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Ethics tips for columnists

"The six rules include "don't steal," "attribute conscientiously," "don't make stuff up," "acknowledge your ties," "treat people fairly," and "pursue accuracy aggressively." Then Woods explained some of the caveats........."

So how large is the counterfeit goods trade?

Global IPR theft and trade in fakes have grown to unprecedented levels, threatening innovative economies around the world. Interpol estimates that 7 percent of global trade now involves counterfeited goods, or $512 billion in 2004.


Canadian situation

Also see

With counterfeit goods in the $25 billion range in Canada , plus major criminals doing another $25 billion in illegal activity, the government closing RCMP detachments, just about every section is undermanned since there are more than 2200 fewer RCMP officers today than 12 years ago but according to the standard line -everything is OK.Somehow things don't add up.Have the crooks been given a free ride at the expense of innocent duck hunters and farmers who have to fill out gun registry forms?

Victor Hanson

"As September 11 faded in our collective memory, Muslim extremists were insidiously but systematically reinvented in our elite presentations as near underprivileged victims, and themselves often adept critics of purported rapacious Western consumerism, oil profiteering, heavy-handed militarism, and spiritual desolation.

Extremists who would otherwise be properly seen in the fascistic mold were instead given a weird pass for their quite public and abhorrent hatred of non-believers and homosexuals, and their Neanderthal views of women. Beheadings, the murder of Christians, suicide bombings carried out by children, systematic torture — all this and more paled in comparison to hot and cold temperatures in American jails on Cuba. Suddenly despite our enemies' long record of murder and carnage, we were in a war not with fascism of the old stamp, but with those who were historical victims of the United States. Thus problems arose of marshalling American public opinion against the supposedly weaker that posited legitimate grievances against Western hegemons. It was no surprise that Sen. Durbin's infantile rantings would be showcased on al-Jazeera."

The difference between liberals and conservatives

"But perhaps the most important difference between conservatives and liberals can be found in the area of national security. Conservatives saw the savagery of 9/11 in the attacks and prepared for war. Liberals saw the savagery of the 9/11 attacks and wanted to prepare indictments and offer therapy and understanding for our attackers. In the wake of 9/11, conservatives believed it was time to unleash the might and power of the United States military against the Taliban.

In the wake of 9/11, the liberals believed it was time to submit a petition. I'm not joking. Submitting a petition was precisely what Moveon.org, then known as 9/11peace.org did. You may have seen it in The New York Times or The Washington Post, the San Francisco Examiner or the L.A. Times. (Funny, I didn't see it in the Amarillo Globe News.)

It was a petition that "implored the powers that be" to "use moderation and restraint in responding to the terrorist attacks against the United States. I don't know about you but moderation and restraint is not what I felt when I watched the Twin Towers crumble to the ground, the side of the Pentagon destroyed and almost 3,000 of our fellow citizens perish in flames and rubble. "

Michael Yon posting from the Middle East

Chinese investment

"The China National Offshore Oil Corp., China's third-largest oil producer and a state-owned company, offered to buy Unocal for $18.5 billion in cash Wednesday, topping the price Chevron Corp. agreed to pay for the 115-year-old California gas exploration and production company.
China is seeking overseas oil and gas fields to help fuel its $1.65 trillion economy, which is the world's fastest-growing. The U.S.-China Commission has deep misgivings about a Chinese government-owned company taking control of a major American oil business, said C. Richard D'Amato, the panel's chairman."

Budget vote last night

Question Period- Hansard excerpts- June 23/2005

Citizenship and Immigration

Hon. Bill Blaikie (Elmwood—Transcona, NDP): Mr. Speaker, I have been asked to believe a lot of things in this chamber over the years but yesterday, when the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration wanted us to believe that 74 out of 76 temporary visas had nothing to do with partisan politics, that really took the cake.

When will the Liberal government take seriously the plight of those with foreign credentials who want to get domestic credentials? When will it put the same effort into enabling those people as it seems to put into enabling its friends?

¸ (1430)

Hon. Joseph Volpe (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, Lib.): Mr. Speaker, the member will know that we have already begun that process. Some $68 million will be put in place over the course of the next four years to coordinate those jurisdictions, provincial, professional and regulatory, so they can do the appropriate assessments, evaluations and accreditations and we can accommodate all of those we have invited into our country and integrate them into a professional environment. That is pretty progressive and it applies to everybody.

Hon. Bill Blaikie (Elmwood—Transcona, NDP): Mr. Speaker, I want to congratulate the minister for almost getting that out with a straight face.

Citizenship and Immigration

Mrs. Diane Ablonczy (Calgary—Nose Hill, CPC): Mr. Speaker, the ethics report showed that the Liberals abused trust and destroyed fairness in Canada's immigration system.

During the 2004 election, 97% of temporary residency permits issued at the request of members of Parliament went to Liberals.

Canadians deserve openness and transparency. The ethics report proved that a list of which MPs were issued TRPs on request does exist.

Why are the Liberals still hiding this information from Parliament and from the public?

Hon. Joseph Volpe (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, Lib.): Mr. Speaker, nobody is hiding anything. As I said, we present an annual report to Parliament and the facts and figures are all there.

The member is part of the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration. When she asks for information it is provided for her.

As for her manipulation of those numbers, she might have taken greater care to indicate that the figures she added were a very small number of the 13,000 permits that are issued as a result of a series of events that occur over any year.

Mrs. Diane Ablonczy (Calgary—Nose Hill, CPC): Mr. Speaker, the minister knows those numbers came from the ethics report. A Sun editorial today pointed out:

Finally it's clear that the Liberals have grossly abused the TRP program for partisan political purposes.

Canadians and those seeking to come to Canada deserve better. The Liberals have been caught and Parliament has a duty to clean up this mess.

