Canada's worst: Mrs. McGuinty's Nanny State whacks Ontario -ON
Terence Corcoran Financial PostSaturday, March 12, 2005
The government's most draconian initiative so far is the greenbelt around Toronto, a 700,000-hectare noose around the city that blocks all development over an area roughly the size of Prince Edward Island. Pandering to environmental activists, the province produced legislation that gives it absolute development control over every car dealership and farm property within the area. Pol Pot marched Cambodians out into the country. The McGuinty government hopes to lock them up in the city.
As for the property rights of people and companies that own land within the greenbelt, forget it. Paragraph 19(2) of the Greenbelt Act says that "No costs, compensation or damages are owing or payable to any person and no remedy, including but not limited to a remedy in contract, restitution, tort or trust, is available to any person in connection with anything" in the act. One developer alone says the greenbelt act has stripped up of land values of approximately $240-million.
Property rights not being a right in Canada, Ontario just might get away with such a massive confiscation of land without compensation. Compounding matters is a provision that no development decisions by the government are open to appeal to any court or agency. Mrs. McGuinty rules, absolutely.
Also looming over the province is the massive and incoherent restructuring of the electric power industry. The provincial energy board yesterday unveiled its plan to control prices for power throughout the province. Rates will go up for all consumers, depending on how much electricity they use. The objective is "to make sure the prices consumers pay for electricity better reflect the price paid to generators."
Instead of letting prices actually reflect generators' costs, the government has imposed a bizarre set of controlled prices that will be adjusted from time to time. And, in typical nanny mode, it will set prices at different levels depending on the time of day and time of year. Nothing wrong with matching prices with supply and demand, but Mrs. McGuinty has decided to manipulate price to allow people to use more electricity during winter than summer. Another plan is to put a "smart meter" into every home so that consumers can adjust consumption.
The trouble with the smart meters is that they will be hooked up to a dumb generating and distribution system. Especially dumb is the province's plan to shut down coal plants by 2007. Nobody expects that to happen, but the province has yet to notify voters that another election promise is dead.
There is much more. We didn't get to the looming budget deficits; the ethanol subsidies; the vindictive harassment of the private owners of Highway 407; the breached promises to the restaurant industry on tobacco regulation; labour legislation; a new environment law. When you're dealing with Canada's Worst government, the end is unlikely to be near.
Here is how airspace is using your tax money and donations. Has a lovely taste of money with only 3 people viewing it. Where a guy dress like a grim reaper gets paid to walk around a a campus etc. for an hour with his own photographer, They don't have to worry about an entourage, no one thinks their using money wisely right Robert ? ( or is that grim) lol
Lets use the money where the real fight is in the courts! Shouldn't the lawyers get some of your wages??
Oh yes, I forgot it's for the children. Such a good, make work project. I want your job so I can feel like I'm propagating hate crimes. After all the first thing you doing propaganda, is take the human element out, by using cartoons and death figures. After all taking the people out is the first step, to make any hate crime useable.
http://www.canada.com/national/nationalpost/columnists/story.html?id=bc6650b2-9d0a-4127-866e-312231ca0d31&page=1
Where there's smoke
By JOE WARMINGTON -- For the Toronto Sun Sat, March 12, 2005
This town was smoking last night. The way things are for smokers these days that's a news flash.
Now, we all know Premier Dalton McGuinty, Health Minister George Smitherman and the rest of those clean-livers in government were probably not out enjoying a pint and a smoke last night but there are people who still do that.
Yes, a lot of us who derive our livelihoods from the night were wondering when the heck smokers would finally mount a fight against the Goliath that is the non-smoking movement.
Even the pit bull people have put up a heck of a battle for A-G Michael Bryant. But with the smoking ban -- and upcoming legislation to take it even further -- Smitherman has been sleeping easy with virtually no vocal opposition.
Until now.
Yes, let the Scrawler report there is an underground revolution underway and it held its first meeting last night.
Dubbed the Rock'n'Rally, 200 people for a more common sense approach to handling smoking in public places gathered at the terrific Hollywood On The Queensway club.
"It is a grassroots campaign," said Nancy Daigneault, president of mychoice.ca, an "online smokers' rights group" which has 15,000 signatures.
The idea is merely to allow the continuation of smoking rooms and some dignity for those who enjoy, or are addicted to, a perfectly legal product.
"Smokers feel like second-class citizens," said Daigneault, a non-smoker by the way, who admitted the website is funded by the tobacco lobby.
