charges that should be laid against many public servants since 1992 and in particular since 2006 under this AG watch..The amount of corruption and criminality that tales place on a regular basis that he has and is ignoring is shameful and should result in charges laid against this AG for failing to do his job. The AG wants us to believe that he can only do what is brough to him directly...Your job can include being proactively seeking out random audits and evaluations from within public servant domains and among the public for efficacy.
Fraud, forgery among charges
All four accused to appear in Halifax provincial court on April 20 Dave Wilson leads group with 33 charges in total The RCMP's Commercial Crime Section spent “countless hours” pouring over “thousands of documents” before charging four past and present MLAs with fraud.
Insp. Jim MacDougall announced yesterday that former MLAs Richard Hurlburt (Yarmouth), David Wilson (Glace Bay), and Russell MacKinnon (Cape Breton West), as well as the current Dartmouth North MLA Trevor Zinck have been criminally charged in connection with a forensic audit of MLA expenses.
The charges are a result of auditor general Jacques Lapointe’s forensic audit into MLA expenses, which was turned over to the RCMP on May 12 of last year.
“Commercial crime investigations are unique in the challenges they present,” said MacDougall at RCMP H Division Headquarters, noting the complexity and the availability of evidence and witnesses.
“(The RCMP has) concluded its investigation into MLA expenses, and has laid a total of 52 charges against four individuals.”
All four have been charged with one count of fraud exceeding $5,000 and one count of breaching public trust.
Zinck also faces two counts of theft over $5,000. Hurlburt is facing three counts of uttering a forged document, MacKinnon eight counts for the same charge, and Wilson 31 counts of uttering a forged document.
All are indictable offences.
MacDougall couldn’t speak to specifics of the charges, such as whether or not Hurlburt’s charges were in relation to an expensed flat-screen TV or the purchase and installation of a generator for his home, as the matter is before the courts.
Hurlburt was elected a Progressive Conservative, while Wilson and MacKinnon were elected as Liberals. MacKinnon later left the Liberal caucus and ran for the Tory nomination.
Zinck was elected as an NDP in 2009, but was later kicked out of caucus over expense concerns.
Insp. Jim MacDougall announced yesterday that former MLAs Richard Hurlburt (Yarmouth), David Wilson (Glace Bay), and Russell MacKinnon (Cape Breton West), as well as the current Dartmouth North MLA Trevor Zinck have been criminally charged in connection with a forensic audit of MLA expenses.
The charges are a result of auditor general Jacques Lapointe’s forensic audit into MLA expenses, which was turned over to the RCMP on May 12 of last year.
“Commercial crime investigations are unique in the challenges they present,” said MacDougall at RCMP H Division Headquarters, noting the complexity and the availability of evidence and witnesses.
“(The RCMP has) concluded its investigation into MLA expenses, and has laid a total of 52 charges against four individuals.”
All four have been charged with one count of fraud exceeding $5,000 and one count of breaching public trust.
Zinck also faces two counts of theft over $5,000. Hurlburt is facing three counts of uttering a forged document, MacKinnon eight counts for the same charge, and Wilson 31 counts of uttering a forged document.
All are indictable offences.
MacDougall couldn’t speak to specifics of the charges, such as whether or not Hurlburt’s charges were in relation to an expensed flat-screen TV or the purchase and installation of a generator for his home, as the matter is before the courts.
Hurlburt was elected a Progressive Conservative, while Wilson and MacKinnon were elected as Liberals. MacKinnon later left the Liberal caucus and ran for the Tory nomination.
Zinck was elected as an NDP in 2009, but was later kicked out of caucus over expense concerns.
RESPONSE:
Yet the RCMP failed to investigate their own for violent crimes. They did failed to investigate the crown, police and Murray Scott for their corruption involved in the Murphy rape matter.We have just scratched the surface on the criminality of public servants in this province and those wagging their fingers are some of the worse perps in this provinces.
comic caption
Stevie: Oh, come on 'B', pull my chubby lil finger!
Obama: (through clenched teeth) Will you grow up- this is a serious meeting
Stevie: Dont be a party pooper, this is a serious political custom in Canada
Obama: I don't care, leave me alone, bad enough I had to agree to this photo with you, people are laughing at me around the world for being seen with a baboon in a suit..
(under his breath) Dang.. no matter what I accomplish as president, I am always forced to be nice to the weird or useless white guy.
(under his breath) Dang.. no matter what I accomplish as president, I am always forced to be nice to the weird or useless white guy.
Stevie: But everyone is looking and if you dont do it they will think we are not pals
Obama: I do not care!
What is it with you stuffy pasty white guys...what is this pre-occupation you have with flatulence, shouldn't you be working on your Poverty Reduction Remedies for the marginalized groups in your country such as the children, the women, the disabled, the elderly....
Stevie: the Poor in my cunnry are 'mind over matter'- I don't mind that they don't matter...oh come on eh..... 'B' pull my finger.... honest... it is not a trick...honest!.
What is it with you stuffy pasty white guys...what is this pre-occupation you have with flatulence, shouldn't you be working on your Poverty Reduction Remedies for the marginalized groups in your country such as the children, the women, the disabled, the elderly....
Stevie: the Poor in my cunnry are 'mind over matter'- I don't mind that they don't matter...oh come on eh..... 'B' pull my finger.... honest... it is not a trick...honest!.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
'An attack on school boards’
ALEX BOUTILIER METRO HALIFAX Published: January 27, 2011 1:53 a.m.Last modified: January 27, 2011 2:35 a.m.
HRSB chair Irvine Carvery sending open letter to province outlining board’s position on possible cuts Surplus means boards can trim down: Education Minister Ramona Jennex
Surplus means boards can trim down: Education Minister Ramona Jennex Halifax Regional School Board (HRSB) chair Irvine Carvery said last night the Dexter government was “misleading” in suggesting a $45-million surplus in the province’s eight school boards proves the boards have money to cut.
“This is being seen as an attack on school boards. Plain and simple,” Carvery said at last night’s monthly school board meeting in Dartmouth.
“The government chooses to bring forward this cry that boards have all this money, sitting on a pile of cash. Just to prove a point?”
Carvery was responding to comments made by Education Minister Ramona Jennex, who suggested yesterday the figure proves school boards have more than adequate funding.
But Carvery said that while the HRSB’s “accounting surplus” was $12.6 million, the actual cash surplus was closer to $4.2 million, accumulated over 10 years and with $2.6 million already earmarked for improvements to the board’s offices.
Carvery described the Dexter government’s response over the last few weeks as “a play in the media” to strengthen their position in the negotiation. “It’s unfortunate that the government has decided to release this information in a way that suggests school boards have more than enough to cut,” he said.
Carvery added he still hopes cooler heads will prevail when school boards sit down with Jennex on Feb 3.
“This is being seen as an attack on school boards. Plain and simple,” Carvery said at last night’s monthly school board meeting in Dartmouth.
“The government chooses to bring forward this cry that boards have all this money, sitting on a pile of cash. Just to prove a point?”
Carvery was responding to comments made by Education Minister Ramona Jennex, who suggested yesterday the figure proves school boards have more than adequate funding.
But Carvery said that while the HRSB’s “accounting surplus” was $12.6 million, the actual cash surplus was closer to $4.2 million, accumulated over 10 years and with $2.6 million already earmarked for improvements to the board’s offices.
Carvery described the Dexter government’s response over the last few weeks as “a play in the media” to strengthen their position in the negotiation. “It’s unfortunate that the government has decided to release this information in a way that suggests school boards have more than enough to cut,” he said.
Carvery added he still hopes cooler heads will prevail when school boards sit down with Jennex on Feb 3.
RESPONSE:
Irvine Irvine Carvery is as credible as a three dollar bill. Be wary of anything he says for often when his lips are moving there are lies being said and more dangerously, he mixes lies with some truth on occasion to deflect attention away from himself and his own crimes....he also aligns with possible legit issues to deflect attention and to hold white folks racially hostage so he can manipulate them into doing things his way. Carvery is also paid to be a property manager for Uniacke Square, what you should be asking is how is he working there full-time and at the Board full-time....this is public servant fraud and you need not look any further than Carvery to see why Housing is a deplorable violent mess. He has been ripping off tax payers for a long time and then some...
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Oval sponsors are standing by: Kelly
Debate over making skating surface permanent continues Mayor suggests a way to offset operating expenses Ideas for summer usage include volleyball courts 
Mayor Peter Kelly said Thursday he has some ideas on how to pay for the annual operations of the Canada Games speedskating oval, were it to stay.
It would cost about $500,000 a year to run it once it was built to be permanent, he said. “How do we raise revenue? That ice pad you could put 100-plus decals on there from companies ... and there is also advertising opportunities on the fencing.”
He said several companies have come forward to offer up money for advertising and one has offered $5,000 a year for five years.
It had been more than 25 years since Kelly last strapped on skates, but he tried out the oval for the first time Thursday.
Overall, his feet seemed to remember as he swerved around skaters during the afternoon public skate.
RESPONSE:
Mr. Wrong, I have no doubt that Kelly is going to pimp this project as much as possible as it leads to a poli-platform... Kelly who is seeing mutiny in his ranks for lack of credibility needs public praise and will milk this for all there is and if vetoed at council he will look the martyr and victim....quite Machiavellian actually. Had he been investigated by the Tories for his corruption/criminality with police chief Beazley in 2003 onward he would not even be mayor and should not be allowed to enjoy any public praise and support at all.What we dont need in this city are more folks who make emotion decisions.HRM has a history of 'one hit wonders' then lose interest then we all pay. Like councillor Harvey said, we need more information. We need to make a logical pragmatic decision not an emotional one,the more HRM folks who do not get that worry me,lets me know we have more koolaid drinkers than I originally thot, smart people make smart decisions. When all has been discussed then the 'right' decision should be made. The OVal ONLY came into being because of the Games, this was not the brain child of any person/poli as a positive community project on its own right and merits which is fine as long as it does not interfere with other events at the Commons during the rest of the year-did we think that thru yet, so far the Oval is a great thing,I am waiting for the 'intelligent' discussion now. __________
HRM gives $2.5M for Africville reparations
The Halifax Regional Municipality says it has transferred $2.5 million to the newly formed Africville Heritage Trust Society.
The money, part of a $3-million reparations deal announced earlier this year, will go to the resurrection of the Seaview United Baptist Church. In a release late Friday, Mayor Peter Kelly said the remaining $500,000 is “earmarked for the installation of services to the new building and a proposed interpretive centre.” The funding was initially announced in February, when Kelly offered a long-awaited apology on behalf of the city for the razing of Africville, the historic black community demolished to make way for the construction of the MacKay Bridge.
RESPONSE:
What about the reparations HRM(Kelly/Beazley) and Irvine Carvery owe my family for 4 years of daily racial hate crimes at Mulgrave Park that several police/srgts, NDP Maureen MacDonald, MRHA, Minister of Community Services Morse and Stretch, Police Commission, Human Rights Commission, Ombudsmans Office, Liberal and NDP critics and Tory govt ignored to force my family to move so Carvery was not being outed by me on a regular basis for being a corrupt sociopathic racist lazy public servant using gas and cell phone on tax payers time for his personal use while organizing, encouraging and hiding racial hate crimes against my family. Show me my money HRM and Carvery!!!!! Where are our reparations????
____________________
Halifax Newsmaker of the Year
Metro Halifax, with input from readers, names Auditor General Jacques Lapointe 2010’s Newsmaker of the Year Audit findings embarrassed members of all three major parties, led to reforms in how MLAs spend public money 
alex boutilier/metro
Auditor General Jacques Lapointe
Eleven months after exposing the biggest political scandal for Nova Scotia in recent memory, Auditor General Jacques Lapointe is still somewhat mystified by the fallout.
“I didn’t know where this was going and I kept expecting it to wind down. And it didn’t,” said the author of the report that became known as the MLA expense scandal.
That report resulted in the resignation of two sitting MLAs, Richard Hurlburt and Dave Wilson, contributed to the ejection of Trevor Zinck from government caucus and put egg on the face of numerous provincial politicians, past and present
It blew open the doors of the government’s secretive Internal Economy Board, which held its first public meeting a month after Lapointe released his office’s findings.
It sparked widespread public outrage and led to RCMP investigations into five politicians, the results of which are still pending.
Ultimately, it forced reform on a broken system where politicians policed their own behind closed doors.
Reflecting on the report nearly a year later, Lapointe said that when his staff started turning up many more questionable instances than he anticipated, he knew they were on to something big.
“We started to realize that we weren’t sure how to report these things … Some of these things were clearly wrong. But in what way? How was it wrong? Morally wrong, or was it just against the rules? Was it just our opinion?”
If it was just an opinion, it was one shared by many Nova Scotians. People were shocked to read reports of politicians expensing high-end tech equipment, custom furniture, a Dance Dance Revolution video game and, of course, $8,000 to install a generator.
“We finally decided that the best way to report these, aside from giving our opinion, was simply to report what was there. Right or wrong,” he said. “We felt people needed to know how (the money) was being spent.”
Tom Urbaniak, a political science professor at Cape Breton University, said Lapointe’s office forced politicians to modernize the way they handled public money.
“(Lapointe) played a significant role ... in shoving Nova Scotia politics from the 19th century to the 21st century,” said Urbaniak. “There was a collective outrage ... driven in part by the fact that the concerns were so tangible. Everyone could relate to the instances that were mentioned and could identify the inappropriateness of the instances that were mentioned.”
Lapointe said that the public backlash is understandable but that it may have obscured other findings in his report, such as $830 million tied up in P3 contracts for schools — money he says wasn’t being managed very well.
(The eexpenses) were small dollars, but it was probably more an issue of public trust. P3 schools were an issue of long-term management of large amounts of money and the quality of our schools. But this is an issue of public trust, and that’s a different kind of significance.”
Nevertheless, Lapointe says the sustained media coverage contributed to an increased awareness of the Office of the Auditor General and the crucial watchdog role it plays.
“The more the public knows what we’re doing, to my mind, the better.”
“I didn’t know where this was going and I kept expecting it to wind down. And it didn’t,” said the author of the report that became known as the MLA expense scandal.
That report resulted in the resignation of two sitting MLAs, Richard Hurlburt and Dave Wilson, contributed to the ejection of Trevor Zinck from government caucus and put egg on the face of numerous provincial politicians, past and present
It blew open the doors of the government’s secretive Internal Economy Board, which held its first public meeting a month after Lapointe released his office’s findings.
It sparked widespread public outrage and led to RCMP investigations into five politicians, the results of which are still pending.
Ultimately, it forced reform on a broken system where politicians policed their own behind closed doors.
Reflecting on the report nearly a year later, Lapointe said that when his staff started turning up many more questionable instances than he anticipated, he knew they were on to something big.
“We started to realize that we weren’t sure how to report these things … Some of these things were clearly wrong. But in what way? How was it wrong? Morally wrong, or was it just against the rules? Was it just our opinion?”
If it was just an opinion, it was one shared by many Nova Scotians. People were shocked to read reports of politicians expensing high-end tech equipment, custom furniture, a Dance Dance Revolution video game and, of course, $8,000 to install a generator.
“We finally decided that the best way to report these, aside from giving our opinion, was simply to report what was there. Right or wrong,” he said. “We felt people needed to know how (the money) was being spent.”
Tom Urbaniak, a political science professor at Cape Breton University, said Lapointe’s office forced politicians to modernize the way they handled public money.
“(Lapointe) played a significant role ... in shoving Nova Scotia politics from the 19th century to the 21st century,” said Urbaniak. “There was a collective outrage ... driven in part by the fact that the concerns were so tangible. Everyone could relate to the instances that were mentioned and could identify the inappropriateness of the instances that were mentioned.”
Lapointe said that the public backlash is understandable but that it may have obscured other findings in his report, such as $830 million tied up in P3 contracts for schools — money he says wasn’t being managed very well.
(The eexpenses) were small dollars, but it was probably more an issue of public trust. P3 schools were an issue of long-term management of large amounts of money and the quality of our schools. But this is an issue of public trust, and that’s a different kind of significance.”
Nevertheless, Lapointe says the sustained media coverage contributed to an increased awareness of the Office of the Auditor General and the crucial watchdog role it plays.
“The more the public knows what we’re doing, to my mind, the better.”
RESPONSE:
Where were you when public servants and their management were slaughtering my family in broad daylight for years and why did you wait until the Tories were out before you came out of hibernation? In 2006 I contacted Sheila Frazer to investigate the gangrape of my rights and many other laws by public servants in 3 Nova Scotia departments and protected by 3 Commissions and the Tory govt over many years. Her assistant told me to contact you which I thought most odd for how can my province have an AG yet the employees of this province feel so comfy committing the most depraved acts against my family to hide the incestuous corruption and pathologies epidemic through NS? I told this assistant that I didnot think my province had an AG for if we did the public servants certainly where not afraid of him and surely he would not have let these crimes happen.Why did he not know about them?
_______________________ 11 questions with Mayor Peter Kelly
He looks forward to taking a break at Christmas before the levees on New Year’s Day In 2011, Kelly’s tenure will reach 11 years and he’ll tie Ron Wallace for longest-serving Halifax mayor 
Ryan Taplin/Metro
RESPONSE: I dont see the question about Peter Kelly's role in the rape cover-up and police corruption on the city councillor Patrick Murphy rape matter that was hidden also by chief of police Frank Beazley and Tory minister for Justice Murray Scott and several crown-most of which had invested interests in the Commonwealth Games Bid on the table...I do not see the question about how he is so hunky dorey about lie detector tests yet he knows Patrick Murphy refuses to take one about how he attempted sexual assault in the Liberal office in 1996 and committed rape against the same woman in 1998. I dont see the question about how Kelly refuse to put more police in Mulgrave Park starting in 2003 when his police were brutalizing me while I.Carvery organized racial hate crimes against me,the list of real questions is long.Metro, if you aintgonna ask the real questions then why bother.
Just because you have been elected does not mean you are meeting the needs of the public, it means they rather vote for the devil they know than the devil they dont know..having said that, they truly do not know what a corrupt depraved sociopathic scumbag you truly are-Peter Kelly you ARE the company you keep..
Just because you have been elected does not mean you are meeting the needs of the public, it means they rather vote for the devil they know than the devil they dont know..having said that, they truly do not know what a corrupt depraved sociopathic scumbag you truly are-Peter Kelly you ARE the company you keep..
Ryan Taplin/Metro
Mayor Peter Kelly goes for a ride on the inaugural run for a new hybrid bus in this file photo from March.
Halifax regional council is set to receive a report on the impact of last May’s budget cuts on municipal services.
Council has set aside three days, beginning this morning, to hear from staff on how across-the-board cuts have impacted HRM’s ability to deliver services.
The briefing is also meant to inform future budgetary discussions.
The report’s briefing states the effects of the cuts, enacted to balance the 2010-11 operating budget, are beginning to be felt.
“Seven months of this fiscal year have passed and the service implications are becoming more apparent,” it reads.
“In general, staff has managed to maintain services at an acceptable level, although this has not come without a cost.”
Finance staff originally delivered the report Nov. 23, but council voted to defer the issue for more study.
At the time, Coun. Steve Streatch said the presentation didn’t go far enough.
“We’ve got to make some really serious and painful decisions over the next little while and I really think we have to take a little more time and reflect,” Streatch said.
One slide on the staff presentation reads “We have hit the wall: Cut services or increase taxes.”
But Mayor Peter Kelly says he doesn’t think a tax increase should be on the table.
“I still hold that there should be no tax rate increase,” he said yesterday.
Read the report briefing by going to halifax.ca/council/ then clicking on 2010 Council Agendas and Reports and then Dec. 13.
Council has set aside three days, beginning this morning, to hear from staff on how across-the-board cuts have impacted HRM’s ability to deliver services.
The briefing is also meant to inform future budgetary discussions.
The report’s briefing states the effects of the cuts, enacted to balance the 2010-11 operating budget, are beginning to be felt.
“Seven months of this fiscal year have passed and the service implications are becoming more apparent,” it reads.
“In general, staff has managed to maintain services at an acceptable level, although this has not come without a cost.”
Finance staff originally delivered the report Nov. 23, but council voted to defer the issue for more study.
At the time, Coun. Steve Streatch said the presentation didn’t go far enough.
“We’ve got to make some really serious and painful decisions over the next little while and I really think we have to take a little more time and reflect,” Streatch said.
One slide on the staff presentation reads “We have hit the wall: Cut services or increase taxes.”
But Mayor Peter Kelly says he doesn’t think a tax increase should be on the table.
“I still hold that there should be no tax rate increase,” he said yesterday.
Read the report briefing by going to halifax.ca/council/ then clicking on 2010 Council Agendas and Reports and then Dec. 13.
On Saturday Peter Kelly approached me to offer me a candy cane. I had to use all my strength not to say anything to him in front of the kids lining up for Santa but gave him a hand gesture that clearly stated get out of my face. I didnot want him near me, given the crimes he has allowed to be committed against me by one of his city councillors and his police chief and his minions, you would think that he would stay away from me especially since I am on a current suspended sentence for his failing to conduct investigations, especially after I publicly embarrassed him at another function. As the kids concert got underway Kelly snuck up behind me and asked 'am I sure I wont change my mind'...do you know how pathological you have to be to behave the way he does? Do you think he provoked me twice because he knows I am on a current sentence and he felt safer provoking me??
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Stay tuned, Maureen MacDonald, the face on the left, is dangerous as she enabled ongoing organized HRM/HRP police brutality and racial hate crimes and helped hide them with MRHA Pat Lawrence/Harold Dillon, David Morse-crimes that harmed a person with multiple disabilities.The fact she is Health Minister is like having a child molester work at a day care.
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Nova Scotia needs this kind of ethical standard, if he can be fired for his vulgar behaviour then most of the people I have already named should be in prison for their behaviour. Thank you Alberta for setting the standard for civilization, my province is run by a bunch of spineless cowards or brazen sociopaths....
Alta. Health Services CEO fired for cookie remarks
CTV.ca News Staff Date: Wed. Nov. 24 2010 8:26 PM ET
Dr. Stephen Duckett has been fired as CEO of Alberta Health Services, after he told reporters that he couldn't answer questions about emergency room wait times because he was eating a cookie.
Premier Ed Stelmach called Duckett's remarks offensive.
Duckett had been put in charge of overhauling Alberta's health-care system. Last month, a document from the Alberta Medical Association warned of the "potential catastrophic collapse of timely emergency care delivery" due to chronic overcrowding of hospitals.
The Alberta government has set a target of four hours for ER patients to be treated and discharged, but says that goal may not be reached until March 2015.
Ken Hughes, chairman of Alberta Health Services, said Duckett agreed to leave the board after more than a day of discussions.
"We need to immediately focus on the task at hand, which is to implement as quickly as possible the initiatives made possible by the province's five-year funding commitment," Hughes said. "Nothing else is more important to the health system now than focusing on access and quality."
Hughes would not say how much Duckett will receive in severance, other than that the agency will fulfill its contractual obligation.
Duckett's contract with Alberta Health Services stipulates that he is to receive an additional $700,000 if he is fired without cause.
That figure includes a year's salary plus 15 per cent in lieu of benefits, and up to $20,000 in moving expenses so that Duckett can relocate to Australia, his home country.
Duckett's cookie remarks were filmed and uploaded to YouTube, sparking a public outcry.
