quote:

Good Wednesday morning to you.

And so it begins. The first wave of 150 Syrian refugees is expected to arrive in a Royal Canadian Air Force transport at Pearson tomorrow. Sources tell the Toronto Star the military jet will be bringing the newcomers from an airfield in Jordan. Yesterday, media toured screening areas that had been set up by the Canada Border Services Agency at Pearson and Dorval in Montreal. They’ll be able to process refugees within three to four hours. Once things get underway, it’s expected three planeloads of refugees will arrive at Pearson’s rarely-used infield terminal each day.

After years of intractability on the issue that poisoned relations between the Harper government and First Nations, yesterday marked an important first step for the families of missing and murdered indigenous women. The Trudeau government today unveiled its plan for a national inquiry, with Indigenous Affairs Minister Carolyn Bennett, Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould and Status of Women Minister Patty Hajdu promising to consult with family members of those affected by this “national tragedy.” Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau joined delegates from the Assembly of First Nations to call for a “renewed relationship”.

Although the government has sent out letters to 33 people on the receiving end of plum patronage posts in the dying days of the Conservative government asking them to step aside voluntarily, Surinder Pal says despite being one of them, he’s not about to call it quits. As the CBC reports, the Winnipeg real estate appraiser is a member of the Conservative Party of Canada, but says his appointment wasn't political. He also insists he’s qualified for the job. The appointees are welcome to apply for their jobs under a new, more open selection process, but Pal wants no part of it. "[It's] just a bad political game, in my mind," he says. "They want to put their own people in."

There’s also bristling afoot in the senate. Ousted Conservative Speaker Leo Housakos is accusing the government of being in "contempt" of the dignity of Parliament for not naming a government leader in the red chamber. He said it is "an affront to Canada's parliamentary system and infringes on our ability to perform our parliamentary duties." The CBC has more.

There was much talking of American politics on Parliament Hill yesterday in the wake of the Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump’s call Monday for a total ban on Muslims entering the United States. In keeping with that kind of thinking, NDP Leader Tom Mulcair said those who engage in hate-mongering on the basis of religion should be barred from entering Canada. “I say we should limit access to Canada for people who are spouting hatred and we should make sure that Donald Trump stays out of Canada,” Mulcair told reporters. Interim Conservative Leader Rona Ambrose called the comments “ridiculous,” while Trudeau declined to actually say Trump’s name: “Canadians are very aware of my feelings on this,” he said. “And they, by the way, sided pretty clearly against the politics of fear and division in our election here.”

In Vancouver and Toronto, there are now calls to have the Trump Towers renamed.

CP’s Jordan Press is reporting that without better data and information, the federal government will not be able to make “strategic, evidence-based investment decisions” on how best to use the billions of dollars in its much-touted infrastructure plan. That’s according to documents obtained under the Access to Information Act. “Briefing material provided to Amarjeet Sohi, the country’s new infrastructure minister, suggests the government will have to rely on limited data on the state of roads, bridges, highways, water and sewer systems when deciding where to spend money.”

Sunny ways and smiles. That’s what got rookie minister Maryam Monsef through a grilling by the opposition on an electoral reform referendum on her second day in question period.

In Alberta, Health Minister Sarah Hoffman says an upcoming mental health review in the province will include a look at the spike in suicides that some say may be connected to oil and gas layoffs. She says she’s very concerned about new data that shows a 30 per cent increase in the number of suicides in the province in the first six months of this year over 2014.

In British Columbia, Premier Christy Clark’s government is betting on the potential success of technology startups to boost job creation across the province. She’s announced a $100-million venture capital fund to give early-stage tech entrepreneurs access to money that will help grow their businesses. “Tech tends not to be guaranteed bets,” she told a news conference. “This seed fund is going to be proof that the British Columbia government has faith and confidence in our tech industry.”

Here and there:

• Sen. Mike Duffy trial continues.
• Daily question period in the Commons at 2:15 p.m.
• The NDP caucus meets.
• The Liberal caucus meets.
• The Conservative caucus meets at 9:30 a.m.
• Bloc Quebecois caucus meets at 10 a.m.
• Falun Gong practitioners rally on the fronts steps of Parliament Hill on the eve of the International Human Rights Day (some MPs will attend). Press conference at noon.
• Sen. Anne Cools and the Council of Turkish Canadians discuss the “Great War and Gallipoli: A Reconstruction of Mindsets and Drives.”
• Parliamentarians are invited to celebrate the 15th anniversary of Genome Canada, the science that examines the genetic code and function of genes within the DNA of all living things.
• National Conservative executive director, Alise Mills, and the board of directors attend the Conservative Voice fundraiser.
• Gov. Gen. David Johnston hosts a citizenship ceremony. Adrienne Clarkson and John Ralston Saul, the founders and co-chairs of the Institute for Canadian Citizenship, will attend.
• In Gatineau, The Assembly of First Nations holds a Special Chiefs Assembly.

