2012 Halton Walk:

Sat June 9 from St Thomas Aquinas High School, 124 Dorval Dr, Oakville
Registration 8:30 am, walk 9:30 am * may register to walk, sponsor a granny or make a pledge online *
Halton Walk contact email: lorrainegreen@bell.net
Burlington Ubuntu Grandwomen website: www.thebug.ca

 1.  Last fall, Environment Canada prevented Dr. David Tarasick from speaking to journalists about his ozone layer research, work that had been published in the British journal Nature.

2.  Earlier, the Privy Council Office stopped Kristina Miller, a researcher at Fisheries and Oceans Canada, from granting interviews about her work—findings that had been published in the journal Science on the causes of sockeye salmon decline in British Columbia.

These two examples are cited in an open letter to the Prime Minister from Peter McMahon, president of the Canadian Science Writers’ Association, and the heads of five other similar organizations.  They go on to say,  “Despite promises that your government would follow principles of accountability and transparency, federal scientists are still not allowed to speak to reporters without the ‘consent’ of media relations officers.  Delays in obtaining interviews are often unacceptable and journalists are repeatedly denied interviews.  Increasingly, journalists have simply given up trying to access scientists, while scientists at work in federal departments are under undue pressure in an atmosphere dominated by political messaging.”

In a highly unusual move, the journal Nature published on February 29^th an editorial stating that, “Since Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s Conservative Party won power in 2006, there has been a gradual tightening of media protocols for federal scientists and other government workers.  Researchers who once would have felt comfortable responding freely and promptly to journalists are now required to direct inquiries to a media-relations office, which demands written questions in advance, and might not permit scientists to speak.”  The editorial points out that, in contrast to these requirements, scientists in U.S. agencies such as the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) are free to speak to journalists without the approval of a public-affairs officer.

One might have thought that science would be the last place where one would find suppression of evidence for political or ideological reasons.  Welcome to the brave new world of the Harper Government!

Submitted by: David Goodings, Burlington

Any Burlington voter who received a suspicious phone call or who believes they may have fallen victim to a vote suppression tactic in the last general election is encouraged to contact Elections Canada to report their experience.  Follow this link to an online form to send your comments directly to Elections Canada: 

http://www.liberal.ca/newsroom/blog/election-fraud-watch/

This issue is extremely serious, and it is not going away. Some of the alleged violations, including falsely impersonating Elections Canada, go beyond a violation of the Elections Canada Act and may even contravene the Criminal Code.

This is another example of how this Conservative government operates, resorting to dirty tricks and disrespecting Canadian democracy.

Thank you for your co-operation. 

Please join the conversation.  We want to hear from you.  Call us, email us, or attend a meeting or event.

Here are notes from some of the latest discussions:

BFLA Riding Renewal Summary 2011

2012 National Liberal Convention priority resolutions

Please see the attached statements from Interim Leader Bob Rae, and Critic for Multiculturalism, Jim Karygiannis.

Bob Rae Statement – English

Critic Statement – English

Bob Rae Statement – French

Critic Statement – French

When: Tuesday, Feb 14 – 7:30 pm

Where: Thinkspot. 492 Locust St. Burlington

Agenda includes regular updates from Executive members, followed by a discussion with our special guest speaker, Joey Edwardh from Community Development Halton.

Please join us!  Email info@bfla.ca for more information.

http://www.torontosun.com/2012/02/03/canadians-want-oas-at-65-poll

The Ipsos Reid numbers are even worse for Harper:

http://www.globalnews.ca/most+canadians+against+oas+eligibility+changes+poll/6442572767/story.html

On Thursday, January 18th, the Liberal family lost a good man, a friend and one of its most dedicated and loyal supporters.

Bev Butler worked on every provincial and federal campaign for decades. No one ever had to ask him to pitch in, no job was too small, his support of our candidates unwavering.

Politics and the Liberal Party were his passions. There was nothing he enjoyed more than discussing and analyzing election results, and planning and strategizing the next campaign.

It will be strange for all us who knew him to walk into the campaign office for the next election and not see Bev there.

We will miss you, Bev.

The Butler family will receive visitors Sunday at Smith’s on Guelph Line – 3-5 pm and 7-9 pm.

The funeral will be Monday morning at 10:30 am at St. Raphael’s Church on New Street.