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RESPONSE to Michel Sampsons pointing fingers at NDP-Landry for failing to inform the public about jail violence
| Sampson let your hair down |
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Convention centre talks forging ahead
ALEX BOUTILIER METRO HALIFAX Published: November 12, 2010 4:53 a.m. Last modified: November 11, 2010 9:03 p.m.
Provincial and municipal staff will meet Friday to continue negotiations on funding for the proposed convention centre for downtown Halifax.
Halifax regional council publicly announced its support for the project on Tuesday, following a marathon session that lasted more than 12 hours. Council’s support is subject to pending negotiations with other levels of government.
Council voted 22-2 in favour of the project, then stayed behind closed doors to decide how to respond to the province’s offer.
With the Jan. 14 signing deadline fast approaching, it’s now up to provincial and municipal staff to try to work out a deal acceptable to both levels of government.
Transportation and Infrastructure Development Minister Bill Estabrooks said he is glad to hear the municipality is behind the project.
"My compliments to them for spending those numbers of hours and days going over it. Now the dialogue has to continue,” he told reporters Wednesday.
“We look forward to ... getting down to reviewing what they consider acceptable."
Estabrooks admitted the timeframe is “of some consequence,” with funding yet to be secured from the federal government. Federal MPs are scheduled to break for the holiday season on Dec. 17, and will not return until Jan. 31.
“But I’m confient in the fact that we can work this out so that, together, you know, not putting the cart ahead of the horse here or anything ... (we can) approach Ottawa and see if they’re going to be in on it,” Estabrooks said.
He also said the province hasn’t asked developer Joe Ramia how firm the January deadline is.
The price of the convention centre will remain fixed at $159 million until Jan. 15, with the province and municipality being asked to contribute $57 million each.
RESPONSE:we are going to sink faster than the Titanic
Billy says he is thankful for the hours and days the council spent talking about this...ARE YOU FECKING SERIOUS BILLY BOY! It should be months or at least a year to actually digest and comprehend this project. If you have that money then give it to the disabled, seniors and poor..all grab your life jackets we are about to drown.....Thanks NDP...Thanks a lot for removing all doubt.
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Mayor turns down raise, advises councillors to rethink theirs
Mayor Peter Kelly is now saying no to his latest raise.
Effective Monday, Kelly was receiving a four per cent increase to his salary, bringing it to $144,962. Councillors are now getting a 1.6 per cent pay hike to a total salary of $72,357.
But Tuesday afternoon, Kelly announced in a media release he was turning down this latest yearly raise and recommending to regional council they review the current formula for setting its stipends.
“I do not plan to take the money from the taxpayers of Halifax Regional Municipality,” Kelly says in a release.
The release also says the mayor was contacted by “numerous residents” who were “unhappy with the latest round of salary increases.”
For the complete story, see Wednesday’s edition of Metro Halifax.
Effective Monday, Kelly was receiving a four per cent increase to his salary, bringing it to $144,962. Councillors are now getting a 1.6 per cent pay hike to a total salary of $72,357.
But Tuesday afternoon, Kelly announced in a media release he was turning down this latest yearly raise and recommending to regional council they review the current formula for setting its stipends.
“I do not plan to take the money from the taxpayers of Halifax Regional Municipality,” Kelly says in a release.
The release also says the mayor was contacted by “numerous residents” who were “unhappy with the latest round of salary increases.”
For the complete story, see Wednesday’s edition of Metro Halifax.
http://www.metronews.ca/halifax/local/article/680067--mayor-turns-down-raise-advises-councillors-to-rethink-theirs
RESPONSE: nice trick in the hand Kelly
By refusing an increase he does not deserve gets no points from me, he is lucky to have his freedom instead of where he should be....playing this to make himself look like mister thoughtful is cheesey at best.....man o man he will pull anything out of bag of tricks to fool the public...it has worked thus far....
Peter Kelly should be in prison for the crimes he committed with police chief Frank Beazley and supt Stephen Sykes for all the brutality my family endured 1998+ and for his cover-up during the Commonwealth Games Bid with officer Penny Hart and his council of 2005 regarding rapist/sociopath Patrick Murphy...Kelly should be letting taxpayers pay for his incarcerated per diem not living off tax payers through receiving HRM wages.
Peter Kelly should be in prison for the crimes he committed with police chief Frank Beazley and supt Stephen Sykes for all the brutality my family endured 1998+ and for his cover-up during the Commonwealth Games Bid with officer Penny Hart and his council of 2005 regarding rapist/sociopath Patrick Murphy...Kelly should be letting taxpayers pay for his incarcerated per diem not living off tax payers through receiving HRM wages.
_
No more days off for prisoners?
Published: October 04, 2010 12:48 a.m. Last modified: October 04, 2010 12:54 a.m.
Liberal justice critic Michel Samson is calling on the NDP government to “immediately stop” the practice of turning away prisoners on weekends because of overcrowding at the Central Nova Correctional Facility in Burnside.
“Our justice system hands down punishment to these offenders, and instead of enforcing those sentences the NDP tears them up,” Samson said in a release issued yesterday.
Sean Kelly, the province’s director of correctional services, tells the CBC an estimated 15 inmates are turned away each week but are under house arrest at home.
Daily Metro 10/04/10
RESPONSE: Daily Metro 10/04/10
mcgaidheal 04-Oct-10 10:51
Samson is as guilty of frauding public
Samson is as guilty of frauding public
In 2003-2004 Samson received copious amounts of documents and evidence from me regarding the outrageous corruption that was/is incestuously raping the D of Justice and he did nothing.Despite several voice mails left for updates, he could not be bothered returning them.When it was clear he was going to ignore the corruption that stems back to 1992 and involved the crowns office, ministers, police, Victim Services,govt lawyers, police commission, Human Rights Commissions, mayor...I asked for my evidence back including tapes I bought of hearings and still he said and did nothing ....public servants who receive wages from tax payers and fail to do their job are committing fraud. Michel Samson you are committing fraud and your silence acted as collusion to the crimes against humanity that were committed against my family. You should be in prison with no days off..
Sue Uteck colluded with a rapist and corrupt mayor and police chief.....why did Sue Uteck not threatened legal action against me in the various blogs/sites I have posted about this corrupt scumbag calling herself a woman......is she afraid that the public will finally know Sue Uteck and the entire 2005 city council should be in prison with rapist Patrick Murphy for their corruption well hidden from the HRM unassuming public??
Councillor not amused by fake Twitter account
http://www.metronews.ca/halifax/local/article/644018--councillor-not-amused-by-fake-twitter-account
South End Coun. Sue Uteck says she is considering legal action after discovering she was being lampooned on the social networking site Twitter.
A Twitter account with the handle “fakesueuteck” was created Wednesday afternoon. The user wrote several messages which Uteck feels besmirched her reputation, including shots at “fakemayorkelly” and flirtations with “fakepetermackay.”
The account was deleted early Thursday afternoon, but a cached version listed the user as “helping council be more dysfunctional one stupid comment at a time.”
The real Uteck said she learned of the account when contacted by media on Thursday.
“I haven’t seen it, (but) apparently it’s quite offensive in some respects,” she said. “Personally, I feel violated, like somebody broke into my house.”
Uteck said she still hopes to find out who was behind it — and possibly sue.
“If I get there, I will be testing the water,” she said.
South End Coun. Sue Uteck says she is considering legal action after discovering she was being lampooned on the social networking site Twitter.
A Twitter account with the handle “fakesueuteck” was created Wednesday afternoon. The user wrote several messages which Uteck feels besmirched her reputation, including shots at “fakemayorkelly” and flirtations with “fakepetermackay.”
The account was deleted early Thursday afternoon, but a cached version listed the user as “helping council be more dysfunctional one stupid comment at a time.”
The real Uteck said she learned of the account when contacted by media on Thursday.
“I haven’t seen it, (but) apparently it’s quite offensive in some respects,” she said. “Personally, I feel violated, like somebody broke into my house.”
Uteck said she still hopes to find out who was behind it — and possibly sue.
“If I get there, I will be testing the water,” she said.
RESPONSE:
mcgaidhealGuest 24-Sep-10 08:08 what a fibber
Sue is fully aware that I make a point of educating the public about her role in rape cover-up where she colluded with other councillors at city hall to protect the accused. She is fully aware that since 2005 I have listed her name and her role on several sites/blogs yet she claims that she is only now a target that besmirches her reputation?????? this is priceless but of course she wont bring your attention to the other items I post because you might just find out who she really is and what she is capable of....
Sue Uteck... when you supported the scum that raped me, Patrick Murphy and you knew of the crimes I committed against him to bring all of your nefarious asses into court, when you knew I posted your role repeatedly in various sites/blogs on this rape cover up you certainly didnot call the media to claim what a victim you were.... the chats you had with this rapists at my expense for you had to be raping my rights to support a rapist....when you allowed this rapist to not be brought to justice, when you knew police refused to investigate him because of historical police brutality against me because of crown corruption, when you knew Peter Kelly refused to deal with the police abuse and racial violence in Halifax North that led to my attempt to take my life, when you knew the rapist refused a lie detector test for rape, when you allowed him to enjoy his freedom, when you willingly met with him weekly at city council meetings...YOU Sue.....violated my home and family....
Sue Uteck... when you supported the scum that raped me, Patrick Murphy and you knew of the crimes I committed against him to bring all of your nefarious asses into court, when you knew I posted your role repeatedly in various sites/blogs on this rape cover up you certainly didnot call the media to claim what a victim you were.... the chats you had with this rapists at my expense for you had to be raping my rights to support a rapist....when you allowed this rapist to not be brought to justice, when you knew police refused to investigate him because of historical police brutality against me because of crown corruption, when you knew Peter Kelly refused to deal with the police abuse and racial violence in Halifax North that led to my attempt to take my life, when you knew the rapist refused a lie detector test for rape, when you allowed him to enjoy his freedom, when you willingly met with him weekly at city council meetings...YOU Sue.....violated my home and family....
----------------------
Stoffer still against long-gun registry, but will vote to save it
No pressure from Layton or other MPs, he says Bill C-391 author says it will likely die in vote http://www.metronews.ca/halifax/local/article/640406--stoffer-still-against-long-gun-registry-but-will-vote-to-save-it
Peter Stoffer said yesterday his decision to vote to save the long-gun registry was made without pressure from the NDP.
“Under no circumstance has the leader of my party or any member of my party, past or present, cajoled, coerced, twisted my arm ... in order for me to change my vote,” the Sackville-Eastern Shore MP said yesterday.
The NDP could not successfully sway him at any rate, he added.
“In the twilight of my career, there’s very little a leader or a party can do to an individual.”
Stoffer told reporters yesterday at his constituency office in Fall River he will vote to kill Bill C-391— a private member’s bill that aims to scrap the long-gun registry — when the motion comes before Parliament tomorrow.
The bill’s author, Manitoba MP Candice Hoeppner, said yesterday Stoffer’s announcement likely signalled the end of C-391.
Stoffer explained while he remains “adamantly against” the long-gun registry, an informal poll cobbled together from emails, phone calls, and conversations with his constituents found that 62 per cent support saving it.
“A majority of my constituents have indicated to me their personal view that the registry should be saved, even though I completely disagree with them,” he said.
Stoffer said the debate is no longer about the long-gun registry, but about what he calls “wedge politics of the worst kind.”
“This is not an urban/rural issue. This is not a gender issue,” he said. “I’m quite dismayed that people would put it in those camps.”
Response:
mcgaidheal 21-Sep-10 11:05 hahahah
Stoffer is shocked at Beazley attempt to look like he gives a dang? Beazley the most corrupt cop we have in our city is about saving one person, himself, he could not even save his own son. Beazley is worse than any gun and Stoffer should be looking into removing dangerous police who have access to guns than kissing his Beazley's astericks, at the end of the day Stoffer is as wishy washy as they get...He is going against his own views for his voters.....because he is scared to do otherwise.....lets call a spade a spade shall we.Dangerous police with guns are the most dangerous of our citizens, who will protect us from them.
___________________
Barry Dalrymple's frightening statements
Halifax councillor cavalierly dismisses citizens' rights and concerns
Posted by Tim Bousquet on Fri, Aug 6, 2010 at 11:24 AM This morning CBC is reporting that councillor Barry Dalrymple, who is a former RCMP cop, wants to wire up each and every councillor to a lie detector machine in order to discover who's been leaking stuff to the media. Coming from an elected representative, such a suggested expansion of the police state is alarming. But even more alarming is the last sentence of the ceeb report:
Dalrymple acknowledges that no one can be forced to take a polygraph test, but after his years of policing he said he has yet to see an innocent person refuse.
Hear that? By Dalrymple's way of thinking, refusing to take a lie detector test means you are guilty. Some have suggested to me this is simply a reflection of a cops' perspective, but I really hope to the flying spaghetti monster that the average cop out there doesn't assume that citizens simply standing up for their own rights turns them into criminals, no evidence needed.
RESPONSE:
I took it upon myself to contact this city councillor, Barry Dalrymple, for his reaction to Patrick Murphy refusing a lie detector test for rape whil he was a city councillor and while the rest of the sitting council and mayor of 2005 didnot conduct a transparent and public investigation. Given his printed commentary about those who refuse one would assume Barry would be outraged beyond measure at such corruption and depravity at city hall... .... Given the rape was 1998 but the trial against myself on Murphy was 2006-2009 because of this depravity and corruption Barry would have known or heard about it as it was in the news. Apparently, lie test are just in case council is leaking to media, those who rape and support rapists are safe unless they leak it to the media. His reply is included here:.
Thank you for your email, I have no knowledge whatsoever of this and actually didn't even live in the Province in 1998 so I am unable to comment in any way, it would be highly improper and wrong of me to make any comment, apologies - Barry
Barry Dalrymple
HRM Councillor District 2
Waverley-Fall River-Beaver Bank
861-1171 (h) 222-0740 (c)
barry.dalrymple@halifax.ca
barry@barrydal.com
gaidheal 8/10/2010 2:36 PM >>>
Hello Barry Dalrymple,
Each councillor in February 2005 received an email that city councillor Patrick Murphy raped me in 1998 and to date he has refused to take a lie detector test...Does your RCMP sense tell you it is because he is not innocent. The police had this email and did nothing. I walked in the station in May 2006 and they still did nothing though the mayor and chief opened a community police office in Halifax North with Murphy while Murphy was allegedly being investigated for rape-he refused to take a lie test with HRM police.
What do you say about his refusal to take one bearing in mind I know you were not sitting in house at the time of the email or subsequent corruption and cover-up by the mayor, police chief, city council, Dawn Sloane and sexual assault unit which forced my charges against him where both he and Sloane perjured themselves under oath.
G McIntyre
__________
Tory MLA lauds feds, bashes NDP
Cumberland North MLA Murray Scott is giving props to the federal government and taking another shot at the provincial NDP.
In a release issued on Thursday, the Tory justice critic said he was pleased to hear the federal Conservative government was investing $17 million on upgrades to the federal prison in Springhill.
But Scott, an outspoken proponent of the NDP government’s decision to close the provincial jail in Amherst and not build a new prison in the town, also took the province to task in the release.
“The (Darrell) Dexter government may have turned their backs on investing in Cumberland County, but the federal government sees the importance of the correctional facility in Springhill,” he stated.
Springhill
Upgrades set for completion in 2012.
• Prison The upgrades to the Springhill prison will include two new housing units to handle 192 additional inmate spaces. The project is expected to be complete in 2012.
In a release issued on Thursday, the Tory justice critic said he was pleased to hear the federal Conservative government was investing $17 million on upgrades to the federal prison in Springhill.
But Scott, an outspoken proponent of the NDP government’s decision to close the provincial jail in Amherst and not build a new prison in the town, also took the province to task in the release.
“The (Darrell) Dexter government may have turned their backs on investing in Cumberland County, but the federal government sees the importance of the correctional facility in Springhill,” he stated.
Springhill
Upgrades set for completion in 2012.
• Prison The upgrades to the Springhill prison will include two new housing units to handle 192 additional inmate spaces. The project is expected to be complete in 2012.
| RESPONSE | |
| | Scott free |
_____________
Mulgrave Park on high alert
Dozens of residents, police and politicians gathered in Mulgrave Park on Thursday night to discuss the community response to the murder of Ryan Matthew White.
The 21-year-old was shot dead by a single gunshot wound to the chest on July 22 in the 100 block of Jarvis Lane in the park. Police have made no arrests but said the investigation is ongoing. They don’t believe the shooting was a random incident.
Posters calling for witnesses to come forward are displayed throughout the area. Police are also asking for the public’s help.
“The community is concerned about what’s been going on,” said Halifax Regional Police deputy chief Chris McNeil.
The meeting, which was closed to media, heard calls for more lighting, more security cameras and an enhanced police presence, possibly including a station in the housing complex.
“My commitment is to figure out how we can make that work for them,” McNeil said.
He wouldn’t say what concrete steps police would take to do that.
Ann Duffy, whose son Daniel Borden was shot dead in Newfoundland earlier this year, said police need to become a permanent, integral part of the community.
Duffy, who’s lived in Mulgrave Park for 24 years, said there has been a strong police presence since the shooting.
“When the wreaths go away and the teddy bears go away and people calm down, are the police just going to disappear again?” she asked.
http://www.metronews.ca/halifax/local/article/590523--mulgrave-park-on-high-alert
| RESPONSE | |||
| Jerry BLumenthal, Maureen MacDonald, Michel Sampson, Russel MacKinnon, Wayne Colwell, Peter Kelly, Police Commissioner Nadine Coopermont, police chief/supt Beazly and Sykes and numerous other officers, Ombudsmans Office, Housing Pat Lawrence and Harold Dillon,. Human Rights Comm-May Ann Francis, Vikki Samuels, Lynn Hartley and James Dewar, Michael Baker and David Morse, Stephen MacNeil, Marilyn More, Judy Streatch and Murray Scott. I may have missed someone. I was also in DN papers (2002) about violence being hidden.There are few that sleep at night while others cannot |
Education minister backs up board’s decision on Fells case
Education Minister Marilyn More is staying out of the Ken Fells fray despite having concerns about the circumstances surrounding an altercation between the principal and a student.
"I certainly have to respect the decision of the board," More said Thursday. "This is a personnel matter and it’s certainly their responsibility to make staffing decisions."
Fells, who was removed from his job as principal of Graham Creighton Junior High School after a tussle with a 14-year-old boy, was reinstated to that position Wednesday by Halifax regional school board administrators.
More said she doesn’t have all the information the board had in making its decision so she’s trusting its judgment.
"This close to the startup of a new school year, boards and senior staff are very concerned about getting their senior staff in positions within the schools. So I think it’s probably timely to fill those positions."
Fells will be back at his job in September.
But the minister plans to sit down with people involved to try to determine how to deal with similar situations in the future.
"There were negotiations going on over the summer, and this has been resolved in the best interests of both parties," she said.
Meanwhile, the Black Educators Association was handing out kudos to the board Thursday for putting the controversial principal back in the post.
But the association also wants Fells to receive help making the transition.
"One of the things that came out of (one) meeting from the community was if and when he returns to Graham Creighton, it’s very important he has a re-entry plan that has a support for him," said spokesman Brad Barton.
Barton said it’s also necessary the school-area community gets assistance to make Fells’ return "as successful as possible."
Board members had taken him off the job after the March 3 incident with the teen.
The board decided to reassign Fells to another school but on Wednesday administrators said it was "appropriate" to reinstate him as both he and the community wanted his return to the Cherry Brook school.
The incident with the teenager, recorded on a security camera video, was released to YouTube by Frank magazine. Board superintendent Carole Olsen acknowledged her husband had leaked the video.
Olsen and the board had also earlier recommended Fells be fired.
Meanwhile, the video is now being reviewed by a second Crown attorney after the public prosecution service decided to look at the case again.
A Crown attorney originally assigned to the file apparently did not watch the video, according to RCMP files contained in a portable computer hard drive mistakenly left behind at the home of the 14-year-old boy’s mother.
The mother, Janet Boutilier, provided the drive to The Chronicle Herald on Saturday. It was returned later in the weekend. The RCMP retrieved it Monday.
It is unclear whether the case review will make a difference in the initial decision not to charge anyone involved in the tussle between Fells and the student.
Barton said he couldn’t speculate as to what might happen with the prosecution review, adding that if the school-area community requests his association’s support it will be forthcoming.
"One of the things we can’t do, we can’t prejudge what’s going to happen as a result of this process," he said. "We assume everything will be status quo."
As before, the association will let the community set the agenda going forward, said Barton.
"The community is the one that would have to decide what the next steps would be. Whatever they want us to be involved in, we’ll consider."
The boy’s mother could not be reached for comment Thursday.
( jsimpson@herald.ca)RESPONSE: Marilyn More her usual scared white self is doing what she is known to do, be spineless and appeasing. She backed up the decision because she is scared of BEA and Brad Barton who has selective moral outrage that runs along race lines..
Had this been a black student and white principal Barton would have been in the top 5 calling for criminal charges, a Human Rights Commission (headed by racist Wanda Bernard though she does not work for HRC) a lifetime ban on being around kids...
Racism at its finest. Enabling racism at its finest. Discrimination at its finest. Disrespect toward youth at its finest....
Landry backs Kelly memo
|
 "Nova Scotia Justice Minister Ross Landry is supportive of Peter Kelly in the Halifax mayor’s stance against drunk driving. (Eric Wynne / Staff)")
Justice Minister Ross Landry is backing Halifax Mayor Peter Kelly in his attempt to curb drunk driving among regional councillors.
Landry said Thursday that he agreed with Kelly’s decision to send a memo to councillors two weeks ago cautioning them against getting behind the wheel after imbibing.
"If he’s saying out there ‘don’t drink and drive,’ I support him," Landry told reporters after a cabinet meeting.
Kelly’s note was the third warning about excessive drinking sent to councillors since 2005. The mayor last week alluded to intervening to make sure a councillor couldn’t drink and drive after a function at city hall earlier this year.
"I don’t support drinking and driving and (agree with) any message that gets out there that says, ‘Whether you’re in government or you’re in public service and you’re going out to events, set the example, have someone else take you home,’ " Landry said.
"I’m not against someone having a drink and enjoying themselves. Just make those arrangements — don’t drive."
Kelly didn’t identify to whom he was referring, but sources have told The Chronicle Herald that he got somebody to take car keys from Coun. Peter Lund (Hammonds Plains-St. Margarets) before the municipal politician left the building. Lund has declined several opportunities to comment.
Landry, a former RCMP officer, said any reports about drunk drivers should be investigated.
"When I was a police officer, if somebody told me somebody was drinking and driving and I saw their car go by, I made it a point to go and check," Landry said.
"I expect other citizens to do the same thing. If you say ‘it’s the police’s job,’ I think you need to reflect on that point because it’s everyone’s responsibility. And drinking and driving should not be tolerated by anyone."
Kelly also said that a councillor was drunk at council’s swearing-in ceremony in November 2008. He has said that he has spoken to the councillors who have been subject to complaints and his intention with the memo wasn’t to publicly embarrass or find fault with anybody, but to ensure people are safe.
Landry said people aren’t doing their offending friends any favours by helping them cover up their crimes.
(Then what does Landry think about Mayor Peter Kelly colluding with HRM police chief Frank Beazley and the City Council Posse in protecting rapist Patrick Murphy while vilifying the rape victim?
