Skip to main content

“I am a Canadian, free to speak without fear, free to worship in my own way, free to stand for what I think right, free to oppose what I believe wrong, or free to choose those who shall govern my country. This heritage of freedom I pledge to uphold for myself and all mankind.” ~~ John G. Diefenbaker

FELDSTED: The back-room dealings, controversy, rumours scandal, and secrecy are an object lesson in why governments should not be involved with or support business enterprises of any kind


Defence lawyers receive heavily censored memo to Trudeau about Mark Norman's case.
Murray Brewster ~~ CBC News ~~ Mar 28, 2019

A 60-page memo about Vice-Admiral Mark Norman's breach of trust case — written by the country's top federal bureaucrat to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau — has been delivered to Norman's lawyers with its contents almost completely blacked out.

Norman's defence team isn't happy with the redaction and plans to fight it in court.

The Department of Justice claims the document is subject to solicitor-client privilege and cannot be completely disclosed.

Marie Henein, Norman's lead counsel, has alleged political interference in the prosecution of the former head of the navy. Norman is accused of leaking cabinet secrets related to a $668 million shipbuilding deal

CLICK HERE to read the full story:


What the heck is going on?

Media reports last week alleged that Jody Wilson-Raybould had written a 60-page memo to Trudeau about appointment of Manitoba Judge Joyal to the Supreme Court. Now we discover a 60-page memo from Wernick to Trudeau on the Admiral Normand case.

It is unlikely that there are two separate 60 page documents we don’t know about, blanked out or not. It is too much of a coincidence to be credible. The PMO rumour mill is tripping over itself.


Claiming privilege, and the right to secrecy, is not appropriate in a criminal proceeding. Wernick is not separate from the PMO despite efforts to make it appear so. Wernick is also Secretary to the Cabinet which makes him part of the PMO, not apart from it.

There is a major battle on between Norman’s defence lawyers and the government:

In the background, Scott Brison, who was president of the Treasury Board during the alleged Norman misdeed resigned, and within a couple of weeks landed up with the Bank of Montreal. It turns out that the BMO has a significant stake in the Trans-Mountain purchase.

More on that later. https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/briefing/article-bmo-warns-of-vicious-fallout-if-trans-mountain-pipeline-project-dies/

Then we have this: Morneau unveils principles for Indigenous ownership in Trans Mountain pipeline.

What is that all about?

We need to get Trans Mountain Pipeline back in private ownership, but I don’t see financing the purchase and expansion through indigenous bands. Building maintaining, and operating pipelines is a highly specialized field. We need to rebuild investor confidence in oil patch development and adding an indigenous factor will not be helpful. This looks more line a vote-buying ploy than a sound business plan.

All of the back-room dealings, controversy, rumours, scandal and secrecy are an object lesson in why governments should not be involved with or support business enterprises of any kind.

Governments need to develop a level playing field for all investors and business people -- and allow fair competition and market forces to work to our advantage. 

Entrepreneurs don’t gamble in Vegas and flee any nation where they suspect the dice are loaded in favour of local corporations or government favourites. We are getting some insight into just how bad it can get.

John Feldsted
Political Consultant & Strategist
Winnipeg, Manitoba

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

FORSETH -- Given the noted infractions of this agreement with OneBC leader Dallas Brodie, I request the Party immediate suspend the leadership campaign of Yuri Fulmer

I have personally emailed the following to the Board and Administration of the Conservative Party of BC:   TODAY (03/30) Yuri Fulmer, a candidate for the leadership of the Conservative Party of BC, made a pact with ONEBC leader Dallas Broldie, that if he is elected will commit the Conservative Party to the following. Specifically, the pact states : This Memorandum of Understanding outlines the definitive electoral and governing alliance that will be executed upon Yuri Fulmer’s election as Leader of the Conservative Party of British Columbia OneBC Party commits to not nominating or authorizing candidates in 88 of British Columbia’s 93 electoral districts. In exchange, the Conservative Party of BC, under the leadership of Yuri Fulmer, commits to not nominating or authorizing candidates in five (5) specific electoral districts . OneBC will be the sole standard-bearer for the right in those five districts. The specific ridings will be determined through mutual negotiation and fin...
Post a Comment
Read more

Delays to the replacement of the Red Bridge? Kamloops North Thompson MLA Ward Stamer says they are, “Totally Unacceptable.”

I think it’s totally unacceptable that on one hand the Ministry of Transportation and Transit (MoTT) is saying they’re going to be responsible for putting together multiple replacement options with public engagement, and then in the same breath they're saying, ‘Oh, and by the way, we're going to start our geotechnical environmental and archaeological site assessments on both sides of the river, possibly beginning this summer.’ According to Stamer, that should already have been done. “Obviously, we're pretty sure it will be in the same location because there's really no other place to put it. So, if you're going to put in a bridge, you think that at least you'd be doing the archaeological assessments first off”, stated Stamer.   “If it's determined it has to be a free-span bridge, and it can't have anything or very minimal impact in the riverbed, they should already be determining that. It would help in the design, wouldn't it?” Stamer indicated...
Post a Comment
Read more

Your government has a gambling problem (Troy Media)

Provinces call it “revenue,” but it looks a lot like exploitation of the marginalized The odds of winning Lotto Max are about 1 in 33 million. You’re statistically more likely to be struck by lightning than to win it. But your government is betting that statistics won’t hold you back; they’re counting on it. Across Canada, provincial governments not only regulate gambling, they also maintain a monopoly on lottery and gaming by owning and operating the entire legal market. That means every scratch card is government-issued, gambling odds are government-set, casino ads are government-funded and lottery billboards are government-paid. And these are not incidental government activities. They generate significant revenues that governments have powerful incentives to expand, not constrain. It would be one thing for our governments to encourage us to engage in healthy activities. We can quibble about whether the government should be trying to convince us to be more active or eat more vegetabl...
Post a Comment
Read more

Labels

Show more