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I feel better already
My thanks to Jim Flaherty for his latest edict, "There are no bad jobs" I can now look forward to getting up in the morning with a spring in my step and a song in my heart and goodwill towards all men, forever and ever. Amen. Thanks, Jim. Watta dork, he of the Gov't pay cheque to be followed with a Gov't pension.
If at first you don't succeed, try again. Then quit. There's no point in being a damn fool about it. W. C. Fields
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Re: I feel better already
I am I the only one that is concerned that a former Taxi driver is running the countries finances?
Member
Re: I feel better already
It's okay; he got his practice in on Ontario
If a man speaks in the forest, and there's no woman around to hear him, is he still wrong
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Re: I feel better already
Geez, with that kind of background, he should be good at the driving this country into the ground.Originally Posted by red_langford
the other Ken
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I actually have enough clamps
Member
Re: I feel better already
I cant express how big of a "donkey" hole he is....
An arrogant, out of touch donkey.
I guess if we cant find a job in our trade, we all can referee hockey games like ole' Jim, eh?
Member
Re: I feel better already
I can think of one really bad job. Working for Harper. Just ask all the assistants who have worked for him and quickly left.
Moderator
Re: I feel better already
It seems that you may be able to become Finance Minister, based upon the qualifications of the incumbent.............Rod.
Member
Re: I feel better already
Are we allowed to now discuss politics or specific politicians on the forum. This is great , I'm glad it is no longer a violation of forum rules.
Member
Re: I feel better already
LOL Politics is always a thin line on any forum I have ever been on, keep the conversation civil and it will go places.
I am surprised, no shocked, at the tone of the conversation. I was on a hunting forum and any hint of displeasure with the Harper Government would get you flamed out beyond belief and that was by mods as well.
Happy to see civil discussion here. We can't all agree but it is nice to be respectful of another's point of view.
Member
Re: I feel better already
I am feeling really strange defending a politician but I do believe Flaherty did drive a Taxi while he was attending University.This in todays world is a real novel concept for a lot of young people,not all but a lot, paying your own way through University with a part time job. If you do not like our financial situation I suggest you move to Greece or elect Mulcaire who is taking aim at the oil industry in Western Canada as being the demise of the Economy for the rest of Canada. There must be some westerners that agree with me,lol.
Brian
" It is nice to be important but more important to be nice"
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Re: I feel better already
Brian, I agree and I think most would that everybody needs to pull their weight. I drove Taxi part time for extra money and it was what I needed to do, because I suck at managing money. It was the comment he made about people in wheelchairs, old people and indians all need to get to work. That was very very ignorant. I have no illusions about the system being abused by some, but the changes proposed will have an adverse effect on those who legitimately need the system. The suggestion that people should just move to where the jobs are is also ignorant. Having done this once, I can tell you it is not as easy as one may think. We now live in an area with no family and none of those long term friends that you grow to count on in life. I have a brand new appreciation of immigrants and what they must go through, and I moved within the same province.
Not all the Conservatives ideas are bad, but their refusal to listen to debate or opinions other than their own is very very concerning for me. As far as your Mulcair comment goes, it is pure speculation, or as they say in politics rhetoric. Mulcair is not against the oil sands, he is against the rapid and mass exploitation of them by mainly foreign interests at the cost of the economy in the rest of Canada. Should we ALL just up and move to Fort McMurray? Fact is the Liberals and the Conservatives have shown they are at times inept and corrupt and the NDP have not shown us this, they haven't had a chance to. I am fed up with both of them and am willing to try something different. I am not alone here as was shown in the last federal election.
I just wish we had 90%+ voter turnout. I have a theory that links the lack of voter turnout to the corruption in politics. It is truly in the politicians favour to have the low voter turnout.
Sorry long winded post.
Member
Re: I feel better already
The taxidriver comments are a tad ironic -- there's another news item about the number of cabdrivers qualified to practise medicine in other jurisdictions. Perhaps immigrants aren't as fussy. And politicians of all stripes can be insensitive. I recall Pierre Trudeau telling the unemployed that they could go to Elliot Lake and work in the mines.