(Then what does Landry think about Mayor Peter Kelly colluding with HRM police chief Frank Beazley and the City Council Posse in protecting rapist Patrick Murphy while vilifying the rape victim?
Patrick Murphy used to drink and drive all the time including the night I was raped. Raping after drinking I am sure is as offensive as driving after drinking in this city? )
"It might be one of your family members or your children or your neighbour that gets struck because of your poor judgment," Landry said.
"The best favour you might do to someone who’s getting behind the wheel is making a phone call to police . . . because you might save their life."
~~~~~~~~~~~~
MLA SCANDALS
THE LEADERS:
Darrell Dexter spent $21,931.49, including, among other items, a 175-centimetre bookcase from Lake City Woodworkers of Dartmouth at $710.99, a $409.26 briefcase and a $710.23 shredder.
Karen Casey spent $19,625.77, including, among other things, a Mocha loveseat and chair ($910.86 + $739.86), a Dyson upright vacuum for $569.99 and an electric fireplace for her office ($338.99).
Stephen McNeil spent $8,314.93, including an 18-cubic-foot fridge for $615.59 from Middleton Home Hardware, two taupe accent chairs for $1,114.92 from World Wide Furniture and $1,765.86 for a printer and cartridge.
MOST FRUGAL
Bill Estabrooks spent $2,325.01 in total on a backlit sign in St. Margarets Bay Arena ($427.50), a used mahogany workstation ($842.46), two cellphones ($180.79 + $283.86), an executive mesh-back chair ($193.79), an HP printer ($176.26) and a hard drive ($220.35).
Only two other MLAs spent less than $5,000: Manning MacDonald ($4,568.28) and Leo Glavine ($4,080.28).
ODD BITS
Len Goucher bought a Dance Dance Revolution Universe Xbox 360 game for $113.99, two air conditioners for $542.39 and $661.18, an air cleaner for $327.58 and a camera bag for $186.44.
Keith Bain paid Furniture Medic of Cape Breton $1,184.46 to restore a table, an antique display stand, a Morris chair and a shaker chair.
Cecil Clarke bought three office chairs at $569.99 each from Buffett’s Office Pro in North Sydney and another six chairs for a total of $1,914.86 for his constituency office from J.R. Rahey Furniture & Appliances.
Vicki Conrad bought a filing cabinet for $125.40 and a table set with six chairs for $228 from Dartmouth Surplus Ltd. and also spent $1,710 for two hand-carved wooden signs for her office from One-up Woodworking.
Chris d’Entremont filed two invoices from the same day for two briefcases from Roots at $427.14 each. The auditor general noted one of the purchases as a duplicate expenditure to be recovered.
Wayne Gaudet bought a $120.84 oak finish flag stand from Flag Emporium and a portable satellite radio for $569.99 from Future Shop.
Trevor Zinck paid former MLA Jerry Pye $1,835 for two office desks, 23 chairs, meeting tables, two display cases and a filing cabinet.
Clarrie MacKinnon spent $2,080.10 on six monogram armchairs, Becky Kent spent $292.67 for a hutch from Office Interiors, John MacDonell spent $911.99 on an Electrolux vacuum from Aerus, Maureen MacDonald bought a portable dishwasher for 3115 Veith St. (the address of Veith House in Halifax) from Sears for $847.49, Charlie Parker bought a model boat for $790 from Bill & Mary Keeping, Leonard Preyra bought a pink Nano for $261.06 and spent $197.75 on a carrying case for office speakers, and Judy Streatch spent $1,252.86 on a Memphis loveseat and $833.74 on an espresso maker.
BIG-TICKET ITEMS
Bill Dooks bought, among other things, a Yamaha generator for $7,351.86 from Pro Cycle in Dartmouth, paid $2,082.78 to have EZRS Electric Ltd. install a generator in his office, and spent another $3,149.07 on a shredder from Staples and $1,253.98 on a 23-inch Sony LCD TV and bracket from Sears.
Carolyn Bolivar-Getson bought a generator for her office from Bridgewater Honda Powerhouse for $4,376.46, and the generator Richard Hurlburt had installed at his home cost $9,034.35 from Ryan’s Electrical & Security in Yarmouth. Included in the $33,220.18 that Hurlburt doled out was $7,410 for leasehold improvements paid to Melbourne Builders Ltd.
The auditor general also broke out a separate list of electronics by number and name of the MLA:
Computers : Len Goucher 11, Carolyn Bolivar-Getson 6, and the following had five each: Karen Casey, Chris d’Entremont, Darrell Dexter, Pat Dunn, Howard Epstein, Ernie Fage, Wayne Gaudet, Richard Hurlburt, Clarrie MacKinnon, Alfie MacLeod and David Wilson.
Cameras: Len Goucher 5, Chuck Porter 4, three each for Gordie Gosse, Carolyn Bolivar-Getson, Richard Hurlburt and Judy Streatch, and two each for Keith Bain, Pat Dunn, Wayne Gaudet, Becky Kent, Leonard Preyra, Brooke Taylor, Harold Theriault Jr. and Diana Whalen.
Printers: Len Goucher 12, Wayne Gaudet 9, Mark Parent 7, Karen Casey 6 and Chris d’Entremont 5.
Televisions: Two each for Ernie Fage, Richard Hurlburt and H. Dave Wilson and one each for Carolyn Bolivar-Getson, Karen Casey, Vicki Conrad, Frank Corbett, Bill Dooks, Pat Dunn, Wayne Gaudet, Rodney MacDonald, Clarrie MacKinnon, Jamie Muir, Michel Samson, Brooke Taylor and Trevor Zinck.
Video recorders: Len Goucher 4, and one each for Keith Colwell, Chris d’Entremont, Bill Dooks, Ernie Fage, Manning MacDonald, Mark Parent, Michel Samson, Judy Streatch and Diana Whalen.
Generators: One each for Carolyn Bolivar-Getson, Bill Dooks and Richard Hurlburt.
Note: All prices and totals include HST
RESPONSE :Dang I have never had so much popcorn in one week........so now we know why Karen Casey was making so much noise....she either didnot think she would be caught being a thief or she didnot want to go for the walk of Shame on her own.....
Maureen Macdonald who is a tenant at Veith House should not be able to publish that the dishwasher was for Veith House because she has an invested personal gain for having purchased it for Vieth, it appears like she bought it as a donation in kind when she is a tenant at that place and benefits from such large purchases such as securing votes of other tenants and Veith House staff and executive who she just so happens to be galpals with.
______
Speaker releases auditor general’s full list of expenses
PAUL MCLEOD METRO HALIFAX February 11, 2010 1:21 a.m.
Len Goucher must have had a very cramped office.
The former Tory MLA from Bedford-Birch Cove expensed more computers, more cameras, more printers and more video cameras than any other MLA. He also spent taxpayer dollars on a Dance Dance Revolution videogame.
His record $38,694 in assets expensed was more than seven other MLAs combined.
But he was by no means alone.
A second round of the spending scandal kicked off yesterday when Speaker Charlie Parker released auditor general Jacques Lapointe’s full list of political expenses from 2006 to June 2009.
Taxpayers have bought everything from a 50-inch LCD TV for former cabinet minister Carolyn Bolivar-Getson to digital book readers for Goucher and former Tory MLA Mark Parent.
Interim Tory leader Karen Casey, whose expenses include five TVs and a $300 electric fireplace, had been calling for the full list to be released. She said her party would urge all current and former members to defend their expenses or repay the government.
“I can’t answer for Mr. Goucher but I can tell you that I expect all Nova Scotians will be listening with interest to what all MLAs from all parties have in this particular document,” Casey said.
Goucher didn’t return telephone calls for comment yesterday.
The letter also names the 28 MLAs who double-dipped by expensing something multiple times.
Four MLAs now in government double-dipped for over $1,000 — Clarrie MacKinnon, Percy Paris, Leonard Preyra and Michele Raymond. Current Tory MLA Murray Scott and former Tory fisheries minister Ron Chisholm also crossed the thousand-dollar mark.
Premier Darrell Dexter said yesterday his $12,600 for six computers was needed for his constituency office, which is one of the busiest in the province.
He reiterated he plans to overhaul the system.
“The rules with respect to these things were extraordinarily porous. The guidelines, in terms of purchases, were almost nonexistent,” he said.
Dexter was asked if he regretted not raising the issue during the years he was opposition leader.
“The best indicator of the way we feel about this is what we said we are going to do,” he said. “I did not preside over this system and the creation of it, but I will preside over the end of it.”
Costing taxpayers
• Carolyn Bolivar-Getson, former Tory MLA, Lunenburg West, expensed: 1 generator for $3,800, 1 50-inch Plasma TV for $1,600, 6 computers, 3 cameras. Overall expenses: $17, 512.
• Richard Hurlburt, former Tory MLA, Yarmouth, expensed: 1 generator installed in home for $8,000, 2 TVs, 3 cameras. Overall expenses: $33,200.
• Darrell Dexter, NDP premier, MLA for Cole Harbour, expensed: 6 computers totalling $12,600, 1 $2,150 Canon 30D camera, 1 briefcase. Overall expenses: $19,299.
• Michelle Raymond, NDP MLA, Halifax Atlantic, expensed: Double-expensed 10 times totalling $3,072 (more than any other MLA). Overall expenses: $6,712.
The former Tory MLA from Bedford-Birch Cove expensed more computers, more cameras, more printers and more video cameras than any other MLA. He also spent taxpayer dollars on a Dance Dance Revolution videogame.
His record $38,694 in assets expensed was more than seven other MLAs combined.
But he was by no means alone.
A second round of the spending scandal kicked off yesterday when Speaker Charlie Parker released auditor general Jacques Lapointe’s full list of political expenses from 2006 to June 2009.
Taxpayers have bought everything from a 50-inch LCD TV for former cabinet minister Carolyn Bolivar-Getson to digital book readers for Goucher and former Tory MLA Mark Parent.
Interim Tory leader Karen Casey, whose expenses include five TVs and a $300 electric fireplace, had been calling for the full list to be released. She said her party would urge all current and former members to defend their expenses or repay the government.
“I can’t answer for Mr. Goucher but I can tell you that I expect all Nova Scotians will be listening with interest to what all MLAs from all parties have in this particular document,” Casey said.
Goucher didn’t return telephone calls for comment yesterday.
The letter also names the 28 MLAs who double-dipped by expensing something multiple times.
Four MLAs now in government double-dipped for over $1,000 — Clarrie MacKinnon, Percy Paris, Leonard Preyra and Michele Raymond. Current Tory MLA Murray Scott and former Tory fisheries minister Ron Chisholm also crossed the thousand-dollar mark.
Premier Darrell Dexter said yesterday his $12,600 for six computers was needed for his constituency office, which is one of the busiest in the province.
He reiterated he plans to overhaul the system.
“The rules with respect to these things were extraordinarily porous. The guidelines, in terms of purchases, were almost nonexistent,” he said.
Dexter was asked if he regretted not raising the issue during the years he was opposition leader.
“The best indicator of the way we feel about this is what we said we are going to do,” he said. “I did not preside over this system and the creation of it, but I will preside over the end of it.”
Costing taxpayers
• Carolyn Bolivar-Getson, former Tory MLA, Lunenburg West, expensed: 1 generator for $3,800, 1 50-inch Plasma TV for $1,600, 6 computers, 3 cameras. Overall expenses: $17, 512.
• Richard Hurlburt, former Tory MLA, Yarmouth, expensed: 1 generator installed in home for $8,000, 2 TVs, 3 cameras. Overall expenses: $33,200.
• Darrell Dexter, NDP premier, MLA for Cole Harbour, expensed: 6 computers totalling $12,600, 1 $2,150 Canon 30D camera, 1 briefcase. Overall expenses: $19,299.
• Michelle Raymond, NDP MLA, Halifax Atlantic, expensed: Double-expensed 10 times totalling $3,072 (more than any other MLA). Overall expenses: $6,712.
RESPONSE: Murry Scott who was the Tory Attorney General Minister for Justice was over the thousand mark? This scum should be in prison for his unconstitutional behaviour toward a rape victim and his corruption in the police/crown/ city hall/mayor /Patrick Murphy/police commission cover-up ...if he was in prison where he belongs he would not have had the chance to steal...though I am sure his thieving is much higher..he just hid it better.
Where is the Noddy Roddy Macs and Mike the Faker's lists of goodies?
This Frauditor General is highly suspect..no doubt a closet Tory as outing corrupt Tory is par the course outing corrupt Libs is par the course but the new girl up dancing aint wearing panties either?
for shame.....__
This Frauditor General is highly suspect..no doubt a closet Tory as outing corrupt Tory is par the course outing corrupt Libs is par the course but the new girl up dancing aint wearing panties either?
for shame.....__
Tories want ‘full disclosure’ on political double dippers
Nova Scotia’s auditor general Jacques Lapointe answers questions at a press conference in this file photo from November. The Tories are calling for the release of the full letter from the auditor general to the Speaker of the House.
The Tories want the curtains to be fully pulled back on which politicians misused public money.
A partial list of MLAs linked to auditor general Jacques Lapointe’s report was released Monday, but many other abuses remain anonymous. More details are believed to be included in a letter from Lapointe to Speaker Charlie Parker. The Tories are calling for everyone to see that letter.
A partial list of MLAs linked to auditor general Jacques Lapointe’s report was released Monday, but many other abuses remain anonymous. More details are believed to be included in a letter from Lapointe to Speaker Charlie Parker. The Tories are calling for everyone to see that letter.
“We want to make sure that there is full disclosure, that indeed we move forward with the next steps,” said Cape Breton North MLA Cecil Clarke. He believe that we need more information from the speaker, so we can get to the next steps.”
Yesterday Clarke announced he is also tied to the embarrassing report. He said he recently discovered that, due to an accounting error, he was one of the 28 unnamed MLAs who “double dipped” on expenses.
He said both a claim and payment went through twice, in October 2008 and January 2009. Clarke said while the second payment was noticed by accounting staff, the second reimbursement slipped through.
Yesterday Clarke announced he is also tied to the embarrassing report. He said he recently discovered that, due to an accounting error, he was one of the 28 unnamed MLAs who “double dipped” on expenses.
He said both a claim and payment went through twice, in October 2008 and January 2009. Clarke said while the second payment was noticed by accounting staff, the second reimbursement slipped through.
“I claimed for, I believe, 200 certificate forms, three small prints of province house and 36 mugs that were all given away,” said Clarke.
Clarke said the double expensing was “not intentional, it was an error.” He said he only found out about it when he personally contacted the speaker’s office.
Only two of the other 27 MLAs who double dipped have come forward — Premier Darrell Dexter and Tory Alfie MacLeod.
“In most cases, the duplicate claims occurred only once or twice per member,” reads the report. But one unnamed MLA double dipped 10 times for a total of $3,072.
Speaker Charlie Parker initially said he would not release the partial list of names, but that changed when Premier Darrell Dexter returned from vacation Monday and asked for the names to be made public.
Clarke said the double expensing was “not intentional, it was an error.” He said he only found out about it when he personally contacted the speaker’s office.
Only two of the other 27 MLAs who double dipped have come forward — Premier Darrell Dexter and Tory Alfie MacLeod.
“In most cases, the duplicate claims occurred only once or twice per member,” reads the report. But one unnamed MLA double dipped 10 times for a total of $3,072.
Speaker Charlie Parker initially said he would not release the partial list of names, but that changed when Premier Darrell Dexter returned from vacation Monday and asked for the names to be made public.
RESPONSE: We will never be able to calculate the damages done by the NDP caught as it they will go down in the books as the worse since they were so for the ethics of others. The fact that the Tory get to act as if they are morally outraged is enough to make any one sick being they created the new low for corruption which begs the questions:... When will the AG be investigated for his uncanny timing ?
Dexter is a lawyer which makes this matter worse.....this should also be filed with Barrister Society as he did knowingly engaged in illegal/unethical acts.
This AG should have brought all this out ages ago yet chose not to.....why......do not let him away with this.
_______ Dexter is a lawyer which makes this matter worse.....this should also be filed with Barrister Society as he did knowingly engaged in illegal/unethical acts.
This AG should have brought all this out ages ago yet chose not to.....why......do not let him away with this.
Former Tory cabinet minister Goucher named as MLA who bought computers, printers
A former Tory cabinet minister has been named as the member of the Nova Scotia legislature who bought 11 computers and 12 printers with public funds
Information released by the Speaker's Office today shows Len Goucher bought the items within a three-year time span.
In the recent auditor general's report that touched off the fire storm over expenses, there is no dollar value attached to those purchases.
Last week Goucher came forward to admit that he'd bought three MP3 players for $150 but said he'd given them to three local schools.
The controversy over spending has already forced the resignation of one Tory member.
Richard Hurlburt stepped down Tuesday after apologizing for using taxpayers dollars to buy a generator and a flat screen television.
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• R. Hurlburt claimed $7,995 for the supply and installation of a generator;
• H.D. Wilson claimed $400 for furniture used in his residence;
• L. Preyra claimed $373 for airfare for his son for a trip to Ottawa; and
• L. Goucher claimed $150 for the purchase of 3 MP3 players on the same day.
Telephone or internet services claims above monthly allowances
• M. Samson claimed $1,540 for service from June 2006 to July 2009; and
• R. Chisholm claimed $1,274 for service from February 2007 to July 2008.
Claims for expenses paid to a relative disallowed by the regulations
• W. Gaudet claimed a total of $1,260 for parking lot sanding from a company owned by his brother (Gaudet Mini Excavator Limited); and
• K. Colwell claimed $252 for pictures purchased from his brother’s company (3-D Art & Crafts).
Excessive expenditures
• J. MacDonell claimed $13,445 for custom-made office furniture and $2,600 for a printer;
• B. Dooks claimed $6,234 for website design and programming;
• D. Dexter claimed $5,501 for a laptop computer and $2,150 for a digital camera;
• R. MacDonald claimed $3,250 for a projector screen and dress kit;
• H. Epstein claimed $2,969 for various books;
• K. Colwell claimed $2,665 for a projector and $1,763 for a video camera;
• R. Hurlburt claimed $2,499 for a 40-inch LCD television and $579 for installation charges;
• C. Parker claimed $790 for a model boat office display;
• J. Streatch claimed $738 for an expresso coffee maker;
• R. Chisholm claimed $750 for a GPS unit.
Okay it may just be me but I am sure this is not it. What about Murray Snott and Michael Faker and Noddy Roddy?
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Speaker Parker needs to stop acting like this is a boy scout jamboree. So he wants us to wait and wait and wait for the scout to step and and own it? The Speaker has an obligation to name public servants living off public funds while in active public servant positions. Who let him create this new law of waiting for fess up time?
Why has the AG not spoken about his timing? He should be required to splain hisself!
I would like to invent a law right now: for every day the public servants refuse to come clean we tax them a certain percent like an interest because they are only paying back cause they got caught in the cookie jar...so each day is a day of interest they would owe their credit card or banks had they borrowed the money. Those who have fessed up should also be required to pay the public back an interest for monies they borrowed......... by accident.
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Dexter vows MLA expense reform
N.S. premier wants open, accountable system; also wants to eliminate secretive internal economy board
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Premier Darrell Dexter is vowing a reformed and more open and accountable system for MLA expenses.
Mr. Dexter was responding today to Wednesday's auditor general's report, which pointed to inappropriate and excessive expenses by members of all three parties from July 2006 to June 2009.
Some of the more sensational expense claims were for an $8,000 generator which Yarmouth MLA Richard Hurlburt kept at his home, $13,000 for custom-made office furniture (Hants MLA John MacDonell) and a $738 espresso machine (former cabinet minister Judy Streatch).
Mr. Hurlburt and Mr. MacDonell have said they have since paid back or plan to reimburse taxpayers for those expenses
"I believe that the regulations need to be updated to reflect a contemporary office or working environment and that clear, adequate, guidelines are required," Mr. Dexter, who held an 11:30 a.m. news conference to respond to the Auditor General Claude Lapointe's report, said in a news release.
He said he accepts and agrees with the auditor general's recommendations.
Mr. Dexter also said he has contacted Charlie Parker, Speaker of the House of Assembly, and leaders of the opposition parties that he wants to disband the controversial internal economy board, a multi-party committee which sets MLA expense guidelines.
"I asked the opposition leaders to work with government over the next few weeks to prepare legislation to replace the internal economy board with a modern legislature management commission based on best practices, operating in the open with a framework of accountability and specific direction that is publically debated and adopted by the legislature," he said in the release.
The new legislation will set limits on what can be expensed and why, he said. The commission, whose meetings will be public, will standardize the system of procurement, leasing and staffing, the release said.
Mr. Dexter also asked Mr. Parker for an immediate change in the regulations so that MLAs must deduct their own meals from any expense claim they submit on a day they qualify for a per diem to cover meals.
Up until 2009, MLAs received a monthly allowance of $1,050, a constituency office allotment of $4,198 per month, mail and travel allowances within a constituency of $13,783 to $18,194 a year, apartment allowances for MLAs outside the Halifax region of $1,470 to $1,700 a month, and an electronic technology fund of $2,500.
No receipts are required for the monthly allowance, travel within constituencies or apartment allowance.
The auditor general's report sparked a storm of controversy last week as Mr. Lapointe pointed to claims that sometimes appeared to be for personal items and in which some MLAs hired family members to do work for them.
Twenty-eight of 52 MLAs claimed expenses twice. Mr. Lapointe found 64 duplicate payments from July 2006 to last June, totalling $14,123. One MLA filed duplicate claims 10 times for a total of $3,072.
Mr. Dexter was responding today to Wednesday's auditor general's report, which pointed to inappropriate and excessive expenses by members of all three parties from July 2006 to June 2009.
Some of the more sensational expense claims were for an $8,000 generator which Yarmouth MLA Richard Hurlburt kept at his home, $13,000 for custom-made office furniture (Hants MLA John MacDonell) and a $738 espresso machine (former cabinet minister Judy Streatch).
Mr. Hurlburt and Mr. MacDonell have said they have since paid back or plan to reimburse taxpayers for those expenses
"I believe that the regulations need to be updated to reflect a contemporary office or working environment and that clear, adequate, guidelines are required," Mr. Dexter, who held an 11:30 a.m. news conference to respond to the Auditor General Claude Lapointe's report, said in a news release.
He said he accepts and agrees with the auditor general's recommendations.
Mr. Dexter also said he has contacted Charlie Parker, Speaker of the House of Assembly, and leaders of the opposition parties that he wants to disband the controversial internal economy board, a multi-party committee which sets MLA expense guidelines.
"I asked the opposition leaders to work with government over the next few weeks to prepare legislation to replace the internal economy board with a modern legislature management commission based on best practices, operating in the open with a framework of accountability and specific direction that is publically debated and adopted by the legislature," he said in the release.
The new legislation will set limits on what can be expensed and why, he said. The commission, whose meetings will be public, will standardize the system of procurement, leasing and staffing, the release said.
Mr. Dexter also asked Mr. Parker for an immediate change in the regulations so that MLAs must deduct their own meals from any expense claim they submit on a day they qualify for a per diem to cover meals.
Up until 2009, MLAs received a monthly allowance of $1,050, a constituency office allotment of $4,198 per month, mail and travel allowances within a constituency of $13,783 to $18,194 a year, apartment allowances for MLAs outside the Halifax region of $1,470 to $1,700 a month, and an electronic technology fund of $2,500.
