Well, this Wednesday there is certainly no lack of topics. We could
restrict ourselves to Canadians and concentrate on the by-elections, the
Liberals' dubious new acquisitions, Bob Rae as mediator of Burnt Church,
THE MULRONEY WEDDING AND WHAT YOU BOUGHT FOR THE BRIDE, the renewed
alliance between Bouchard and Harris, the forthcoming Federal election, the
Videotron/Québecor deal, BCE and Rogers - a veritable plethora of subjects.
[NB We could but Not likely DTN]
We may also go further afield and consider the final Millennium Declaration
of the UN, the OECD annual report card on Canada - and WATER, the final
build-up for the Sydney Olympics (how many of you knew that Waltzing
Matilda was a) written by Banjo Patterson and b) is not the national
anthem?), the Hong Kong elections, and OPEC/oil prices/severe disturbances
in Europe.
Wednesday Night Salon #967
13th September 2000
PROLOGUE
It was a gathering of the Wednesday Night Irregulars - many of the Old Guard - and consequently a somewhat irreverent tone amidst the discussion of serious issues.
CANADIAN POLITICS
The discussion was led off by video clips of the two new members of Parliament who had just won seats. Clarke may have won his seat in Kings/Hants, but this week he lost two members of his PC party, to be followed by the President of the Party.
Rex Murphy's analysis and comment on Stockwell Day and his appearance in a wet suit was superb. While Day wanted the press to see his arrival on a JetSki, most of them focussed on his departure, which gave a rear end view complete with a plume of water!
Sept. 12, 2000
With Day moving into Stornaway and making most of the political gains, there should be a more meaningful public debate. Since there is such diversity among the opposition parties, is there any chance of the consolidated opposition to oust the Liberals? There is reason to believe that Reform can seriously damage the Liberals and this should be cause for concern. It will be interesting to see how Day performs in Parliament and how the Canadian public reacts - while a number of Wednesday Nighters believe that there is little substance, will the voters realize that "deep down he is shallow"?
HISTORY MADE THIS WEEK
This week the Mayor of Selma, Alabama was replaced by its first black mayor. Selma was the start of the famous march to Montgomery by civil rights activists and for all these years, the same (white) mayor has held office.
MONTREAL MUNICIPAL REORGANIZATION
Louis Bernard, the Québec civil servant charged with sorting out the municipal reorganization "The Megacity Mastermind":
has proposed a compromise whereby a group of nine Burroughs of roughly equal size would be established. Peter Trent has termed this idea Machiavellian, in that cities such as Westmount will be allowed to keep their charter, while Mayor Bourque will be able to say that Montreal is "One Island - One City", with nine groupings or "Burroughs (burrows"?). Our Mayor would prefer a clear battle over the downloading and the amalgamation issue. If the new proposal goes through there would be FIVE levels of government.
Québec City seems to be concerned that the municipalities (led by Westmount) may win the court case on downloading and is making overtures to settle out of court. Bernard Landry has stated that he will fund the municipalities that drop their lawsuits.
EVALUATION
In the new taxation roll there is a decrease in commercial real estate value, but an increase in private properties - particularly in Westmount (21.3%). There will most likely be a variable tax rate by the end of the year.
THE HEALTHCARE PACT
The new Healthcare funds - $23 billion over the next five years - are essentially a replacement for the $6bn cut made by the Liberal government in 1995. Unfortunately, sick patients are poor lobbyists. The Liberals are restoring the funds with an election coming up in the next year - a good political move? The government is conducting a monopolistic experiment with our healthcare system. The CMA has to work with the government to root out the problems - which may take 20 to 30 years to resolve.
The Liberals missed a political opportunity to point out that the Canadian federation does work with Quebec and Ontario coming together to get the healthcare funding restored. As it turns out Quebec gets more out of the system than it puts in, so Premier Bouchard has an ulterior motive to support this federal activity.
The federal government should have demanded more in the way of accountability and medical standards that can be measured. Also, given the way the funds are distributed to the provinces there is no way to verify that the funds are indeed being spent on Medicare. The funding of $1Bn for new medical equipment such as MRIs is most welcome. Family physicians are also happy to see the $800 million earmarked for Primary Care. However, the efficiency of delivering healthcare services is still a factor that can be improved. "Putting the patient first". There is a perceived reduction (from 40% to 31%) in the satisfaction of patients with the care they receive. There is an increase (from 10% to 13%) in alternative medicine being sought by patients. Also an increase (25% to 36%) in private funding of medical services.
An example of the problems within the system is the Lakeshore General, where a bloated bureaucracy makes poor decisions. Medical decisions have to be made by the doctors, not bureaucrats.
INCREASING OIL PRICES
Dean Lebaron |
Friday - September 15 - Need for A Complexity
Interpretation of Oil Pricing Today
RealVideo
In the U.K., the most highly taxed place for petrol (91 pence/litre), over 75% of the retail price was tax. Also the tax is on a percentage basis, so as the price of crude oil has risen from $11 a barrel to almost US$34 a barrel, the government is enjoying windfall revenues to the detriment of essential services. Tony Blair has been hanging tough on this issue, while the French government has given in to the French farmers blocking their roads. In the U.K., the government has been given notice that they should reduce their petrol tax in the next 60 days or there will be a repeat blockade of the refineries.
The protestors in the U.K. have a valid point in the "unjustified enrichment" of the government. There should be a change in the tax structure to a flat tax (not a percentage) - the current system being one of extortion. Blocking roads is illegal, as are other forms of civil disobedience, but this may be the only way to get the attention of a government and getting them to act.
