Category: Politics

KINGSTON, Jamaica – Jamaican Prime Minister Bruce Golding confers with Canadian Prime Minister during the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding. (Photo taken by and distributed by the Canadian PMO)

MPs can ask the government questions during Oral Question Period every day in the House of Commons — and the odds are that they won't get much of an answer — or they can write it down. The government can take months to respond but, generally speaking, when it does respond, it will actually answer the question. Such is the case today with a question put to it by Liberal MP Rob Oliphant who asked:

With respect to government television commercials which promote Tax Free Savings Accounts (TFSA): (a) why are financial advisors not included in the list of possible ways to open an TFSAs; (b) how much did it cost to produce these commercials and to air them; (c) how often are the commercials aired; and (d) will future commercials include a reference to financial advisors?

And here, tabled in the House of Commons this morning, is the answer, provided in writing by Finance Minister Jim Flaherty:

Mr. Speaker, the response is as follows:

a) The principle objective of the television commercials, which can be viewed at http://www.tfsa.gc.ca, was to provide Canadians with as much substantive information as possible about the TFSA in a relatively short period of time. Commercials were approximately 30 seconds in length. The commercials encouraged Canadians to contact their “bank, credit union or other financial service provider to open an account today or visit tfsa.gc.ca for more information”. The ‘More Information’ portion of tsfa.gc.ca, which can be viewed at http://www.tfsa.gc.ca/moreinfo-eng.html, makes explicit reference to financial advisors in the list of possible ways to open a TFSA: “Visit your bank, credit union, financial service provider, advisor or planner for more information and to open an account today”.

b) The cost of the television commercials was approximately $3 million. This included production costs and the charges for airing the commercials in both official languages across Canada.

c) The television commercials commenced airing on January 5, 2009 and ended on February 2, 2009. The frequency of the commercials being aired varied by market size and location.

d) No future television commercials to promote the TFSA are planned at present.

Not sure what to make of this. There's an Amazon.ca page that apparently lists a soon-to-be-published book by Maclean's funny guy Scott Feschuk and yet, check out this URL and the review that is on the page:

http://www.amazon.ca/Stephen-Harpers-Book-About-Hockey/dp/1554686601/ref=sr_1_11?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1240209077&sr=8-11

(Tip of the toque to Ian Capstick.)

Two somewhat connected items this morning:

Taxes a bargain, not a burden —

Canadians are getting more than just a bang for every buck they pay in taxes, they're getting a downright bargain, says a new study from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.

“For the vast majority of Canada's population, public services are — to put it bluntly — the best deal they are ever going to get,” says the CCPA study, a copy of which was obtained by Canwest News Service.

The study's authors say their research helps make the case that Canadians would be better off if governments invested more in some services instead of cutting taxes.

“What passes for a tax-cut debate in Canada is really only half a debate,” said CCPA economist Hugh Mackenzie.

“The suggestion that we often hear — that taxes are a burden — hides the reality that our taxes fund public services that make Canada's standard of living among the very best.” [Read the rest of the story]

and ..

Raise taxes to fight debt, Ignatieff says

Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff told a gathering of southern Ontario business leaders on Tuesday that taxes would have to be raised to combat a growing national debt, local media reported.

Ignatieff was in Cambridge, Ont., addressing the city's chamber of commerce when he was asked about how to tackle the national debt, the Waterloo Region Record reported.

According to The Record, he responded by saying that to rein in the country's $480 billion debt, a tax hike might be necessary in the future.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper in London, a week ago, urges G20 countries to start spending and do it quick: “I think if anything leaders should over-act at this point. I think there would be a risk of under-acting. Let's assume that we need dramatic action and let's do it.

Your assignment:

Examine the budgets of the federal government and the provinces and express, in percentage terms, the difference between overall government spending in 2010 and in 2009:

Answer:

• Canada: +8.9 per cent
• N.L.: +14.1 per cent
• ONT.: +11.9 per cent
• B.C.: +7.3 per cent
• N.B.: +5.9 per cent
• QUE.: +3.3 per cent
• MAN.: +1.8 per cent
• SASK: -0.9 per cent
• ALTA. -1.8 per cent

Note: PEI and NS have yet to table their budgets.
Alberta Opposition Leader David Swann says his province has become the “penny-pinchers” of Confederation.