No receipts are required for the monthly allowance, travel within constituencies or apartment allowance.
The auditor general's report sparked a storm of controversy last week as Mr. Lapointe pointed to claims that sometimes appeared to be for personal items and in which some MLAs hired family members to do work for them.
Twenty-eight of 52 MLAs claimed expenses twice. Mr. Lapointe found 64 duplicate payments from July 2006 to last June, totalling $14,123. One MLA filed duplicate claims 10 times for a total of $3,072.
RESPONSE:
Okay so once again it is not the individual's fault, it is the lack of sufficient and necessary and updated legislation and policy and guidelines and checks and balances, it is the faulty system that forces these spenders to do what they did and not their own propensity for easy corruption due to weak constitutions? Speaker Parker needs to stop acting like this is a boy scout jamboree. So he wants us to wait and wait and wait for the scout to step and and own it? The Speaker has an obligation to name public servants living off public funds while in active public servant positions. Who let him create this new law of waiting for fess up time?
Why has the AG not spoken about his timing? He should be required to splain hisself!
I would like to invent a law right now: for every day the public servants refuse to come clean we tax them a certain percent like an interest because they are only paying back cause they got caught in the cookie jar...so each day is a day of interest they would owe their credit card or banks had they borrowed the money. Those who have fessed up should also be required to pay the public back an interest for monies they borrowed......... by accident.
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A petition has been started requesting an investigation into the AG report. If you are an advocate for Responsible Government please sign and pass on to others. If you are not morally outraged then you are still not paying attention.
My signature:
My signature:
| 0. | Gayle McIntyre | Lets have the AG investigated as well as his timing is most suspect, where was he for the last decade or at least during the Commonwealth Games Bid or after Baker's confusion of his rental/commercial properties which should reflect a concern with public finances in general. One question: who will do the investigation, surely not the HRMP or RCMP? |
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Percy Paris points out his frugality
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AFTER A STRING of careful and/or scripted responses from most MLAs to last week’s expense brouhaha, Percy Paris offered this reaction on the scathing auditor general’s report.
"I said, ‘Phew. I’m not there.’ That was my first reaction, to be quite honest with you," said the economic and rural development minister.
Paris said he didn’t expect to have any of his expenses cited for excess, but one always wonders if there may have been a slip-up along the way.
The Waverley-Fall River- Beaver Bank MLA asked reporters if he could boast for a moment about his thriftiness. We, of course, obliged, and Paris recounted furnishing his constituency office with $350 worth of government-surplus items.
A paltry sum by most standards and an absolute pittance compared to colleague John MacDonell’s $13,445, spent on two custom-made oak desks, a bookcase and magazine rack.
Paris put on his spin doctor’s hat when asked what he thought about the expensive furniture.
"I don’t know what the furniture looked like. I don’t know what his office space looks like, so you know, maybe he’s got a disability. I got no idea, so maybe there could be reasons for that," he said.
MacDonell said he wanted to buy local and made the purchase from a local craftsman.
No one was questioning the boss’s $2,150 digital camera, but a couple of cabinet ministers mentioned the small amounts they’d spent on cameras.
Paris said his cost about $75, while Energy Minister Bill Estabrooks said his cost about $89.
Auditor general Jacques Lapointe cited the $2,150 camera as an expense a reasonable person would think was excessive.
Premier Darrell Dexter fessed up to being the buyer and plans to reimburse taxpayers.
Dexter is also one of the MLAs who claimed meal expenses while also collecting an $84 per diem.
Lapointe said the opposition leaders and House Speaker did that 26 times between July 2008 and June 2009, something that was within the rules, but did not "demonstrate good stewardship of public money."
Liberal Leader Stephen McNeil said he didn’t do any such double-dipping. Cape Breton West Tory Alfie MacLeod, the Speaker at the time, said he wasn’t certain whether any of the claims were his, but they might be.
Through a spokesman, Dexter said he’d wait for direction from House Speaker Charlie Parker on reimbursement.
For the record, deputy premier Frank Corbett said he didn’t get a per diem on any of the four days he claimed meal expenses totalling more than $1,200 last year.
Cabinet ministers don’t receive per diems. Corbett reimbursed taxpayers for the $441.48 he spent on six people at the Keg on June 19, the day the new cabinet was sworn in.
With all these expense numbers flying around, it’s getting tougher to track who’s returning the most money to taxpayers.
From the information publicly available, MacDonell leads the reimbursement standings at just more than $15,000 for his office furniture and printer.
Dexter is in second place, but trailing badly. He’s in for about $8,600, for two laptop computers, the digital camera and for getting paid for chairing a committee that didn’t meet last year.
Tory Richard Hurlburt falls just short of Dexter with the repayment of $7,995 for a generator at his home.
Rounding out the top five are House Speaker Charlie Parker and Liberal MLA Michel Samson.
Samson had pulled ahead of Parker with a promised $1,274 reimbursement for Internet service at his Halifax apartment, but Parker climbed back into fourth with his repayment for a $790 replica of the ship Hector.
The boat is on top of about $1,500 Parker is returning for chairing a committee that didn’t meet last year.
It appears MacDonell will be tough to catch, but there could still be lots of movement in the rest of the top five, with other MLAs waiting for direction on repayment from Parker.
But if you count former MLAs, Tory Judy Streatch would vault to the top. Streatch has paid for a $738 espresso coffee maker listed in the auditor general’s report and covered more than $23,000 from the 2008 write-off of the government-leased Ford Escape her son was driving.
RESPONSE: Okay maybe it is just me but why would Paris say one never knows if they slipped..Sorry I know when I slip, it is usually when no one puts salt on the sidewalk or stairs. If we have people in power who are this spineless and confused we all best start packing the lards with lard for food ,it is going to be a long haul.
Given what we have been reading over the last few days it really brings the Graham Steele community consultation into suspect and mockery. I asked one of his elves if I could have extra Budget pamphlets for the library as I didnot see too many folks from the community there at this Dartmouth North Community Consultation, it was not well advertized either. She hummed and hawed about needing enough for Eastern Passage that evening but gave me 6 pamphlets- that is right folks we have 6 folks living in Dartmouth North to fill out ideas for the Budget. I would think they spend less on lunches and more on photocopying pamphlets for those items that the public should have?
_______________________________ Two more reveal spending, but few details on double-dippers
But details scarce about who got duplicate expense payments
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Current and former MLAs have claimed most of the big-ticket items listed as inappropriate or excessive in auditor general Jacques Lapointe’s report, but there are still no details on most of the double-dippers.
On Friday, the final two former Progressive Conservative MLAs came forward to say which items they had purchased that were in the report.
Judy Streatch, a former cabinet minister and Chester-St. Margarets MLA, bought the $738 espresso coffee maker.
She said she met with an administrator in the Speaker’s Office on Friday, and reimbursed taxpayers for the purchase.
"I didn’t have any intention of misleading or doing anything inappropriate, and that’s why I felt that it was important today to reimburse fully," she said in Halifax, where she’s attending the Tory annual general meeting in Halifax.
Streatch said it was an "approved, legitimate expense" and no laws were broken. She said some MLAs rent espresso machines, but she chose to buy one.
"That’s why, I assume, it was flagged. And so you know what? It’s OK. I’m done with it," she said.
She said the machine was used in her constituency office and other locations, but didn’t know where. She said it’s in storage now with other constituency office equipment.
Len Goucher, who had also been in cabinet and had represented Bedford-Birch Cove, said he bought the three MP3 players that cost a total of $150. He said in a news release that he donated them to schools in the constituency and he thought they were used in fundraisers.
He is awaiting direction from the Speaker’s Office on whether to pay back the money.
House Speaker Charlie Parker said Friday that some of the 28 MLAs — more than half of the 52-member legislature — have already paid back the duplicate payment they received for the same expense.
Between July 2006 and last June, Lapointe found there were 64 cases of MLAs getting paid twice for the same expense. The extra payments added up to $14,123. One MLA received duplicate payments 10 times, for a total of $3,072.
Parker said he didn’t know how much has been paid back.
"I think mostly they were just honest mistakes," he said. "What hasn’t been paid, we’ll be verifying those and then going to the members for reimbursement if they haven’t already been paid."
Among the 13 items Lapointe considered excessive, only two haven’t been claimed by current or former MLAs — a $2,499 40-inch television and a $750 GPS unit.
Parker said he thinks the purchasers will come forward, as other have.
"Yesterday, there were some, and today, and I think it’ll be wrapped up pretty soon," he said. "I’m just trusting on human nature that I think they will come soon."
There’s also an ineligible Internet expense of $1,540 at a Halifax apartment that hasn’t been spoken for.
Some of the MLAs tagged with excessive expenses have said they’re waiting to hear from Parker about whether they should pay back taxpayers.
Parker said he’ll be seeking advice from his staff and MLAs on the internal economy board before making a decision on that. He said he hopes the board will meet within a couple of weeks.
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MLA pay rules flawed, in need of immediate reform
EDITOR'S NOTE: This is an opinion piece published in The Chronicle Herald in 2005 when Finance Minister Graham Steele was an Opposition MLA for the riding for Halifax Fairview. Since this was published, the $45,000 payment to defeated MLAs to wind up their offices has been eliminated and they are no longer allowed to keep items bought with their constituency and operating allowances.
Last Thursday, I caused a bit of an uproar in the legislature by saying “no” to a resolution dealing with MLA pay and expenses. I said “no” because the resolution, proposed by the premier, pretended to do something about the problem, while really doing nothing. The resolution was carefully designed to get the issue off the premier’s desk until he retires.
We members of the legislature have the rare privilege of setting our own income. Because of this, the system by which we are paid should be a model of openness and transparency. Instead, MLA pay is a model of secrecy and complexity. No MLA can give a simple, honest answer to the question: “How much do you earn?”
An MLA’s income is made up of two parts: base pay and expenses. The base pay is roughly $55,000, of which one-third is tax-free. The reason one-third of an MLA’s pay is tax-free is a historical oddity. It can no longer be defended, and all MLAs agreed that their salary should be fully taxable. Of course, this change is merely symbolic, since MLAs also agreed that their salary should be “grossed up” so there is no loss in take-home pay.
Base pay isn’t the problem. At least it’s out in the open.
Not so for expenses.
In addition to their base pay, MLAs receive various amounts for expenses. There is an allowance for postage and for travel within the constituency. There is an allowance for constituency operations, which for most MLAs means running a constituency office, hiring a staff member, having a cellphone, printing, advertising, and so on. There is an allowance for miscellaneous, non-office expenses. There is a daily allowance for each day the legislature sits.
Members from outside Halifax also have an allowance for travel between their home and Halifax, and another allowance for accommodation while in Halifax. An MLA who ceases to be a member continues to receive the constituency allowance for three months, in order to allow for their constituency operations to be wound up.
Each of these allowances has a legitimate purpose. If MLAs are to serve their constituents, they need to have an office and staff; they should have a phone; they need to mail things to their constituents; they need to travel to do their work; out-of-town MLAs need to have a place to stay in Halifax; an ex-MLA needs a reasonable amount of time and money to wind up their office; and so on.
The problem is that these allowances, which were once legitimate, have been bent so far out of shape that they can now be a significant portion of an MLA’s income. This change has happened mostly in the last three or four years. This was precisely the period during which John Hamm was proclaiming that he was keeping MLA pay down to reasonable levels. Meanwhile, a committee controlled by his most senior cabinet ministers was pumping up the expense allowances and removing controls over how they were spent. Let me give a few examples.
The postage and travel allowance is currently a base amount of $13,132, paid in a lump sum at the beginning of the year. (MLAs with larger constituencies get a larger amount.) Of course, MLAs send out mail, and of course they travel within their constituency. But no receipts are required to get the postage allowance, and no travel log is required to get the travel allowance, so we have no idea how much of either an MLA is doing.
Another example: The accommodation allowance for out-of-town MLAs is $1,400 per month, going up to $1,500 per month in January. Recently, this allowance was changed from receiptable to non-receiptable, meaning out-of-town MLAs get the money whether they pay for Halifax accommodation or not.
The allowance for winding-up of a constituency office is the worst abuse of the expense system. It currently stands at $45,000, and is non-receiptable. It doesn’t cost an MLA anything remotely close to $45,000 to wind up their office, so most of this amount is really a back-door severance payment. Oddly enough, there is already a severance payment (called a “transition allowance”) in legislation. But MLAs didn’t want to amend the legislation, so a couple of years ago they approved this back-door severance payment.
This whole system of out-of-control expense allowances could thrive only in secret, and secret is what it is. The expense allowances are set by a committee of MLAs called the Internal Economy Board. It has seven members, of whom five are Conservatives, one is a Liberal, and one is a New Democrat. The five Conservatives include three of the government’s most senior ministers. Because of the composition of the board, it is the Conservatives who decide what gets approved and what doesn’t.
The Internal Economy Board meets in secret. Unlike committees of the legislature, no public notice is given, and no public information is given about what was decided. Unlike committees of the legislature, the public is not welcome, and no transcript is kept. There are minutes, but they’re not available to the public.
Any changes to the expense allowances are published in something called the Internal Economy Regulation. Unlike almost every other regulation of government, the Internal Economy Regulation is not published on the Internet. It is available to the public, but only in hard copy at the Legislative Library at Province House. A couple of reporters have told me that even when they found it, it was hard to understand.
The Internal Economy Board does not like publicity. At its last meeting, the IEB voted to increase the postage and travel allowance, from a base of $13,132 to a base of $14,000. It was basically an increase in “gas money.” A reporter found out about it, and published a report.
Within a week, the Conservatives said they would rescind the increase. If there was nothing wrong with the increase, why did a single dose of publicity cause them to reverse it?
If we are going to reform the system, we should start with some basic principles: a) ensure that MLA pay is open and transparent; b) provide MLAs with enough pay and expenses to perform their jobs fully; c) avoid setting up expense allowances in such a way that an MLA can use them as a salary supplement or for personal benefit; and d) make MLA pay and expenses subject to the same audit and accountability regime as other units of government.
The following proposals are one way (but not the only way) to implement those principles:
• Require MLAs to keep a travel log. No log, no money.
• Eliminate the fiction that $45,000 is needed as “winding-up expenses” if an MLA is defeated, resigns or simply doesn’t reoffer. If the statutory severance is too low, amend the legislation.
• Make all MLA expenses subject to audit, in the same way (not more, not less) as other units of government. The last audit of MLA expenses was in 1995.
• Make MLA expenses subject to public release, in the same way as ministerial expenses.
• End the practice of allowing MLAs to keep the items they purchase with their constituency and accommodation allowances. Items bought by members of Parliament belong to Parliament, and stay with Parliament after the MP retires.
• Give public notice of IEB meetings, hold IEB meetings in public and publish a transcript, in the same manner as committees of the legislature.The people who serve you in the legislature are decent, honest, hard-working people. The more I get to know them, the more I admire them. But on this issue of their own pay, they have developed a blind spot. They are so immersed in an indefensible system that they can’t see how to get out of it.
This is not a sponsorship-style scandal, where, as Auditor General Sheila Fraser said, every rule in the book was broken. Rather, we have a situation where the rules were followed, but the rules themselves were wonky. That is why there is absolutely no purpose served in pointing fingers, or trying to undo the past, or suggesting that anyone should have followed rules that weren’t in place.But as Justice John Gomery pointed out recently, if a system is set up so that it is wide open for abuse, it should not surprise anyone if abuse actually occurs.
That’s why immediate reform is needed. Because the premier has announced his retirement and no longer has to worry about personal electoral consequences, he had an opportunity to bring in immediate reform. Sadly, the premier’s resolution proposed merely to study the problem, even though he had shelved two prior studies. His resolution also stipulated that the report would not be issued before the next election, even though we might not have an election for two years.
Instead of taking responsibility for a problem that he and his government created, the premier tried to dodge it, again. That’s why I said “no.”
Last Thursday, I caused a bit of an uproar in the legislature by saying “no” to a resolution dealing with MLA pay and expenses. I said “no” because the resolution, proposed by the premier, pretended to do something about the problem, while really doing nothing. The resolution was carefully designed to get the issue off the premier’s desk until he retires.
We members of the legislature have the rare privilege of setting our own income. Because of this, the system by which we are paid should be a model of openness and transparency. Instead, MLA pay is a model of secrecy and complexity. No MLA can give a simple, honest answer to the question: “How much do you earn?”
An MLA’s income is made up of two parts: base pay and expenses. The base pay is roughly $55,000, of which one-third is tax-free. The reason one-third of an MLA’s pay is tax-free is a historical oddity. It can no longer be defended, and all MLAs agreed that their salary should be fully taxable. Of course, this change is merely symbolic, since MLAs also agreed that their salary should be “grossed up” so there is no loss in take-home pay.
Base pay isn’t the problem. At least it’s out in the open.
Not so for expenses.
In addition to their base pay, MLAs receive various amounts for expenses. There is an allowance for postage and for travel within the constituency. There is an allowance for constituency operations, which for most MLAs means running a constituency office, hiring a staff member, having a cellphone, printing, advertising, and so on. There is an allowance for miscellaneous, non-office expenses. There is a daily allowance for each day the legislature sits.
Members from outside Halifax also have an allowance for travel between their home and Halifax, and another allowance for accommodation while in Halifax. An MLA who ceases to be a member continues to receive the constituency allowance for three months, in order to allow for their constituency operations to be wound up.
Each of these allowances has a legitimate purpose. If MLAs are to serve their constituents, they need to have an office and staff; they should have a phone; they need to mail things to their constituents; they need to travel to do their work; out-of-town MLAs need to have a place to stay in Halifax; an ex-MLA needs a reasonable amount of time and money to wind up their office; and so on.
The problem is that these allowances, which were once legitimate, have been bent so far out of shape that they can now be a significant portion of an MLA’s income. This change has happened mostly in the last three or four years. This was precisely the period during which John Hamm was proclaiming that he was keeping MLA pay down to reasonable levels. Meanwhile, a committee controlled by his most senior cabinet ministers was pumping up the expense allowances and removing controls over how they were spent. Let me give a few examples.
The postage and travel allowance is currently a base amount of $13,132, paid in a lump sum at the beginning of the year. (MLAs with larger constituencies get a larger amount.) Of course, MLAs send out mail, and of course they travel within their constituency. But no receipts are required to get the postage allowance, and no travel log is required to get the travel allowance, so we have no idea how much of either an MLA is doing.
Another example: The accommodation allowance for out-of-town MLAs is $1,400 per month, going up to $1,500 per month in January. Recently, this allowance was changed from receiptable to non-receiptable, meaning out-of-town MLAs get the money whether they pay for Halifax accommodation or not.
The allowance for winding-up of a constituency office is the worst abuse of the expense system. It currently stands at $45,000, and is non-receiptable. It doesn’t cost an MLA anything remotely close to $45,000 to wind up their office, so most of this amount is really a back-door severance payment. Oddly enough, there is already a severance payment (called a “transition allowance”) in legislation. But MLAs didn’t want to amend the legislation, so a couple of years ago they approved this back-door severance payment.
This whole system of out-of-control expense allowances could thrive only in secret, and secret is what it is. The expense allowances are set by a committee of MLAs called the Internal Economy Board. It has seven members, of whom five are Conservatives, one is a Liberal, and one is a New Democrat. The five Conservatives include three of the government’s most senior ministers. Because of the composition of the board, it is the Conservatives who decide what gets approved and what doesn’t.
The Internal Economy Board meets in secret. Unlike committees of the legislature, no public notice is given, and no public information is given about what was decided. Unlike committees of the legislature, the public is not welcome, and no transcript is kept. There are minutes, but they’re not available to the public.
Any changes to the expense allowances are published in something called the Internal Economy Regulation. Unlike almost every other regulation of government, the Internal Economy Regulation is not published on the Internet. It is available to the public, but only in hard copy at the Legislative Library at Province House. A couple of reporters have told me that even when they found it, it was hard to understand.
The Internal Economy Board does not like publicity. At its last meeting, the IEB voted to increase the postage and travel allowance, from a base of $13,132 to a base of $14,000. It was basically an increase in “gas money.” A reporter found out about it, and published a report.
Within a week, the Conservatives said they would rescind the increase. If there was nothing wrong with the increase, why did a single dose of publicity cause them to reverse it?
If we are going to reform the system, we should start with some basic principles: a) ensure that MLA pay is open and transparent; b) provide MLAs with enough pay and expenses to perform their jobs fully; c) avoid setting up expense allowances in such a way that an MLA can use them as a salary supplement or for personal benefit; and d) make MLA pay and expenses subject to the same audit and accountability regime as other units of government.
The following proposals are one way (but not the only way) to implement those principles:
• Make all allowances receiptable. No receipts, no money.
• Require MLAs to keep a travel log. No log, no money.
• Eliminate the fiction that $45,000 is needed as “winding-up expenses” if an MLA is defeated, resigns or simply doesn’t reoffer. If the statutory severance is too low, amend the legislation.
• Make all MLA expenses subject to audit, in the same way (not more, not less) as other units of government. The last audit of MLA expenses was in 1995.
• Make MLA expenses subject to public release, in the same way as ministerial expenses.
• End the practice of allowing MLAs to keep the items they purchase with their constituency and accommodation allowances. Items bought by members of Parliament belong to Parliament, and stay with Parliament after the MP retires.
• Give public notice of IEB meetings, hold IEB meetings in public and publish a transcript, in the same manner as committees of the legislature.
This is not a sponsorship-style scandal, where, as Auditor General Sheila Fraser said, every rule in the book was broken. Rather, we have a situation where the rules were followed, but the rules themselves were wonky. That is why there is absolutely no purpose served in pointing fingers, or trying to undo the past, or suggesting that anyone should have followed rules that weren’t in place.But as Justice John Gomery pointed out recently, if a system is set up so that it is wide open for abuse, it should not surprise anyone if abuse actually occurs.
That’s why immediate reform is needed. Because the premier has announced his retirement and no longer has to worry about personal electoral consequences, he had an opportunity to bring in immediate reform. Sadly, the premier’s resolution proposed merely to study the problem, even though he had shelved two prior studies. His resolution also stipulated that the report would not be issued before the next election, even though we might not have an election for two years.
Instead of taking responsibility for a problem that he and his government created, the premier tried to dodge it, again. That’s why I said “no.”
RESPONSE :I am curious, did Graham Steele try to distract the masses by inviting us to participate in the politicks of balancing/spending the budget so that we would not be paying attention when the AG report was made public. I attended the meeting at Dartmouth North and noperoni not once did he include MLA/govt /public servant allowances/excessive spendings as an issue for balancing the budget..
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MLA remorse: Apologies not accepted
Sat. Feb 6 - 4:54 AM
WHAT a self-interested clique. And what a load of blather.
It’s hard to believe the lame responses from Nova Scotia MLAs and party leaders to Auditor General Jacques Lapointe’s criticism of "excessive" MLA expense claims, and of the much larger wad of no-questions-asked "allowances" — worth $44,000 to $48,000 a year — that can’t be audited at all.
Deputy Premier Frank Corbett, embarrassed last year into repaying claims for pricey steakhouse dinners (but not, as he reminds us, on the auditor’s shame-list this time) said he feels "awful" about the expense revelations and offered the public an apology. He didn’t feel bad enough to offer any actual remedy, like the obvious one of making MLAs provide receipts for all expenses, the rule that applies to everyone else who works for taxpayers. Talk is cheap.
