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Trading shots over carbon caps RICHARD MAHONEY RICHARD.MAHONEY@EAP.ON.CA OTTAWA | “Lies.”
Fearless predictions
generate more than $20 billion in govern- ment revenues. “It would be the average Canadian that would pay more on every- thing to generate this $20 billion for the NDP. Clearly this is not a true «Cap and Trade Program.» Only the NDP could im- pose a staggering $20 billion government revenue scheme on the Canadian taxpay- er and not call it a tax.” More impaired driving charges More area motorists were charged with impaired driving this holiday season than during the 2011-2012 festive period. In the eastern region, Ontario Provincial Police officers laid 144 charges and issued 165 suspensions during the Festive Re- duce Impaired Driving Everywhere blitz, reports Sergeant Kristine Rae. In the 2011-2012 campaign, officers laid 114 charges and issued 90 suspensions. The O.P.P. East region includes Prescott- Russell, Stormont-Dundas-Glengarry as well as the Upper Ottawa Valley, Killaloe, Bancroft, and Prince Edward and Fronte- nac counties. The increase reflects a prov- ince-wide trend. The O.P.P. is disappointed that the num- ber of motorists charged with impaired driving over the holidays is the highest it has been when compared to the last eight campaigns. During the 2012-2013 blitz, O.P.P. officers charged 693 persons with having a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) over 0.08 (or over 80 milligrams). Of- ficers also issued a total of 625 suspen- sions to motorists caught driving with a BAC between 0.05 and 0.08 (or between 50 and 80 milligrams). During the 2011-2012 program, officers charged 682 motorists with impaired driving and issued suspen- sions to 583 drivers. “We had hoped to see these numbers decrease significantly dur- ing this year’s campaign, in light of how much harder we have worked to educate the public about the dangers of drinking and driving,”said O.P.P. Commissioner Chris Lewis. “Impaired driving continues to be the leading cause of criminal death in Canada and it is disappointing that we still have Ontario drivers who feel entitled to place other road users at risk of losing their lives to an impaired driver,” Lewis added.
children’s overall health. During a power outage, stuck at home with nothing to do, children will begin ex- ploring an incredible, free resource – the great outdoors. Obesity rates will plum- met, fitness levels will increase, and every- one will sleep better. Parents’ stress levels and drug use will drop. As unprecedented numbers of children begin playing outside, children will discov- er sliding, skating, and snow-fort construc- tion. Youngsters will enjoy impromptu games, without any parental interference. In the midst of this merriment, a group of concerned parents will be formed. The prime reason for their fretting will be that when kids are having fun, somebody is bound to get hurt. But the group will be quickly grounded when its web page is hacked by a 12-year-old. Downhill skiers will be thrilled as heaps of snow in parking lots can be easily con- verted into slalom courses. Of course, somebody will contend that this weather disproves all this nonsense about climate change. Got the munchies: The Hawkesbury Chamber of Commerce’s podcasts, entitled “Le buzz des affaires,” will become a huge success, attracting attention from consum- ers from all cyberspace. Interest will spike when the Buzz podcasts will be found by late-night self-medicating Internet surfers in Oregon, who will mistake the promos for a pot-smoking swingers’ chat room. Surfing The Nation: In the spring, all that snowwill melt, creating fabulous whitewa- ter rafting conditions, on the South Nation River. Of course, somebody will contend that the record run-off has something to do with climate change. The summer will be hot and dry. Condi- tions will be the same as they were in 2012 but people will swear they have never en- countered such harsh summer weather. Climate change? People will be too hot and bothered to even consider the topic. Farmers and gardeners will begin diver- sifying, experimenting with watermelon and peanut crops. Municipalities will offer tax breaks to homeowners who own rain barrels and get rid of swimming pools. In the fall, a fourth Tim Horton’s outlet will open in Hawkesbury. The EasternOntario Health Unit will warn that greater access to high-speed Internet will lead to even more sedentary lifestyles, and a whole slew of related health issues. Hawkesbury’s downtown will be official- ly declared a ghost town. A new tourist at- traction will be created when zombies take over Main Street. The town of Hawkesbury’s economic de- velopment strategy will be finalized. The municipality will immediately seek federal and provincial grants to hire consultants to explain what the strategy actually means. So, there you have some of the items that may be getting your attention in 2013. Remember, before you start firing off e- mails, these predictions are not to be taken too seriously. However, as they say, anything can hap- pen.
