Attawapiskat, the real story

Warning: the reason that politicians want Attawapiskat people to move. The mining companies want unencumbered access to Ring of fire.
... The Ontario and Canadian governments are taking advantage of the terrible state of the community in Attawapiskat. These governments need the revenue from the mineral potential of that geology. Mining company investors on Bay street, Toronto are loathe to give money to the First Nations.
... Governments dawdled on the file for a long time. Mining companies want free reign in that part of Ontario. As part of the legal aspect, the community of Attawapiskat would have to be the prime support site for any mining development. Money rules. Mining companies rule. Governments hold back funding.
#onpoli, #cdnpoli, #attawapiskat 

Bananada!

Welcome to the new country of Bananada. Half Canada, half Bananas, now merged. Let's fire off straight ahead.

David Miller and his scurvy piratical gang of councillors, jacked up the TTC Fares, increased the garbage collection fees, skimped on hundreds of maintenance infrastructure repairs, all the while claiming poverty. The province, jacked up the automobile fees, harmonized sales tax which is simply a scam to get a massive increase of taxpayer savings.

The province whistled into massive debt. Its government agencies spend money in personal needs for every privileged board member. Hospital Board Members use their contacts to step way ahead of the cues and shortages to get immunized then pretend that they are actually vital to society.

Now if you didn't have the brand name Canada attached to all these shananigans. Ignore the name Canada just a moment...... Out of the mind?

Okay, now put all that together. You would think this is a tropically deconstructed country government by privilege and elitism. Just a like a banana country.

Water logged

People in Toronto appear to be suffering from being too waterlogged. New animal species are invading from the north. Which park was this image taken?

Ponds like this are caused by the presence of garbage piles. And attract vermin like this giant antlered water rat.

Stand up

Northern Ontario lost its voice. Northern Ontario residents are not equal citizens in Canada. Northern Ontario needs a new political movement, and a new spirit.

Repetition focuses on this persistent problem. Its been stated here in this blag more than once. However, some readers might forget. For a long time, this place, this person advocates strongly, passionately for an independent Northern Ontario.

Importance comes from the symbolism of neglect and patronizing attitude demonstrated by southern Ontario government and people. The arbitrary decision to cancel the spring bear hunt demonstrated that callous attitude. The loss of political power in all political parties and caucus symbolizes that fact. Promises made by the provincial government to replace the lost income to the business people involved in that tourist sector never ever materialized.

The economic incompetence of the central governments ruling Northern Ontario wrecked its economy. The woods industry wrecked. The tourist industry wrecked. The electrical supply wrecked. The education system wrecked.

Symbolizing this enslavement of Northern Ontario emerges from its favorite recreation which is Curling. Participation of Northern Ontario people in curling surpasses any other Canadian region yet the elitist sports associations of curling located in the very distant urban centres wish to deprive Northern Ontario curlers of their chartered rights.

Northern Ontario curling memberships went to pay for the growth of curling in Canada. Now when NOnt is down economically those same curling associations are going to deprive it of this recognition and its right to contest for the Brier Tankard.

If NOnt curlers really had any stones, if this happened all of these curling associations must cede themselves from the central curling associations. Since there is still enough curlers in NOnt more than all the European Associations, they should demand the right to compete in the world curling championship, even if it must compete as association for a country like Jamaica or Turks and Caicos or Nuuk.

The loss of curling rights only symbolizes the dilemma confronting peoples of Northern Ontario face. It matters little whether they possess a First Nation or a European heritage, this effects all equally. And it is important that the urban area, the rural area, and the First Nation communities recognize this increasing discrimination from other Canadians. It is time to take control of those rights.

Repost: First past the post and last at the trough

For Northern Ontario proportional representation becomes an unmitigated political disaster. There is no benefit to any Northerner regardless of political loyalty.

Over the years Queen's Park drained every spare resource revenue from Northern Ontario. Never reinvesting unless the applicant is a major political supporter, the south only will accelerate its economic pillage unfettered by political audit.

All senior levels of government compose legislation satiating the inward desires of the urban voter in southern Ontario. The Gun Registry, the tax on diamonds, passports at the border, the banning of hunting contribute to the declines in northern commerce, in northern industry and northern populations.