Moving from the ineffectual to the absurd, Yarmouth MLA Richard Hurlburt, a former Tory minister, defiantly defended an $8,000 claim for a wired-in generator at his home as an act of public spiritedness. He said it was available to emergency responders and enabled him to offer emergency shelter to people at a nearby seniors’ residence. After this rationale was widely ridiculed (the seniors were unaware of the offer and bought their own generator), Mr. Hurlburt apologized and repaid the full claim.
Agriculture Minister John MacDonell was quicker to repay a $13,445 claim for custom-made furniture and later promised to pay for a $2,600 printer as well. But in apologizing "if this excessive spending seems to be a real issue," he failed to squarely own up that MLAs and ministers should have the sense and the self-discipline not to waste money like this.
He is hardly alone in fudging personal responsibility. As the expense confessions trickled in, we heard the excuses, over and over, that the Speaker approved it or it didn’t break the rules — which, as the auditor pointed out, are uselessly vague anyway.
Former Tory MLA Judy Streatch thinks her $738 espresso-maker was "a legitimate claimed expense" and says her integrity is intact because there was "no misrepresentation." Others, like former premier Rodney MacDonald and Liberal MLA Wayne Gaudet, will pay back expenses criticized by Mr. Lapointe if the Speaker tells them to.
The Liberal and Conservative leaders have left it to the Speaker to reveal the names of excessive spenders who haven’t come forward, but Speaker Charlie Parker hasn’t done so, other than to identify himself as the buyer of a $790 model boat for his office. That hardly inspires confidence in him as a tough expenses watchdog.
In short, the evidence is overwhelming that MLAs still don’t get it. People are outraged that legislators expect them to shoulder service cuts and tax hikes this spring, but aren’t willing to apply either personal responsibility or any credible accountability controls to MLA allowances.
The feeble responses from all party ranks to the auditor’s report could be a take-off on comedian Red Green’s "Man Anonymous" pledge: "I’m an MLA. But I can pay back my excessive spending. If I have to. I guess."
Finance Minister Graham Steele knows what should be done here. Five years ago he led a one-man crusade to clean up MLA allowances by reimbursing members only for actual living and travel costs, based on mandatory receipts and travel logs. "No receipts, no money … No log, no money," he wrote on our Opinion page at that time. He was right then and he should make it happen now. MLAs should all get the same reasonable gear (laptops, yes, generators and espresso makers, no) from a central agency. And all these measures should be put in place in the spring budget: That’s when the public will have to face austerity measures, so why should MLAs get special treatment and extra time to get their own spending house in order?
The all-party Internal Economy Board of MLAs is already angling for more time. It says a review of allowances by a former Speaker, to report this summer, shows its commitment to address the auditor’s concerns. Nonesense. The board has stalled too long to have any credibility. The fix must be now.
http://thechronicleherald.ca/Editorial/1166177.html ______________________
Pamela Harrison, a long time New Democrat who held key positions within the party, publicly denounced Darrell Dexter's government on Friday. Below is the letter she sent to the premier's office:
Dear Darrell:
In this, my resignation from the New Democratic Party of Nova Scotia, please allow me to offer both an explanation and my apologies.
I apologize for my naivety and inability to understand the political system. After thousands of hours of volunteer hours given to the provincial NDP, in the belief that their government would be different, I now understand I had unrealistic expectations.
I had the simplistic idea that once a "good party" was elected, that party would understand and exemplify the difference between politics and governance, and that their claim of a government that would be open, transparent and accountable was actually a commitment, instead of simply campaign rhetoric.
I believed that the party's stated vision of "a better deal for today's families" actually included those with mental health concerns, lesser ability in the areas of both physical and mental health, single moms and their children, the homeless and women experiencing violence and abuse in their lives. Wrong again……and how foolish I feel, to have imagined that the hundreds of resolutions passed at provincial council were actually more that an exercise in the creation of "NDP Believers."
Let me be clear. I am not talking about money. I am referring to a deliberate decision to keep those of us who work (both voluntarily and for pay) in the social justice community, from experiencing a different kind of process, a process whereby up front clear communication is the rule, not the exception, and collaboration and negotiation are the norm. You promised this, again and again and again, and you did not deliver.
You formed the government for the first time in NS history. You have a majority of seats, with potentially four years to make significant change. This was your chance to change the politics your constituents see in the Legislature and on TV, to something far more meaningful.
You campaigned on a commitment to make things better for Nova Scotians and for our families, however we define them. In your speech at the Swearing-in Ceremony, Darrell, you told us that:
"…the Seats in the Legislature belong to voters not political parties. Nova Scotians granted us the privilege of governing this province because of who we are and what we do. I am happy to be judged by those standards because we have always had the courage of our convictions. We do not sway to the fashions of the moment or surrender to the expedience of the hour."
You had a chance to govern us with dignity, skill and respect. You have been judged, Darrell. The verdict is profoundly negative and your victims are Nova Scotians.
I am no longer a New Democrat.
Pamela Harrison
Halifax, NS
Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/nova-scotia/story/2010/02/05/ns-pamela-harrison-letter.html#ixzz0eiw2lr4F
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N.S. Tory apologizes and pays back cost of generator flagged by auditor general
HALIFAX, N.S. - A Conservative member of the Nova Scotia legislature apologized Friday for spending $7,995 in public money on a generator, one day after he defiantly defended the purchase as a valid expense.
Richard Hurlburt, a former cabinet minister, issued a brief statement calling the purchase a lapse in judgment. "I am sorry for expensing an item that I now know was not an appropriate claim," said Hurlburt, who represents the rural constituency of Yarmouth.
"I regret how this has been perceived and have paid back the full amount."
Hurlburt said he reimbursed the money on Thursday and will donate the machine to a community group in his constituency.
"It was purchased for their use, and I made emergency organizations aware that it was available to them whenever it was needed," he said.
The expense was one of several that were flagged as excessive in a report released earlier this week by the province's auditor general.
Hurlburt's admission was a dramatic turnaround for the Tory veteran, who as late as Thursday was insisting he had followed spending guidelines. He said he bought the generator for the benefit of constituents, including a senior citizens' complex in his neighbourhood.
Two former Conservative cabinet ministers also came forward Friday to say their expenses were among those cited in auditor general Jacques Lapointe's report.
Judy Streatch said she was notified that a $738 espresso machine she bought was on the list of expense items Lapointe questioned. Streatch said she is waiting to hear from the Speaker's Office to clarify if it fell within appropriate spending guidelines.
Len Goucher said he used public money to buy three MP3 players for $150, but added that they were for three schools in his suburban constituency of Bedford-Birch Cove. Goucher said he is also waiting to hear from the Speaker's Office about his expenses.
Lapointe's probe has concluded members from all parties used public money inappropriately or excessively, including Premier Darrell Dexter and former premier Rodney MacDonald
RESPONSE: I am sure every cent spent by Judy Judy Judy ever received in wages and vehicles and any of Community Services staff bonuses were all misspending of tax payers' money. People are begging for meds and beds and she is drinking expressos?
Can we please get some jail time for these confused public servants. I am sure a little time on a cot with three squares will show them the errors of their ways.
Names sought in spending scandal
‘These are taxpayers’ dollars, we have nothing to hide’: Tory leader
Opposition leaders and some in government are now calling for the names of politicians who misused public money to be publicly released.
Auditor general Jacques Lapointe detailed a litany of potential abuses in his report Wednesday, but refused to name names. He said it was the government speaker’s decision whether to release the names.
So far, Speaker Charlie Parker has said he will not release names. He said it’s up to the individual members to come clean.
Some have, but many expenses remain unclaimed, such as a $2,500 LCD television and $740 espresso maker.
On Thursday, almost every government cabinet minister either repeated the personal responsibility line or said they couldn’t comment because it was the speaker’s decision. But some broke ranks.
“I think the public has a right to know who spent it, for sure,” said Agriculture Minister John MacDonell.
Progressive Conservative Leader Karen Casey said her personal belief was “these are taxpayers’ dollars, we have nothing to hide, let ‘em see it.”
But she wouldn’t name the four former Tory MLAs who were implicated in the report. She said since they were no longer members of her caucus, it wasn’t her responsibility to out them
Liberal Leader Stephen McNeil said his party supports the names being made public, but MLAs should be given notice first.
“I have no problem (with it),” he said. “But I do believe members need to be told themselves in advance. I don’t believe it’s fair that members (first) be reading about this in the paper, on the news.”
Leaders of all three parties spoke to their caucuses and encouraged them to come forward if they were mentioned in the report.
Deputy Premier Frank Corbett — filling in while Premier Darrell Dexter is on vacation — apologized to taxpayers despite not being named personally in the report.
“When Nova Scotians are asked to do hard things and then they see members of their leadership doing these other things that seem to be wasting their money, then of course they deserve an apology,” he said.
“While my name is not in there, I feel awful about this and I apologize to Nova Scotians.”
Politicians mentioned in AG’s report
The following current and former MLAs have come forward to say they were mentioned in the auditor general’s report:
NDP
• Premier Darrell Dexter — Spent $5,501 on two laptop computers and $2,150 on a camera. Within regulations but deemed to be excessive. Repaying the full amount for both.
• Agriculture Minister John MacDonell — Expensed $13,445 on custom-made office furniture. Also bought most expensive printer of any MLA at $2,600. Has reimbursed government for furniture and said he just found out about the printer cost
• Speaker Charlie Parker — His $790 for a model boat was seen as excessive. Has reimbursed government.
• Halifax Chebucto MLA Howard Epstein — $3,000 on books deemed excessive.
• Halifax Citadel MLA Leonard Preyra — Inappropriately expensed $373 on airfare for a guest’s flight to Ottawa. Preyra said it was a mistake and reimbursed government.
Liberals
• Glace Bay MLA Dave Wilson — $400 expensed on patio furniture. Wilson said receipts got mistakenly mixed in with office expenses. Has reimbursed government.
• Richmond MLA Michelle Samson — $1,200 of apartment Internet bills paid over three years. Hasn’t been asked to repay bills but has contacted speaker’s office to offer reimbursement
• Preston MLA Keith Colwell — Against regulations, expensed $252 worth of 3-D art from brother for door prizes at community events. Has repaid money. Also spent $2,665 for a projector, which was seen as excessive.
• Clare MLA Wayne Gaudet — Payment of $1,260 for parking-lot sanding to company owned by brother. Was against regulations.
• Halifax Clayton Park MLA Diana Whalen — 13,000 calendars for public, most of any MLA, seen as potentially excessive advertising. Whalen said she uses the calendars as a form of community outreach and way to keep in touch with constituents. She also notes she has most constituents of any riding in the province.
Progressive Conservatives
• Yarmouth MLA Richard Hurlburt — $8,000 to have generator installed in home. Seen as potentially illegitimate. Thursday night, Hurlburt agreed to pay the full $8,000. He first only committed to pay $3,000.
• Former Inverness MLA Rodney MacDonald — Purchased a $2,665 projector screen for business presentations. Contacted speaker’s office and awaiting clarification on whether payback is required.
• Former Eastern Shore MLA Bill Dooks spent $6,234 to create website for constituency office. Awaiting clarification on whether payback is required.
RESPONSE: Now that we see names and expenses ..surely the AG knows to use a backhoe and not a spoon to dig for the dirt....this is outrageous...where are the long lists of misspendings like bonuses, lunches, rented cars , flights, COMMONWEALTH GAME BID etc.....this is a joke...AG go back to sleep...please tell me that the kool-aid drinkers do not think this is it for questionable expenses.... maybe paying the wages of the AG is also misspending..after all when did we last see him...you are worse than the February 2 Groundhog...go back to sleep.
AG why did you wait til Torys were out on their pathetic asses and Baker was dead before you even started looking for misdoings and misdeeds? Were you that scared.....this better be just your trailer as those of us paying attention are waiting for the long lists and criminal charges.
_____________________ AG why did you wait til Torys were out on their pathetic asses and Baker was dead before you even started looking for misdoings and misdeeds? Were you that scared.....this better be just your trailer as those of us paying attention are waiting for the long lists and criminal charges.
FEDERAL PRISON vs PARLIAMENT
IRVINE CARVERY:
Is he whack or smoking crack?
In March 2001, former resident Irvine Carvery (Daisy's son) spoke at hearing in Halifax to mark the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.-found on a website about Africville. Months later my family would be the deliberate target, for 3 years, of racial violence and degradation that destroyed any spirit we had left, organized and encouraged by Irvine Carvery.
Irvine Carvery should be in FEDERAL PRISON for at least one death motivated by his racist hate toward white people and years of organized racial violence he did to my family while he was property manager at Mulgrave Park...
The amount of trauma and depravity he did to my family using criminals in the community to do his bidding while hiding behind his son, an HRM police offisewer.... Carvery has done many a wrong against many in Metro Regional Housing Authority..using tax payers' money to subsidize his social life and his racist and unethical practice of letting black families fraud Nova Scotia Welfare and Housing and the tax payers who fund these programs--this is his version for reparation!
The crimes he has committed against my family have been hidden by:
FED-TORIES Bob Nicholson, Stockwell Day; Sheila Frazer PROV-TORY David Morse, Judy Streatch; MRHA Patricia Lawrence, Harold Dillon, Mayor Peter Kelly, chief of police Frank Beazly and the NS Police Commission-Nadine Cooper-Mont, 3 members of the Ombudsman Office-Eliane Ventruini and Christine Brennan, Wanda Thomas Bernard, Human Rights Commission May-Ann Francis, Viki Samuels, Michael Noonan, James Dewar and Lynn Hartley; Liberal- Michel Samson, Russell McKinnon, Wayne Calwell and NDP Kevin Deveau, Alexa McDonough and Maureen MacDonald and Jerry Blumenthal
Media that received packages of documents and/or did interviews but kept this disturbing info from the HRM public
CBC: Kim Garrity
Chronicle Herald: Michael Lightstone
Daily News: did an brief article about the violence my family endured but it fell short of any meaningful social impact because the journalist cancelled his plans last minute to be at the Appeal Hearing against Irvine Carvery and Metro Regional Housing Authority. Irvine Carvery was told to his face by the adjudicator that he was not a credible person in his account of the issues. I, on the other hand, has piles of documents and photos and witnesseses to the abuse my family endured and still Carvery was not terminated from employment as a public servant.
Pat Lawrence, his boss and Harold Dillon, her boss, were not in attendance at this appeal hearing that lasted 6 hours I had that much evidence. Abuse, racial terrorism and damages done to my family by those who were allowed to violate several laws: constitutional, criminal and residential.
Ethical management make sure to be part of any doings that involve the conduct of their employees. But she not only knew about the abuse as she received calls and papers as it occurred but she was also part of the denigration of my family name and as women with mulitiple disabiltiies. She took visible allegiance with woman beaters, drug dealers, violent offenders, child molesters and abusers against me to get me out of her neighbourhood so she did not have to fire Carvery who would, right on time, accuse her of being a racist.
It is well known in public housing including Uniacke Square if you are black you could do what you want because Pat would run in fear at the threat of a race card being played against her. She was fully aware of the racist violence my family endured that put my family at harm's door every day and put me in and out of medical crisis and she did nothing.
NO BODY did a thing despite all of them public employees being paid by YOU to not only not do their jobs but to commit crimes so depraved they would shock the most seasoned of people.
Maureen MacDonald and Jerry Blumenthal both attended a meeting where few of us joined the Neighbourhood Watch posse. Elders cried in the room as they told one story after another to both of these so called elected respresentatives who did nothing. Keep in mind both knew about my abuse by aame posse months earlier and did nothing. Elders as well as myself talked about how the police deliberately would not charge the black thugs despite the evidence, trauma and damages. They didnot want to deal with Irvine Carvery whose son is also a police offisewer.
On the night of this meeting a couple had talked about how their senior friends were in the hospital from being assaulted by same posse and that severl of them had their homes of for sale. Pter Kelly wa sinvited by em to aten thsi meting sicne eh refsued to ades th absue i alredy sat with him abotu ( see scanned blog letter). Peter Kelly could not be bothered attending to hear about how the black thugs and police were harming innocent seniors and persons with disabilities especially if you were white. Peter Kelly did not want to deal with Irvine Carvery either since they already had words over the Africville issues, a great issue that Carvery is pimping for credit and attention but the community knows the truth about Irvine Carvery the sociopathic opportunist that never leaves home without his 52 deck.
Gotta love those NDP who love scum more than their victims.
Jerry Blumenthal has announced he is running against Patrick Murphy.
A thug supporter versus a thug? Should be interesting.
Sadly we could not possibly scan all documents given to the aforementioned about the crimes committed by IRVINE CARVERY against my non-black family, against me as a white woman.
IRVINE CARVERY is a racist sociopath who should be in FEDERAL PRISON not FEDERAL PARLIAMENT!
The only people who find worth in this sociopathic sick feck are those just like him and/or spineless white folks who think by showing this scumbag visible allegiance they are down with the peeps.
Or, they know if they do not agree with him he will paper cut them with the race card. Sadly these pathetic white folks allow this scumbag to do what he wants causing immeasurable damage to too many to count.
Is it poetic justice or kharma: Maureen MacDonald NDP cannot stand Carvery and he may become her superior?
She received a desperate call from me in April 2002 begging her for help against Irvine Carvery and his organized posse of racist thugs, she knew Carvery and his posse were harming my family and putting me into medical crisis on a regular basis.
She did nothing. I reported her to Alexa Macdonough. She did nothing. I stopped voting NDP when I realized how weak and and false they were. The betrayal was difficult to process.
We are all for affirmation action and diverse employment however having rapists as city councillors and racist sociopaths as members of parliment...well ....we just think that is asking a wee bit much from the moral good public of metropolis!
~~~~~~~~~~
Thank you and Finally: the global talk of corruption and its threat to human development!Corruption called threat to development
BERLIN, Sept. 1 (UPI) --
Fraud will undermine poverty reduction efforts unless recipient nations take accountability and transparency measures, an anti-corruption organization says.
Transparency International, based in Berlin, says corruption is hampering development in many countries.
"The persistent levels of poverty and corruption across the globe amount to an ongoing humanitarian catastrophe," said Cobus de Swardt, the group's managing director. "We need to see a targeted and global strategy to tackle corruption in the development process, or we will continue to see lives spent in misery and preventable deaths because public institutions and the provision of health and education services simply do not work."
Transparency International made its comments ahead of the Accra High-Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness, being held Sept. 2-4 in Ghana.
~~~~~~~~~~~ Dawn Sloane versus Irvine Carvery?
Is this all we got?
Then we are all in trouble!
Good Reader: as you know we have a municipal election on October 18 (2008) but who do we get to choose: Is picking the devil you know really better than the devil you do not know?
Let me introduce these devils to you: Dawn the rapist supporter ( Dawn the Spawn) and Irvine the racist perpetrator (Irvine the Undivine).
Now most of this discussion is in other portions of this blog and if we suffered from redundancy we would work for same said council.... we will just summarize the facts on these two bureaucratic sociopaths who have committed crimes in the open, the real campaign brochure if you will.
to be continued Let me introduce these devils to you: Dawn the rapist supporter ( Dawn the Spawn) and Irvine the racist perpetrator (Irvine the Undivine).
Now most of this discussion is in other portions of this blog and if we suffered from redundancy we would work for same said council.... we will just summarize the facts on these two bureaucratic sociopaths who have committed crimes in the open, the real campaign brochure if you will.
6 Degrees of Separation....
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Racism In Nova Scotia: black on white crime!
Intelligent, mature and sincere pro-black empowerment would not include anti-white rhetoric
Yes, we are going to have this discussion. Finally!
WE are going to talk about the worse perpetrators of racist crime in HRM, we are going to talk about the fake-jakes and fraud-maudes, the colluders and the those who are allowing self appointed black advocates to hold the rest of community hostage using the race card. How many cards are in a deck anyway? I am sure I have counted over 52 plays already.
We are going to talk about the racist agenda of Rocky Jones, Wanda Thomas Bernard, and Irvine Carvery. We are going to talk about black on white crime that the police deliberately do not investigate so that they do not have to be called racists one more time. We are going to discuss the many non-black victims that suffer silently because of the hate crimes put on them in HRM by black perps motivated by ignorance, enabling, permission, agenda in a city with no law.
Where does this discussion begin? Okay lets start with truth and end with truth.: RACISM EXISTS!
Take moment to absorb that new information. will be continued....
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
RETURN TO SENDER: BECKY KENT!
That corrupt, malicious, unconstitutional, sneaky, snakey, gossiping guttersnipe Becky Queen of Kent who has misaligned my character and the integrity of my family since I moved into this community, who has sabotaged with gossip every application I have made to sit at community organizations, who received an email from me as a sitting city councillor in 2005 about the Patrick Murphy rape....sent me letter the other day.....
Well of course I did not read it. I could not careless what that corrupt piece of conniving shite would have to say to me but odd how she is fully aware of the upcoming trial and just a week before the August 18 court date that she would think is the trial, she sends me a letter in official MLA letterhead, I guess that was supposed to impress me?
Anyway sorry folks, I have nothing to report about what her MLA-NDP-POS Becky Kent had to say to me.
I look forward to the day where my community knows her for scum I know her to be. People who support rapists while vilifying the victim are rapists too.
Well of course I did not read it. I could not careless what that corrupt piece of conniving shite would have to say to me but odd how she is fully aware of the upcoming trial and just a week before the August 18 court date that she would think is the trial, she sends me a letter in official MLA letterhead, I guess that was supposed to impress me?
Anyway sorry folks, I have nothing to report about what her MLA-NDP-POS Becky Kent had to say to me.
I look forward to the day where my community knows her for scum I know her to be. People who support rapists while vilifying the victim are rapists too.
Now please excuse our confusion....recently a woman has been called out for working with a women's development agency yet she has a criminal record. I have no convictions yet Becky Kent and her posses treat me like I am the community rapist........this is highly unconstitutional
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
SOUNDS FAMILIAR? Homeless focus of 2010 Olympic preparation
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Aug. 16 (UPI) --
Preparation for the 2010 Olympic Games in Vancouver, British Columbia, is focused on a stretch of land inhabited by homeless people, officials say.
British Columbia Premier Gordon Campbell said this week that the portion of Vancouver's downtown region frequented by homeless people would be in better condition before the start of the Winter Games in 2010, The Toronto Globe and Mail reported Saturday.
Vancouver Mayor Sam Sullivan said, however, the east portion of the city's downtown would likely be filled with homeless individuals for years to come despite efforts to improve housing options.
"The Downtown Eastside will be for many years a place you find people of low incomes," Sullivan said.
Meanwhile, Vancouver Park Board Commissioner Spencer Herbert downplayed reports of offering homeless people one-way travel tickets prior to the Games' start on Feb. 12, 2010.
"Some people would do better if they were given opportunities. We are not going to take them and force them to go anywhere. But certainly the options have to be there for them," he said.
~~~~~~
Okay had to wait to make sure this was not a prank but YEAH NDP- Alexa M is finally gone.....hopefully her posse of spineless fakes in this province will be going out the same door soon!
Alexa as with her patna in crime Maureen, have fooled many an unassuming public into actually believing they are the champions of the down-trodden. What these two have done to the poor, the disabled and the elderly in public housing and impoverished communities is far more despicable than what the Tories have done, we expect the latter to behave like sociopaths.
