Friday, June 29, 2007

A Special Canada Day Message To The Good Citizens Of Ste. Rita, Manitoba - "If necessary challenge the MMF in court!"

Tansi/Good Day Folks:

We're well aware of your struggle with the Manitoba Metis Federation and their sign which suggests you're all governed by their Local with its 15-20 Members who bother to regularly attend meetings. How much did they save over the past several years being allowed to use YOUR Community Centre at no charge for their meetings?

Fellow Blogger and respected colleague Mr. Derryl Sanderson (& BEAR! - previously incorrectly identified as "Skippy!) over at www.derrylsanderson.blogspot.com has been championing your cause. How often do you get a false and misleading sign planted in your backyard by Manitoba Metis Federation Incorporated Chief Executive Officer David N. Chartrand and distinguished guests with little prior consultation?

We applaud your efforts circulating a petition but what about this:
(1) Have a couple fundraisers - BarBQs - whatever - to raise a few hundred dollars to hire a legal researcher

(2) Contact an attorney, offer the proceeds you've raised as an upfront retainer to do a little research. Are there grounds for forcing the MMF to remove THEIR sign (or at the minimum alter the wording - remove the false/misleading term "government" which gives cause to deliberately misleading the general public not resident of Ste. Rita. We can think of a couple fine gentleman who'd consider helping - failing that a third year law student or one articling but definately not Lionel R.R.Chartrand!

(3) If the recommendation were to go to trial, the MMF would then have to find a lawyer (minimum $250/hour) using YOUR hard earned taxpayer dollars to defend its "reputation" such as it is. Remember, as a last resort there's always THE BIG KAHUNA with his 18 inchers!

(4) And when it's over and you've won, citizens of Ste. Rita you can all celebrate - don't forget to invite your friends!

(5) GOOD LUCK!
THE CAST



Sincerely,

Clare L. Pieuk

Thursday, June 28, 2007

Transcona finally has someone sexier than their Member of Parliament Bill Blaikie!





Canadian Doubles As Paris Hilton
Natalie Reid Is Paid To Let People Think She's The Real Paris Hilton
By Joyanna Pursaca
Winnipeg Free Press

WINNIPEG - For a second, it may have appeared hotel heiress Paris Hilton had Transcona roots.
That's because Natalie Reid, a former Winnipegger now billed as the world's best Paris look-alike, is earning fame and fortune from her celebrity features in New York.
In an Entertainment Tonight Canada interview aired Tuesday, the impersonator revealed she's "from Transcona, baby!"
Yet in the midst of her newfound fame, Reid actually yearns for a Winnipeg winter.
"I miss skating and trudging through snow in big snow storms," she told the Sun yesterday.
Reid got the idea when photographers repeatedly told her she looked exactly like the celebrity heiress. She moved to New York to cash in on the idea in June 2005.
"It's really natural," Reid said, while receiving hair extensions to play Paris at a New York night club yesterday. "Paris and I have a lot in common and the same bone structure and body shape. We both love to party and love fashion and shopping and boys."
Reid left Winnipeg at age 17 and began modelling in Calgary soon after. Now in New York, her typical night at work includes attending the latest club, hotel or restaurant opening dressed as the Simple Life star.
The 21-year-old model earns between $700 and $2,000 per "Paris" appearance.
Reid said the job has perks such as free meals at posh restaurants, VIP treatment at the hottest clubs and even one $50,000 shopping spree at an expensive boutique.
Reid doesn't necessarily pretend to be Hilton, she just doesn't correct those who assume she is.
"I like the fact everyone loves her and getting the reaction from people about her," said the celebrity double.
Reid recently met the real Paris at Marquee, a New York night club.
"She took a second look at me and said, 'Oh my God, you look so much like me. That's hot,'" she said.
Life as an almost-heiress may clash with Reid's former job cleaning freshwater fish in a Transcona factory across from her townhouse.
But she doesn't expect Winnipeg acquaintances will be shocked by her current career.
"My teachers always made fun of me for doing my makeup in class," said the former College Pierre-Elliott Trudeau student. "If they saw me, they wouldn't be surprised how I turned out.
"Reid looks so much like Paris her pictures once fooled her own mom.
"I said to my other daughter, 'why is Natalie sending pictures of Paris?'" her mother, Carole Reid, said from her Transcona home yesterday. "I had to really look at the photo to see it was her."
But she didn't always see fame in her daughter's future.
"It's just really overwhelming. It's something no one ever would have imagined," said Carole. "When she was six years old she had wanted to be an archeologist for the longest time."
"Being Natalie is the hardest part."
Being the mirror image of Paris Hilton isn't all champagne and caviar.
Now famous for her heiress-like looks, Natalie Reid said she has suffered the pitfalls of celebrity.
It's not uncommon for the paparazzi to hide behind bushes and jump out to snap a "Paris" picture, she said. And she's also barraged by fans for photos and autographs."
One time, I actually had a dangerous situation when I got bombarded by tourists who were getting aggressive to take my picture and a girl kicked me," Reid said. "People get out of control when they see celebrities."
The look-alike says her resemblance also can make being herself extremely difficult.
"Being Natalie is the hardest part," she said. "When I want to see someone as me I have to wear a wig. I often have to change my look to leave my apartment."
And like any celebrity, she's bashed online - simply by being fake by those who aren't "faux Paris" fans.
But signing on to Screaming Queens Entertainment, which books drag queens, strippers and celebrity impersonators for parties and events, wasn't daunting at all, she said.I thought what they do was interesting. I've never been afraid, that's one of my personality traits," said Natalie. "I'm pretty bold."
Her mother, Carole Reid, said her climb to mock fame has at times been difficult to adjust to for the family.
"This has been more attention than we ever dreamed of. This is off the scales," said Carole. "You come from humble beginnings into stardom. It's been really strange for all of us."

