Schreiber refuses to testify before the HOC Ethics Committee

Karlheinz Schreiber appeared before the HOC ethics committee this morning and refused to testify.

From the G&M: I won't testify now: Schreiber

In an opening statement before the Commons ethics committee, Mr. Schreiber said he is “unwilling at this time to testify” until he knows how long the stay on his extradition will be.

“Until the court hearing in Toronto tomorrow [regarding] the length of the stay, I am unwilling at this time to testify,” he said, referring to a motion that will be heard Friday by Ontario's Court of Appeal.

I had a chance to listen to exerpts from his testimony and I could not believe the arrogance of Mr. Schreiber. He would not even answer whether or not he had paid any money to anyone. It is the basis of his allegation that he filed less than a month ago. Surely he could have even admit this by saying ‘yes’ or ‘no’

Ccommittee chair Paul Szabo, also indicated that he will provide Mr. Schreiber with an advance list of questions that the committee intends to ask him. What is he thinking? He clearly is being played here and it does not even look like he realize it.

The opposition members of the HOC are once again allowing themselves to be played. Mr. Schreiber’s interest is not in shedding any light on his business dealings with former Prime Minister, Brian Mulroney. The only interest he has is to remain in Canada and avoid extradition to face fraud and tax-evasion charges. The Conservative government should do us all a favour and extradite Mr. Schreiber back to Germany ASAP.

If Schreiber Refuses to Speak before the Ethics Committee tomorrow -Deport him

So it seems that Karlheinz Schreiber is once again up to his old tricks. His lawyer, Edward Greenspan has said that Schreiber is unlikely to cooperate before the HOC ethics committee, where he is scheduled to appear tomorrow.

It is amazing how far the opposition is willing to bend to accommodate his demands. Schreiber has once again managed to manipulate the HOC, Supreme Court and the ethics committee and is doing an effective job of making them look like fools. In any other country with an ounce of self-respect, Schreiber would have been deported long ago.

I think that its time that someone with a backbone gives him an ultimatum to either "put up or shut up". If Schreiber refuses to talk tomorrow, he should be considered as having given up his right to testify and should immediately be put on a plane to Germany to face fraud, bribery and tax evasion charges.

Karlheinz Schreiber the master manipulator

Karlheinz Schreiber seems to be trying his best to manipulate our government, the justice system, the Supreme Court and the House of Commons at the same time, and sadly it looks like he is succeeding.

First, with just weeks away from being extradited to Germany, he changed his sworn testimony that he gave during the famous Airbus inquiry. Previously he denied giving money to former Prime Minister, Brian Mulroney while he was in office, but then changes his story to say that the Former Prime Minister received money just days before demitting office.

Last week, he said that he would not testify if he were extradited to Germany. This is after he had previously said that the motive of his latest allegations were not to extend his stay in Canada, but to ensure that Canadians knew the truth about his business dealings with former Prime Minister Mulroney.

On Thursday, he asked for a get out of jail free card, so that he could go to his home in Ottawa for a few nights for the purposes of searching for some papers.

Yesterday, he sent a rambling press release saying that he is willing to appear before the HOC ethics committee, but first he wants some answers from Federal Justice Minister, Rob Nicholson.

I’ve got to give it to this fellow. He is a master manipulator and is trying to extract all kinds of demands in exchange of his testimony. My hope is that the Canadian people will not be fooled by the about face in his testimony and see him for what he is. “A manipulator to the highest degree”.

Karlheinz Schreiber to testify before the HOC ethics committee

A motion before the HOC ethics committee to study the so-called Mulroney-Schreiber affair and to request Mr. Schreiber to testify "without delay" passed easily today with the support of the three opposition parties.

Schreiber to testify before committee

So it looks like Karlheinz Schreiber could be called before the HOC parliamentary committee as early as next week.

It will be interesting to hear what Schreiber will have to say. How will he explain the inconsistencies in his previously sworn statements? How will he handle himself under cross-examination? Stay tuned for next week.