We heard though I am sure it is just gossip, that Alexa may run for HRM mayorship..
We say stop being redundant HRM : put a wig on Petey and let him wear polyester stretch dresses and call it even!
Alexa as with her patna in crime Maureen, have fooled many an unassuming public into actually believing they are the champions of the down-trodden. What these two have done to the poor, the disabled and the elderly in public housing and impoverished communities is far more despicable than what the Tories have done, we expect the latter to behave like sociopaths.
We heard though I am sure it is just gossip, that Alexa may run for HRM mayorship..
We say stop being redundant HRM : put a wig on Petey and let him wear polyester stretch dresses and call it even!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
JUDY JUDY JUDY
JURY JURY JURY
Okay show of hands who knew Minister Streatch had a new 2008 Ford Escape paid by YOU, the tax payer or should I say pauper?
Okay show of hands who knew government employees can drive company cars on their own time?
Okay show of hands who knew government employees can drive company cars on their own time?
Okay show of hands who think that there is never time when her teenagers should be able to drive anything that is the property of the tax pauper?
Okay show of hands of all of you who are driving a car made in 2006 and newer?
Okay show of hands of those of you just as confused about that corrupt piece of shit Murray Scott who was just minister of justice is now minster of transportation..did he get a specialized university degree in 5 months?
Okay show of hands who thinks it is beyond ridiculous to watch one corrupt Tory minister fake moral outrage at another corrupt Tory minister like Roddie the Noddy did to Fage?
Okay show of hands who thinks Scott the Snot will show for trial June 4 2008 since he is crown's witness against me on the matter of Patrick Murphy : rapist turned fake victim?
Show of hands of those of you tax paupers who are sick and tired of being pimped by Torys while they enjoy luxuries and privileges you usually just think about?
Okay, show of hands of you that will actually do something about it!!!! All I know is 2 years ago I hand delivered a list of her staff that have committed retaliatory crimes and constitutional/policy violations against me and my family, a copy was sent to NSGEU lazy ass Joan Jessome and I guess Judy gave her copy to that Napoleon Chihuahua attorney Terry Potter who like that dog, is all noise, annoying as all hell and suffers from lil dog syndrome!
So to date many of the case workers, managers and housing staff that work in her department that should be unemployed and incarcerated are still enjoying benefits of freedoms while many others are still suffering at the hands of the sociopaths she keeps around her so she does not get lonely!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Who Stole Joseph Howe’s Nova Scotia?
Joseph Howe, once a premier, is probably one of the few truest Nova Scotians. Ever. Not only did he plant the democratic garden for Responsible Government he had so much confidence in the unique strengths and promise of NS that he fought with passion against Nova Scotia joining the Confederation.
If he seen NS now he would say this is NOT his province. With:
- failed poverty report cards
- failed violent report cards
- high unemployment rates
- high suicide rates
- high chronic illness rates
- penalties for aspiring to higher education
- penalties against those striving for freedom of speech
- corrupt and unethical govt practices
- irresponsible and criminal govt agencies
I venture to say that Mr. Howe would be down right disgusted to call this province Nova Scotia as it in no way resembles what he so proudly wrote about and adamantly fought for in many a political arena here in Canada and in the UK. He would be ashamed at the lack of a humane standard wondering how any one could be proud developing policies and attitudes that made the sick sicker and the Poor Poorer!
He would ask, ‘who stole MY Nova Scotia: a province of proud people, prosperity, productivity and promise’?
Using the lack of humanity and the clear lack of intelligence as a measure, he would say Government has forgotten what it is to be Nova Scotian.
Mr. Howe could not imagine a world where Government would deliberately organize to harm those who are the most vulnerable. He would not know that this mentality thrived from the pain of others and he would not know that this would be called fragging, a word to be invented 70 years after his time.
Fragging is the word that comes from the Vietnam War said to explain the ‘unexplainable’ deaths of people considered to be an annoyance. It is a covered up made to look like friendly fire when in reality it was the deliberate act of injury or murder done to get rid of someone who was considered problematic.
In NS, the Government has created this long standing illusion that people in poverty are problematic when in fact it is the Government who have created this very problem through their classist agenda to punish those who, in another time not so long ago, were considered to be the Deserving Poor. The Government sets up punishments that suffocate the Poor and then blames the Poor for not being able to breath.
Fragging. NS Government harming the Poor by making it look like something is ‘wrong’ with each one of us so they are not held accountable for committing these crimes against humanity as a ruling power.
NO, Mr Howe could not fathom a province whose Government could, with proud maliciousness intend to harm human beings then punish those same people for being injured.
WE live in such a pathetic state of affairs here in this province, maintained by the ruling non-Poor that its very condition is a travesty to all that Joseph Howe fought for and envisioned Nova Scotia to be for its people.
Advocates are about reminding those responsible for creating and maintaining the suffering in NS, that they are trespassing in this province. They are NOT Nova Scotian by any definition other than being born here and that is not enough.
Joseph Howe would be proud of those fighting on behalf of the most vulnerable who are being abused in this province.. He would say we are true Nova Scotians fighting for democracy and responsibility from a Government that has been neither for a long, long, long time.
So when you advocate do so with pride, the pride of knowing that this outrage is not new, it is over a hundred years old from the moment Mr.Howe decided to represent all of Nova Scotia, not just the elite. Advocate with pride knowing that each of you ARE Nova Scotia and that within each of YOU: Joseph Howe would find his responsible Nova Scotia again!!!!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ADJOURNED: Patrick Murphy rape trial August 18 2008 9:30 am.
New trial date June 4 2008 9:30am courtroom #4 Spring Garden Road-please see/hear the corruption yourself....
Police Sergeant Hart
Regarding Patrick Murphy rape investigation
Incident number:06-58970
posted December 17 2006
December marks the time when we take a special moment or two to think about the different acts of violence perpetrated against women, young and old.
This is a very traumatizing time for me as in 1995 I spent 4 days at Supreme Court of Nova Scotia in criminal trials as the individual who raped me for 5 years as a child was on trial. Then Victim Services raped me another for 9 years withholding medical services that were already legislatively mine.( see article Mail Star/Chronicle Herald 2003 reporter Michael Lightstone)
The trauma that the justice system did to me and my son cannot be measured. The child molester got 6 months on week ends and I got life after being forced to testify on a crime that was over 20 years old, a crime Community Services, police and crown forgot to investigate while I was a ward of the court.
Now in 2006 I mentioned at a public meeting at Province House on December 6- how many people in that room knew that a city councilman was being investigated for rape?
4 media sources were in the room and not one covered the story-RESPONSES reason for boycotting media to events about TRUTH..
Regarding Patrick Murphy rape investigation
Incident number:06-58970
posted December 17 2006
December marks the time when we take a special moment or two to think about the different acts of violence perpetrated against women, young and old.
This is a very traumatizing time for me as in 1995 I spent 4 days at Supreme Court of Nova Scotia in criminal trials as the individual who raped me for 5 years as a child was on trial. Then Victim Services raped me another for 9 years withholding medical services that were already legislatively mine.( see article Mail Star/Chronicle Herald 2003 reporter Michael Lightstone)
The trauma that the justice system did to me and my son cannot be measured. The child molester got 6 months on week ends and I got life after being forced to testify on a crime that was over 20 years old, a crime Community Services, police and crown forgot to investigate while I was a ward of the court.
Now in 2006 I mentioned at a public meeting at Province House on December 6- how many people in that room knew that a city councilman was being investigated for rape?
4 media sources were in the room and not one covered the story-RESPONSES reason for boycotting media to events about TRUTH..
Every level of government is supposed to be transparent and we know abuse loves privacy.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Halifax /HRM City Councillors Protecting a Rapist while Slandering the Victim
The enclosed was submitted by us to the http://www.dumpkelly.com
Sheila Fougere, Sue Uteck et all have the audacity to bash Peter Kelly yet they have acted as badly?
Hello my name is Gayle McIntyre and I was raped by Patrick Murphy in 1998. Incident number:06-58970
There is so much to say so I will try to keep it brief:
The entire city council received an email from me in February 2005 including Sheila Fougere and Sue Uteck and they did nothing to internally investigate forcing me to go to police who are as corrupt and sociopathic as they are
In May 2006 -May 2007 the HRM police pretended to do an investigation against Murphy ( see the community blog). Not one of my witnesses was contacted including my best witness who was Murphy's best friend who he claims he cannot find.
Police lied about not being able to contact doctors or witnesses even though I provided resources to locate them and they not once contacted medical witnesses.
It sickens me that since my Feb 05 email the city council has engaged in creating a positive civic resume/ image for Murphy to offset any damages if and when the HRM public found out that it has been lied to in ways that should never be forgivable.
I cannot share with you all the damage to my family that the rape and subsequent police abuse did. I do ask you to go to the Human Rights Comm and Police Comm and Ombudsman Office and ask for all the crimes I reported against many public servants. Please use this post as my written consent to have access to the very files that have been kept from you!
Have no doubt many are boot deep in criminal activity: supported by Frank Beazley, Peter Kelly, Michael Baker, Murray Scott, The NS Police Commission, Human Rights Commission and the Ombudsman Office- I can assure you the Kirk Johnson issue was just a distraction-all aforementioned have kept extensive files and reports of criminal activity and abuse that destroyed my family.
I do invite you the unassuming public to exercise your rights to attend a public trial on June 4 2008 (and subsequent hearings) where I was charged for uttering threats and property damages against rapist Patrick Murphy during two city council meetings.
Why did YOU the public not know about all of this?
Please ask your city councillor why they support rapists and corrupt policing. You have right to have YOUR tax dollars pay the wages of ethical public servants not thugs. I am sure the good moral public rather pay for the per diem of incarceration of criminal city councillors who protect rapists than pay for their benefits.
Ethical government does not hide information from the public only tyrannical ones do. Ethical people make a point of being transparent to their public.
For the entire city council to do nothing about the rape email means they must have gang- raped my constitutional rights and assaulted my character which is also illegal on many fronts-never mind that due to all the abuse I am a woman with disabilities. Ask why the media has kept this growing story from you since 2006 despite my many efforts to inform you the public?
Ask your city council to explain why they do not demand that PM take a lie detector test as he refuses to do so. He is a public official: should he not be expected to take one?
If he was INNOCENT he would be begging to take one!
The police have refused my many requests for one and continue to abuse me. When I first applied to NS Legal Aid they had the audacity to try to coerce me into signing a waiver that they would ONLY represent me, an impoverished disabled woman, if I agreed to not speak in my own defense, won't bring in witnesses or evidence against Murphy and all those who protected him while abusing me.
Ask why they are trying so hard to keep YOU the public in the dark? Ask who came up with the idea to silence me and if I did not agree I would have to represent myself against a corrupt crown's office.
It sickens me every time I have to go to an online govt site as I see the name Joseph Howe who was the antithesis of this NS Govt at every level.
You do not need to know me or believe me just trust your own instincts: why did city council and the mayor and police chief and media keep this quiet especially during the COMMONWEALTH PREGAME BID?
I sent 5 letters to the Commonwealth Organization Executive about this very situation as they had a right to know that HRM was too corrupt to host. The only thing that should be going on is criminal trial after trial of each city council and their collusion to obstruct justice.
If they can be fooled by a rapist....you need not look any further than them to see why HRM is in such a mess. Also as an aside....for those of you who did not know chief of police Beazley's own son sadly threw himself off a cement bridge to end years of personal suffering and drug use. I am hoping he did not die in vain but you the HRM PUBLIC have to wake up!!!!
If the chief of police could not sufficiently address the criminal behaviour, mental illnesses and addictions of his own son why are you so confused why HRM is so out of control?
Beazley could not heal his own family who had these issues for about 6 years!!!! PAY ATTENTION cause you do get the government you deserve....
The HRM School Board issues pale in comparison to what the city council has done yet city council has not be removed yet!
rick Murphy has been a busy bee trying to build up his port folio of good public deeds all the while he was being investigated for rape. In March 2007 the chief and city council and mayor and Murphy opened up a crime office in the Northend after ignoring my many requests for one and the ongoing police/community abuse I received for asking for one since 2001. Then we have Kelly and Murphy attending community meetings about crime followed by the recent anniversary of the HFX Explosion where Murphy again capitalized on the unassuming public.
Parents have the right to know that their children were it the company of a serial rapist. ...I was not his only victim.
Lets see how long this post remains and if city council have done nothing wrong they should have no issue with my right to express myself on this public forum in an effort to inform the public for public's sake.
Put your egg timers on!
There is so much to say so I will try to keep it brief:
The entire city council received an email from me in February 2005 including Sheila Fougere and Sue Uteck and they did nothing to internally investigate forcing me to go to police who are as corrupt and sociopathic as they are
In May 2006 -May 2007 the HRM police pretended to do an investigation against Murphy ( see the community blog). Not one of my witnesses was contacted including my best witness who was Murphy's best friend who he claims he cannot find.
Police lied about not being able to contact doctors or witnesses even though I provided resources to locate them and they not once contacted medical witnesses.
It sickens me that since my Feb 05 email the city council has engaged in creating a positive civic resume/ image for Murphy to offset any damages if and when the HRM public found out that it has been lied to in ways that should never be forgivable.
I cannot share with you all the damage to my family that the rape and subsequent police abuse did. I do ask you to go to the Human Rights Comm and Police Comm and Ombudsman Office and ask for all the crimes I reported against many public servants. Please use this post as my written consent to have access to the very files that have been kept from you!
Have no doubt many are boot deep in criminal activity: supported by Frank Beazley, Peter Kelly, Michael Baker, Murray Scott, The NS Police Commission, Human Rights Commission and the Ombudsman Office- I can assure you the Kirk Johnson issue was just a distraction-all aforementioned have kept extensive files and reports of criminal activity and abuse that destroyed my family.
I do invite you the unassuming public to exercise your rights to attend a public trial on June 4 2008 (and subsequent hearings) where I was charged for uttering threats and property damages against rapist Patrick Murphy during two city council meetings.
Why did YOU the public not know about all of this?
Please ask your city councillor why they support rapists and corrupt policing. You have right to have YOUR tax dollars pay the wages of ethical public servants not thugs. I am sure the good moral public rather pay for the per diem of incarceration of criminal city councillors who protect rapists than pay for their benefits.
Ethical government does not hide information from the public only tyrannical ones do. Ethical people make a point of being transparent to their public.
For the entire city council to do nothing about the rape email means they must have gang- raped my constitutional rights and assaulted my character which is also illegal on many fronts-never mind that due to all the abuse I am a woman with disabilities. Ask why the media has kept this growing story from you since 2006 despite my many efforts to inform you the public?
Ask your city council to explain why they do not demand that PM take a lie detector test as he refuses to do so. He is a public official: should he not be expected to take one?
If he was INNOCENT he would be begging to take one!
The police have refused my many requests for one and continue to abuse me. When I first applied to NS Legal Aid they had the audacity to try to coerce me into signing a waiver that they would ONLY represent me, an impoverished disabled woman, if I agreed to not speak in my own defense, won't bring in witnesses or evidence against Murphy and all those who protected him while abusing me.
Ask why they are trying so hard to keep YOU the public in the dark? Ask who came up with the idea to silence me and if I did not agree I would have to represent myself against a corrupt crown's office.
It sickens me every time I have to go to an online govt site as I see the name Joseph Howe who was the antithesis of this NS Govt at every level.
You do not need to know me or believe me just trust your own instincts: why did city council and the mayor and police chief and media keep this quiet especially during the COMMONWEALTH PREGAME BID?
I sent 5 letters to the Commonwealth Organization Executive about this very situation as they had a right to know that HRM was too corrupt to host. The only thing that should be going on is criminal trial after trial of each city council and their collusion to obstruct justice.
If they can be fooled by a rapist....you need not look any further than them to see why HRM is in such a mess. Also as an aside....for those of you who did not know chief of police Beazley's own son sadly threw himself off a cement bridge to end years of personal suffering and drug use. I am hoping he did not die in vain but you the HRM PUBLIC have to wake up!!!!
If the chief of police could not sufficiently address the criminal behaviour, mental illnesses and addictions of his own son why are you so confused why HRM is so out of control?
Beazley could not heal his own family who had these issues for about 6 years!!!! PAY ATTENTION cause you do get the government you deserve....
The HRM School Board issues pale in comparison to what the city council has done yet city council has not be removed yet!
rick Murphy has been a busy bee trying to build up his port folio of good public deeds all the while he was being investigated for rape. In March 2007 the chief and city council and mayor and Murphy opened up a crime office in the Northend after ignoring my many requests for one and the ongoing police/community abuse I received for asking for one since 2001. Then we have Kelly and Murphy attending community meetings about crime followed by the recent anniversary of the HFX Explosion where Murphy again capitalized on the unassuming public.
Parents have the right to know that their children were it the company of a serial rapist. ...I was not his only victim.
Lets see how long this post remains and if city council have done nothing wrong they should have no issue with my right to express myself on this public forum in an effort to inform the public for public's sake.
Put your egg timers on!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Approved Desegregation Plan
JEFFERSON, La., Feb. 22 (UPI) --
A Louisiana school board has approved a desegregation plan despite opposition from many parents.
The board in Jefferson Parish adopted the plan Wednesday night, The New Orleans Times-Picayune reported. It attempts to address racial inequalities by redrawing lines for school catchment areas, limiting student transfers and taking steps to distribute the most qualified teachers around the district. con't in link
A Louisiana school board has approved a desegregation plan despite opposition from many parents.
The board in Jefferson Parish adopted the plan Wednesday night, The New Orleans Times-Picayune reported. It attempts to address racial inequalities by redrawing lines for school catchment areas, limiting student transfers and taking steps to distribute the most qualified teachers around the district. con't in link
SHAME ON US:
THE AMERICANS 'GET IT' FIRST!
THE AMERICANS 'GET IT' FIRST!
Stanford waives tuition for middle class
PALO ALTO, Calif., Feb. 20 (UPI) --
Stanford University is dropping tuition charges for students whose families have less than six-figure incomes.
The renowned school said Wednesday that it wouldn't charge tuition for families that earn less than $100,000 per year and would also drop room-and-board fees for families making less than $60,000.
"By devoting more resources to financial aid, we seek to underscore what has long been the case -- that no high school senior should rule out applying to Stanford because of cost," Stanford President John Hennessy said in a written statement.
University officials said the move gave Stanford one of the highest annual financial aid offerings in the United States. They credited the generosity of the school's donors as making the tuition waivers possible.
--although it speaks directly to breaks for middle class families/students it inherently includes families in poverty....
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(this will be a running piece as more concerns from the community are voiced).
Okay first off, you noticed that in order to even get a whiff of what is supposedly going on you have to have access to the computer. Next meeting for community consultation will be held at Citadel High on Feb 19 @7:00opm and we ask that you attend even if you live in Dartmouth as the meetings are so different in energy, concerns, participation and outrage. I was concerned for the lack of all of these at the Dartmouth meeting....many important decisions need to be discussed and we hardly had time to go into all of them fairly including the future of John Martin school in the northend of Dartmouth.
WE also have too many who wish to get rid of Cole Harbour and sadly there was only two voices, myself and Bernadette, advocating for the black community, where the heck was BEA! SHAME ON THE BLACK EDUCATORS ASSOCIATION- they could not be bothered being present to fight for a school they know is attended by Lake Loon, Cherry Brook and both Prestons. Why has BEA once again failed to bring school and family together? SHAME SHAME TRIPLE SHAME ON BEA and the adult Black community effected most by this potential closing-where was Wanda Bernard, Dolly Williams, Wade Smith, Dougie Sparks, Rockey Jones, Irvine Carvery, Brad Barton -oh the list is long....where is the mobilization in the Black Community- who do you expect to address the unique issues of your community when you cannot be bothered engaging yourself? Who should do the work, the very people and organizations who you claim are not doing it 'right' in the first place?
This reminds me of the shameful lack of organized recruitment in the black community for foster homes. The Act for child welfare does stipulate that children should first be placed in their own communities where they are surrounded by experiences and influences that they can identify with. I doubt anyone can disagree with such a plan. However the likes of Wanda Bernard, a racial hostage-taker, and the ABSW (Association of Black Social Workers) complains that white families do not respond appropriately to the need of black children and she attributes that to systemic racism. Yet, where is the campaigning in her own community to find foster homes for the many black children in need of foster care?
So once again they got caught complaining and not campaigning.... you cannot hold others accountable for not doing what you yourselves are not prepared to do-this applies to any social issues!
I seen NDP Percy there but he said ....nada! He should have sat with city councillor Dave Hensbee who said nada too! Where was Caldwell?
The issue close to home for me is of the Eastern Passage High School and while most spoke of its inevitability Maureen stated that if it is, it won't be for another 5 years!
Well now that is just not acceptable! I will say much to my surprise that there was no posse colours and I do thank those for respecting that contentious issue. Also a surprise was seeing Mike Eddy and Jackie Barkhouse in attendance, I do have to admit I went over to introduce myself and she seems like a very approachable person..so far.
We attended 3 meetings so far and excluding the last meeting on Tuesday we took our concerns and observations and submitted the following to consultant Maureen and Howard for their consideration.
IMAGINE OUR SCHOOLS CONSULTATION
February 12 (Dartmouth) and 13 (Halifax) 2008
Respectfully submitted to Howard Windsor and Maureen O’Shaughnessy by
RESPONSE: A THOUSAND VOICES –
a not for profit community based organization that addresses issues for vulnerable families and communities.
RESPONSE: A THOUSAND VOICES –
a not for profit community based organization that addresses issues for vulnerable families and communities.
“ Quality is not an accident, it is the deliberate result of intelligent effort”
-unknown
-unknown
Schools are so much more than bricks and mortar. They are places that enable learning for all students, a place where young minds are inspired and futures are shaped.
Eastern Central Schools-Eastern Central HRM (Dartmouth, Cole Harbour, Prestons and Eastern Passage) which consists of the 44 schools in the Families of Schools of Dartmouth High School, Prince Andrew High School, Cole Harbour District High School and Auburn Drive High School.
General Concerns and Observations:
Recognizing that there are several phases to this proposed project we wish to include our comments and observations thus far as a not for profit community based organization that addresses familial multi-dynamic concerns.
For the purpose of this communication P/IP means parents/invested parties. The following are not exhaustive nor are they listed in priority of importance or urgency.
(1) It is imperative that there is meaningful and inclusive community commitment and consultation. Sadly as reported, the lack of attendance at the Black Cultural Centre clearly speaks volumes in gaps in this discussion and what mechanisms are in place to address those obvious gaps throughout this consultation?
(2) Projected number for enrollment over years is problematic as it does not consider the progression of communities as they build and expand. Numbers are on the shy
(3) I missed the Dart-January meeting but made the Halifax one the next evening. So relied heavily on website presentations in PDF and was overwhelmed. Despite my three university degrees the graphics are visually cumbersome. It would be helpful to be more user- friendly which would include findings in text. Graphics could show the number of participants rather than leaving to the viewer to figure out. Also each evening kept a registry of those who attended. Although not all sign in a great number do so, would be helpful for report back/website presentations to include the actual registered numbers for each discussion for several reasons:
(a) To get a guesstimate of how many P/IP actually attended versus how many possible P/IP could have attended and why the discrepancy?
