To the Editor/Letters to the Editor,
Every Canadian citizen should be doing something to stop the outrage that the Conservative Government is trying to pull over the people of this country!
A Billion Dollars or more to host a couple of meetings is INSANE!
Yes, Canada should host them once in a while and yes, Canada is responsible to make sure these events go as planned and the participants are not asassinated.
BUT! We don’t have to host it in the middle of a busy city! If this government is really serious about fiscal restraint, they could host these events in much more secure places at a faction of the cost.
If it wasn’t so important to show case Toronto (are we sucking up to the Toronto electorate before an election?) we could hold them else where.
And if it wasn’t so important to have a photo op with the leaders, these meetings could be held in doors with very narrow and secure corridors of access. You would only need a handful of security officers instead of every RCMP and rent-a-cop from sea to sea to sea.
But NO, Harper wants to spend a BILLION dollars of OUR money to show off. Our government should be ashamed of this travesty of fiscal mismanagement!
Please write your MP to demand they follow your rights as a citizen.
Sincerely,
Matthew Dubois – Cornwall Ontario
(Comments and opinions of Editorials, Letters to the Editor, and comments from readers are purely their own and don’t necessarily reflect those of the owners of the Cornwall Free News, their staff, or sponsors.)
Is it really a billion? How much of that is salary that would be normally paid, how much is new equipment etc? How much is compensation for closing things like the CN Tower?
How much is it worth to ensure safety for visiting dignitaries? How much tourism will we get after images are broadcast around the world?
If these meetings were held in private somwhere, people would be complaing about no media access etc. or something, but Although unhappy with a billion, at least we will get more than E-Health for the same amount.
Matthew. Come on now. Press the submit button. You need to submit. Submit, Matthew. Stop fighting. You have no will. You have no vote. You don’t need personal choice. Sit down, watch TV, pay your bank tax. Turn in a neighbour. I’ve named my golden calf, Steven.
After those protesters set a bank on fire in Ottawa the other day, can you really blame the government for spending that kind of money to protect its citizens and visitors? More attention should be paid to the protesters who should be condemned by all citizens for forcing the government to spend $1 Billion. I have no sympathy whatsoever for these anarchists. Put them all in jail!
I agree the cost for this is way over the top. There is no reason to hold such an event in a city like Toronto. There are many other venues that could be used more recluse and easier to protect. Meech Lake is one such place.
On the Other hand 1 billion is that amount McGuinty spends annually on the Ontario Teachers Plan. I think that should be more of an issue then a one time deal.
The pension plan continuously digs into our pockets and takes money away from things like health care ie MRI machines, elderly necessities. Seems we think it is more important to pay a teacher a pension while paying an additional fee for contract after they are receiving a pension then the health of Ontarians.
Ontario teachers are not just grossly overpaid, they also get a pension that would make most seniors sick. Teachers and other public servants have really found the silver lining of their golden years.
Stan: 1 – This money was spent prior to the bank bombing. 2 – Canadians have a legal right to protest. 3 – No anarchists have claimed responibility for the bombing, and the cops seem to know nothing. Do you have an inside track, or are you just following the early guesses of the fools in the media?
This billion dollars is a collosal waste of our money, and could much better be spent elsewhere than a gathering of rich countries deciding the fate of the poor countries. Disgusting.
It would break Harpers heart (if he had one) if this money was spent on affordable housing, or other social programs.
Ladies and gentlemen the one bit of news that you will never hear are these proceedings are just for show.
All economic futures, securities and growth are manipulated from entities such as WTO, the World Bank and other multinational conglomerates.
This is only a ruse to hopefully keep minorities happy via ignorance.
How can you hope to improve the standard of living in third world countries when they do not even follow the same base standards to determine who is poor and who is rich internationally.
Maybe a social democratic revolution is in order. Call it the common sense revolution.
Well s aid furtz, we should start taking care of our own first. Never mind living in Canada for only 6 yrs then be eligible for CPP. With that standard Darlene Jalbert’s concept of people paying more into CPP would be unsuccessful
Capitalism, Socialism, Communism all have one quality in common and that’s corruption. In theory almost any system works; it’s in practice that the issues pop up.
We need world accountability. We need to take responsibility for those we allow to govern us and until we do that we truly can’t hold them responsible.
Here is the current methods used for determining poverty
For what is defined as third world countries and developing countries they use what is called the Per Capita income of $1 US per day. Populations earning more then $370 US per annum are considered to not be poor. This poverty threshold is set by the World Bank.
In developed countries the poverty threshold is defined as the essentials required for sustaining a family of four, this being clothing, food, shelter, health and education. In 1996 the US costs for meeting this level of living for a family of 4 was $16,036 or 11 dollars per day as a per capita income.
Poverty assessments are primarily New York office run statistics with little or no actual understanding or experience as to what is happening outside their walls in the real world.
Spell it HarperG8, call it HarperGate.
Yes corruption!! Now you are talking Jamie!!
I just received the latest Guy Lauzon propaganda. Another huge 4 pager with a couple Canadian flags in it and more BS. Add that to all these tabs the Con’s are running up..
Grimmy, the Canadian Flags are there to allow you to show your patriotism. Affix them in your window for Confederation Day.
Hopefully those rabid, foaming-at-the-mouth Liberal & NDP politicians will now sit down and shut-up! We now know that the controversial fake Muskoka lake that they said is supposed to be costing $2 Billion has an actual cost of $57,000. Talk about grandstanding and photo-ops…..
Correction, Stan. $1 billion for security, $1.9 million for fake lake/ “alley” (see Globe & Mail online). However you slice it, these fake Conservatives are reckless with our tax dollars and are taking us ever deeper into debt.
I understand the that the $1.9 million fake lake will be in use for three days before being drained. Although this is a relatively small amount of money compared to the total of $2 billion being squandered on this meeting of the ruling elites, it’s the tipping point for the fall of Harper. Even the folks in Alberta are disgusted by the obscenity of it.
I agree with Grimalot: I got one of those “patriotism” flags in the mail as well. Guy is getting it back with a note to stop wasting paper and my time. It’s a cheap ploy to make it look like he’s doing something. While it looks like the patriotic thing to do, it really just gives Smiley something else to smile about.
PS This isn’t the first time he wasted paper with this sort of flag give-away, show your patriotism, support our troops type of nonsense.
Sheila Copps (Liberal) used to give away free Canadian flags to all who wanted them. There was a scandal associated with that too.