Tuesday, June 26, 2007

Knock! Knock! Knock! "Hello, anyone home at 24 Sussex Drive?"

..... Original Message .....
From: Ferg
To: Harper.S@parl.gc.ca
Sent: Monday, June 25, 2007 9:57 PM
Subject: Sending Letter to Prime Minister

To Prime Minister Harper
Ottawa, Canada

Re: The Metis People Of Canada

Prime Minister:

I call on you to-day to consider the funding of a Metis Conference to be held here in Winnipeg, Manitoba to clairfy exactly who speaks for Manitoba's Metis citizens. We would need a four to five day time frame with a possible follow up with elected delegates to finalize a Metis position!

Your response to this request will be appreciated!

Fortunat Guiboche
June 26, 2007

Copies:
Premier Doer
Metis Non-Profit Corporations in Manitoba
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Mr. Guiboche is one of the founders (1967) of the Manitoba Metis Federation. Thank you for contacting CyberSmokeBlog first. Good luck!

Friday, June 22, 2007

Love your sense of humour!

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post, "The Perfect Job For Manitoba Metis Federation Board Members!"

Hi Clare,

Good idea. I think they would make good astronauts. Heard the complete Board occupied space in school. HA! HA!
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear Anonymous:

Thank you for writing. Some took up a lot more space than others!

Sincerely,
Clare L. Pieuk

The Perfect Job For Manitoba Metis Federation Board Members!

TOO CLOSE QUARTERS
For Up To 700 Days, Six Test Subjects Will Simulate A Cramped Mission To Mars
No Space Left To Hide

By Richard Ingham (in Paris)
The National Post
Thursday, June 21, 2007
Page A3

Wanted: Astronauts to spend almost two years on a simulated trip to Mars. For up to 700 days, the six men and women will share the work and the heroics, battling emergencies and equipment glitches, along with coping with the tedium and the irritating habits of their fellow travellers, all while cooped up in a mock-up Martian spaceship in a research lab in Moscow.

"The biggest risk is not physical, it's psychological, it's being confronted by yourself, of discovering who you are," said French astronaut Jean-Pierre Haignere, who spent 186 days on the Russian orbital spaceship Mir in 1993.

The initial "trip" will last 520 days - the minimum estimated time it would take to visit the Red Planet and return - but organizers plan to extend the mission to 700 days if the "astronauts" pass this first milestone successfully.

It all goes well, the big experiment will start in late 2008, after one or possibly two 105-day simulations to fine-tune work routines and emergency scenarios.

The cosmos is a deeply hostile place for humans, but the risk multiplies many times when it comes to long-term trips.

Voyages into deep space will expose the astronauts to cosmic radiation that can slice through DNA with the ease of a Cordon Bleu-trained chef chopping carrots. Muscles become flaccid in the absence of gravity and bones lose their density. And that doesn't take into acount other hazards such as life-support failure, comunications breakdown or an asteroid strike.

