Liberal Helpings: Serving up a plate of unreported contributions?

The Liberals are going to try another fund-raising idea.  In this case, private get-togethers on March 27. 

Michael Ignatieff will even attend.  By video conference.

Sounds like a great idea, except for one thing.  These get-togethers are hardly private, what with Liberal Party resources being applied to make them happen.  So as party functions, the money the host puts into the party for food or space (the Liberal Party suggests renting space might be a good idea for larger parties) ought to be counted as contributions to the party, subject to all the normal restrictions (can only come individuals, can't exceed $1100 in a year, must be reported in full, receipts must be issued, etc, etc).

Funny, but the Liberal Helpings website neglects to mention any of that.

Canwest and the CBC: Problems and solutions

It would be funny if it weren't so sad.  Canwest, a private broadcaster owned and operated by the Asper family, is suffering in these economic times.  So is the CBC, our taxpayer-funded public broadcaster.

Ironically, one of the potential solutions for Canwest is not available because of rules designed to keep Americans off Canada's airwaves.  It's ironic because the CBC is looking to more American content to save its financial bacon.

Dalton McGuinty deals a blow to home sales (and targets the elderly homeowner in particular)

Ontario premier Dalton McGuinty has dealt a body-blow to home sales in Ontario.  By promising to impose energy audits on home sales, Dalton McGuinty has made selling a home a far less attractive proposition. 

And if you are a retiree living in the home you bought forty years ago, you are in for a world of pain if circumstances force you to sell.

Douglas Ferguson hopes the Liberal Party will become open, accountable, creative, well-funded, and progressive

One of the problems inherent is trying to improve an organization is that in setting goals and expectations, you are implicitly stating that these are where you are currently failing.

For the Liberal Party, everyone knows that the party needs to work on fundraising.  There's no point in trying to deny that, what with the data available at the Elections Canada site for all to see. 

But it's just the money, right?  I mean, the Liberal Party is still a great force for progressive ideals, right?

Douglas Ferguson, writing at the En Famille website, lists all the failings of the Liberal Party.

It covers essentially everything.

Bob Rae embarrasses Canadians with his man crush on Barack Obama

Sorry for the delay in getting to this, but real life just gets in the way.  These last few days have like that, and shockingly, it has had nothing to do with Barack Obama's visit.

I know, it seemed like nothing was happening but The Visitation.

Like most Canadians, though, Barack Obama's visit had absolutely no impact on me whatsoever.

But it has provided me with some grist for the blogging mill, and in particular, the comments made by Bob Rae.

Volksfront International Mid-Winter Gathering: Putting the brakes on fundraising for Richard Kemp

I've been delving deeper into the fundraiser that was to be held in British Columbia, hosted by the white supremacist group Volksfront International.  As you might recall, I posted about this fundraiser, noting that it looked like it had not been properly licenced by provincial authorities.

In just under 24 hours, Volksfront International announced via a forum posting that the fundraising element of the Mid-Winter Gathering had been canceled.

So what was the fundraising for?  Apparently it was for Richard Kemp, and that makes for an interesting story.

Did this blog kill the Volksfront fundraiser?

In my last post, I looked into a fundraiser planned in British Columbia by the white supremacist group, Volksfront International.

Now a new posting has appeared in a white supremacist forum that had been promoting the gathering.  Suddenly, without explanation, the fundraiser is off.

Volksfront Canada gambling fundraiser in British Columbia: Properly licenced? Maybe not. [Updated]

The Volk are coming to British Columbia!

That's right.  In just five days, on February 21, the Volksfront International will be having their first ever annual Mid-Winter Gathering.

There will be a raffle.  There will be poker.  There will be all sorts of fundraising.

Which makes me wonder if these white supremacists remembered to apply for their Class B gaming event licence. I'm not certain Volksfront would be eligible given the nature of their organization.

Gee, could this post put their plans in jeopardy?  Wouldn't that be a shame.

Update: Shockingly, it seems that this is exactly what has happened.  Within 24 hours of this post going up, Volksfront International announces there will be no fundraising at the Mid-Winter Gathering.

The strange math of Navdeep Bains

After a general election, candidates are required to submit a complete accounting of donations and expenditures to Elections Canada.  They have four months to do it (as per 451(4)).  The last election was held on October 14, so we're at that time.

For candidates who submitted early, the material is now online.  I grabbed Navdeep Bains' filing, essentially at random, and found the Liberal MP's filing to be very curious.

Call it New Math, but the numbers don't add up.

Queen's University blames students for diversity police fiasco; plans to rein in student organizations

You might recall the controversy surrounding the projected being implemented at Queen's University in Kingston, in which trained facilitators would listen in on the conversations of students, ready to jump in and correct politically incorrect speech.

At least that's how the program was described in the media, and despite protestations to the contrary, this element was a major part of the program.

A report has been delivered to the university, recommending that the program be eliminated immediately.  The right decision, to be sure, but it is amusing how, buried in the report, is a clear assignment of fault.  This idea that has caused so much heartburn came from the students, and not the faculty or the school administration.

Going forward, the report recommends, the university ought to exercise a great deal more oversight over student organizations who aren't directly supporting the university mission of teaching.

