RCMP to investigate the Looters In Suits $50 million expenditure 100km from Huntsville (un-approved G8 spending)

RCMP finally investigates Muskoka’s G8 ‘Legacy Infrastructure’ « the reeves report
Excerpt from The Reeves Report:
Because of an election-time early leak of the Auditor General’s G8 report which I wrote about here, many opposition MP’s were suspicious of the way in which funds were spent during the G8/G20 debacle. According to the Montreal Gazette,
“the audit also found millions of dollars worth of projects — including
construction of public washrooms and gazebos — were authorized without
approval from department officials, and ended up having little to do
with their original purpose, presented to Parliament as funding for
‘border infrastructure.’”


$50K for a gazeebo 100km from Huntsville. Border Infrastructure. Huh.


What it comes down to, G8/G20 rioting or no, is that
Canadian taxpayers from coast-to-coast should not be paying for
“beautification projects” from a “legacy fund” in the Conservative
riding of Perry Sound-Muskoka just because the riding is held by a loyal
Conservative whose constituents didn’t embarrass the Prime Minister
when Obama was looking. These kind of rewards simply
reinforce the notion that patronage payments will be made to
Conservative ridings, and if you’re stupid enough to live outside the
Tory world, well nuts to you.


And while I am not suggesting that Toronto should have received funds because of the rioting, I am suggesting that as a good will gesture to the citizens of Toronto from their
Prime Minister, whether they voted for him or not, Stephen Harper
should not have been so callous as to tell Toronto to go to hell and
sleep in the bed they made. Which is pretty well what happened.


While there is no way for the RCMP to investigate the motive
behind the decision to award Perry Sound-Muskoka for not causing a
fuss, that would be amazing. Sadly, an investigation into the sketchy
truth of the matter will have to suffice. I won’t hold my breath for
restitution on behalf of the City of Toronto, but if something
unscrupulous led to our being left to lick our wounds alone, I am in
favour of finding out what happened.

Harper government lied to parliament, and may have broken the law funneling G8 money to Tony Clement's riding

Tories misinformed Parliament on G8 fund: Auditor general - thestar.com
Excerpt:

OTTAWA—The auditor general says the Harper government misinformed
Parliament to win approval for a $50-million G8 fund that lavished money
on dubious projects in a Conservative riding.

And she suggests the process may have been illegal.

The findings are contained in a confidential report Sheila Fraser was to have tabled in Parliament on April 5.

The report was put on ice when the Harper government was defeated and is not due to be released until after the May 2 election.

However, a Jan. 13 draft of the chapter on the G8 legacy infrastructure fund was seen by The Canadian Press.

It reveals that Industry Minister
Tony Clement, the mayor of Huntsville, and the general manager of
Deerhurst Resort chose the 32 projects that received funding — with no
regard for the needs of the summit or the conditions laid down by the
government.

G8 Roundup

G8 leaders criticise Gaza blockade - Americas - Al Jazeera English
The leaders of the G8 Summit decided on the following:
- The would like to see Israel ease the blockade of Gaza
- They would like the Afghan government to make progress within 5 years of looking after it's own internal security, and for a reduction of corruption and drug production and trafficking, and an improvement to human rights and basic services
- They would like Iran to hold a transparent dialogue over its nuclear enrichment program
- Noted the efforts of Turkey and Brazil to broker a deal with Iran over its nuclear program
- Condemned the attack on the attack on the South Korean vessel, the Cheonan, which was allegedly perpetrated by North Korea
- They agreed that economic global recovery is still fragile
- They pledged $5 billion in aid over 5 years to reduce deaths among mothers and newborn children in Africa (5 years ago, the pledge was to increase this aid up to $50 billion by 2010)

G20:
Will focus mainly on economic issues, either to cut or spend to economic recovery.
The USA supports continued stimulus. European countries are leaning towards cutting.

Police union upset for being called out on something that police have done at other protests

Police union calls for Sid Ryan to resign over ‘inflammatory’ comment - thestar.com
The police union is upset that Sid Ryan suggested that the police might plant undercover officers in the G8/G20 protest crowd to incite violence. It is something that has been done (and caught) at other protests, including a 2007 protest in Quebec.
I think, instead of the police union getting upset, they should reassure the public that they won't be involved in such practices. I think it was actually responsible of Sid Ryan to bring up this issue so protesters will keep an eye out for people stirring up trouble and thus avoid adding to the trouble at the protest.

Conservative Fiscal Mismanagement - June 9, 2010 Update

Pondscam, G20 spending and security issues, Jets.

If you haven't been living in a cave, then you have probably heard about most of these issues.
To summarize:

Pondscam/G20
The Harper Conservative government has decided to spend $1.9 million on a temporary pavilion that will included a fake lake - right beside Lake Ontario! It is only for visiting journalists and people cleared for G20 access! They have also spent millions more on various things around cottage country (in ridings with Conservative MPs), supposedly for the couple of days that the G8 visitors will be in Huntsville, but in many areas far away from Huntsville! And, of course you know that the bill for security for the few days of the G8/G20 is about $1.1 BILLION! - which is many times more than the most expensive bill for security in other countries previous to this summit (including the USA and Britain).

Security issues for G8/G20
The Harper Conservatives got the RCMP to select a security company for the summit security. The company they selected is from the USA. Security companies working in Ontario must be licensed to work here. It usually takes months to clear the license application. The RCMP and the Conservatives didn't think about that. So, they have left the Ontario government to scramble to speed up the licensing process.

