Immigration overwhelmed by crime files, report says

"The vast majority of arrest warrants issued in Canada against foreign nationals -- including those wanted for serious criminality -- are not assigned for active investigation because of a lack of resources for immigration enforcement, newly disclosed documents show.

Of 22,027 warrants issued through the Greater Toronto Enforcement Centre, only 146 were assigned for active investigation at the time a government report was prepared in June, 2003."

Lorrie Goldstein:- How the Liberals cling to power

"In any event, the Liberals survive not only because they are ruthless -- regardless of whether their leader is Jean Chretien or Paul Martin -- but because they are without shame.

Think of Martin last night, calling for a return to civility in Parliament immediately after the non-confidence vote.

This from the party that invented the rat pack -- a group of rabid Liberal attack dogs formed over a decade ago who made Stephen Harper and today's Conservatives look like choirboys."

Victor Hanson

"As we learned on September 11, they try to kill us now with our own appurtenances before they are buried themselves under modernism, liberality, and freedom. That really is what this war is about: a last-ditch effort by primordial fascists to prevent the liberalization of the Muslim world and the union of Islamic society with the protocols found in the rest of the globe and which many in the Middle East prefer if given a chance



Only democracy and freedom, not Western money or cheap guilt, will remedy the deep sickness of radical Islam that now so tires and sickens the rest of the world that daily has to watch and endure it.

For a suicide bomber like Mohammed Atta, the more he bumped into the West and used its bounties, the more he despised us for his own hypocrisy of enjoying what his culture could not make or allow. There was no law forcing Mr. Atta to go study in Germany or visit the United States or to wear Western clothes and use our technology; he did so on his own free volition — and later despised himself for doing so.

The Saudi insurgents who now volunteer to blow themselves up in northern Iraq, like their spiritual kindred suicide bombers on the West Bank, are not poor villagers content to plow ancestral fields and follow the tribal and religious rhythms of a timeless Middle East.

No, they are usually upscale and spoiled, or at least middle class, educated, and with some disposable income — the prerequisites to allow them contact with the West and almost immediately to incite their sense of envy, self-loathing, exaggerated entitlement, and ultimately nihilism at trying to destroy what they hate and lust for and cannot destroy."

Differing versions of a phone conversation

First responders and the pork barrel

"In his first major speech, as Secretary Mr. Chertoff told a George Washington University audience that a "risk-based approach" is the key to successful homeland-security policy. A "risk-based" approach does not exist when American Samoa gets 10 times more money per capita than New York.
Places like Port Newark or Port Elizabeth, replete with chemical plants right outside Manhattan, are so unguarded that terrorism experts call them the deadliest two miles in America. For our homeland-security money, they're more important than Cheyenne, Wyo. We're glad to see Congress coming around to that truth. Now, if Mrs. Feinstein and Mr. Cornyn can outgun Mr. Lieberman and Mrs. Collins there will be real progress."

Terrorists behind friendly lines

UN-incompetent,inept, wasteful -but keep the money coming?

Worthington's comment

Sun editorial

How did promotion of TV series for China aid National Unity?

Gomery Commission and ad agencies

Meanwhile Justice Gomery forges on-some officials exaggerated the Commission's expenses

Why would people say the Commission's expenses were more than double when they weren't?

More from the Gomery Comission

Question Period- Hansard excerpts-May 19/05

Sponsorship Program

Mrs. Diane Ablonczy (Calgary—Nose Hill, CPC): Mr. Speaker, when the Auditor General did her audit of the sponsorship program, she said that at least $100 million flowed from government contracts to Liberal friendly ad agencies for little or no work. In other words, $100 million kind of just disappeared, and yet the government is saying that $750,000 in a trust account fixes the problem.

Why is there such a gap between the $100 million the Auditor General talked about and the $750,000 the Liberal government is talking about?

Hon. Scott Brison (Minister of Public Works and Government Services, Lib.): Mr. Speaker, is the member implying that $100 million was donated to the Liberal Party of Canada?

I am surprised that somebody who once at least called herself a lawyer would be so sloppy in her research. She should fire her researchers and really bone up on her research such that she asks a question that actually can be considered serious on the floor of the House of Commons.

She is not doing anything for the House of Commons when she stands up and makes wild allegations that not only disgrace herself, but disgrace all members of the House.

Mrs. Diane Ablonczy (Calgary—Nose Hill, CPC): Mr. Speaker, I assume that the minister has no good answer for Canadians because the best he can do is smear the questioner.

That is the minister who got up just a few weeks ago and said--

Some hon. members: Oh, oh!

The Speaker: Order. The hon. member for Calgary—Nose Hill has the floor.

Mrs. Diane Ablonczy: Mr. Speaker, the same minister got up and said that there was a big audit of the Liberal Party books and there was no dirty money that went into the Liberal Party.

Now he is saying that $750,000 will cover whatever problem was not there and yet the Auditor General talked about $100 million. How is anyone going to be fooled by this ploy by the Liberal Party?

Hon. Scott Brison (Minister of Public Works and Government Services, Lib.): Mr. Speaker, no other member of the House has to smear the hon. member for Calgary—Nose Hill because she smears herself when she refuses to apologize to the member for York West for the months of criticisms, attacks and smears that she launched on the floor of the House. Now that the member for York West has been cleared by the Ethics Commissioner, the hon. member should not be taken seriously until she offers her apology.

She smears herself. Nobody else has to do it.........

Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates

Mr. Joe Preston (Elgin—Middlesex—London, CPC): Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Public Works refuses to attend the government operations and estimates committee to be held accountable on the 2005-06 spending estimates for his department. This committee has twice scheduled meetings with the minister and twice the minister has refused to attend.

With regard to the committee's agenda, would the chair of the government operations and estimates committee explain to the House and Canadians the minister's absence from this committee?

Mr. Leon Benoit (Vegreville—Wainwright, CPC): Mr. Speaker, the truth is that the public works minister has shown contempt for this committee of the House of Commons by not fulfilling his basic responsibility to come to the committee and answer the questions that the committee may have about his department.

In fact, he has twice now agreed to come to our committee and has both times broken his word. He is hiding from the questions the committee should ask of him. It seems clear to me that the Minister of Public Works has a hidden agenda that he desperately wants--

The Speaker: I see that the hon. member for Vegreville--Wainwright has the next question. I trust it is not to himself.

Mr. Leon Benoit (Vegreville—Wainwright, CPC): Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Public Works often says that he is open and accountable, but his actions say he is not. We just cannot trust what he says.

The truth is that the public works minister has shown contempt for the government operations and estimates committee by not fulfilling his most basic responsibility of appearing before the committee to answer the questions it has about his department. Twice now he has agreed to come and both times has broken his word.

Why is the minister showing such contempt for the committee and for the Canadian public?

¸ (1455)

Hon. Scott Brison (Minister of Public Works and Government Services, Lib.): Mr. Speaker, the fact is that my office has been working with the chairman's office to schedule times. This was complicated somewhat by the fact that the Conservative members of that committee and the Bloc members of that committee decided to take a holiday that week instead of working. In fact, my office offered to meet with the committee tomorrow as well, but those members over there believe in a four day work week.

Let me say that Liberal members of Parliament are working five days a week and seven days a week in the interests of Canada. We do not believe in four day work weeks. We do not believe in taking time off and voting ourselves days off.