One reality is that UIC officials have always given you a few weeks to find work in your own field, then insisted that you take what's on offer. Another reality is that you don't usually have to worry about that because employers won't hire you if you're overqualified. They know you'll be off the moment you get a better offer. What guys like mini Rafferty have to say doesn't usually have much impact at ground level.
Jim
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Re: I feel better already
As the OP to this thread my comment was not meant to be a political statement per say, more of an observation about the statement by the Minister itself. These type of blanket statements are usually indicate a lack of understanding about the subject. And as far as picking on the Conservatives I have voted in enough elections to know that there really isn't that much difference between them, they tell you what you want to hear, UNTIL they are elected.
If at first you don't succeed, try again. Then quit. There's no point in being a damn fool about it. W. C. Fields
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Re: I feel better already
Here's a westerner that agrees with you Brian. Unless we all have our head in the sand it's obvious what's carrying this country and it's also obvious who elects the governments. So if the electorate in Ontario and Quebec ever vote in Mulcaire and then watch him close the tap on the oil sands there will be a huge uproar in the west followed by a referendum of secession and frankly I'll be all for it and if anyone wants to know why you can PM me so I don't get in **** for expressing my opinion. In a nutshell Trudeau's NEP.
"Do it Right!"
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Re: I feel better already
Having a single industry support the country is an interesting idea, albeit close to fantasy. Last time I checked there are 10 provinces and 3 territories in this country and not just the one.
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Re: I feel better already
OK hands up those who who have actually taken the time to listen to the Mulcair interview. If you haven't then perhaps your opinion should be kept to yourself. If you have then you know he never suggested the oil sands (formerly known as the tar sands) be shut down. Apparently (according to some) if you are not from the west your opinion on how one of Canada's major resources be developed is worth zip. I'm not a Mulcair apologist but he is at least trying to get a dialogue going about responsible resource development. The track record of resource companies is abysmal as far as reclamation is concerned. Even Harpere's Conservatives admit there will be billions of dollars required to clean up old mine sites.
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Re: I feel better already
Hi Red. You've mentioned that you made a big relocation in your life. For the record so did I. Toronto to Edmonton in 1979. So we both know some local history involving very different parts of the country. My comment about what is carrying our economy is just my opinion so flush it if you want. By the way Saskatchewan is developing oil sands too and the Maritimes is into off shore oil. I know i didn't mention that because I was addressing mainly the West. Reality is reality and if you want to believe that all 10 provinces and territories are contributing equally that's your choice. If you're opposed to the equalization payments that's OK too.
The last time the government shut off the tap the results were devastating in Alberta. You can read up on it if you sincerely want to know the facts.
That's why I'm offering my opinion and warning. Once again it's just my opinion.
"Do it Right!"
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Re: I feel better already
Dennis:
My hand is up.
With regard to the oil sands and (1) can you suggest what exactly is irresponsible about the development. The way his remarks and your comments were phrased it presumes irresponsible development. So, if we are to presume that, then what exactly is the discussion about? i.e some specific issues... Without being specific, how can there be any kind of reasonable discussion?
In regards to (2), are we discussing mining companies to Oil Sands companies? They are two different issues with require entirely different approaches. Remember that our family companies own mines and claims so I am familiar with some of the issues -- so I don't want to see the oil sands and mineral extraction conflated.
With respect to three (3), you say that billions of dollars will be required to clean up old mine sites maybe you can suggest which ones you are thinking of. None come to mind here. Are you thinking of Canada? -- or China?
From an engineering point of view, suggesting that something is "dirty" and needs to be fixed is not helpful. Revealing a specific issue and the nature of the "dirt" is helpful since it can then be quantified and addressed -- and perhaps an engineering solution can be devised.
Without that kind of an approach it just seems to be complaints -- perhaps baseless, perhaps well founded -- but how are we to know?
However, this is not about jobs -- but it does seem like good ideas for a whole new thread.