Jets
Canada, up until the Paul Martin Liberal and now the Harper Conservative government, has a military know for its peacekeeping role in the world. For this purpose, you would think that you would not need a lot of fighter jets. Admittedly, we probably need to modernize our military equipment. But 65 new fighter jets! You would not need this many new fighter jets unless you were seriously threatened with invasion from a neighbouring nation (which we aren't), or, you wanted to wage an offensive war against another nation. We are involved as aggressors in an illegal war in Afghanistan. And we are planning on pulling out next year. So, what do we need all these jets for (which cost an awful lot of money: $9 BILLION)?

Links
Pondscam/G8/G20
Pondscam
Fake lakes and fiscal mismanagement
Lemme get this straight; more tax dollars so Steve can pretend to be green?
Will Stephen Harper's Conservatives DROWN in the fake lake - er - I mean the Water Feature?
Dumbest excuse put forth to defend Conservative fake lake
Stephen Harper and the Drowning Pool
One other thing $1 billion buys
The Fake Lake
From fountains to gardens to buried hydrants, it's a new world in the near North - Toronto Star
Water's for fighting (Central Canada Edition)
Conservatives get caught using G8/G20 as a reason to throw Billions into key federal ridings
Mea Culpa: It's a $1.9 million alley, not just a fake lake
photos of projects in cottage country - Toronto Star
Mad hatters, ScamWow - and the summit circus continues

Security company hired by RCMP for G20 not licensed in Ontario - Globe & Mail

Jets
Canada needs 65 fighter jets?

Protesting G8/G20 - part one

An Invitation: From Copenhagen to Toronto | Toronto Community Mobilization Network
The Group of 8 Leaders and the Group of 20 Leaders are meeting in
Ontario, from the 25th to the 27th of June, 2010.

Following the collapse of the Copenhagen Climate Summit, they will
be discussing the global economy, development and climate change.

These gatherings are about trying to fix capitalism, a system that
cannot be fixed; about creating unsustainable trading solutions to
ecological catastrophe; about ensuring the continued exploitation of
people of colour and the South and about celebrating war as a means to
create puppet allies and maintain imperialist power. The so-called
leaders at these gatherings do not represent us. ...

NO to sound cannons at G20 Summit in Toronto & other notes
1. Common sense out of the RCMP on this one: "Mounties
shun ‘sound cannons’ in urban settings ahead of G20." A few points
here...the RCMP reviewed the use of the "Long Range Acoustic Devices"
and decided they weren't for crowd-control. The Vancouver Police also
committed for the Olympics not
to use the alert function on these cannons. Further, the Globe report
contains another warning from a doctor at Sick Kids about the prospect
of hearing damage. As this writer put it, "...there
but for a cool-headed officer at the controls, the entire grassroots of
our city could be chancing hearing loss." I think we can fairly
offer up a resounding NO to the use of these devices at the G20 and
beyond. The risk is too great for citizens to bear.

They Don't Value Democracy
...
Protesters in the streets are essential in a democracy. If there is
civil unrest, the media needs to see it, otherwise it’s assumed all is
well. The more than $1,100,000,000.00 the Conservatives are spending of
our tax money to HIDE and suppress protest at the G20 meetings, is an
attack on democracy in this country. Its not
Harper’s first attack on our democracy and freedoms, and it’s
probably not the last.

G8/20 Toronto Community Mobilization

Toronto Community Mobilization Network | collaborating for change in toronto and the world
Information, workshops, resistance. Get informed. Spread the word.

May 21, 2010 

 

This statement is being released by the Toronto Community Mobilization
Network after being incorrectly quoted and incorrectly represented in
the mainstream media. 

 

Please forward to alternative media sites, social justice listservs, on
blogs and other social media. 

 

The Toronto Community Mobilization Network is *not* an umbrella group.
The Toronto Community Mobilization Network is *not *organizing any
actions. 

 

So what does the Toronto Community Mobilization Network do? The Toronto
Community Mobilization Network works to support education, outreach,
infrastructure such as food and housing, coordinate legal and medic
teams, and community based mobilizations leading up to and during the
G20 Summit in Toronto. We do so within the framework of solidarity and
respect (http://g20.torontomobilize.org/SolidarityRespect). 

 

A calendar of events from June 21-27, 2010 is hosted on our website so
that people struggling for social justice are able to attend events that
fit their political viewpoint and their expectations of effectiveness
and safety. The Toronto Community Mobilization Network does not speak
for these individual actions. 

 

The Toronto Community Mobilization Network organizes for justice and
dignity through supporting community groups and concerned residents to
share their outrage and their hope in the months leading up to and
during the G8/G20 Summits in June 2010. 

 

"The G8/G20 causes immense violence on Indigenous people, poor people,
on women and on people of color around the world. The G20 and its banks
are responsible for the global financial meltdown and the resulting
austerity measures that have deprived many communities of choices", says
Syed Hussan of the Toronto Community Mobilization  Network. 

 

"Canada hosts the Tar Sands, exists on stolen native land, has enforced
exclusionary immigration policy, cut social support for women and poor
communities, is inaccessible to disAbled people and has been named as
one of the worst global environmental culprits time and again", he adds.

 

"Communities in Canada and around the world oppose Canada and the G20
policies and in their place are implementing their own people based
solutions to resolve the ongoing economic and social crises in our
lives", says Sharmeen Khan of the Network.

 

Khan adds, "Forms of resistance and solutions are diverse because the
majority of communities impacted by the G20 are not homogenous.  But our
diverse communities are our strength and we respect and learn from
these different alternative perspectives."

 
http://g20.torontomobilize.org/