The White House will roll out the red carpet when Justin Trudeau comes to town for a visit. Among the pomp and pageantry will be a formal state dinner, which is something President Barack Obama hasn’t done for many of the world leaders who’ve visited Washington. There’s no dinner date been set just yet.

Reaction to Donald Trump’s plan to close the U.S.’s borders to Muslims hopped the pond to Britain yesterday, with Prime Minister David Cameron deeming it unhelpful and wrong. At the White House, Obama spokesman Josh Earnest said the comments disqualify Trump from serving as president. “And any Republican who’s too fearful of the Republican base to admit it has no business serving as president either… It’s morally reprehensible. It runs counter to the Constitution. And it has consequences for our national security.”

Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton penned this message for Trump...and Muslims.

For his part, Trump’s now denying he planned to visit Jordan at the end of the month. Probably a wise move.

In addition to strikes from the air, Russia says it has hit targets in Syria with missiles launched from a submarine for the first time. The cruise missiles were fired at two ISIS targets in Raqqa.

In Featured Opinion this morning:

• Canadians typically react with horror to news of another gun massacre in the United States — horror, and something else. Something close to a smug sense of relief.
• We should dial down the complacency, says Jeff Sallot. We've got a dire gun violence problem of our own — not as bad as the Americans', but far worse than most of Europe. And it's at least partly due to the last government's political timidity when it came to passing laws to control the sale and distribution of firearms.
• L. Ian MacDonald says the Trudeau government's recent 'oopsie' moment on its taxation revenue forecasts doesn't exactly inspire a great deal of confidence in the rookie administration's fiscal skills.
• We finish up our series of columns from policy experts at the University of Ottawa's Public Law Group on what was — and what wasn't — in the Trudeau government's first throne speech. Rosemary Cairns Way looks at the new government's ambitious justice agenda. Michael Geist examines the limits of the Liberals' commitment to open government. And Nathalie Chalifour drills down into the government's plans for the environment file.

Finally this morning, how do you end your texts? If you’re a stickler for periods, chances are people think you’re a jerk. Or so says science.

Have yourself a great day.
____________________

National

• Missing and murdered indigenous women: 1st phase of public inquiry outlined (CBC News)
• Government asks directors of history, nature museums to decline early reappointments (Ottawa Citizen)

Ontario

• Ontario spends $20M to build electric vehicle charging stations (CBC News)

Prairies

• Sask. auditor says social services workers are often sick (CBC News)

Alberta

• Alberta government moves to limit debate on farm safety bill (Canadian Press)
• Alberta PC Leader Ric McIver says they were close to new rules for farm safety before election (Edmonton Sun)
• Alberta Health Services appoints transitional CEO (Edmonton Sun)

British Columbia[/b]

• B.C. turbo-charges tech sector with $100M venture capital fund (Canadian Press)

North[/b]

• Nunavut, Greenland and ICC leaders deliver Arctic wish list for COP21 agreement (CBC News)

McGavin posted:

Hope you guys enjoy paying through the rear end in a top hat for fibre internet.

If Justin really wanted to do something to help both "middle class" Canadians and Canada's economy at the same time he could start by forcing our lovely telecom oligopoly to get in line with Europe in terms of speed and pricing.

Jordan7hm posted:

That would be because Teksavvy is just as terrible as the big 3.

Morroque posted:

Where are the points against Teksavvy, of all people? Their network may not be any better than the big 3, but I recall them being the sole voice of reason as Bell used the CRTC hearings to push a greedy agenda not long ago. That must earn them some clemency, at least.

Jordan7hm posted:

Fair criticism of the video.

The issue goes beyond just housing them though, and so it's not entirely fair to Naqvi to say he's responsible for the mess. The prison population hasn't doubled over the last decade, it's actually declined a bit. What he's referring to is specifically the number of prisoners on remand. The number of people in sentenced custody is on a pretty serious decline, but it's being made up for by people on remand, and that's a problem that goes way beyond how they get housed. From what I've read this is more about a risk averse judiciary and a culture of adjournments and delays that clog up the court system and keep people in jail who would a decade ago have been awaiting trial in the community. That part is as much a federal problem as a provincial one.

