Folk Festival on the Canal

Last weekend, I went to the Terrace in back of the McAuslin Brewery to watch the Folk Festival on The Canal. It was a great day; good bands- a big Shout out to United Steel Workers of Montreal, Notre Dame de Grass and Rob Lutes. There were several other great bands that I didn't get to hear, because it was a hot, sunny day and you just can't leave a four year old outside from Noon to 10:30 PM.

The site was busy, with a lot of people just stopping by on the Canal to listen. Inside the paying customers were shoulder to shoulder. The organisers had thoughtfully provided a daycare crew to keep the little ones amused. The whole event felt like a really big barbeque organised by your cool, wealthy uncle- in this case Peter McAuslin.

This one of the many cultural events sponsored by McAuslin. Full disclosure, I have loved the beer since it first came on the market, and live 3 minutes walk from the Terrace. I'll try not to gush.

I had a chat with with Gern of USWM. He said it was the mellowest show they'd played in years. They must be the most raucous alt-blue grass band around then, because they added a rollicking set to a pretty energetic roster of performers. He said most of the group are local now to St.Henri and The Point. This makes them, although he's too modest to make the claim, legitimately part of the St.Henri cultural renaissance.

I'm looking forward to the second edition, next year.

If Oil is too expensive, stop buying it

The U.S. congress is busily trying to identify the culprit behind high petroleum prices. Speculators are betting that individuals, companies and governments will continue to use, invest in and buy petroleum. The culprit behind high gas prices is everybody who continues to buy gasoline, fuel oil, diesel and most plastics. Stop buying these, and the price of oil will drop.

Or continue buying gas, and accept responsibility for the short and long term costs of a petroleum- based economy.

Updated!
It seems that speculators in industries hurt by rising oil prices are driving the goal to use legislation to keep cheap oil available. This may help some people, and save some stock portfolios, but it doesn't change the fundamentals. Petroleum will only drop in price when people stop paying for it. Maybe because of this.

Talking out of two sides of their mouth:Poilievre and Harper on residential schools

Just as Mr. Harper apologises for the culturally genocidal residential schools policy that had tried to strip the aboriginal nations of Canada of their languages and cultures another Tory enunciates a position that is almost stereotypical of the Conservative party. Mr. Poilievre denounces compensation for the victims of residential schools. This seems both inept, because that will not extend the Tory base, and vile, because it reveals a foul ignorance of the challenges faced by someone abused as a child. This self-righteous prig reveals a "blame the victim" technocratic view of the role government policy. His words were "we can get better value" for this money.

Hiding Bernier's skeleton behind Cadman: the Conservative closet is filling up

So that's what happened: it took six months for the Tories to discover that the tape that implicated Stephen Harper in an attempt to influence Chuck Cadman was doctored. And I thought that exonerating the PM would've have been the Conservative's first priority. After all, analysis of a few seconds of tape requires perhaps an afternoon and the appropriate software.

It reflects on the current state of the government that it is willing to resurrect the Cadman Affair. Could they consider Cadman less scandalous than Bernier? If so, given that the whiff of cover up doesn't distract from the potentially criminal nature of influence peddling implicit in the Cadman affair, what remains to be discovered about Bernier / Coulliard?

Regardless, the man who interviewed Stephen Harper, and recorded the mysterious "financial considerations were discussed" comment insists the tape was recorded as is. Oddly, the Conservatives are suing the Liberals to prevent them from using the tape in advertisements. The man who made the tape, Tom Zytaruk, isn't being sued for allegedly falsifying it.

Stephen Harpers' Italian Job: The self-wacking boss

Stephen Harper wacked himself today, by declaring after a 2 hour meeting the Italian government would free-up troops to fight in Afghanistan, only to have the Italian PM refute this immediately afterwards.

It seems the Canadian PM's European vacation hasn't given him the breathing room he must have hoped for as the Bernier Affair continues to stink-up the House of Commons. That continues to offer revelations of cover-ups, suspicious contracts and feeble but photogenic Ministers of the Crown loudly declaiming any criticism, then shutting up while the Deputy PM defends his government by declaring this is all a matter of personal privacy and national security, so it can not be mentioned in the house.

Canadian affairs, both foreign and domestic, seem to be careening about with little real control. Only the Tory spin doctors seem to be functioning normally. The amateurs don't understand they are a minority, not a oligarchy, and could do with some humility. A two-seat rump worked wonders after the excesses of the Mulroney years.

More Scandals

Another scandal was the Elections Canada raid on Conservative offices that resulted from reported "in-and- outs" in campaign financing. The Tories claim it is a vendetta, although the boss of Elections Canada is a Tory appointee. This follows another case where they asked Elections Canada to ignore the rules of the Canada elections act. Needless to say, the official in question pointed out he could be charged with a felony for doing that. He said he could comply as soon as Parliament voted to change the elections act. The Tories took umbrage but could do nothing.

Amateur Hour continues: Bernier's security breach

Maxim Bernier resigns after one stumble after another. In this case, he left confidential documents at his supposedly former girlfriend's house last month. The documents where high level documents pertaining to NATO plans, leadership and policy.

This man has been defended long after he was obviously incompetent. This speaks to the competence of the Government.

This government should be brought down, as the only example it sets is how Hill & Knowlten would run things.

The Tory's great claim was on national security- a claim that has proven as empty and self-serving as any of their policies. Surely amateur hour must be brought to an end.

Carbon Tax: "Tax what we don't want...

...and don't tax what we do want."
-David MacGuinty

David Suzuki's support of the Liberal plan for a revenue-neutral carbon tax provides a useful endorsement when most pundits are tut-tutting Stephan Dion. This two-bit condescension from the press is damaging to efforts to create long-term policies that will benefit Canadians . The reception by the pundits up to now reflects a cheap analysis of the attitudes of the Canadian electorate. Those that oppose the Carbon tax won't vote for anyone but the Tories, anyway. And that is a rather small rump centered in Alberta and Saskatchewan.

Nobody wants to pay more taxes; But most people are not foolish enough to buy into the fairy-tale that we'll solve all are problems Next Year. The environment needs action now, but the laissez-faire attitude of Canada's New Government regarding pollution( but not sex, they want to legislate that) reveals a policy of eat, drink and make money and "to hell with you Jack, I'm alright" that provides no long term answers.

With current popularity putting the Tories slightly ahead of the Liberals(33% to 31% a figure that follows the averages for almost 18 months now), a Federal election over the environment, rather than the Conservatives' general incompetence, cynicism and immaturity would play to the strengths of the opposition parties. Of course, the Conservatives' ability as sophomoric debaters shouldn't be discounted if the election is portrayed as a horse race, rather than a serious confrontation of policy and direction for Canada.