(b) To see, for external validation and cross-sectional representation, the number of persons in attendance at each consultation and this number be included for each texted presentations to be displayed on the website.
(c) That these numbers have the potential to identify gaps/disparity in demographics for each community and can lead to new techniques and approaches to inspire more participants-this also protects the efficacy of the consultant(s) to confidently say that every opportunity was given to each community to attend in matters that concern their families and community.
(d) During the Halifax meeting several P/IP voiced their concerns about the speed of the process of this discussion. Although the website lists the consultation dates and functions for each, parents did not feel comfortable with the speed given the magnitude of the project spanning over 10 years and felt not enough consultation was had in community. We agree.
I am not sure who selected the MLA/city as the go-betweens but numbers in
attendance should have been made available to them and given the magnitude of this project these govt officials have an obligation to react to the numbers in ways that stimulate more interaction at the community level. Failure to do so is unfair to each community since this piece directly affects each community for
years to come. Conversely why are P/IP not given a list of MLA/city who have
been in attendance per their involvement so P/IP can either act in solidarity with
or have the chance to motivate their own MLA/City to become more involved
vocally as community representatives.
attendance should have been made available to them and given the magnitude of this project these govt officials have an obligation to react to the numbers in ways that stimulate more interaction at the community level. Failure to do so is unfair to each community since this piece directly affects each community for
years to come. Conversely why are P/IP not given a list of MLA/city who have
been in attendance per their involvement so P/IP can either act in solidarity with
or have the chance to motivate their own MLA/City to become more involved
vocally as community representatives.
Not withstanding that some parents just are not interested or available on meetings nights the efforts of every MLA/city should be made public per presentation published on the site so that parents who did not know about meetings can either hold their elected responsible or themselves for not responding timely to every opportunity given. It should be a given that certain communities are at disadvantage having disingenuous MLA/city councillors and every effort could be made by consultation, recognizing the demographic and geographic gaps in numbers to then create a new approach or tactic to inform these parents and give them chance to voice.
(4) Had difficulty finding the operational definition of Alternative Education
(5) I see the inclusion of FI (French Immersion) in the projected school size diagrams but what of other languages? Surely the new design does not assume that French will still be the only language that should be available given the rapid population /emigration into HRM of Arabic and Asian communities? What of Africentric, Miqmaq, Gaelic, Arabic, Asian Programming- and will this be set up with all ethnic interested persons getting first seats with open seats to others who wish to participate in particular programming but are not of the named ethnic group?
(6) On my behalf, Maureen was asked: how much money is spent per student and she had to get back to us. It was not meant to be an unfair question; it was to politely redirect the scope of the project. As in italics the quote was taken from the HRSB website and yet the discussion has been centered on mortar and bricks and stock (existing and new). Many P/IP made it clear that they are somewhat annoyed with the discussion as it excludes the ‘human part’ of the plan. Perhaps that comes in later and if so efforts could be made to inform the public of such but since no such mention was had it leaves P/IP disgruntled feeling forced into having the very discussion they do not want to have: all bricks and no books and brains !
If we are planning to build education with excellence we must know how much money should be spent on each student equally throughout each district within each school barring special needs. The capital discussion needs to be geared more toward how much are willing to spend per child versus per brick/building. We can have the state of the art buildings but they produce nothing if we do not match the quality in education, standards of teaching practices, environments and programming with the same efforts and energies.
(7) Need to apply the brakes: again P/IP strongly urged the need to slow down this discussion and have more ‘in community’ consultation. Several key issues are being skimmed for an ideal set for 2018-what of the growing pains? The terminology is exclusive and presumptuous, 2018 this and 2018 that, what about 2009, 2010, 2011 and so forth? How will schools be selected for fixing/modifications or building from scratch and is the HRSB prepared to handle any back-lashing /upset/grievances that may occur if nepotism/patronage and /or community socio-economics are perceived to be part of the decision process?
(8) Again on my behalf, the issue of catchment came up. This has been a standing issue for those parents who wish their children to be in the safest communities and buildings getting the best education. We know that stock issues (existing and new) will continue to play a huge role with catchment as parents DO want the right to step over socio-political boundaries to attend schools they perceived as providing the ‘best’ opportunities and options for their child.
‘With all schools being equal’ as the reality and not just an ideal this pre-existing concern should be a non-issue and will be so until the ‘favourism’ or ‘patronage’ in certain communities becomes apparent.
(9) Was each MLA/city councillor given a special fund to organize/mobilize discussion and access to discussion in each of their poli-boundaries? Using political offices to be a separate part of this discussion has increased the distrust from P/IP as all discussions in so much as possible should be transparent. By having this obvious division brings politics into a place where it does not belong. Elected officials are accountable to the people and the people have every right to see and hear their elected officials speak in a public forum on the very issues that affect their children and communities. It should have been predicted that keeping the division between community consultations and elected consultations would breed mistrust and this project cannot afford such historical distractions.
The temporary reshaping of the school board that brought Howard Windsor in as the new school board shows that those who are elected into public positions are not necessarily the ‘best’ to represent the ‘greater’ community and do not always ‘behave’ in a manner conducive to the best outcomes for the public. MLA/city are not specialists in the field of education unless they, in their personal lives, have specialized in such. The HRM public has not recovered from the School Board mess that brought Howard into position so to overwhelm the public with keeping the ‘elected’ separate maintains the skepticism, defeatism and discontent among P/IP.
If MLA/city are to be ‘used’ their role should be one of facilitation of the project/development and if they are acting as private citizens then they should be expected to attend public meetings in either capacity: private and elected.
(10)Will community be consulted for every part of the 2018 plan as depicted in
Will community P/IP have the opportunity to be part of the assessments and direction for Plans for Improvement per school as there seems to be a noticeable disconnect between how the school perceives its own performance and those who have an invested interested with students outside of the classroom?
(11) Every effort should have been made to have this entire project as unbiased and non- partisan as possible. The wearing of orange ribbons at the last Dartmouth meeting was highly inappropriate as it nationally represents the NDP and newly elect MLA and city councillor who will be running in the next election. Wearing symbols of solidarity is encouraging but choosing this highly recognizable and subliminal political colour is unprofessional and sneaky when both of these two women (Kent, Barkhouse) are the ONLY two named and published in my community as being on the School Committee in this community. Politicians should not be allowed to pimp projects of this significance for patronage! Gang or posse colours should be forbidden in the consultation and the lack of concern by the consultant and/or HRSB on this issue is of equal concern. We have dress codes for our students and we should at least expect the same from those claiming to be speaking in the best interest of those students. So no gang colours or clothing for students but the community elected can wear them?
(12)
There is a shameful disconnect between how the HRSB policy says it responds to special needs of students and what is in fact the case in community. Our organization works with the most vulnerable familial issues and the single one issue of neglect is that of ADD/ADHD diagnosing and the subsequent removing of students from mainstream educational programming. It is clear that issues/symptoms of poverty are being diagnosed and I myself have seen the unethical signing of forms to keep students diagnosed as they pass from grade to grade. This is against school practices and policy and the HRSB policy clearly states how IPP are to be conducted. It is also imperative that families are a aware of their rights to appeal decisions as many do not know this or those who do are incapable for various reasons to appeal often feel quite overwhelmed, defeated and intimidated by the official and formal processes of school administration.
(13) Where does Public and Environmental Health fit into this entire discussion and planning? Public health more than ever needs to be an essential part of education starting at the P levels through to 12. Environmental issues such as design are crucial and I have great concern for the proposed design of the Eastern Passage High School. My first visceral response was that of punition, it looks like a detention centre or police station. It flies in the face of natural environmental/health issues (natural lighting) and building materials (limited glass/outdoor exposure) and although the building is impressive in its massiveness it connotes constipation and not aspiration. Each community should be given the opportunity to choose what design is most beneficial to the given community needs while creating learning spaces that are synergistic with the immediate environmental and health issues.
All in all it is a great endeavor and we wish Howard Windsor all the best-he stepped up and accomplished much more than the school board ever thought to accomplish during their reign-they lost their direction and purpose so we thank you Howard for bringing us (HRM) back on task for the present and future. You have our support 100%.
Maureen O’Shaughnessy had a difficult task coming into diverse communities who at times can have opposing needs. Too many promises have been made to communities by MLA and city councillors and it is naive and misguided at best to assume that the feelings toward government at both levels will be ignored by participants. Maureen has had to deal with a lot of earned mistrust and distrust from parents and community invested parties toward government and their agenda/party gain. Perhaps the October election will weed out those who lacked the initiative and insight to advocate on behalf of the students today and tomorrow.
We do not claim to know all the answers but we hope that you can accept this communication with the sincerity and spirit in which it was given: working together toward a collective goal of:
Educational Excellence for Everyone Equally!
Respectfully in solidarity,
Gayle McIntyre (BAADM, BSW)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
February 05 2008
Well we did not have to wait that long for NDP to once again pimp the people for political patronage! ORANGE RIBBONS IN EASTERN PASSAGE :
A DISGRACEFUL POLI-PLOY!
A DISGRACEFUL POLI-PLOY!
As some of you already know Eastern Passage and surrounding area have been rightfully advocating for their own high school for some time. It is a fight that comes at a delicate time of the HRM consultations Imagine Our Schools, the supposed community consultation and HRM planning of the school system and stock that will be fully actualized in the projected 2018 school year.
There are so many criticisms heard about the actual planning and consultations so we suggest you attend meetings Feb 12 (Dart) and 13 ( Hfx) . For now, the most pressing matter is the wearing of orange ribbons in Eastern Passage in a claim of solidarity. Well for those who know the only two things orange in NS are pumpkins and NDP it should be intuitively obvious to you that the wearing of orange ribbons for a community project is not only inappropriate it is downright sneaky.
Now for those of us who are no longer fooled by the NDP party it was immediately apparent that NDP thought they could slide that one on by everyone. Oddly in the community who is wearing the ribbons the explanation given for choosing this colour was really no choice at all: it is said that orange was a great price perhaps even free.....yeah sure it was.....now for those who strive for ethical excellence we know that both NDP Becky Kent and sidekick in crime galpal newly elect city councillor Jackie B knew EXACTLY what they were doing when they went with orange ribbons for this COMMUNITY school project.
Now for those who live in the real world, we KNOW that the ethical thing to do would be that either or both of these flaming NDP politrickians should have expressed concern for using this colour as it may be construed as campaiging, subliminal, poli-patronage= all taking away from the community issue at hand.
I am sure with all the connections that are bragged about in the community that it would not be difficult at all to get a ribbon colour that actually reflects the community and not NDP. The question of where the orange came from was posed on the www.easternpassage.ca website and the two that should be speaking the most remain silent..now there is a shocker...now what is confusing is Becky Kent is supposedly one of the founders of the Public Good Society so what is up with all the underhandedness from those who elect themselves the standard of measure for the moral good?- of course you would have to ignore how she and her posse gossip about folks in the community and she, as a councillor, supported rapist Patrick Murphy while bashing the character of the victim, but hey what are a few flaws among....Passage pals?
The local newspapers talked about how the Passage came out in solidarity wearing the orange ribbons. Being someone who does not believe in coincidences we have NDP newly elect MLA (BECKY KENT) and newly elect city councilor (JACKIE B) who obviously wants a shoe- in for the upcoming municipal election- that just so happen to wear national Orange and now that orange is the colour of the high school project that they just so happen to be the two published spokespersons for?
I just hope, sooner than later, that the loyal fans of NDP wake up and realize that NDP has been the fraud all along and that pimping community projects for poli-patronage is as pathetic as it gets. I do feel badly for those who may not have made the connection until too late and an apology is owed to them by Kent and Barkhouse who never missed the opportunity to publish ONLY their names in the community for this project.
Anyway, the suspicions of parents toward the consultations and HRM govt are well founded, they need only look at my community to see how sneaky the politrick really is on this topic that should be more about community inclusion and the quality for education and not used as an opportunity to manipulate an unassuming good public.
But what did we expect from a poli- group that thinks diverse employment means to hire black folks to carry their bags- a Maureen and Alexa trick. Of course that pales in comparison to the outrageous games played by both in hiding all the racial abuse my family, other non-black families including seniors endured in the northend of Halifax because the police and chief and mayor could not be bothered protecting any of us from the violence of well known black posses while all of these lily-whites kissed the ass of one of the worse racists in HRM Irvine Carvery-whose son just so happens to be a HRM police officer.
I am still confused over what Kevin D was doing all this time as Community Services and Justice critic as both departments since Christie/Morse and Baker/Scott have been ladened top down in criminality, corruption and constitutional violations against the most vulnerable Nova Scotians. I am sure his fleeing to Thailand when I dropped mounds of documented crimes committed by both departments while he was critic was just a coincidence too?
Is it true that Brad Birt of NDP forced his tenants to put his elections signs on their properties and disallowed them to put their own choices up? Is it true he is a slum landlord as rumoured in Woodside?
Is it true that hard earned union dues paid for the Jackie Barkhouse election-did she get the permission of every single union payer to use funds this way? Do they know their $$$ was spent this way?
The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) and the Halifax-Dartmouth and District Labour Council also endorsed her.......con't in link
Say it aint so NDP!
There are so many criticisms heard about the actual planning and consultations so we suggest you attend meetings Feb 12 (Dart) and 13 ( Hfx) . For now, the most pressing matter is the wearing of orange ribbons in Eastern Passage in a claim of solidarity. Well for those who know the only two things orange in NS are pumpkins and NDP it should be intuitively obvious to you that the wearing of orange ribbons for a community project is not only inappropriate it is downright sneaky.
Now for those of us who are no longer fooled by the NDP party it was immediately apparent that NDP thought they could slide that one on by everyone. Oddly in the community who is wearing the ribbons the explanation given for choosing this colour was really no choice at all: it is said that orange was a great price perhaps even free.....yeah sure it was.....now for those who strive for ethical excellence we know that both NDP Becky Kent and sidekick in crime galpal newly elect city councillor Jackie B knew EXACTLY what they were doing when they went with orange ribbons for this COMMUNITY school project.
Now for those who live in the real world, we KNOW that the ethical thing to do would be that either or both of these flaming NDP politrickians should have expressed concern for using this colour as it may be construed as campaiging, subliminal, poli-patronage= all taking away from the community issue at hand.
I am sure with all the connections that are bragged about in the community that it would not be difficult at all to get a ribbon colour that actually reflects the community and not NDP. The question of where the orange came from was posed on the www.easternpassage.ca website and the two that should be speaking the most remain silent..now there is a shocker...now what is confusing is Becky Kent is supposedly one of the founders of the Public Good Society so what is up with all the underhandedness from those who elect themselves the standard of measure for the moral good?- of course you would have to ignore how she and her posse gossip about folks in the community and she, as a councillor, supported rapist Patrick Murphy while bashing the character of the victim, but hey what are a few flaws among....Passage pals?
The local newspapers talked about how the Passage came out in solidarity wearing the orange ribbons. Being someone who does not believe in coincidences we have NDP newly elect MLA (BECKY KENT) and newly elect city councilor (JACKIE B) who obviously wants a shoe- in for the upcoming municipal election- that just so happen to wear national Orange and now that orange is the colour of the high school project that they just so happen to be the two published spokespersons for?
I just hope, sooner than later, that the loyal fans of NDP wake up and realize that NDP has been the fraud all along and that pimping community projects for poli-patronage is as pathetic as it gets. I do feel badly for those who may not have made the connection until too late and an apology is owed to them by Kent and Barkhouse who never missed the opportunity to publish ONLY their names in the community for this project.
Anyway, the suspicions of parents toward the consultations and HRM govt are well founded, they need only look at my community to see how sneaky the politrick really is on this topic that should be more about community inclusion and the quality for education and not used as an opportunity to manipulate an unassuming good public.
But what did we expect from a poli- group that thinks diverse employment means to hire black folks to carry their bags- a Maureen and Alexa trick. Of course that pales in comparison to the outrageous games played by both in hiding all the racial abuse my family, other non-black families including seniors endured in the northend of Halifax because the police and chief and mayor could not be bothered protecting any of us from the violence of well known black posses while all of these lily-whites kissed the ass of one of the worse racists in HRM Irvine Carvery-whose son just so happens to be a HRM police officer.
I am still confused over what Kevin D was doing all this time as Community Services and Justice critic as both departments since Christie/Morse and Baker/Scott have been ladened top down in criminality, corruption and constitutional violations against the most vulnerable Nova Scotians. I am sure his fleeing to Thailand when I dropped mounds of documented crimes committed by both departments while he was critic was just a coincidence too?
Is it true that Brad Birt of NDP forced his tenants to put his elections signs on their properties and disallowed them to put their own choices up? Is it true he is a slum landlord as rumoured in Woodside?
Is it true that hard earned union dues paid for the Jackie Barkhouse election-did she get the permission of every single union payer to use funds this way? Do they know their $$$ was spent this way?
The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) and the Halifax-Dartmouth and District Labour Council also endorsed her.......con't in link
Say it aint so NDP!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The following is a letter sent to Michael Hooper the CEO for the Canadian Commonwealth Games, copied to four other offices....
Hello,
I have decided to contact you to let you know that Halifax is not safe for the hosting the games. As a former athlete myself I certainly would enjoy having a ’front row seat’ to enjoy the talents of sport from around the world.
However, I am sure that the Common Wealth Federation would not want to support any city council who has acted in an unethical manner. Through Stats Canada Halifax was deemed the most violent city in the nation. Corrupt officials such as Peter Kelly and police chief Frank Beazley have worked diligently at beguiling the federal minister of justice Vic Towes that the issue is the youth. No that is a blatant lie: the issue is a dangerous and sociopathic police force that is emboldened by a weak city mayor too scared to hold its own force accountable for outrageous crimes against humanity.
I can assure you any guests to the games should not feel safe.
Please see enclosed for the other reasons why the Commonwealth games should not trust Halifax as a candidate, since May 2006 city councilman Patrick Murphy has been named a rapist. The police and commission have done everything to botch the investigation and keep it quiet. The mayor and other council have kept it quiet yet how does any city council and mayor not conduct an internal investigation to such a serious claim?
In order to not take the rape accusation seriously they would have had to engage in several violations to my constitutional rights, slandering my name as the victim. What you should also know that in May 2004 I had to attempt to take my life due to the total sum of being abused and traumatized by police with Peter Kelly’s blessing. Kelly and city council are afraid that this will be made public so they have behaved in quite covert behaviour to beguile the Commonwealth Federation into thinking Halifax is worthy of such an honour as hosting the Games. Please note city council did know of the rape accusations since 1995 February.
Please note I met with Kelly in 2003 to discuss the corruption and illegal practices and abuse committed by his police force not just with me but all persons in poverty or any one who dared speak out against the police were retaliated against by the police. He did nothing and by doing nothing in 2003 they rightfully earned most violent city in 2005.
Please note the police commission refused to investigate my numerous request into corruption and malicious persecution by police. I have filed complaints since 1999 and had the commission acted as they should in accordance to the NS POLICE ACT Beazley’s son would be alive today.
I am a member of the Commonwealth Scotland born and I am certain corruption and unethical practices are not what the Games are about.
Enclosed are excerpts for my website/blog, also enclosed is our website address you may want to peruse it before allowing Halifax to disgrace the Games. I should also point out being an active community advocate that some of the potential sites for the sports arenas/locations were already in discussions and sights for developing shelters and homes for our many homeless. Kelly and council went on record by stating they did not have enough funds to pursue that issue then all of sudden they had enough to host the Games?
From where I am sitting and from what I have witnessed the most important question is: What type of city is deserving of being a host for the COMMONWEALTH GAMES?. Halifax is a city the colludes and empowers rapists of every kind.
Enclosed are excerpts for my website/blog, also enclosed is our website address you may want to peruse it before allowing Halifax to disgrace the Games.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~already posted
PETER KELLY HIDING A RAPIST IN CITY COUNCIL HRM
Is rape on down low due to bids for GAMES?
posted December 17 2006
Police Sergeant Hart
Patrick Murphy rape investigation
Incident number:06-58970
December marks the time when we take a special moment or two to think about the different acts of violence perpetrated against women, young and old.This is a very traumatizing time for me as in 1995 I spent 4 days at Supreme Court of Nova Scotia in criminal trials as the individual who raped me for 5 years as a child was on trial. Then Victim Services raped me another for 9 years withholding medical services that were already legislatively mine.( see article Mail Star/Chronicle Herald 2003 reporter Michael Lightstone)
The trauma that the justice system did to me and my son cannot be measured. The child molester got 6 months on week ends and I got life after being forced to testify on a crime that was over 20 years old, a crime Community Services, police and crown forgot to investigate while I was a ward of the court.
Now in 2006 I mentioned at a public meeting at Province House on December 6- how many people in that room knew that a city councilman was being investigated for rape?4 media sources were in the room and not one covered the story-RESPONSE: A THOUSAND VOICES reason for boycotting media to events about TRUTH..Every level of government is supposed to be transparent and we know abuse and violence has a co-dependent relationship with privacy.
In February 2005 each city council member received via email a letter written to Patrick Murphy by his rape victim. Nothing was done.
In 1999 (NDP, LIBERAL, PC) partisan poli-groups knew about the rape as the victim hand delivered to each head quarters a letter of the graphic details of the rape to each of them when Murphy tried to run for office. City hall already had a copy of the rape in 1999 and the victim was told that it would be left on file.So against her better judgement the victim, me , approached HRM police knowing that they are primary abusers of her for a decade since 1997 and the key facilitators that lead to me attempt to take my life.
Peter Kelly and the NS Police Commission are fully aware of all the police-BEAZLEY-SYKES/Irvine Carvery /Housing abuse as well and did nothing.So in May 2006 I went to HRM to press charges and from moment one this rape was treated differently, three times I asked the commission to remove detective Hart- during this time 4 RESPONSE team members were abused by police. Attempts were made by police ( Dean Simmons) to corrupt one member who was immediately terminated from the RESPONSE team.
The Police commission is also hiding this from the public. Despite my taking the mysogynistic police to the commission in 1999 that resulted in the creation of a supposed progressive and humane sexual assault until, nothing has changed, the sociopaths are still running the police department.It is now December 17 2006 and the case is the shameful reality of how HRM police, crown and legislators do not take rape seriously.I have no doubt that the recent bids for Games is what has kept this story on the down low....in 1997 Patrick Murphy did commit the hate crime of rape against Gayle McIntyre in the fall of 1997 because she rejected his several arrogant and unwarranted drunken sexual advances from him in his Liberal office the previous year.
Conveniently Murphy cannot locate his best friend Haniff Jiwani who just so happens to be the key witness for the victim....if he chooses truth over loyalty to a best friend that is.The HRM Police Hart state they cannot locate this best friend either...imagine that...this one witness is what will put Murphy in prison where all mysogynistic sociopaths should be..Perhaps I am being unfair, am I a victim of too much CSI?
For those not up on their psychology 101- for the city council to not conduct an internal inquiry into the accusation of rape by one of their own would inherently mean that city council engaged in offensive violations to my constitutional rights and must have assassinated and slandered my character to deem me not a valid victim. Kelly already had a list of people that contributed to the total sum of trauma and suffering of my family because of the sexual abuse in 1997- abuse the police contributed to causing more psychological damage to me and my son than surpassed the damages that were the result of the primary crimes.