But these may be well out-stripped by the challenge of keeping focused and sane.

The six test subjects will be confined to five interconnected modules - a common living area, individual bedrooms, a bathroom, command module and a fitness room, taking up the same space as nine 60-cubic-metre truck containers.

Earlier experiments have shown that separate bedrooms, preferably with locks on the door are essential.

In 1998-99, seven male astronauts - mainly Russian but also Japanese and Austrian - and one female Canadian astronaut, Dr. Judith Lapierre, spent 110 days aboard a replica of the Mir space station. The experiment attracted international attention as fist-fights broke out between the Russians, leading the Japanese to hide all the knives on board. In addition, the Russian commander forcibly French-kissed Dr. Lapierre.

Russian officials said such behaviour was normal for Russians, and the others should put up with it or leave. They were also told Russian culture obliged them not to complain pubicly.

Dr. Lapierre stuck with the mission but insisted on haveing a lock fitted on her door.

In the latest experiment, no contact will be allowed with the outside world except via the fake mission control. Communications, by radio and e-mail, will be delayed by up to 40 minutes, replicating the time it would take for messages to cross the 56 million kilometres between Earth and Mars.

Food will be meal packets of the kind eaten on the International Space Station supplemented by treats on special days. Alcohol and smoking are out.

For 250 days, the six-member crew will simulate the outward trip to Mars. Then, for 30 days, three of them will be cloistered in part of the ship to simulate the descent to Mars and the operations there. The trio then "return" to dock with the mother ship for the 240-day trip home.

The door of the ship will remain closed, and no one will be allowed to intervene or leave except in an "absolute, severe emergency," such as a fire, said Dr. Marc Heppener of the science and application division oat the European Space Agency (ESA).

The crew will even be expected to deal with some surgical emergencies, such as appendicitis.

Viktor Baranov of Russia's Institute for Biomedical Problems, shich is carrying out the simulation, said he has had 150 applications. At the Paris Air Show this week, the ESA announced it was calling for applications from citizens of European Union member states.

In all, 12 volunteers are needed to complete the various test projects. They must be aged 25-50 and be able to speak Russian and English fluently.

Engineers and biologists will be preferred and a doctor is also being sought.

Some experts think a single-sex crew may operate more effectively because there is no risk of sexual rivalry if a couple happen to pair up, while others think the presence of the opposite sex provides a calming factor and a valuable different perspective on problems.

Nor is there any agreement about what would be a good number - five men to one woman (or the reverse) could lead to sexual rivalry, and three-three may lead to gender tribalism pitting men and women.

"Four and two might be appropriate," Dr. Heppener said.

Applicants will also be subjected to a barrage of psychological profiling and other tests.

"You must be a team player but also able to work by yourself," said Dr. Heppener, acknowledging this all amounts to a mixture as exceptional as a trip to Mars itself.

Application forms can be found at www.spaceflight.esa./int/callforcandidates.

Agence France-Presse, with files from news services












"3-2-1- 0 ..... We Have Lift-Off!"
(MMF Directors Blast Off For Mars - Bye, Bye For You!)

Your thought for today!

Donkeys Make Asses Of Themselves As Weed Eaters So Goats Are Called On Get The Job Done
'SURPRISINGLY CHEAP'

Four goats have landed the cushy job of eating as many weeds as their stomachs will hold in an experiment by the University of Northern British Columbia in Prince George to replace herbicides.

"They arre surprisingly cheap, "said Prof. Annie Booth, who is heading the goat project. "I paid about $100 each for mine. They simply work for weeds." Three fo the goats are also pregnant, so Ms. Booth expects to double her workforce by next year.

Ms. Booth started out using donkeys, "but it didn't work out too well," she said. "They were like kids let loose in a candy shop. Donkeys will eat themselves to death. Goats are a little more sensible." Nor does she think highly of sheep, although they can be "very effective as lawn mowers," she said. "Goats are less likely to fall into the sewage. "

CanWest News Service

Wednesday, June 20, 2007

Yikes, it's one of those!

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post, "Drumroll please ..... Meet ACW President Lionel Chartrand!

Hi Clare,

Is the guy in the last picture related to a ........? HA! HA!
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear Anonymous:

Thank you for writing. Never thought of it but you know you may have a point. GOD, please not another one of those!