Ikantski posted:

Yeah, I caught that they were on remand. What I got from the video was "The number of prisoners waiting for trial in jail has been steadily increasing for 10 years, it's the province's responsibility to house these people and they haven't increased staffing or housing to match to the point where conditions are pretty deplorable, take this place for example". I definitely didn't get the sense that people were being denied bail unfairly from your video.

Dr. Stab posted:

Wait, if this ruling happened already, why doesn't Teksavvy have fibre here?

Jordan7hm posted:

Terrible customer service, downtime, mainly.

I've never had them, this is from my brother's experience using them for about 2 years. Maybe it's because they were in an apartment but they had major service issues, and Teksavvy's response was if anything worse than you'd get with Rogers or Bell (who are a lot better than they used to be about being available quickly). When he left the apartment he went back to one of the big 3.

Amgard posted:

Well they don't own the infrastructure.

As a Teksavvy user, I'm like 90% happy with their service. The 10% where I'm not is when it's unclear if there's a cable/service issue and Tek/Rogers pass you back and forth like its loving Wimbledon. The issue could and would be solved if infrastructure was publicly owned and telecoms just competed for plans.

Either way, hang all Bell executives. Thank you everyone, I'm now going to go outside and yell at the clouds.

Morroque posted:

Where are the points against Teksavvy, of all people? Their network may not be any better than the big 3, but I recall them being the sole voice of reason as Bell used the CRTC hearings to push a greedy agenda not long ago. That must earn them some clemency, at least.

quote:

Uncertainty looms for small-business owners as Ottawa rolls out tax reforms

BILL CURRY

OTTAWA — The Globe and Mail
Published Tuesday, Dec. 08, 2015 7:35PM EST
Last updated Wednesday, Dec. 09, 2015 9:55AM EST

Professionals and other small business owners are bracing for Ottawa’s next move to target Canada’s top 1 per cent as the federal Liberals signal more is to come.

The government made the first step this week, when the Liberals confirmed plans to impose a tax hike on income above $200,000, which will partly offset a tax break on income earned between $44,701 and $89,401.

But the Jan. 1 tax changes will implement only one part of the Liberal platform’s pledge to get high-income Canadians to pay more. The Liberals have said they will also revise small business rules to ensure wealthy Canadians do not use them to avoid higher taxes.

Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau attracted controversy during the federal election campaign for stating that “a large percentage of small businesses are actually just ways for wealthier Canadians to save on their taxes.”

As Prime Minister, Mr. Trudeau has turned that sentiment into government policy. His mandate letter to Small Business and Tourism Minister Bardish Chagger instructs her to work with Finance Minister Bill Morneau to ensure that planned reductions in the tax rate for small businesses are not “used to reduce personal income tax obligations for high-income earners.”

What that will mean in practice is not clear. Finance Canada said it cannot comment on potential future actions. But some speculate that Ottawa will follow the lead of the Quebec government, which announced in its March budget that it will limit the types of businesses that qualify for the lower small-business tax rate. Under the Quebec plan, businesses with three or fewer employees would no longer qualify and would pay the higher corporate tax rate.

“Professionals in this country – doctors, lawyers, dentists – are very worried that they are going to be singled out,” said Dan Kelly, the president of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, who met with Quebec Finance Minister Carlos Leitao on Monday to express his members’ concerns about the provincial plan. “We are worried that [Ottawa] may be drawing inspiration from the Quebec measure.”

Quebec’s March budget said the move would mean 75,000 companies in the construction and services sector would no longer qualify for the small-business tax rate.

The argument for the change is that the small-business tax rate is meant to free up cash so businesses can invest and create jobs. The Quebec budget stated that companies with “a small and stable number of employees... need little investment to generate revenue.”

Quebec expects the change will raise about $200-million a year, which would go entirely toward reducing the tax rate of the small businesses that do qualify.

Ottawa announced on Monday that the government’s middle-class income tax cut will cost more in foregone revenue than will be raised by the tax hike on income over $200,000, leaving an annual hole of more than $1.2-billion in the federal treasury. The Liberals had promised that the tax hike would fully pay for the tax cut.

Part of the issue is that individuals affected by the higher taxes can take steps to avoid paying them.

Don Carson, a chartered accountant with the accounting firm MNP who works with high net-worth clients, said this behavioural response is very real. He noted that while salaried employees cannot do much to avoid higher taxes, small-business owners can restructure their compensation to limit how much income they receive at the new rate.

“They’ll just leave the money inside the business,” he said, noting that small-business owners have taken similar actions in response to new provincial taxes on higher incomes.

Some owners also bring in family members and pay them a salary.