There is no serious reinvestment in the North despite electoral campaign promises. Only a trifling percentage of those taxes revisit the North.

Depending on whether one defines Northern Ontario along the French I believe the North is left with eleven seats in the federal and provincial parliaments. Recently the federal government dangled twenty two new seats from Ottawa to Toronto.

No new seats for Northern Ontario though. In the last distribution the gnomes of democracy proposed one riding from Current River to the Western Border of Sudbury. Try being a representative of that.

Do the math. Even if Northern Ontario held onto its few ridings the proportional representation and the 22 new seats would add about 61 seats to the south. The North presently holds a bare ten percent voice which would fall instantly to four percent. A power reduction of more than 50%. Does anyone actually believe that ten percent of those proportional MPPs would come from the North.

Do you believe that any provincial party all of which are headquartered in Southern Ontario will pick northerners over thirty nine good old boys from 905? Numerically the growing Asian community in the Greater Toronto Area is a more important demographic than the few Northerners scattered over the vast land mass of Northern Ontario. Few no likely none of those 39 seats will be posted by northerners and I state none will.

This is a very critical point of time. If Northerners actually got together in a Bloc like party it would get no legislature funding because all of the seats must switch to be a party recognized by the speaker of the Ontario Legislature. In 2011 the party would have to win more than 16 seats for house debates and house funding. Consider that there is only a rump of 11 maybe 14 seats depending on where you define Northern Ontario. No Northern faction will receiver adequate funding.

Even then approximately 140,000 votes would be needed to qualify for any proportional representation. According to the new legislation a new party must get three percent of the popular vote to be recognized as entitled to add a proportional representative. And that would be only one representative.

If Northern Ontario was a separate province then proportional representation works politically. But when there is a vast discrepancy of population densities between the two parts of this province, then proportional representation works against the lesser population.

In 2011 it is very likely that Northern Ontario will possess no voice over its own affairs. Only 4% of the seats doesn't carry much weight in any caucus no matter what the present incumbents say.

Before that happens Northern Ontario must form its own political movement, its own political party for political separation to regain some form of self governance.

Its been proposed before and handled poorly. There was always time. Now that time has run out. Every single voter in Northern Ontario must vote against proportional representation. Let this referendum be the poll that asserts your rights. Deny southern Ontario its habitual oligarchy over your affairs, over your education system, over your power plants, over your resources, over your mines, over your roads, over your houses, and over your existence

Greasing the Gullible

Over recent days I've received quite a few comments on Northern Ontario severance. All of them are interesting. All lack a complete understanding of how Ontario politics really work.

After this government gets down to basics. An aside you will note. I do not define which party is in power. Note that. In their treatment of Northern Ontario each and every Party has promised the North this or that. And every party has delivered on Nothing.

And I don't refer to the little crap. I mean the meat and potatoes of good administration. To the southern Ontario government, despite the expressed woes about how expensive and difficult things are they haven't delivered on a substantial Northern Ontario focussed capitalization.

Yes they will back up their buddies in the forest and mining industries. But all the profits from those corporations stream south because all the head offices are in Toronto or in the GTA (Group of Total Assholes).

Nothing they do is focussed to help Northern Ontario. Okay people cite the Highways. The southern Ontario government always trots them out like they are doing the North a favor.

Well what a crap. Highway 11/17 has only one purpose. It is to get southern Ontario goods to the west efficiently. That's it. That's in the history of those two arteries. They are National links.

If the province was serious about true Northern Development. Big Trout Lake would've had a road twenty years ago. There would be a Highway route to Moosenee. There would be a highway linking Thunder Bay with the Port of Churchill.

So many towns still rely on ice roads. A northern Ontario run government would've dealt with this false isolation years ago.

And what about the countless industries that Northern towns court only to lose them magically to southern towns. Do you expect that there will be fair play as long as northern development is left in the hands of southern biased bureaucrats. You want to know the moaning about the Bombardier plant in Northern Ontario?

During this last bidding process Thunder Bay almost lost this contract to the Europeans because a large segment of Southern Ontario do not regard Thunder Bay as being an integral part of Ontario. I'm down here now. That's exactly the attitude expressed. And I don't know the disposition of the terrifically stupid street car contract. Its up for bidding still.