Sincerely,
Clare L. Pieuk

Friday, June 15, 2007

Drumroll please ..... Meet ACW President Lionel Chartrand!

Tansi/Good Day Folks:

A special thank you to the reader who sent the link (http://index.aboriginal.org/index.php.org?option=com_content&php.org?option=comoption=com_content&task=wiew&id
=42&itemid=2) containing Mr. Chartrand's picture and an accompanying two page article dated Monday, May 28, 2007 entitled, "Meet ACW President Lionel Chartrand."

In the Aboriginal Council of Winnipeg's November, 2006 election (An unmitigated disaster!), Mr. Chartrand narrowly won a controversial decision which subsequently had to be upheld in court.

Our fondest memory of Lionel Chartrand goes back to January, 2004 when as www.CyberSmokeSignals.com Legal Counsel (volunteer) he conceived, wrote and caused an article (a petition) to be posted which the Manitoba Metis Federation alleges is defamatory subsequently filing a taxpayer funded lawsuit. As lawyers are fond of saying, we have plenty of black print (his e-mail to CSS.com) to substantiate our claim.

Miraculously, Mr. Lionel R.R. Chartrand was not named as a Co-Defendant in the litigation? In the past, he has been under contract to do paid legal work for the MMF while simultaneously behind-the-scenes quietly assisting former Manitoba Lieutenant Governor W. Yvon Dument and his then attorney (Regan Thatcher) in the Metis National Council's beyond ridiculous lawsuit against Mr. Dumont. Winnipeg lawyers Anders Bruun and Jeff Niederhoffer eventually took over the case successfully defending Yvon Dumont at his April 2006 trial.

Sincerely,
Clare L. Pieuk

Distribution List:
theverdict@ctv.ca
rporcher@lawsociety.mb.ca
bwilliams@plic.mb.ca

Thursday, June 14, 2007

"BEAR" we are so, so sorry!

Derryl has left a new comment on your post, "We support The Canadian Taxpayers Federation!"

The dog's name is Bear.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear Derryl,

On behalf of BEAR, please accept our heartfelt apology. Being cat lovers, the few dogs we've encountered have always been named either skippy or spot - obviously we guessed incorrectly. We'll make the change immediately if not sooner. In the meantime, please, please, please don't sue us for defamation on behalf of BEAR!

To BEAR we say, you look like you could be quite ferocious we're not about to mess with you.

Sincerely,
Clare L. Pieuk

We support The Canadian Taxpayers Federation!



















Ms Adrienne Batra
Provincial Director, Manitoba
Canadian Taxpayers Federation
212-428 Portage Avenue
Winnipeg, Manitoba
R3C 0E2

Telephone: 1-800-772-9955
Cellular: 1-204-227-5561
Facsimile: 1-204-982-2154
E-mail: abatra@shawbiz.ca

Tansi/Good Day Folks:

Dear friend and fellow blogger Derryl Sanderson (www.derrylsanderson@blogspot.com) has been rasing the issue of possible, alleged and perhaps questionable expenditures by the publicly funded Manitoba Metis Federation - the latest being $500,000 for these silly signs.






















"BEAR!" (formerly "Skippy") and Mr. Sanderson

Perhaps you might wish to give some thought to contacting the CTF.

Sincerely,
Clare L. Pieuk

Distribution List:
abatra@shawbiz.ca
theverdict@ctv.ca

Monday, June 11, 2007

Barley war heats up!

Strahl Lights Up Barley Battle
Cabinet Orders Marketing Choice on Aug. 1
Wheat Board Backers Prepare Challenge

By Larry Kusch
Winnipeg Free Press
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Page B6

AGRICULTURE Minister Chuck Strahl came to Manitoba in triumph Monday to announce that Prairie farmers will be free to choose how they market barley, starting Aug. 1.

But hours later it became clear that the fierce battle over barley marketing isn't over yet.

At a news conference on a farm west of Headingly Monday morning, with about two dozen supportive farmers cheering him on, Strahl announced that Ottawa had approved - through Order In Council - regulations stripping the Canadian Wheat Board of its monopoly power over barley marketing.

"Ladies and gentlemen, this is a truly great day for Canadian agriculture," Strahl said, adding that Prairie farmers will now be free to choose whether they want to market their barley through the Wheat Board or in the open market.