Had my childhood rape case been dealt with while I was a ward of the court and when it was disclosed to Community Services, group home staff and police on my 16th birthday: Murphy, Beazley and Sykes and other sociopaths and parasites like Carvery would never have been in my life.Murphy's name was on that list PRIOR to being elected into office.The fact that Kelly did not approach police or conduct a public inquiry is directly related to previous failings by him to investigate Irvine Carvery's racial violence in Housing, supported by HRM police and David Morse/Community Services, who abused me prior to my being in housing and poverty.
Carvery's son is HRM police and yes you should be scared.Through malicious persecution and deliberate abuse set out by Beazley and Sykes and hidden by the commission, Kelly has consistently neglected to eradicate the corruption in his police department and city council.
Please note that the HRM city council Murphy is still employed as a city council.If you have any information regarding the whereabouts of Haniff Jiwani please contact this website.
Thank you. If you have any questions feel free to contact me.
ETA: editted to add....that on the day Kelly and council organized a fanfare at Parade Square to send the GAMES a postcard...I met up with Darrell Dexter head cheese for NDP.... when he was confronted by Wayne McNaughton a community voice, on the discussion about locations for housing issues Dexter stated quite rudely I might add- ' that the homeless can find other places to live'-....gotta love them who are about supporting the downtrodden...
Wayne has since recanted that the Dexmeister has said that, thankfully I had my NDP deflector shield turned on and heard every word ... no doubt he too scared to go against the NDP-MacDonald loyaly card club.....those in poverty in HRM who are vocal about NDP/Macdonald are often retaliated against.....ironic...eh?
Lets not forget that Jerry Pye( retired NDP) went on Standing Committee record telling me that he and then Community Services minister or is that mistress David Morse drove around in what is known as Shannon Heights in Dartmouth to 'see what they can do about the housing and homeless'...okay stop laughing.....I asked Pye, on record...why that 'drive' took place AFTER bids were put in for games and not before?
I am told Pye was quite red after that......we all know Pye was closet Tory anyway, red looks good on him...
RESPONSE: A THOUSAND VOICES
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
'It is often said that the two things we cannot escape on the road from the womb to the tomb are death and taxes. True. Most of us, however can, add a line to that truism, referring to the crosses many are called upon to bear during that interval.'Michael Baker who IS cancer dies of cancer?
http://www.halifaxlive.com/content/view/994/32/Columnist Al Hollingsworth must know a different Michael Baker than vulnerable Nova Scotians do. Who is going to feel sorry for all the elderly, disabled, youth, families and children that were harmed through Baker's corrupt reign as Justice and Finance minister for the Baker they know left them with too many crosses to bear!
Oh wait....Baker was going to give all Vulnerable Folk free seats to the Commonwealth Games? What a guy...sick and aged and hungry people did not need that 7M anyway....we just hope the Commonwealth Pre-Game Bid Team at least got to have a smoke afterward!
WE are curious Al...did Baker have to wait for medial treatments for cancer like thousands of others who cannot even afford treatments/medicines and surgeries or did he get bumped to the front of the line being he is important and all?
Oh wait the money he saved from lying about how he listed his commercial properties on his income tax return and to his insurance brokerage..well that must have helped him pay for something...of course to others they would have been criminally charged for filing a false tax return and would have had the insurance coverages null and void with pending charges for misrepresentation on a legal documents with the intent to mislead and fraud... but hey what are a few crimes swept under the carpet for our Dear Mikey!
And lets just ignore the lack of investigations throughout the justice department including the Human Rights Commission into outrageous crimes and constitutional violations by various named employees and the fabricated letter he did to Premier Hamm to throw off the scent and to slander my character.... oddly Baker is partly responsible for my being sick too...if he did what he was supposed to do-paid to do back in 1997 when I first ask him to investigate Susan Potts and Victim Services, my family would be where we are supposed to be.
WE can only imagine how many families he has destroyed.
Who will feel sorry for his victims?
Oh wait....Baker was going to give all Vulnerable Folk free seats to the Commonwealth Games? What a guy...sick and aged and hungry people did not need that 7M anyway....we just hope the Commonwealth Pre-Game Bid Team at least got to have a smoke afterward!
WE are curious Al...did Baker have to wait for medial treatments for cancer like thousands of others who cannot even afford treatments/medicines and surgeries or did he get bumped to the front of the line being he is important and all?
Oh wait the money he saved from lying about how he listed his commercial properties on his income tax return and to his insurance brokerage..well that must have helped him pay for something...of course to others they would have been criminally charged for filing a false tax return and would have had the insurance coverages null and void with pending charges for misrepresentation on a legal documents with the intent to mislead and fraud... but hey what are a few crimes swept under the carpet for our Dear Mikey!
And lets just ignore the lack of investigations throughout the justice department including the Human Rights Commission into outrageous crimes and constitutional violations by various named employees and the fabricated letter he did to Premier Hamm to throw off the scent and to slander my character.... oddly Baker is partly responsible for my being sick too...if he did what he was supposed to do-paid to do back in 1997 when I first ask him to investigate Susan Potts and Victim Services, my family would be where we are supposed to be.
WE can only imagine how many families he has destroyed.
Who will feel sorry for his victims?
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LIBERAL LEADER IS SELLING SAME DRUG DIFFERENT NAME
LIBERAL LEADER CALLING ON GOVERNMENT TO ADDRESS POVERTY (Halifax, NS)
Liberal Leader Stephen McNeil is today calling on the government to improve the lives of the more than 130,000 Nova Scotians living in poverty."The issues and concerns surrounding poverty are not simple - and neither are the solutions. But we will never find a solution if we aren't willing to discuss the problem," said McNeil during a press conference attended by anti-poverty groups gathered for a round table discussion at St. Matthew's United Church in Halifax. McNeil is spending the day meeting with anti-poverty groups and discussing ideas that will lead to a reduction in poverty in the province. "The time for talk is done - the time for action is now."During his remarks he called on the government to:
* implement a Poverty Reduction Strategy Committee with government and anti-poverty advocate representation
He says the strategy should be based on Bill 74, which he introduced in the legislature last fall. The bill calls for the creation of a working group that will examine the issue of poverty and make recommendations for action to the legislature.
The Community Action on Homelessness, Stepping Stone, Community Advocates Network and Dalhousie Legal Aid have created an on-line petition endorsing the bill and are asking all political parties for its support. There are over 500 signatures on the petition. It can be found at http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/BILL74
* expand the mandate and programs provided by Nova Scotia Legal Aid The advocacy work currently undertaken by Dalhousie Legal Aid is not provided by other organizations outside metro.
"The province needs to increase the programs and services it provides through Nova Scotia Legal Aid so advocacy programs can be provided right across this province,"said McNeil.* end the moratorium on the creation of small option homes"Affordable housing is simply not available in many areas of this province and the problem is getting worse," he said. "Rents are steadily increasing,there are too many vacant community services housing units and the moratorium on small options homes in this province has created a crisis situation among low-income disabled persons striving to gain their independence."
* increase the amount of income permitted by those on social assistance to $3,000 before income is clawed back
Liberals have called on the government to increase the amount of income permitted by those on social assistance to $3,000 before any amount is clawed back. "We are again calling on government to give individuals on social assistance the opportunities to upgrade their education so they can get off social assistance permanently", McNeil said
* expand work programs for social assistance recipients and make them available throughout Nova Scotia McNeil says the current Harvest Connection program, which allows social assistance recipients to take part in agricultural seasonal work without having their benefits reduced needs to be more user-friendly and expanded to include more industries.
"Work programs need to be practical and need to be extended to more industries in more parts of the province. It is impossible for individuals in urban areas to take part in this program. "McNeil admits these recommendations will not put an end to poverty. "Today is about beginning to address an issue that affects far too many Nova Scotians. Solving poverty will take a long time and a lot work. Today is also about calling on the government start to recognize- and admit - the harsh reality that it's current attitude is making the situation of thousands of Nova Scotians unbearable."
RESPONSE: Okay, first of all I guess MC was never told it is impolite to plagiarize. Although under a different name the idea to form an advocacy group for the impoverished was included in MY presentation to the Standing Committee for Community Services over a year ago. MC has also tried to pass off the other recommendations as his own when they too where presented by various individuals/voices from around the province at that same forum. No shockers there as the LIBS are incapable of original thought or proactive insight. The exclusion of giving credit where it is due is an old song and dance done to generations of the Impoverished.
Secondly, this ANTI-POVERTY group RESPONSE boycotted this redundant round table as we know the messenger is as important as the message and we know the likes of poor bashing/gossips and liars like Rene Ross, Paul Ohara (CANS/CAH), DALLEGAL AID who have all acted badly. Anyone who keeps their company are as unethical as they are though some are more 'guilty' of disrespecting the poor more than others.
PLEASE BOYCOTT THEIR PETITION AS IT IS WRITTEN WITH BLOODY HANDS.
These fraud maudes/fake jakes are the ongoing unmonitored abusers of the community voice who are not at all beguiled. Best seductions are effective on those who engage with such abusers and who are NOT poor.
If MC is sincere about forming this coalition it cannot have anyone who is waged with government monies sitting at that table for what should be obvious reason but having worked with these shameful hussies for awhile I realized what is INTUITIVELY OBVIOUS is the privy of the intelligent: there is a INHERENT CONFLICT OF INTEREST or if you prefer: the selling of community voice down river .... the price is evident in their refusal to address key issues that are epidemic in the very departments that abuse the poor. MC and his minions are fully aware of the routine abuse toward the poor but hide behind the easy and spineless 'blaming of inadequate policies' to refrain from doing any meaningful work for the poor hoping, at the same time, the poor are bedazzled by the aforementioned recommendations.
Notwithstanding that implementation of some of the recommendations may strongly assist in the eradication of some poverty stresses, they knowingly do not go to the root of the real crimes being committed against the Impoverished in NS by rogue case workers and elected government employees protected by a criminal union, NSGEU.
I met MC at the Standing Committee and was impressed by his sharing the abuse some of his constituents endured from case workers: he appeared to be empathetic. He seemed to have forgotten that suffering now. I have since changed my mind about MC when he pretended not to see me at a DECEMBER event at Legislative House on the SEXUAL ASSAULTS of WOMEN after I publicly asked: who in the room heard about the 'rape investigation' against a city councilman?
the question was rhetoric
I already knew the LIBS were unethical when Michel Samson, Wayne Colwel*, and Russell McKinnon refused to do any inquiries into the pounds on pounds of documents/evidence I dropped off to them at a great expense to me. Their overt silence on the crimes against humanity and abuse against my family rendering us impoverished and disabled by both Departments: Community Services and Justice, assisted in my decision to take my life. On the day of my meeting with LIBS my home was robbed and the police once again did nothing- retaliation for years of whistle blowing against their nefarious activities before and during my stint in public housing.
MC also did not respond to any of the substantiated documents I submitted to each member of the Standing Committee on the ongoing criminal actions, constitutional violations and routine abuses organized against me as an impoverished person with disabilities: the direct result of criminal actions and gross and dangerous incompetence by too many civil servants since 1992.
We really should not be disappointed at the lack of LIB ethical responding as they did nothing in 1999 when I sent them a graphic letter of the rape by then LIB employee now HRM councilman- Patrick Murphy.
Both MC and Michelle C have, expectantly, remained silent on submitted issues (see enclosed). Sadly RESPONSE already did they work in having our recommendations and strategies finalized in a federal report-submitted to MC who could not be bothered to adapt the accepted federally approved recommendations/strategies for standards on hiring and employing in division and departments that 'work' with Nova Scotia's most vulnerable people.
Please note MC et al posse do not mention any relief for persons living with disabilities, the elderly or child and family securities or rights.
SHAME SHAME DOUBLE SHAME....STEPHEN MCNEIL and MICHELLE COFFIN
*eta: Wayne Colwel should have read Keith Calwell.
Already submittted TWICE to Mc with no reply..... we would not want any 'real' work on the rights of the impoverished to dignity and humanity to begin in this province!
Stephen McNeil and Michelle Coffin, coffinmc@gov.ns.ca
March 22 2007
Re: MCNEIL GETS GOVERNMENT TO CREATE ANTI-POVERTY STRATEGY
Hello,
I am sending this communication to you for clarification on certain items :
(1) what recourse will be put into place with this new legislation to protect recipients of any Community Service program from abuse, retaliation and constitutional violations by case workers and the management ;
(2) what restructuring will occur in those divisions that interact with persons with disabilities as they are severely under-qualified causing further injury ;
(3) what recourses and restructuring will take place in MRHA to hold unethical persons accountable for ongoing constitutional and other legislative violations that are harming families and destroying communities, especially public housing;
(4) what baseline academic requirements will be set as the standard hiring practices and expectations for ALL for Community Service employees who by virtue of the department’s existence, interact regularly with the most vulnerable of our communities ;
Please refer to enclosed coloured sections where our recommendations, as a community based organization in HRM, have been accepted and recorded into the final FEDERAL FINANCE COMMITTEE document. If you would like to have our entire submission accepted by this committee on real case studies, recommendations and strategies for NS, please let me know.
March 22 2007
Re: MCNEIL GETS GOVERNMENT TO CREATE ANTI-POVERTY STRATEGY
Hello,
I am sending this communication to you for clarification on certain items :
(1) what recourse will be put into place with this new legislation to protect recipients of any Community Service program from abuse, retaliation and constitutional violations by case workers and the management ;
(2) what restructuring will occur in those divisions that interact with persons with disabilities as they are severely under-qualified causing further injury ;
(3) what recourses and restructuring will take place in MRHA to hold unethical persons accountable for ongoing constitutional and other legislative violations that are harming families and destroying communities, especially public housing;
(4) what baseline academic requirements will be set as the standard hiring practices and expectations for ALL for Community Service employees who by virtue of the department’s existence, interact regularly with the most vulnerable of our communities ;
Please refer to enclosed coloured sections where our recommendations, as a community based organization in HRM, have been accepted and recorded into the final FEDERAL FINANCE COMMITTEE document. If you would like to have our entire submission accepted by this committee on real case studies, recommendations and strategies for NS, please let me know.
CONSULTATIONS WITH FINANCE COMMITTEE
Final Report http://www.acpd.ca/pdf/prebudgetreport_2006.pdf
Final Report http://www.acpd.ca/pdf/prebudgetreport_2006.pdf
We are very pleased that our recommendations were indirectly and directly referenced in the final report. The following are excerpts:
The Committee also heard testimony specific to the training of federal public servants. The Purchasing Management Association of Canada indicated its support for provisions contained in the Federal Accountability Action Plan which indicate that the federal government will provide accreditation and training for procurement officers, and requested that sufficient funding be allocated to achieve this goal. In addition, the federal government was encouraged to endorse professional standards in the day-to-day operation of governments and to provide funding to recruit and train public servants to meet those standards. Response: A Thousand Voices also recommended the establishment of standards regarding minimum qualifications for civil servants in departments that interact directly with low-income Canadians.
( this actually is our submission as vulnerable families which tends to be equated with 'low income' exclusively-it assumes middle and upper families are not vulnerable in their own way which is a misnomer however our presentation for this event was focused on vulnerable families due to poverty.)
( this actually is our submission as vulnerable families which tends to be equated with 'low income' exclusively-it assumes middle and upper families are not vulnerable in their own way which is a misnomer however our presentation for this event was focused on vulnerable families due to poverty.)
The Committee also heard about the value of consistent and integrated social assistance rates and supports across the country. To facilitate inter-provincial/territorial migration for work or health reasons, Response: A Thousand Voices proposed the creation of a database containing relevant information about service users, which could serve as a resource for case workers regarding prior case appeals and decisions.
( this was to disallow uneducated case workers from making people wait ridiculous amounts of time for assistance application approvals and appeal hearings –all recipient information to be on a secured national database as folks also move intra-inter provincially for education/medical/work reasons -untrained staff do create more stressors for these families, with impunity.
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MEDIA RELEASE April 25, 2007
Call for Immediate Public Judicial Inquiry on Allegations of Fraud at the RCMP Pension and Insurance Plan Funds and of Corruption in the Investigations
The NPSCF calls for the Federal Minister of Public Safety Stockwell Day to immediately upgrade his announced investigation of the alleged corruption surrounding the RCMP pension and insurance plans into a full public judicial inquiry. Art Field President of the NPSCF says, "We believe only a full public judicial inquiry can make recommendations that would restore the confidence of seniors in how the RCMP senior management handles alleged white collar crimes."
While the RCMP pensioners are not adversely impacted by misconduct within their pension plan due to the guarantee of pension benefits by the Government of Canada, the alleged corruption surrounding the RCMP pension and insurance plans has much broader implications for all pensioners and seniors in Canada.
Pensioners and seniors need to know that, if their pension and personal retirement saving plans are being skimmed or defrauded by the administrators or financial advisors of these plans, that the RCMP senior management considers such conduct worthy of a criminal investigation. The former RCMP Commissioner Guiliano Zaccardelli says he decided, as the boss of the RCMP, that the best course of action was to call an internal audit on the allegations presented by one of his senior managers. Why did former RCMP Commissioner Guiliano Zaccardelli call an internal audit first, rather than a criminal investigation, given the importance Canadians place on insiders bearing serious consequences for misappropriation or misinvestment of pension funds?
Why is termination of employment with cause, let alone acceptance of a resignation, an adequate consequence for serious misappropriation of pension and insurance funds? More importantly, why is it the sole decision of the RCMP Commissioner to determine what matters will be brought to an official RCMP criminal white collar crime investigation or when an RCMP criminal investigation is closed? Where is the accountability for the thoroughness and integrity of his criminal investigation decisions? Why are there no notes kept on the reasons for such important criminal investigation decisions? Why are there not more officials within the RCMP involved in these important criminal investigation decisions? Why did the internal whistleblowers not rely upon the Commission for Complaints Against the RCMP, which is the established civilian oversight agency to ensure the thoroughness or integrity of the RCMP exercising its mandate? Why has this Commission for Complaints Against the RCMP not been involved of its own accord in an examination of what has gone so awry within the RCMP?
David Brown's appointment by Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day as RCMP investigator further demonstrates that the matter of misappropriation of pension and insurance funds, proper white collar crime investigations and proper protection of enforcement whistleblowers are not treated as serious issues by the Government of Canada. David Brown does not have the powers to get better answers than the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee. Submissions and verbal statements made to David Brown are not sworn testimony subject to perjury consequences; he has no subpoena powers; and he offers no immunity for further retribution to current and future employee whistleblowers. Furthermore, David Brown is not independent; has his own record of expense account abuses as reported by the National Post article "Living Large," dated October 22, 2005; has a record of misrepresenting the content and delaying the public release of enforcement audit and policy reports; and, the OSC, as well as the RCMP IMET, have abysmal white collar securities crime enforcement records.
Art Field, President of the NPSCF says: "Canada is not a banana republic, so we cannot behave like one. We cannot have an investigator who knows and has worked with the investigated, to be an independent investigator." Public Safety Minister Stockwell day should not wait for a report from David Brown. He should upgrade his investigation to a full public judicial inquiry now."
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PEACEFUL ACTION TURNED BAD: ASSAULTED BY DRUNK TORY MEMBERS
On the eve of April 28 HCAP and a member of RESPONSE went to The Forties just past Chester to attend a community centre Tory constituency party, I mean meeting. WE showed up with banners, requests and community voice stories of the depravity that our government has placed on tens of thousands of Nova Scotians: children, the disabled, elders, families, individuals.
It is easy to blame Tories but parties like the Liberals and NDP do not get a pass thinking they are without sin. Both NDP and Liberal parties have been well informed by this author for years of the criminal acts being committed by many civil servants and their ministers and both parties have done absolutely nothing despite the injuries, trauma and abuse to families from both the Department of Justice and Community Services.
We tried to gain entrance to the centre but they had it locked. Odd behaviour for a public community centre. We decided to do our presentation outside the building and soon after drunk Tories came out with their fits in the air punching and pushing many of the action group members. I stood back trying to take it all in as I watched supposed grown folks acting like baboons as they assaulted the poor people who just want to have their human rights respected.
Although we do not condone how HCAP imposes itself as a blind mob which could be construed as pre-emptive the amount of fisty cuffs from respectable Tories was still a sight to see, they were 'waiting' as were the RCMP so while it looks like HCAP pre-empted, the Tories were waiting: not with a talking circle or peace pipe but with hammering fists to beat down the poor, once again.
The RCMP came. They were outnumbered and outpowered.
They were no threat at all and I doubt they would have caused a scene with arrests for we would not want the rest of Nova Scotia finding out that how badly Tory drunks can act ....I just hope the RCMP stayed for 'after the party' drivers to arrest the Tories drinking and driving, there would have been many. Ironically, Judy's own hubby was the worse perp for drinking and fighting.
Anyway all in the day of a person being abused by this goverment while other partisan parties sit back claiming to be innocent.
Judy Streatch and Company were given the following SHAME AWARD with a copy of our nation's Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
HALL OF SHAME
With great sadness identifies you:
JUDY STREATCH and COMPANY
as governmental agency persons who are in critical and constitutional violation to your own department’s commitment :
We are committed to promoting the independence, self reliance, security and well being of the people we serve.
And that such violations combined with a continual blatant disregard for humanity, have harmed impoverished people in this province. WE ask that you remove yourselves from your employed positions immediately so that vulnerable persons can begin to heal from the damage created by your actions/inactions and through the continual complicit silence on the injuries and suffering committed by unqualified civil servants and your union NSGEU on DCS recipients.
We thank you in advance for your co-operation.
We thank you in advance for your co-operation.
RESPONSE: A THOUSAND VOICES
A POW PRODUCTION
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http://hawkeyenews.blogspot.com
Please read link info on who is running this province....Joan Jessome or Noddy Roddy? As you know RESPONSE has named the NSGEU as colluders in protecting the sociopathic and criminal government/civil servant posse.
She and the scum she protects need to be federally investigated by the auditor general Sheila Fraser for allowing her unionized members to commit crimes against humanity especially in regards to the Department of Community Services: families; children, seniors and persons with disabilities.
************ yet to be confirmed this just in************
Is it true ??????????
Recent hum in the community says NDP Alexa Mac may have been one of the Original Assassinators of Africville?
we will confirm either way.... would explain a heck of a lot.
********** this just in too--waiting for confirmation********
It has been brought to our attention that Henry Bishop and Percy Paris knew that transportation was made available to them for the consultation to bring persons from the community to the Black Cultural Centre.
Is this true?
Did they have FREE transportation and chose not to organize for those various Black communities that NEEDED to be at that meeting? Why would Percy then tell papers not to misunderstand the lack of attendance if he knew they did not go get the people ?
*************** this just in *******************
Are the Greens with redface? What is going on with this party in Nova Scotia.... how dare they make a mockery of supporters who have waited for a posse to work toward a vision of healthier tomorrows!
Rumour has it that Ken M and Beverley W have resigned. We contacted Chris Alders as we heard about this on another website and to date he has not responded for clarification or confirmation. WE will post updates if we get them.
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Check out the is blog for more examples of crime and corruption committed by elected and employed public servants and government in Nova Scotia.
A recommended first read is The Bagman by Donald Ripley, former Liberal and Tory ( I guess thinking about being NDP was too beneath him)...it is but a snapshot but one that creates the stage for the outlaws running our province since, the asylum being run-down by the worse clinical inmates.