These are contracts to help Toronto. Not help Northern Ontario. All the profits made from those contracts will depart Northern Ontario and leave only behind the value of the wages behind. It is not an Northern Ontario company it is a Quebec company.

Back to the ten percent rule. Like I stated anyone from Northern Ontario who actually believes that the southerners are telling the truth about this are totally blind. They haven't followed the history of this.

Interesting comments but everyone is quoting the 10% figure. Just how is this going to work?

I am telling you all. It is so many words spewed by an arrogant southerners. You see at present the view of Northern Ontario held by southerners isn't the same view held by northerners.

FYI. The existing law is as follows. All the ridings in the province of Ontario must also be equivalent to federal riding boundaries. That is the law.

Now provincial governments are notoriously lazy. And they lie. Do you believe for one instance that this province will convene members to allocate extra ridings to Northern Ontario. The Southern Riding MPPs would protest. The Toronto MPPs will protest.

This is just a pre-election promise. Get it in writing. Even if you do. It will be all lies. All this promises is a bunch of 10% hooey. Smoke and mirrors.

So southerners regard northerners as slow and stupid. Thats the truth. And with this ten percent figure the commentors insist as the gospel only substantiate that thought.

Here's why. Pay attention to just how sleazy the southern Ontario political leaders are. All parties. NO EXCEPTION. Lets say the proposed number of seats is 108. Its 103 now. And five or six are being added. Thats only one seat for the north at the most.

Second. Everyone who commented about the ten percent. Didn't understand at all that at present time. The North has at least 11 percent. So next redistribution the North loses one. Probably more.

Here's why? NOW PAY aTtEnTion. You guys don't do your political homework.

Every one commenting has referred to those ridings being north of the French River right. In the Reign of Terror of Mike, the Psyche, Harris, the damn boundary moved big time. He wanted to give Parry Sound and save his buddy Ernie's seat some extra funding from the Northern Ontario development fund. To make this feasible, that government moved the southern edge south from the French River to a line south of Muskoka from Midland and across the Northern tip of Lake Simcoe.

So you know the extension of the 401 north of Waubeshene? Thats Northern spending. Ernie got his spending. Moved ridings. Dumped his wife. Married a rich bitch. Regardless all that spending into Muskoka comes out of the Northern budget in the view of Ontario.

In all my readings... All of them... That little policy Law has never, never, never, ever been revoked by the last party or the present one. It is still in force.

So the boundary to the southern Government is far more south than the traditional Northern view. Do the Parry Sound to Bancroft people consider themselves Northerners. Well no. And when there is extra Northern funding... Well yes.

To the Province with the extra two or three ridings already in the Muskoka extension. To them, Northern Ontario doesn't have 11 it has 15. And that dear Suzies, is why the southern Ontario government says with a very straight face that Oh yes, You got your ten percent. You can already give up two ridings safely. And if they have to add they will add a riding somewhere around Orillia.

Thus these comments about the 10% rule is false. Because none have defined the boundary of Northern Ontario. If they give up a seat in your north, they'll move it to Muskoka and it will still be Northern Ontario.

Don't buy the line of Bullshit. Under their proposal under their rules. If you use the present southern Ontario Boundaries Northern Ontario presently is closer to 18% of the legislature. Under their boundaries. Northern Ontario, north of the French River, the real Northern Ontario would not qualify for any proportional representation. In fact it might owe.

The method they will use to deprive the North of representation is simple. The north, the French River boundary will lose up to two more elected seats and will only get one single proportional representative. I dare say that all or most of the proportional seats will go to the cottage (not camp) buddies in Muskoka.

Proportional representation only works in Urban areas not Rural areas.

A Surprise

Oh here's a surprise. Now its I told you so time. Almost forty years ago, before it was fashionable, I was urging Northern Ontario to aggressively separate from the hideous leeches of Queen's Park.

While you read this article from today's Star and if you are a Northern Ontario resident, remember this crap next time. And realize that not a single farthing, or penny collected from any tax like this will go back into Northern Ontario, it all go into things improving the government limousine service in Toronto or a thirty pay increase for southern a$$hole politicians.

Conclusion. This is an I told you so article. Its time for a Northern Ontario Party specifically representing Northern Ontario and working feverishly for a new province or completely separate country if Ottawa proves equally ignorant to the long ignored Northern Ontario. Its time to leave.