For a while now, I've been 'tweeting' whenever the government issues a press release announcing that it is spending some money. Since the federal election last October, I have counted 544 such announcements of spending totalling about $35 billion.

A reminder/update on this particular Twitter feed/hashtag and an explanation of the new syntax/abbreviations used in this hashtag.

• I'm only putting up the tweet on the day the announcement is actually made. So, for that reason, #ottawaspends will not be a complete list of all spending announcements. If I'm off the job for a day or two, I will not be putting up tweets with day-old or two-day-old announcements. So these will be “Fresh” tweets only.

• I've changed the syntax of the Tweets. Here's the order of information:

1. Last NAME OF MINISTER RESPONSIBLE FOR RELEASE. Note that MOORE refers JAMES MOORE, Heritage Minister and should not be confused with ROB MOORE, NB MP and Parl Secy to Justice Minister. Click here for a full list of Ministers and their portfolios
2. ACRONYM FOR DEPARTMENT RESPONSIBLE FOR FUNDING The list of acronyms can be found here for major govt institutions and here for smaller agencies and offices. I use the English acronyms. Some are missing and so here they are: (I've made these up)
   • Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency: ACOA
   • Canadian Heritage: PCH
   • Canada Economic Development for Quebec Region: CEDQR
   • Citizenship and Immigration: CIC
   • Foreign Affairs and International Trade: DFAIT
   • Sustainable Development Technology Canada: STDC
3. Last NAME OF MP ANNOUNCING FUNDING (If no local MP makes the announcement, then the minister's name appears here again). Here is a full list of MPs.
4. DESCRIPTION of initiative receiving funding
5. MUNICIPALITY where announcement was made, but not necessarily where money will be spent
6. Two-letter acronoym for the PROVINCE in which announcement was made but not necessarily province where money will be spent. XC means the announcement was made outside Canada.
7. DOLLAR AMOUNT for funding project – federal portion only
8. JURISDICTION where money will be spent. It will either be by province or NAT to indicate the money will flow to Canadians in 2 or more provinces or XC if money will be spent outside Canada.
9. Appropriate hashtags like #ottawaspends

So, one recent tweet is:

Nicholson JUS Paradis Conference for Societe de Criminologie du Quebec. Montreal QC $15,000 QC #ottawaspends

That means that:

On the day of the tweet, MP Christian Paradis on behalf of Rob Nicholson, Minister of Justice, announced $15,000 for the Societe de Criminolige du Quebec. The announcement was made or carries a dateline of Montreal, Quebec and it appears from a plain reading of the release that most of the money will actually be spent in the province of Quebec.

Some questions answered about this —

I've had the odd complaint that there are simply too many tweets on this. I hear you but, in the end, that's what you get if sign up to follow a reporter. I report! I've also had more positive than negative feedback about #ottawaspends.

Now, as to the volume — it ramps up whenever the politicians leave Ottawa. They make these spending announcements when they're back in their riding and can be present for the grip-and-grin photos of the cheque being handed out. When the House of Commons is sitting, #ottawaspends will likely be very quiet.

Some asked why do this: Beats me. Twitter is new for all of us but it was my thinking that, as a reporter, I am never going to write a full story about a $5,000 announcement. I'm probably not even going to blog it. But give me 140 characters of space — sure, why not? And, as I and others have noticed, in reporting all the small announcements, some broader more interesting trends in government spending are emerging.

Of course, #ottawaspends belongs to no one. If you've got your own syntax or short forms you want to use, knock yourself out. If you want to let me know your rules, I'll be happy to post 'em here and, perhaps, create a separate Web page with them.

And don't forget, feel free to follow me on Twitter for all my tweets plus the #ottawaspends ones that I generate.

UPDATE – DEC 17/09: I have been adding one more data point to these tweets. I have been trying to determine what riding some of this money will be spent in and when I do, I am now noting that on the end each tweet. So: “#CPC riding Toews” means the funding for the given announcement will be spent almost entirely in a Conservative riding and that riding belongs to the MP who last name is Toews. “#CPC ridings” means the funding will be spent in two or more Conservative ridings. “M” means the funding will be spent in two or more ridings and those ridings are held by two or more parties.