He said the government was justified in making the change because 62 per cent of farmers in a plebiscite earlier this year indicated they supported marketing choice.

But later in the day, in a Winnipeg law office, a group calling itself Friends of the Canadian Wheat Board announced it would file an application as early as today in Federal Court to quash the barley order.

Anders Bruun of Campbell Marr LLP, who is representing the Friends said the "fundamental flaw" with Ottawa's barley order is it ignores the fact that an act of Parliament - not simply a Cabinet edict - is required to strip the Wheat Board of its monopoly.

"They are not abiding by the rule of law in this matter," Bruun said of the government.

As well, the Friends' lawsuit will argue that Strahl failed to consult sufficiently with the Wheat Board, as set out in the Wheat Board Act, and that the plebiscite it conducted was tainted and failed to comply with the law.

Meanwhile, a spoleswoman for the Canadian Wheat Board said Monday the CWB will convene a special telephone meeting of its Directors this morning to determine its response to the Cabinet Order.

Several Board Members - if not a majority - are believed to favour a court challenge to the new barley regulations.

The amendments to the Canadian Wheat Board Regulations will be available for viewing today at www.pco.gc.ca.

Asked by reporters on Monday about the prospect of a court challenge, Strahl said he hoped that the government's opponents would respect the results of the plebiscite.

"If someone was to stop it or try to change it," Strahl said of the proposed new barley rules, "there's only one group of peeople it will hurt, and that's farmers."

He and several of the grain producers who gathered at Jim Janzen's farm near Headingley argued that farmers stand to make a lot more money if they're free to market barley as they wish.

Ron Hiebert, who farms 11,000 acres near Sperling, said he could earn $160,000 to $200,000 a year more for the wheat he grows if he could sell in the open market.

He said he hadn't grown barley on his farm in many years until this spring, when Ottawa announced its intentions to change the rules.

"As soon as they announced it we bought seed," Hiebert said.

On the other side of the coin, the Friends of the Canadian Wheat Board said if the Wheat Board loses its monopoly over both wheat and barley sales, a typical Prairie grain farmer will be out "more than $10,000 per year."

Strahl renewed his pledge Monday not to seek any changes to wheat marketing rules for at least a year. The Wheat Board has a marketing monopoly on all Prairie wheat that is exported or used for human consumption in Canada.

Bruun helped represent the Prairie wheat pools 15 years ago when the Mulroney government attempted - also by Order In Council - to remove the Wheat Board's monopoly over barley sales within North America.

"We had an open market for six weeks and then the judge declared that the Order In Council in that case was invalid....," he said.

Bruun said he expects it could take two to five months before his group gets a court hearing.

He said that once news of the court challenge appears, other farm groups will likely join the Friends, which describes itself as "a coalition of farmers and other Canadians in suport of a democratic, farmer-controlled Wheat Board." Already, the National Farmers Union has joined the cause, he said.

Who Can Sell Barley? Nobody Backing Down

The Background: The Conservatives promised during the last federal election campaign to end the Canadian Wheat Board's sales monoploy. After holding a plebiscite of Prairie farmers earlier this year, the government said it had a 62 per cent mandate from farmers to change the barley marketing reles. Ottawa's opponents said the voting process and the way the question was worded were flawed. This dspring the government announced it would pass regulations authorizing marketing choice for barley (through the CWB or open market) as of Aug. 1.

What Happened On Monday? Agriculture Minister Chuck Strahl announced, on a farm near Headingley Monday morning that the government had passed the regulations. Hours later, a group calling itself the Friends of the Canadian Wheat Board said it would challenge the government Order In Council in Federal Court, saying it is illegal.

What's Next? The Canadian Wheat Board's Board of Directors will hold an emergency meeting by telephone today to plot their response. A judge probably won't hear the Friends' application to quash the regulations for two to five months.

larry.kusch@freepress.mb.ca
---------------------------------------------------------------------------








JEFFREY J. NIEDERHOFFER
jnieder@shaw.ca

We first met Anders Bruun last year when he and Winnipeg attorney Jeff Niederhoffer successfully defended The Honourable W. Yvon Dumont against the Metis National Council's beyond ludicrous lawsuit. The MNC was represented by Counselor Trachtenberg. Mr. Bruun's courtroom presence is reminiscent of Andy Griffith in the television series Matlock - low-key but extremely effective.