Mr. Carson said he would not be surprised if the Trudeau government’s first budget moved in the same direction as Quebec when it comes to limiting access to the small-business tax rate.

Canada’s top 1 per cent is made up of just 264,030 individuals who pay 20 per cent of the nation’s income tax. Mr. Carson warns there is a limit to how much tax some of them will pay before they leave the country.

“This will be, for a lot of individuals, the straw that broke the camel’s back,” he said. “It’s an issue of fairness. They don’t feel they should be paying more than half of what they earn to a government or a collection of governments.”

Count Roland posted:

Nationalize them

Math You posted:

Since the big three have successfully had tarrifs increased multiple times in the last year, teksavvy isn't all that much cheaper than the rest.

Everytime I receive communications from them lately it is a rate hike.

Right now I could get a faster plan with Rogers for cheaper and I also don't need to buy a modem.. However, gently caress that. It is not worth spending 10 hours fighting with them when they hike my sunshine rate 30% a year from now.

It is also ridiculously short sighted to run off to the dudes who are trying to choke them out of competition.

MonsieurChoc posted:

poo poo, a public internet company sounds loving awesome. Where do I sign up?

MonsieurChoc posted:

poo poo, a public internet company sounds loving awesome. Where do I sign up?

MonsieurChoc posted:

poo poo, a public internet company sounds loving awesome. Where do I sign up?

THC posted:

Novus is pretty good

Do it ironically posted:

Baronjutter posted:

When I was getting my internet hooked up the Shaw worker was asking me why I wasn't getting TV as well. I told him with the insane rates Shaw charges due to their monopoly I can't afford both internet and TV, and if I'm paying so much for internet I might as well use it to save money on TV. I got a whole speech about how Shaw isn't a monopoly because there's also Telus and actually profits have been down because more and more people like me aren't getting TV. Shaw is going to have to keep upping internet rates to compensate for their losses on TV, it's a real problem and anyone who doesn't get TV + internet is basically a free-loader being subsidized by TV subscribers.

I told him that even if their profits are down, they are still turning a huge profit and don't "need" to raise rates. If people don't buy as much TV they just downsize the TV side of things. Also who gives a gently caress if their profits go way down, so long as they can pay their staff and keep the company running they should be happy. He just muttered about how young people these days not paying for TV is going to "bring the whole system down" and "if Shaw can't turn a good enough profit a lot of people will be out of jobs". I told him I hope shaw goes out of business because I didn't subscribe to TV and the government buys the whole thing on the cheap. He said "you really think government will be able to run the internet? You'll be paying for union staff and you'll be stuck with a real monopoly, besides a lot of people will lose their jobs"

I guess Shaw's got their staff pretty well brainwashed.

\/ Just don't pay for cable and the whole system will collapse into socialism.

McGavin posted:

No matter where the Syrians run to, the spectre of death is always looming in the background.

Kafka Esq. posted:

Among the pomp and pageantry will be a formal state dinner, which is something President Barack Obama hasn’t done for many of the world leaders who’ve visited Washington. There’s no dinner date been set just yet.

Majuju posted:

Get in while the resource bust is still going!

Kafka Esq. posted:

Although the government has sent out letters to 33 people on the receiving end of plum patronage posts in the dying days of the Conservative government asking them to step aside voluntarily, Surinder Pal says despite being one of them, he’s not about to call it quits. As the CBC reports, the Winnipeg real estate appraiser is a member of the Conservative Party of Canada, but says his appointment wasn't political. He also insists he’s qualified for the job. The appointees are welcome to apply for their jobs under a new, more open selection process, but Pal wants no part of it. "[It's] just a bad political game, in my mind," he says. "They want to put their own people in."

quote:

In his case, there's not a cushy job at stake. Work on the panel is paid by the hour, and since he was first appointed in 2013, he said he has been called upon to work only a handful of hours on one case.

"This is basically an insult, in my mind," he said.

"Because they are treating it as a political appointment. They are treating it as if we are not qualified to do the job when we are more than qualified for this job."

Pal's term was supposed to end in February 2016, but the Harper government recently extended it by three years.

NYT posted:

I asked the prime minister if the fight with Brass Knuckles Brazeau had been part of a larger plan — a piece of agitprop aimed at turning around his political fortunes, and with them the nation’s. Trudeau gazed out the window for a moment, contemplating, then turned to me and offered a clipped nod and a sly smile. He knew perfectly well the power of symbols and had intended to exploit that power.

quote:

*TRUDEAU SAYS CANADA GOVT 'ENGAGING' WITH BOMBARDIER AID REQUEST

Run away at the altar.

Kafka Esq. posted:

Paging OSI bean dip