Thursday, December 27, 2007

A few things here and there

  • According to the early findings of the language advisory commission (and Mr. Lord), even though it is not obtainable or realistic, "the goal of having more children graduate bilingual is a noble (one)." Too bad fiscal responsibilty or productivity of the program [itself] didn't factor into the equation.

  • My impression of the federal finance minister (at this point) is of a man who is willing to flip-flop and make excuses on why he can not deliver across-the-board tax relief for all Canadians (as well as income splitting for married couples) while the government sits on a huge surplus in Ottawa. Or as CTF federal director John Williamson nicely puts it, "middle and top tax rates have yet to come down under the Conservative government.'' Oh yeah, one other thing, all the news isn't grim as all provinces saw tax savings in ’07 and will see more again in ’08...with the exception of just one province. I'm sure it's no surprise to anyone who reads this blog on a regular basis who the one province is?

  • I hope Prime Minister Harper mirrors the words of PM Gordon Brown, as he is right, Bhutto was killed by "cowards afraid of democracy".

  • This is a good start and will encourage safety as well as the continual flow (of trucks) across the Canada/US border.

  • Consultants and business advisors all around "Irvingville" are asking: "How do you put a price on a Junior A hockey team in Moncton, potato fields in Prince Edward Island, parcels of empty land in gritty Saint John, or an emerging energy hub whose spokes extend from the refinery?" I guess Neil Sedaka was right...breaking up is hard to do.

  • My parents have a small cottage near the Confederation Bridge (Murray Corner to be exact); and as long as we can remember, ever since the first dredging (and blasting) of the ocean floor occured in the Northumberland Strait, there has been an incremental drop in fish species in the area. In other words, as a result of the bridge, there is a free flow of goods and people, but definitely not Lobster. You have to feel for the fishermen in that area.
  • When you see documents like this come out of Public Works and Government Services, it makes you wonder what has taken the New Brunswick press (and opposition) so long in acquiring access-to-info requests regarding the provincial government and their pledge to have all their members (Cabinet?) drive some sort of fuel efficient vehicle. I guess they must be all abiding by their word.
  • These musings by Messr Layton about seats in Alberta are almost as obsurd as when New Brunswick NDP member Yvon Godin said "it was better for her (Fredericton's Kelly Comer) to go now (she defected to the federal Liberals last fall) than to have her leave after winning the election." In other words, it's as far away from realistic thinking as one can get.
  • 4 Comments:

    At Jan 1, 2008, 7:20:00 AM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

    The breakup of the Irvings has more to do with business,than with family.
    Why would they not want to invest more heavily in the United States where they have more interest than investing billions in failed forced french.

     
    At Jan 1, 2008, 7:31:00 AM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

    34 million from the federal government towards WHAT.?

    "As New Brunswickers, we need to ensure that on our journey to self-sufficiency, we are good environmental stewards. The funding announced today will support the development of new technology and new ideas through the New Brunswick Climate Change Action Plan," said Premier Graham. "We are pleased the Government of Canada is prepared to work with the province in taking action on climate change. This issue is too large and the stakes too high, for governments to work in isolation. We need to come together to address climate change."

    And who gets the money,well one is Sunbury Transport,475,000 to install ? what? diesel engines to provide air conditioning when their trucks are sitting around,and another 200,000 to aerodynamic their trucks.And there is more but this should be good enough for a laugh.

     
    At Jan 1, 2008, 5:12:00 PM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

    40 million of taxpayer money to support a party,,,for an artifacial story.Yes harper giving your tax dollars to support a story that never happened.
    This boy needs watching.

    "What we're celebrating here isn't just Samuel Champlain landing here in 1608. It was also the beginning of Nouvelle France, when Quebec City was the capital of a huge North American empire," Boulanger said recently, noting that explorers starting out from Quebec City discovered 30 of the 50 American states.

    But, he added, "we confess we have not been that proactive in terms of publicizing the event in normal publicity manners."
    haha,
    I guess,,you might get called on it.I mean the LOSERES get to celebrate and we pay for it,AGAIN,and AGAIN?

     
    At Jan 1, 2008, 5:17:00 PM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

    The Facts;

    New France
    Main article: New France
    Samuel de Champlain was part of a 1603 expedition from France that traveled into the St. Lawrence River. In 1608, he returned as head of an exploration party and founded Quebec City with the intention of making the area part of the French colonial empire. Champlain's Habitation de Quebec, built as a permanent fur trading outpost, was where he would forge a trading, and ultimately a military alliance, with the Algonquin and Huron nations. Natives traded their furs for many French goods such as metal objects, guns, alcohol, and clothing.

    Hélène Desportes, born July 7, 1620, to the French habitants (settlers) Pierre Desportes and his wife Françoise Langlois, was the first child of European descent born in Quebec.

    From Quebec, coureurs des bois, voyageurs and Catholic missionaries used river canoes to explore the interior of the North American continent, establishing fur trading forts on the Great Lakes (Étienne Brûlé 1615), Hudson Bay (Radisson and Groseilliers 1659-60), Ohio River and Mississippi River (La Salle 1682), as well as the Prairie River and Missouri River (de la Verendrye 1734-1738).

    After 1627, King Louis XIII of France introduced the seigneurial system and forbade settlement in New France by anyone other than Roman Catholics. Sulpician and Jesuit clerics founded missions in Trois-Rivières (Laviolette) and Montréal or Ville-Marie (Paul Chomedey de Maisonneuve and Jeanne Mance) to convert New France's Huron and Algonkian allies to Catholicism. The seigneurial system of governing New France also encouraged immigration from the motherland.

    New France became a Royal Province in 1663 under King Louis XIV of France with a Sovereign Council that included intendant Jean Talon. This ushered in a golden era of settlement and colonization in New France, including the arrival of les "Filles du Roi". The population would grow from about 3,000 to 60,000 people between 1666 and 1760. Colonists built farms on the banks of St. Lawrence River and called themselves "Canadiens" or "Habitants". The colony's total population was limited, however, by a winter climate significantly harsher than that found in France; by the spread of diseases; and by the refusal of the French crown to allow Huguenots, or French Protestants, to settle there. The population of New France lagged far behind that of the 13 Colonies to the south, leaving it vulnerable to attack.


    [edit] Conquest of New France
    In 1753 France began building a series of forts in the British Ohio Country. They refused to leave after being notified by the British Governor and, in 1754, George Washington launched an attack on the French Fort Duquesne (now Pittsburgh) in the Ohio Valley in an attempt to enforce the British claim to the territory. This frontier battle set the stage for the French and Indian War in North America. By 1756, France and Britain were battling the Seven Years' War worldwide. In 1758, the British mounted an attack on New France by sea and took the French fort at Louisbourg.

    On 13 September 1759, General James Wolfe defeated General Louis-Joseph de Montcalm on the Plains of Abraham outside Quebec City. France ceded its North American possessions to Great Britain through the Treaty of Paris (1763). By the British Royal Proclamation of 1763, Canada (part of New France) was renamed the Province of Quebec.

     

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