Besides being a Senior Partner at Campbell Marr, LLP, Anders is Honourary Council of Denmark having been appointed Counsul for the Province of Manitoba by Her Majesty Margarethe II, Queen of Denmark, in 1983. He was awarded the Knights Cross of Dannebrog in 1992, the Knights Cross of Dannebrog (First Class) in 2001 and the Queen's Golden Jubilee Medal in 2003 for community service.

In addition, Anders is on the Agri-Food Research and Development initiative Council.

Distribution List:
Strahl.C@parl.gc.ca


Maybe Quebec is a distinct society after all!

Tansi/Good Day Folks:

Recently we've received chain e-mail letters calling on us to support one day boycotts of motor gasoline purchases to protest high prices and higher profits by the oil industry.

Last week the Province of Quebec announced it was implementing a carbon tax, as well as, considering the imposition of a ceiling price on gasoline. To the best of our knowledge no other jurisdiction in North America, and perhaps beyond, has yet to go as far. We support this kind of distinct society.

Sincerely,
Clare L. Pieuk
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Quebec The First To Announce Carbon Tax
Starts At 0.8 Cents A Litre
By Kevin Dougherty
The National Post
June 7, 2007
Page A1

QUEBEC - Quebec will have the country's first designated "carbon tax" to help fight global warming, it was announced yesterday.

Provincial Natural Resources Minister Claude Bechard, who announced yeaterday that a 0.8-cent-a-litre carbon tax will come into force on Oct. 1, added that he hopes the oil companies, which are reporting record profits, would absorb the tax and not pass it on to the consumers. Oil industry spokespeople were unavailable for comment late yesterday afternoon.

The tax, Mr. Bechard said, is based on the "polluter pays" principle. "That is not negotiable," the minister said.

The carbon tax will raise $200-million a year to finance Quebec's plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and favour public transit.

Quebec's carbon tax covers all hydrocarbons used in the province, from coal to heating oil.

The amount of the carbon tax varies according to the amount of carbon dioxide each fuel produces.

For gasoline, the tax is 0.8 cents a litre, the charge for diesel is 0.9 cents, for light heating oil 0.96 cents, heavy heating oil 1 cent a litre, coke used in steel making, 1.3 cents a litre, coal $8 a tonne and propane 0.5 cents a litre.

Mr. Bechard noted that Ultramar, which operates Quebec's largest refinery, has said it would consider absorbing the new tax but had not made a final decision.

"We hope at 0.8 cents, the oil companies will be able to absorbe it without passing on this royalty to consumers," the minister said. Especially when you realize that refinery profit margins have gone in the last three, four months from 8 cents a litre to about 19, 20, 22 cents a litre."

Asked why he thinks the oil companies will absorb the carbon tax, Mr. Bechard said, "Well, we count on the goodwill of the gas companies." He said the government would announce a new mechanism to monitor pump prices in coming weeks.

Mr. Bechard has also threatened to impose a ceiling price on gasoline. Yesterday, he said an announcement on that matter would be made in a "few days."

Energy producers, he said, should not be surprised by the tax because it was announced a year ago, CBC reported.

The announcement follows a proposal by Green Party leader Elizabeth May of a $50-per-tonne carbon tax, which could drive up gasoline prices by 12 cents per litre. The proposed tax, which could climb to $100 per tonne by 2020, was at the heart of a new climate change plan unveiled by Ms. May as the only way to avert a climate catastrophe.

Revenues from the new tax would be used to reduce income and payroll taxes, and to establish income supplements and other incentives to encourage deep reductions in the greenhouse gas pollution that is linked to global warming she said.

In Parliament on Tursday, the Liberals, New Democrats and Bloc Quebecois agreed with the principle of Ms. May's plan but distanced themselves from the idea of the carbon tax of $50 per tonne.

Even so, they stuck with their own joint proposal to create an investment fund to which companies could contribute at a rate of $20 to $30 per tonne in order to offset their pollution.

Liberal leader Stephane Dion said the measure would not be a carbon tax since the money goes back to industry when they reduce their emissions.

On Tuesday, Bloc environment critic Bernard Bigras said Quebec industries that have already made efforts to lower their greenhouse gas emissions could be penalized under the Green Party plan, because it does not use a territorial approach in its targets and regulations.

"There would be the same ceiling for the oil industry as for the manufacturing sector," Mr. Bigras said.