According to this interview he claims we are (1) letting companies use air, soil and water as an unlimited free dumping ground" and mining tar sands and compares it to a "factory making a product pushing the waste out the back into the river". However there seems to be no examples of where this occurring -- so I assume it's just rhetoric.
http://www.sunnewsnetwork.ca/video/1632810245001
I know of no such occurrences where people are designing their operations this way. Can you think of one?
Last edited by willr; 05-21-2012 at 12:03 PM.
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Will
“There is something fascinating about science. One gets such wholesale returns of conjecture out of such a trifling investment of fact.” —- Mark Twain
Moderator
Re: I feel better already
Re: Clean up of mine sites. Just off the top of my head Sudburys' "Roast Beds", and several huge areas in the Yukon come to mind.
When all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail.
Member
Re: I feel better already
Hoss:
I cannot argue that it wasn't happening:
Sudburys' "Roast Beds"
http://www.sudbury2011.ca/2007Presen...er%20Nosko.pdf
http://www.northernlife.ca/news/loca...8-soilTOP.aspx- Roasting yards were an early method of separating valuable minerals from rock. The first roast yard, where crushed ore from pits was piled on beds of cordwood, was built in Dec. 1886. Between 1890 and 1930, 28 million tonnes of ore was smelted primarily in the open. After 1920, ore was mechanically smelted indoors. Until the process stopped in 1929, “they released about 10 million tonnes of sulphur dioxide at ground level, killing plants and acidifying soils...open-bed roasting was a cheap but ultimately inefficient method, as it allowed some of the nickel and copper to be washed into the soil by rains.” In 1916 one former resident of the community near the O’Donnell roast yard said there were days when “I could not see my hand in front of my face.”I think the claim that we are dealing with is that it "is" happening...
I know, I know, "Well, it depends on the meaning of "is"."
That is interesting history from 80 years ago -- I believe that Thomas Mulcair and Dennis were referring to "today".
To put this in context, this is not argument that jobs in resource extraction are bad. Maybe some politicians need to be a rig pig in the oil fields for a while and grunt labor on the oil sands. They might learn something.
Reports on Sudbury:
http://sudburysoilsstudy.com/EN/indexE.htm
See here: Helath Risk Conclusions:
http://sudburysoilsstudy.com/EN/medi...y_May01_08.pdf
The main conclusions from the detailed human health risk assessment for the Greater Sudbury study area are as follows (And as I recall the results are/were unexpected):1. Based on current conditions in the Sudbury area, the study predicted little risk of health effects on Sudbury area residents associated with metals in thefwiw
environment.
2. There were no unacceptable health risks predicted for exposure to four of the six Chemicals of Concern studied: arsenic, copper, cobalt, and selenium.
3. The risk calculated for typical exposures to lead in the environment throughout the Greater Sudbury area are within acceptable benchmarks for protection of
human health. However, levels of lead in some soil samples indicate a potential risk of health effects for young children in Copper Cliff , Coniston, Falconbridge and Sudbury Centre.
• Lead levels in soils and dust in the Sudbury area are similar to levels in other older urban communities in Ontario.
4. The study calculated a risk of respiratory inflammation from lifetime exposures (70 years) to airborne nickel in two areas: Copper Cliff and the western portion
of Sudbury Centre.
• Respiratory inflammation has been linked to the promotion of cancer caused by other agents;
• Based on the conservative assumptions and approaches used in this risk assessment, it is unlikely that any additional respiratory cancers will result from nickel exposure over the 70-year lifespan considered in the risk assessment;
• Health risks related to nickel inhalation were not identified in the other communities of interest.
5. Anglers, hunters and First Nations people who may consume more local and wild game are at no greater risk of health effects due to metals in the environment than the general population.
Last edited by willr; 05-21-2012 at 01:32 PM. Reason: formatting
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Will
“There is something fascinating about science. One gets such wholesale returns of conjecture out of such a trifling investment of fact.” —- Mark Twain
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