Ontario Premier McGuinty’s latest tantrum

Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty recently has been making a lot of noise regarding the number of new ridings allocated to Ontario if the new Federal government bill to increase the number of ridings in the HOC is passed. This criticism drew a strong rebuke from government house leader, Peter Van Loan.

As it stands now, there are 308 Federal ridings and the new bill would add 22 more to increase the number of seats to 330.

According to this bill the new seats will be distributed as follows

• 10 in Ontario
• 7 in British Columbia
• 5 in Alberta

What Mr. McGuinty conveniently failed to mention was that he did not have a problem with the number of new Federal ridings allocated to Ontario in 2004, when former Liberal Prime Minister, Paul Martin, was in power. This new bill received royal assent on March 11th, 2004.

Lets look at the number of new seats that were allocated in that bill that increased the number of Federal ridings in Canada from 301 to 308.

• 3 in Ontario
• 2 in British Columbia
• 2 in Alberta

Was Mr. McGuinty Premier of Ontario back then? Yes. Did he protest the number of seats allocated to Ontario to Paul Martin’s Liberal government back then? I don’t think so. And it was a worst deal for Ontario compared to the number of seats they are getting right now. So if he did not have a problem with a worst deal for Ontario when his Federal Liberal cousins were in power, but now has a problem when Ontario gets a better deal with the Tories in power, you just have to wonder what his motives are.

Former Liberal Prime Minister Jean Chretien says inquiries are not the best solution

Former Prime Minister Jean Chretien suggested to reporters that a public inquiry may not be the best way to get to the bottom of the Mulroney-Schreiber affair.

Hmmm, an interesting perspective coming from a former Liberal Prime Minister

"It's not the best way to solve problems," Chretien told reporters, in his first media appearance since undergoing heart bypass surgery last month. "We have police for these things. But there will be an inquiry, so we will live with an inquiry."

Meanwhile, the Liberals are not content with the fact that the Prime Minister, have called the public inquiry that they have been demanding for. The Liberals are interfering in the inquiry, at a time when it should be totally free of political interference.

Stephane Dion sends letter to David Johnston

My contention is that it is totally ridiculous for Mr. Dion to be demanding that Mr. Johnston includes the PMO as part of the inquiry. The Mulronry/Schreiber issue happened almost 15 years ago the PMO did not have anything to do with the alleged Mulroney/Schreiber payment.

If the Liberals insist on widening the net of this inquiry, maybe it will expand enough to also include the dealings that members of the caucuses of last two Liberal Prime Ministers, Chretien and Martin had with Schreiber.

Maybe there may be some good for the Conservatives in having this inquiry go forward, as expressed by comments by Real Conservative and Joanne in the Joanne's Journey blog.

1. Way to put distance between the new CPC and the old PC party.
2. Way for Harper to show that he has no 'hidden agenda.'
3. Way for conservatives to link this to LPC, easy to do.
4. Way for CPC to show that LPC is not interested in current events.
5. Way for Harper to show that his natural leadership instinct is alive and well.
6. Way for the government to continue to get legislation through Parliament that was promised to Canadians long ago eg. getting tough on crime bills, etc." (Since the Liberals most likely will not pull the plug on this minority government while the inquiry goes on)

Why Karlheinz Schreiber should be extradited back to Germany

For once I am in agreement with CTV newsperson, Craig Oliver. Karlheinz Schreiber is a liar, manipulator and a blackmailer and should be sent back to Germany.

I was leaning towards allowing him to stay and testify until he threatened the federal government that he would not talk if extradited. Craig Oliver summed it up beautifully on yesterdays MDL and made a very convincing argument why he should be extradited back to Germany.

Schreiber latest threat tells me that he is not interested in Canadian justice and is only interested in saving his own skin. What we are dealing with a highly manipulative person who has had years to come forward with this information when he was not under any extradition threat and waits until he is literally 2 weeks away from being extradited to Germany before he gives this information in a sworn affidavit in court.