With the arrival of a new year, we look forward to new possibilities, fresh starts, new desk calendars, new promises to be broken, etc. In the tabloid newspaper business, we are wont to summon our prescient pow- ers, shine up the crystal ball and attempt to predict what will be making headlines in the year that is about to unfold. So let us imagine what might occur in 2013. OMG, carried: Pervasive technology will continue to pervade everything as govern- ments at all levels will use social media to try to gauge public opinion and politicians strive to demonstrate how cool and cur- rent they really are. Area school boards, whose relevance is being gradually eroded by provincial edicts, will do away with old-fashioned meetings, opting instead to simply await orders from Toronto. Always on the cutting edge, the united counties of Prescott-Russell will introduce “Connections,” a real-time, interactive doo-dad that will permit voters to offer instantaneous feedback to comments and decisions made by officials during county council sessions. Initially, there will be lit- tle reaction from the public, primarily be- cause the meetings begin at 9 a.m., when all Facebook addicts are still talking about what they had for breakfast and what they plan to eat for lunch. Hawkesbury will automatically copy the county’s initiative because the town’s un- official policy is that the counties always know best. The counties will undertake a massive consultation process in an effort to pro- mote and enhance its “Connections” pro- gram. The original plan will be to hold “town hall” meetings but that idea will be deleted when it will become evident few taxpayers can find their own town halls, even with the help of GPS. Online surveys and Facebook pages will be deployed to give people the im- pression that their views are important to somebody. Once the Process has been completed, there will be no formal recom- mendations presented, because officials will rightly conclude that the last thing we need is another report to put on a shelf. Snow Fun: The winter will turn into an old-fashioned snowfest, with snowbanks engulfing mailboxes and drifts enveloping street signs. Stop signs will disappear, re- emerging in April. On rural roads, vehicular traffic will be reduced to one lane; the other lane will be reserved for snowshoers and skiers. A new seasonal public transit systemwill be established on recreational trails, where passengers will huddle together on tobog- gans pulled by snowmobiles. The weather will be so vile that people, even teenagers, will bundle up all the time, not worrying about the perils of “toque head” or if snowpants make them look chubby. The number of Snow Days, when school bus transportation is cancelled but schools remain open, will reach a record number – 45. There will be a remarkable improve- ment in academic performance and in
That is how the Glengarry-Prescott- Russell New Democratic Party riding asso- ciation has termed a recent statement by Conservative MP Pierre Lemieux. In a brochure sent to constituents dur- ing the week of December 9, Lemieux warns that NDP leader Thomas Mulcair “advocates a job-killing carbon tax.” Denis Séguin, chief financial officer of the GPR NDP riding association, respond- ed, saying, “This is completely inaccurate. Pierre Lemieux and the Conservative Party love to lie about carbon taxes.” Yet Lemieux stands by his statement, contending that its “cap and trade” policy is in effect a carbon tax. In a letter to the editor, Séguin writes: “What the NDP would like to see is a cap- and-trade program to reduce greenhouse emissions. This is also what the Conser- vative Party campaigned on during the 2008 election. Their platform on this said: “Developing a cap-and-trade system to cut pollution and greenhouse gas emis- sions…” In 2011 after a new Conservative cabinet was sworn in, Environment Minis- ter Peter Kent said about cap-and-trade: “It can always be something to consider in the future.” (Toronto Star, May 19, 2011). The NDP position of cap-and-trade is to get polluters to pay for their carbon out- put. This is not the same thing as a carbon tax. Please Mr. Lemieux, be truthful about such matters.” Lemieux replied: “I stand by what I said that the NDP are committed to imposing a carbon tax on Canadians. Mr. Séguin argues that the NDP would implement a carbon «cap and trade program» as op- posed to a carbon tax.” Lemieux added that “it is critical to note” that the NDP has said its “cap and trade program” would
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