* The following article is sourced from that money pig, Liberal loving, Northern Ontario hating newspaper the Star ...today's issue. Its purpose is solely intended for the education of the many students that read this blog and not for commercial purposes.


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Diamond tax dooms investment, northerners say TheStar.com - News - Diamond tax dooms investment, northerners say

May 06, 2007

Chinta Puxley
Canadian Press

A paragraph buried deep in the Ontario budget is crushing burgeoning optimism that northerners will see a renewed mining boom fuelled by exploration for diamonds, nickel and other mineral deposits.

The province's first diamond mine is one year away from starting production, but that didn't stop the governing Liberals from quietly introducing a new tax of up to 13 per cent on any diamonds mined in Ontario in their March budget.

To many in the province's north, that paragraph in the stack of budget papers – which came as a surprise to northerners and the mining industry alike – represents a grave threat to hope that's been building in remote communities.

Many say the tax is a signal to prospective investors and exploration companies that Ontario is prepared to single out any mineral and slap on a royalty before any mine even begins operation.

"Are they trying to kill the north?" asked Wayne Taipale, mayor of Moosonee, Ont., just south of James Bay. "What are they trying to do? Stop the development? Right now, we really need it. With the timber industry dying, there are no jobs."

Hope has been scarce as well, Taipale said. Young people don't see the point in going to university or college since they are just going to drive a cab or work behind the counter in a local store, he said.

The De Beers Victor diamond mine in nearby Attawapiskat changed all that, he said. The diamond giant is spending $1 billion to build the mine, employing many local people in the process and creating 400 local jobs, he said.

"I've been here for 49 years in Moosonee, I've never seen work like that," Taipale said. "We're all feeling the same way. We're very uncertain now what's going to happen here. This just feels like someone has put nails in the coffin for the north."

The tax isn't enough to stop the Victor project, but Timmins Mayor Tom Laughren said it's enough to deter other potential investors. It's a short-sighted tax grab given just one more $1-billion diamond mine would inject more into provincial coffers than this tax, he added.

"There is a lot of exploration going on in the north, specifically for diamonds," Laughren said. "My fear is it may trigger people to look elsewhere just because the tax regime will be uncertain."

That's a distinct possibility, said PriceWaterhouseCoopers mining tax expert John Gravelle. Exploration companies look for stable tax regimes – something Canada and Ontario has always offered, he said.

"This makes Ontario look less stable given that it has increased its tax quite substantially – two-and-a-half to three times higher," Gravelle said, adding companies also look for a fair application of taxes.

"There is no real reason why diamonds should be taxed any differently than other metals such as gold and nickel."

Opposition Leader John Tory vowed to roll back the tax, if he is elected premier in October, on a recent trip up north.

But Finance Minister Greg Sorbara said there are several good reasons behind the tax. Ontario is simply following the lead of the Northwest Territories, which has a similar tax rate, he said.

"We have to remember that the diamonds that are going to be extracted belong to the people of Ontario and we have to make sure that there is a fair return for the people of Ontario," Sorbara said in an interview.

To suggest that having a "single and similar royalty rate for the diamond extraction industry" will scare away other investment in the north is just "fear-mongering," Sorbara said.

Singling out any other Ontario metal or mineral is "simply not in the cards," he added.

Tory said it's not surprising that other companies would lose faith in the government's word given that the Liberals hiked diamond taxes less than a year after Premier Dalton McGuinty welcomed De Beers with open arms at their ground-breaking.

"To have that very same government turn around and just shaft these people and do a tax grab in the middle of the night, I think is inexcusable," Tory said. "It sends all the wrong signals . . . to every industry."

The province should roll back the tax before sitting down with people in the mining industry to set a fair standard going forward, said Tory.

The company that inspired the tax in the first place said it doesn't expect the government to change its mind now.

The best De Beers can hope for now is a "tax holiday," which would give the mine a chance to get up and running, said De Beers spokesperson Linda Dorrington. The mine represents a sliver of Ontario's overall mineral production value, she added.

"We feel that they've not really thought this royalty through," she said. "For a small amount of income coming into the government treasury, they're creating a very big negative effect."