Gary Goodyear, Minister of State for Science and Technology, was in Waterloo, Ont. this morning to announce that the federal government had invested $50 million in the Institute for Quantum Computing at the University of Waterloo. Here are the 'key messages' from the government's press release on the issue:

“This strategic investment will help make Canada a global leader in the field of quantum technology and attract some of the best and brightest researchers and students from Canada and around the world,” said Goodyear. “With this investment, the IQC will be better positioned to build on existing successes and contribute to Canada's global advantage by helping to create jobs, improve the quality of life for all Canadians and strengthen the economy for future generations.”

…As a part of its ongoing support for this strategy, the government has pledged over $2.2 billion in new S&T funding. Canada's Economic Action Plan provides more than $5.1 billion toward S&T initiatives. This measure will contribute to the creation of a stronger, more innovative economy and a more prosperous Canada.

Meanwhile in Montreal, Liberal Industry Critic Marc Garneau, the former astronaut and academic, issued a release criticizing the government for cutting the budget of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) which, in turn has cut the budget for the Mont Megantic Astronomical Observatory (which bills itself as the largest such facility in eastern North America) by $140,000 this year and $325,000 for subsequent years, according to Garneau. Here are the key messages for the Liberals:

The observatory may no longer be able to provide higher education opportunities to hundreds of high-level scientists as it has done for decades, Mr. Garneau added.

“The communities surrounding the observatory have demonstrated they care about this institution, mobilizing to create the International Dark Sky Reserve, a remarkable initiative,” added Mr Garneau. “Moreover, the observatory is an important tourist draw that welcomes many amateur astronomers every year.”

Mr. Garneau is asking the Harper government to reconsider what it is doing to the future of Canada’s scientific community.

“This is just one example of how this visionless government simply does not grasp how science, research and innovation are the foundations of a strong economy and the jobs of tomorrow. They have cut federal funding for research in universities and granting agencies, and Canada’s overall public-private investment in research has failed to keep pace with the world.

I also note this morning that my alma mater, the University of Guelph, has taken a full-page in the back of the front section of the Ottawa edition of The Globe and Mail to beg for money..

Jeffrey Goldberg is an American, an award-winning journalist, and volunteered once with the IDF, serving as a prison guard. He scored an interview with Benjamin Netanyahu shortly before Netanyahu was sworn in as Israeli prime minister. The resulting piece was published by The Atlantic with the following headline and tease:

The message from Israel's new prime minister is stark: if the Obama administration doesn't prevent Tehran from developing nuclear weapons, Israel may be forced to attack.

An Atlantic exclusive
by Jeffrey Goldberg

Netanyahu to Obama: Stop Iran—Or I Will

The Atlantic and Goldberg were subsequently criticized because, in the opinion of one commentator, the promise of the headline was not fulfilled in the article. In other words, the headline writer torqued the piece — and, in this particular subject area, torque can be a dangerous thing. Or at least that's what Gary Rosenblatt of The Jewish Week concluded (after saying many nice things about Goldberg):

Nowhere in the Goldberg piece does Netanyahu say that Israel plans to attack Iran, nor does it even hint that the new Israeli leader will offer an ultimatum to Obama.

What it does say, as Netanyahu has been saying now for several years, is that Israel must convince the U.S. and the rest of the world that a nuclear Iran is a threat not only to Israel but to the U.S. and everyone else.

Goldberg, on his blog, replies to this criticism and defends the headline:

I'll give you two quotes that I neglected to include in the first piece. The first one is from one of Netanyahu's defense advisers, speaking on background: “We have to make sure our friends in Washington know that we can't wait forever. There will come a point soon when it will be too late to do anything about this program. We're going carefully, but if we have to act, we will act, even if America won't.”

The second is from Netanyahu: “Iran has threatened to annihilate a state or to have a state wiped off the map of the world. In historical terms, this is an astounding thing. It's a monumental outrage that goes effectively unchallenged in the court of public opinion. Sure, there are perfunctory condemnations, but there's no j'accuse – there's no shock and there's a resigned acceptance that this is acceptable practice. Bad things tend to get worse if they're not challenged early. Iranian leaders talk about Israel's destruction or disappearance while simultaneously creating weapons to ensure its disappearance.”

As a journalist, what I find odd is: The stuff Goldberg put in his blog absolutely makes the headline work. Why didn't he put that in the original piece?