The other issue is that Mr. Schreiber has changed his story at least 3 times. His first story was that he did not pay former Prime Minister, Brian Mulroney. His second story was that he arranged to pay Brian Mulroney, but this happened after the former Prime Minister had left office and was a private citizen. Mr. Schreiber’s latest story is that he made a deal with Mr. Mulroney while he was still Prime Minister.

Mr. Schreiber clearly has some creditability problems. His dealings has not only tainted Canada, and left a nasty stench in our political system, but also have impacted German politics as well. He is largely responsible for the downfall of former German Chancellor, Helmut Kohl and former German opposition leader Wolfgang Schaeuble.

What is interesting is that Liberal human rights critic Irwin Cotler, who is now arguing for Schreiber to be allowed to stay in Canada, ordered Schreiber deported just 3 years ago in 2004 when Colter was the Liberal Minister of Justice. The Liberals and NDP, who have always accused the Conservatives of trying to manipulate the judiciary, are now demanding that the Conservative government do just that. By giving in to Liberal and NDP demands, we risk erroding the independence of our judiciary.

From the looks of this, an inquiry would just be a he/said he/said affair. It would boil down to choosing between a liar and an arrogant former Prime Minister. The Liberals consistently say, “They want the truth” The only problem is that the person who they are relying on for it is a liar, who has changed his story at least 3 times. How can they be sure that they are getting the truth from a person that only 3 years ago they saw as a cancer and sought to deport themselves?

My guess is that the Liberals are using this issue as a means of getting some political mileage, to the detriment of the Conservatives. My warning to them is to “Be careful what you wish for” as several Liberals have also been close confidants of Mr. Schreiber and they may end up getting egg on their faces.

In my view, nothing good can come out of this. If Schreiber were allowed to stay, the government would essentially be doing two critical things that I oppose as a Canadian citizen. Interfering in our judicial system, which is supposed to be free from government interference, and giving in to blackmail. This would send a nasty precedence in our political system. No government should allow itself to be blackmailed this way.

I say send Schreiber back to Germany. If Schreiber really wants to testify he will. If not, then it would just confirm that he was really not interested in Canadian justice, but only in saving his skin.

The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives Criticizes Canada’s Tax System

The Canadian Centre for policy alternatives, an Ottawa think tank, has put out a report that accuses the Canadian tax system of failing the basic test of fairness. They are using the fact that the top 1% of income earners is paying a lower percentage of their income compared to those at the bottom of the income scale to justify their argument.

Those very rich Canadians paid 30.5 per cent of their income in federal, provincial and municipal taxes in 2005, as opposed to the 30.7 per cent for those with incomes under $13,523, the lowest 10 per cent of family earnings.

That's a big difference from 1990, when the top 1 per cent of earners paid 34.2 per cent of their incomes in taxes, as opposed to 25.5 per cent for families in the bottom 10 per cent.

"The tax system has gotten less progressive," said the group's senior economist Marc Lee.

What Mr. Lee fails to point out is the following:

• The top 1% of income earners pays far more into the tax system and receives much fewer benefits when compared to lower income earners.
• The top 1% of income earners often risks their capital for investments that create jobs for many of us, so a lower tax rate for them means more investments and jobs for our economy.
• The business and companies that are formed by the top 1% of income earners provide the government with much needed funds for many programs that benefit lower income earners. Higher taxes mean less investment and less money in the long run going into the government coffers to fund these programs.
• Lower tax rates are one of the key factors that attract capital and investment by those with the means to invest.

The fact that the Canadian Centre for policy alternatives is also blind to is that increasing the tax on the rich hardly works. In most cases, it gets passed down as increased cost to lower income earners, thus defeating the purpose. It also discourages further investment, which translates to lost economic opportunities, fewer jobs, etc.