In the U.S. the price of natural gas has doubled, and while the economy is doing well, these increases could well be the cause of inflation and have a negative impact. Most individuals and governments do not assess the full cost of burning hydrocarbons so far as air quality and the cost to the infrastructure is concerned. High taxes may be an incentive for people and companies to use these resources more carefully. But there has to be consideration of the cost to transportation companies and public transport - a two-tiered system for private cars and service industry vehicles?
The Toyota Prius uses a combination of technologies, with batteries being charged up with regenerative braking and a small efficient gas engine coming on as needed. This car can get over 80 miles to the gallon. It is available in the States, but not yet in Canada. Ford is also working on alternative technologies and the Ballard fuel cells should soon be available.
QUOTES OF THE EVENING
The government is bad and the opposition is worse.
Mulroney and his government are proof that the Irish potato famine did not last long enough.
Power is not created nor destroyed, it is just redistributed.
Notes by Professor Gerald Ratzer
Edited by Diana Thébaud Nicholson.
notes for mid September 2000
Pease note our sell on NT last week
at $84 click for chart
Rex Murphy on the Politics: watching the same old play? July 13, 2000 How far have we come?
Tuesday, September 12, 2000 Tory MPs set to join Liberals ..MP Diane St. Jacques and MP David Price ..will announce their decision at a press conference
in Ottawa today or tomorrow [so why last night?? DTN]
What about David Price's
our Wednesday-Night files show on April 21, 1999
He acted in an irresponsible intervention... politically partisan manner, potentially endangering Canadian commandos. More importantly, who was his source? He has in any event been condemned by most of his peers. He should not resign, he should be fired!
The threat of Russian rockets
aimed at London was real unlike his previous intervention concerning North Korean missiles aimed at Montreal!
CONCLUSION:
Should we have intervened? Answer: YES
Was this the best way of intervening? Answer: NO
Air strikes cannot accomplish what needs to be done. We should have intervened with ground forces. We did not because that action would not have been acceptable, risks are too high that this would become a bloody and protracted war with fierce opposition from troops familiar with the terrain and devoted to keeping out foreign intervention.
How will it end: The United States will declare victory and find a way out.
WASHINGTON--As the U.S. presidential candidates gear up for the final laps of
their respective campaigns, Silicon Valley and other technology hotbeds will be
watching closely as Vice President Al Gore and Texas Gov. George W. Bush flesh
out their positions on technology issues.
the US November Race to see candidate positions on each issue.
George Bush vs Al Gore
The Law with Julius Grey on The law and leadership.
Ottawa, central bank at odds over inflation risk Finance wants to test limits of growth NP
Friday, September 1, 2000 Alliance: a national headache
Former Tory cabinet minister John Crosbie comes out swinging
against the Official Opposition, and urges other Conservatives to do the same
Do visit our Bermuda Site new
Congratulations to our Peter Trent who courageously - and wisely - led the way on the municipal referendum question. Now the other mayors have followed his example and the suburbs, speaking with one voice, may be heard. Peter will be with us later in the evening.
So, Health, the Economy, a Healthy Economy, Healthy Travel and many healthy cities... are on the menu for tomorrow evening. It should be a fascinating one.
Benard Landry & JAY BRYAN on
The Mosel Vitelic Inc. Taiwanese Memory Chip Plant?
$3-billion factory 1,500 jobs and 6,500 indirect jobs
But what if, in the next down draft, they fail... is the risk too high?
David and Diana Nicholson
The People and Ideas that Make Modern Investment The Ultimate Investor a book writen by many, on the web. It was produced by Dean Lebaron and Romesh Vaitilingam and includes BCA Martin Barnes with the chapter on International Money
From time to time we will link to Dean Lebaron's one min. tv video clips. 
To view these videos, you'll need RealPlayer.
Click here to download the latest version
Thursday - September 7 - The Chinese Wall
Between Investment Research and Investment Banking
RealVideo
link: BostonGlobe Article
Gas Price Watch.com
One of the best ideas at Computerfest was the new web site Gas Price Watch.com. It's the creation of a local group of techies in Dayton whOWN to use the Internet to bring some market sanity to gasoline prices. The site now has over 55,000 gas stations in their database, and they're recruiting an army of civilian spotters to input local gas prices onto their web site. Their goal is to save consumers at least a billion dollars in gasoline costs.
see the invention to # 903 in the Park
#903 June 23 with David & Terry Jones in the park
link to play No-Tavern story by Wayne Larsen le Maire Prud'homme, Saint Jean Baptiste, Bill Brownstein story, John and Holly Jonas, Eleanor Gribble François Charbonneau water AquaLandsis, Pierre D'Amour one currency dollar, U.S. Presidential, Marie & Mascot See W-N on One dollar in NA & US»Cdn chart
City hall has become an evening telephone phone-out centre. Volunteers to help with the campaign are being sought and a hot line is in place (989-5236).
Objective is to prepare for a referendum in October.
click for
Mayor Trent's Letter to Westmount with updates Westmounters Must See
|
Westmount News
Council of September 5, 2000
Satellite dishes: Council is intending to allow small satellite dishes to be installed without need of special permit. A by-law has been introduced which would permit dishes that are less than 18 inches diameter, are not visible from the street, located on a flat roof, a balcony floor or at the rear, and have the owners' consent. The proposal also allows only one of the larger dishes than can be installed per site. These steps will involve zoning changes and a consultation meeting will be held on October 5 before the regular council meeting.
Library terminals: The old GEAC terminals are being replaced by computers and the existing equipment upgraded to give new services. Cost: $6,000.
Annexation: the mayor described commissioner Louis Bernard's proposals for redefining Montreal island into boroughs as "totally unacceptable". He was working on a committee of suburban mayors that was preparing an alternative plan.
Thank you Don Wedge
Wed966.htm
Wed-968
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