As a start, will the government today make public the number of TRPs issued at the request of each individual member of Parliament since February 1, 2004?

Hon. Joseph Volpe (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, Lib.): Mr. Speaker, the member will know, of course, that Parliament approves a particular range of permanent residents who will be accepted, integrated and settled in this country.

Last year we accepted some 236,000. We also had some 600,000 who came here as tourists. We had an additional 110,000 who came as international students. We had a further 70,000 who made application as temporary visitors with work permits. We had an additional 13,000 who came here as a result of special events.

¸ (1435)

Ms. Helena Guergis (Simcoe—Grey, CPC): Mr. Speaker, the Ethics Commissioner has ruled that the former minister of citizenship and immigration was in conflict of interest, but then the Prime Minister knew that long ago.

Following last June's election, Ms. Katherine Abbott, an aide to the former minister, briefed the Prime Minister's director of communications about conflict of interest issues regarding several immigration files. Despite this, the Prime Minister put the member for York West into cabinet.

Exactly when did the Prime Minister learn of the member's potential conflict of interest?

Hon. Anne McLellan (Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, Lib.): Mr. Speaker, I actually have the report of the Ethics Commissioner here and I have taken the opportunity to read it. The Prime Minister's staff did not act in any way that was inappropriate.

The Ethics Commissioner is an independent officer of this House. The matter was referred to the Ethics Commissioner. In fact, many on this side asked that the Ethics Commissioner take up this matter. He did so. He has issued his report and has made findings of fact and conclusion.

The Prime Minister has reviewed the recommendations and he has asked the minister and the Privy Council Office to take up these recommendations and determine how we can move forward.

Ms. Helena Guergis (Simcoe—Grey, CPC): Mr. Speaker, the usual hear no evil, see no evil response.

Each member of Parliament must abide by the conflict of interest code and the former minister breached this code by issuing temporary residency permits to relatives of people associated with her election campaign.

The Prime Minister knew about this, and we know this because a former minister's staffer told the Prime Minister's office, and yet the Prime Minister still appointed her to cabinet.

Why did the Prime Minister not act when he first knew ethics had been breached?

Hon. Anne McLellan (Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, Lib.): Mr. Speaker, the hon. member is following in the footsteps of others on that side of the House in making sweeping--

Some hon. members: Oh, oh!

Hon. Anne McLellan: Let me assure you, Mr. Speaker, those people have nothing to be proud of in this regard.

Some hon. members: Oh, oh!

The Speaker: Order, please. The hon. Deputy Prime Minister has the floor and everyone wants to hear the answer.

Hon. Anne McLellan: Mr. Speaker, it is an assertion of fact. If the hon. member had read the Ethics Commissioner's report she would have thought twice about what she said before uttering it on the floor of this House.

I apologize to all Canadians for the reckless disregard for people's reputations that--

Citizenship and Immigration

Mrs. Nina Grewal (Fleetwood—Port Kells, CPC): Mr. Speaker, the Ethics Commissioner's report provides a behind the scenes look at a desperate Liberal Party seeking re-election.

Katherine Abbott, the former minister's aide, told the Ethics Commissioner:

--we were reacting to the temperature in the outside world--

--there was a thought that we might not come back, there was more of a pressure of just...getting it done.

Why is it regular Liberal policy to help political supporters jump to the head of the queue?

Hon. Joseph Volpe (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, Lib.): Mr. Speaker, I think if we read the Ethics Commissioner's report in its totality, we would have an opportunity to see that there is a process in place that takes everybody into consideration.

What the Ethics Commissioner did not indicate of course is the cyclical recurring events that require decisions because they take place at a particular moment in time. One of those events is taking place this weekend. I hope to see some of the members opposite at that same convention which will see thousands of people coming from all over the world, some of whom had to get TRPs to enter.

Mrs. Nina Grewal (Fleetwood—Port Kells, CPC): Mr. Speaker, the Liberal government makes legitimate immigrants jump through hoops to get into the country, but then lets its friends and supporters jump the queue.

During the last week of the campaign, the former minister authorized six permits for a gentleman described as “a great resource to the election campaign....He was able to provide volunteers, man hours, and labour”.

Will the government clean up its act, introduce transparency, and stop using TRPs for election purposes?

Hon. Joseph Volpe (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, Lib.): Mr. Speaker, if we are talking about cleaning up acts, let me advise all members that those who come to the Government of Canada for assistance are not asked to put in deposits in order to ensure that they are rendered service. We do not need anybody to sign guarantee forms of $1,000, $5,000, $50,000, or $250,000. The work is provided because the Government of Canada, and the Liberal Party as well, provides the service as is due all those citizens who access government services.

Technology Partnerships Canada

Mr. James Rajotte (Edmonton—Leduc, CPC): Mr. Speaker, in response to questions about the Technology Partnerships Canada program, the industry minister stated the following:

All of the money that was paid to consultants who were helping clients obtain TPC money has been returned. All of it has been returned, every cent.

He also said:

The reality is the audit is not complete. The audits are very complex.

If the audit is not complete, how does the minister know that every cent has been returned?

Some hon. members: Oh, oh!

The Speaker: Order. The hon. member for Edmonton--Leduc is waiting very patiently for the answer. The minister has risen to answer and the member will want to hear it.

Hon. David Emerson (Minister of Industry, Lib.): Mr. Speaker, the hon. member is very funny. I think the hon. member knows that I was referring to the forensic audit. The forensic audit identified four situations where a contingency fee was paid and the contract explicitly prohibits a contingency fee.

The hon. member would be more responsible if he would congratulate Industry Canada on the good work it is doing in improving the administration of the program, in auditing so effectively and protecting taxpayers' money.

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