The lowering the tax rate for top income earners from 34.2 percent to 25.5 percent ended up benefiting most of us. Not just the rich, as alluded to by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. It enabled the federal and provincial governments to collect more money than it would have if the tax rate had remained the same. This was due to increased investment, in terms of more businesses and companies expanding and more people being employed.

Mario Dumont tables surprise no-confidence motion

Quebec opposition leader, Mario Dumont presented a surprise non-confidence motion that if approved, would send Quebecers to the polls on Dec 17th. It is unlikely to pass though, as the the Parti Québécois stated yesterday that it has no plans to support it.

Mr. Dumont sent his opponents scrambling and briefly set off a political drama after presenting a motion to defeat the government over its defence of the province's school boards, which the ADQ says should be abolished. Mr. Dumont has also criticized the Liberals on the economy, health care and government inaction.

Dumont tables surprise no-confidence motion

The nervous Liberals were relieved to hear the PQ House Leader reject the need for an election.

"You can't drag the people into an election just because you are unhappy with the government's response to your demands," Mr. Gendron said.

The no-confidence motion, the first to be tabled against Mr. Charest's government since the March 26 election, will be debated and voted on next Tuesday.

Loonie climbs above $1.10

In just over a month the Canadian dollar has moved from 98 US cents to $1.10 US on Wednesday, sparking record trading in the overseas market.

Among the factors contributing to the steep rise in the loonie are record oil prices, approaching $97 a barrel, competitive interest rates, a stable economy that encourages investment and a steep decline in the value of the US dollar.

While this news is good for cross border consumers, it is causing a lot of concern for manufacturers and exporters. Many of them have been advocating for an interest rate cut to stem the rise in the Canadian dollar, but their hopes were dashed on Tuesday afternoon after Bank of Canada Senior Deputy Governor Paul Jenkins indicated that there will not be a cut in interest rates.

Some analysts are suggesting that the Canadian dollar is overvalued by as much as 10% and are predicting a sharp decline over the next year.

“It's overvalued,” said Rebecca Patterson, global currency strategist at JP Morgan in New York. She's advising her clients that the loonie will slide over the next year.
...
A Bank of Canada-based model that uses interest rate differentials and commodity prices to determine fair value shows the currency is 10 per cent overvalued, said David Powell, currency strategist at Idea Global in New York.

“The Canadian dollar is well overvalued by most conventional measures,” he said. About two-fifths of the U.S. dollar's decline against the Canadian currency is due to general U.S.-dollar weakness, he estimated.

Despite this, it looks like it will be a good season for consumers. Many retailers, such as Sears have already lowered prices, and some car dealerships are also following through in an effort to stem the tide of cross border shoppers. Many have also started giving consumers the benefit of the 1% GST cut, even though it will not take place until January 1st.

For travellers going abroad, the benefit of the strong Canadian dollar will be enormous. Itravel2000, Canada's largers independent online travel retailer, is reporting a significant rise in Canadian bookings to southern destinations such as Mexico and the Dominican Republic. Many US retailers in border towns and cities are also reporting a significant increase in Canadian customers and are already offering special promotions to lure their business.

Premier McGuinty Shuffles Cabinet To Thwart Potential Successors

The recent cabinet shuffle by Ontario Premier, Dalton McGuinty was to thwart potential successors jockeying to succeed him as Premier, according to the article, Premier makes an offer his ministers can't refuse by Robert Benzie in the Toronto Star.

He sums it up quite perfectly with this quote

There can be only one boss in this family, only one premier.

In this latest shuffle, four ministers were dropped from his cabinet, ten backbenchers were promoted, and four out of the seven people with aspirations for his job were given less significant assignments after McGuinty conferred with his advisors.

Like the calculating Michael Corleone in The Godfather trilogy, McGuinty emphasized his manoeuvring was not personal, but strictly business.

"You just gotta make a judgment call. ... In order to do that, I had to take some people out," he said.

It will be interesting to see how this issue plays out in Ontario. Especially since Mr. McGuinty has indicated that he intends to make another run as Premier in the Ontario Provincial Election in 2011.