"I didn't see any early measures in the plan to reward the efforts of companies that reduced their greenhouse gas emissions," he said.

CanWest News Service

Sunday, June 03, 2007

It's not difficult!

Hi Clare,

I admire the time you are prepared to take towards this petition. I wish I had the time, but I send you the best and will install your site on my sidebar and also write an article on your efforts when I find time today....good luck and a lot of Metis thank you.

To Premier Doer and Prime Minister Harper:

I am discouraged by the lack of accountability and transparency by the MMF. Wasteful spending, nepotism, three advertising campaigns with NO accountability to its people in regards to who got the advertising contracts? Why is the government spending so many public dollars on a private corporation that insists on becoming no more that a Metis advertising agency. The sum of dollars spent on advertising seems to be obscured by the questionable accounting practices used by the Federation.

As far as these signs go, they are a huge waste and if an investigation were to be done thoroughly, I believe there would be a finding of nepotism, back door friendship-type dealings that ultimately decided where the advertising contracts were to go....we are talking in excess of a million dollars....if this happened to either of the three mainstream Parties, this would be a huge public scandal....these are not only Metis dollars, taxpayers demand accountability as well....GroupAction and the Liberal advertising scandal comes to mind.

Metis News and Stuff has also received many comments and other e-mail that suggest this private corporation is engaging in more than just questionable business practices. I have always made myself available to any contact with your Offices.


Derryl Sanderson,
Metis News and Stuff
metis_man@hotmail.com
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear Derryl,

Thank you for the support and link. Getting a petition started especially online is not difficult:

(1) Prepare and post a brief statement saying the undersigned are opposed to the MMF spending $500,000 of public money on signs. Rather, it should be directed to improving support services for Metis people throughout the province

(2) Since the Federation receives public dollars from both Manitoba and the Federal Government, anyone in Canada who pays taxes can participate

(3) Simply send us (www.derrylsanderson.blogspot or pieuk@shaw.ca) your:

(a) Full Name
(b) Address
(c) Telephone Number/E-mail

(4) A person's particulars will NEVER appear on the internet. Their private information is strictly for compiling Premier Doer's master list

Sincerely,
Clare L. Pieuk

Friday, June 01, 2007

We're starting another petition - please help!

Tansi/Good Day Folks,

Here's our thinking:

(1) Like you we too are totally p....d about the way the MMF Leadership recently marched, virtually unannounced, into the Manitoba hamlet of Ste. Rita proclaiming it to be a Metis community by planting a large taxpayer funded sign. Worst yet, they have at least another 130 locations still to go at a public expense of at least $500 thousand while your people are in such need of significant improvement to their social services!











Want one of these traveling signs to suddenly appear in your backyard eh?

(2) Here are your options:

(a) Practice civil obedience - go through life as a jealous yet PROUD chicken little



(b) Speak out, start a petition but risk having the Manitoba Metis Federation drop a minimum $250/hour taxpayer funded lawyer on you alleging defamation!

(c) Engage in acts of passive civil disobedience such as:

(i) Taking a basic, crash course in entomology










(ii) Hiring an MMF paid for young, virile Metis student to protect your community this summer. Please make sure they're well equipped and mentally balanced - psychos need not apply!





However, we've decided to take the high road. Read on .....

(2) Our supporters believe this latest provocation by the MMF is: undemocratic; not in the public interest; unconstituitional; a violation of our Charter of Rights and Freedoms not to mention unCANADIAN!

Uncle Joe: "Comrades this is not good!"





(3) We'd like to collect enough signatures to send to Premier Doer demanding action!





(4) Anyone who pays taxes in Canada can join our protest!








"WE ARE CANADIAN!"

Please e-mail us (pieuk@shaw.ca) with your ideas. Not to worry, none of your particulars will be revealed to anyone other than our Premier should the petition go forward.

If necessary we remain prepared to appeal to a much Higher Moral Authority!
Failing that, if we're really desperate there's always these guys:




Try suing this posting for defamation Mr. Murray Norman ($BILLABLE HOURS$!") Trachtenberg. Good luck!


Clare L. Pieuk
Distribution List:
Harper.P@parl.gc.ca
Premier@leg.gov.mb.ca
theverdict@ctv.ca









THE VERDICT with Paula Todd on CTV

OUR SECRET WEAPON!