Michael Ignatieff, Borys Wrzesnewskyj, Russian neo-imperialism, and Ukrainian nationalism

Sometimes people try to derive some humour from Liberal Party leader Michael Ignatieff's Russian heritage.  It is rather special -- most Canadians of Russian descent can't count Russian nobility in their family tree, while Michael Ignatieff can boast a grandfather, Count Pavel Ignatieff.

But besides an accident of birth, Michael Ignatieff has another, more interesting link, with Mother Russia.  That would be a shared attitude with Russia's modern czar, Vladimir Putin, concerning the true nationhood of the Ukraine.

This is important on a number of fronts.  Ukrainians, both at home and around the world, are worried about sharing a border with Putin's Russia, and there may come a time when they'll be looking for the support of the world community.

It is an open question as to whether Michael Ignatieff would side with Vladimir Putin if Russia was to lay claim on the Ukraine.

Also interesting is that this is another example of Michael Ignatieff running counter to Liberal policy.  But then that policy was described by Liberal MP Borys Wrzesnewskyj, a Ukrainian-Canadian, who has been dumped from any role in Michael Ignatieff's caucus. 

Borys Wrzesnewskyj's demotion to the backbenches is a big deal in the Ukrainian-Canadian community.

A lot of Ukrainian-Canadians are wondering just what Michael Ignatieff really thinks of Ukrainians.

Liberal Party seems fine with a token turnout to see Michael Ignatieff crowned as leader

The upcoming Liberal Party convention in Vancouver is turning out to be a bust.  Simply put, no one is coming. Not quite no one, but as conventions go, this one will seem empty.

No one in the Liberal Party seems too concerned.  Indeed, I get a sense that top Liberals are secretly relieved.

Mike Duffy and the Senate Problem

Mike Duffy highlights, by contrast, what is wrong with the Senate.  It seems to me that people think that making the Senate work means making it elected.  Well, if we elect a bunch of do-nothings, the Senate won't be any better.

The Senate is seen to be a failure because of who is in it, not because of how they got there.

Conservatives planning for the next battle, not the last one

Thanks to Jane Taber, we have some insight into Conservative planning for the next election.  For a Conservative, it is good to read that the party is not planning to fight the last battle again.

Mike Duffy earns his keep in his first week

In his first week, Mike Duffy has done more to make the Senate relevant to Canadians, and in particular, to the people of PEI, than anyone in living memory ever has.

Not bad for a rookie.

The Liberal Party needs rules about ignoring Michael Ignatieff

Now that Michael Ignatieff has formerly recognized the principle of a one-use only coupon to be cashed in by MPs to vote contrary to the Liberal Party line, I have some questions regarding how this coupon works.

Budget Vote Fallout: Piteous cheering from a rotten borough

Watch Michael Ignatieff and Danny Williams congratulate themselves for accomplishing nothing positive with the budget vote drama.  It's pathetic.

Michael Ignatieff caves to Danny Williams

Michael Ignatieff has decided that the intransigence of MPs from Newfoundland and Labrador is going to be rewarded.  While MPs from other provinces are going to have to toe the party line, the rebels who have been promising to vote against the budget in order to please their constituents and appease Premier Danny Williams will be allowed the latitude to do so.

MPs from other provinces, however, will be forced to explain why they supported the Conservative budget.

They'll also be forced to explain why they didn't take a hard line against Michael Ignatieff.  Apparently if an MP just digs in his heels, he'll get a pass from the Liberal Party leader.

Michael Ignatieff is already wounded, even if he reins in his MPs

No matter what happens with the budget vote, Michael Ignatieff has already been wounded by a revolt in his caucus.  Why?  Because the revolt has been slow moving, incremental, and public.

More interesting is the money the Liberals didn't keep

With the release of the quarterly returns for the end of 2008, you can find all sorts of interesting nuggets.

Seriously, these don't add up to much, but they do pique my interest.

In this case, it's a matter of looking over the money returned by the Liberal Party.

Insider Leak: Purge of Stephane Dion appointees by Michael Ignatieff means Liberal Party can't afford to staff key positions

It seems like it was just last week when Michael Ignatieff warned against any more insider leaks.  Liberal Party communications would be carefully managed and controlled.

Hey, it was just last week!

I guess it'll take a while for the message to sink in, because today we are being told by an inside source that the costs associated with Michael Ignatieff's preemptive take-over the Liberal Party leadership six months ahead of the leadership convention are such that Michael Ignatieff can't afford to fully staff his office in key roles.  What are these costs?  The cost of purging all the Stephane Dion appointments.

Of course, the official Liberal Party word is very different.  The talent search is taking longer, that's all. 

I might have believed that, except for the insider leak.  That one that should not have happened.

Federal Party Financial Returns: Liberals still struggling, coalition helped Conservatives

Elections Canada has released the financial returns for the last quarter of 2008.  Overall, not much has changed.  The Liberals can't hold a candle to the Conservative fund-raising machine.  But looking closely, we see the Liberals gaining a modicum of traction, and it'll be interesting to see if they can capitalize on that.  One thing that didn't help was the idea of a coalition.  The spike in donations is quite remarkable -- for the Conservatives!

Angry in the Great White North by Steve Janke is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.5 Canada License. Based on a work at stevejanke.com.