Enjoying a butt in the glassed-in smoking lounge at the Hollywood, Owen Bailey and Maggie Balson say it's not fair. And don't forget bartenders like Karen Sorc and Mel Cramb who live off tips.
Also, don't forget places like the Hollywood played by the rules and invested in these smoking rooms, as did the owners at Doolys' 2,500 square-foot pool room in Woodbridge, which general manager Jordan Robbins tells me is the largest in the GTA.
Now, as I have said before, I don't smoke cigarettes but do enjoy a fine cigar -- something very difficult to do anymore.
My friend Sonia Nolan at Habanos on The Beach, where I buy my cigars, was saying that with the new rules -- and the hockey lockout -- it has been an extremely tough winter for business.
Of course, nobody is turning away their tax contributions.
The problem I have with such strict rules is it's killing Toronto's nightlife. Many of the pubs and bars are struggling. No one knows that more than veteran Toronto rocker Rick Jennings of the band Southbound, who performed at the rally. "We are losing gigs," he said. "It's insanity."
Like so many in the pubs, he's wondering where the non-smokers are.
"They were supposed to come out in droves and beat down the doors," he laughs. "The doors are still intact."
If it keeps up like this, he wonders if he might die of starvation or "die of pneumonia before I ever die of cancer."
Well, whether you smoke or not, have a smokin' weekend yourself. Scrawler out.
http://www.canoe.ca/NewsStand/Columnists/Toronto/Joe_Warmington/2005/03/12/958010.html
ATTENTION DALTON McGuinty and the Fiberal government: -ON
My name is Allan Boynton and I'm a 22-year-old rural kid whose family has farmed for generations, previously in the Gormerly (Oak Ridges) area and now west of Orangeville in a place called Marsville.
How do you expect me to seriously look at farming as a future when your party offers nothing in return?
It's time you started listening to rural people that have fed you and your cabinet your whole lives instead of taking something away we take pride in.
Listen to the farmers and show some respect to the people that put you in office. I will make it my life-long goal to make sure lying, deceiving and incompetent people like you are never back in office -- and I look forward to electing John Tory in the by-election because he took the time to listen to me and my family.
Allan Boynton
Marsville
(Disappointing Dalton and his gang seem to be making a lot of enemies)
http://www.canoe.ca/NewsStand/TorontoSun/Letters/
Border city in smoking dispute
LEO PARE, SUN MEDIA
LLOYDMINSTER -- On the Saskatchewan side of this border city, you can't smoke in bars or restaurants. Across town in Alberta, it's still permissible. Amid vocal demands for a level playing field, city councillors in Lloydminster are considering a city-wide bylaw forcing patrons to butt out.
"It's a bit of a standoff," said Milton Wakefield, MLA for the Saskatchewan side.
Wakefield supports the smoking ban in his province but lobbied unsuccessfully for an exception to protect local businesses in Lloydminster.
"Overall, I think it's only a matter of time before smoking bans are implemented every-where," he said.
At a recent council meeting, Mayor Ken Baker said the city believes provincial governments should be responsible for smoking legislation, but if Alberta rejects the idea of a provincial ban, Lloydminster will be forced to do something.
A committee consulting with businesses could discuss the issue as early as March 14, but it's unclear exactly what will be achieved in the short term, said Coun. Duff Stewart.
City officials had asked to be exempted from Saskatchewan's smoking legislation when it took effect Jan. 1, but the province turned them down.
A recent letter from the Prairie North Health Region urged council to reconsider a city-wide bylaw on smoking, a recommendation the city has rejected twice.
"Council hasn't said anything new since the last time we talked about this," Baker said. "From time to time, people can change their mind, and I'm not suggesting (council) will or won't. I'm just saying we haven't dealt with smoking for probably a month."
Seann Brenan, who owns and operates Cheers Restaurant and Lounge on the Saskatchewan side of town with his wife, Bev, said his place has seen a significant decline in business since the smoking legislation came into effect.
"We talked to the city about this before, but basically the city didn't want anything to do with it because then they have to start policing it and that sort of stuff," Brenan said.
"We tried to tell (the Saskatchewan government): 'You have to have an exception to the rule here because this is ludicrous.' "
Brenan is anxious to see results from the city's committee. "The mayor has really been trying to get us a level playing field."
Since the Saskatchewan smoking legislation took effect, Brenan said Cheers has had three visits from health officials.
He was issued one warning after they found ashes in a beer bottle on their second visit.
http://www.canoe.ca/NewsStand/EdmontonSun/News/2005/03/11/957265-sun.html
Bill would ban the butt in bars -AB
By PAULA OGONOSKI Today staff and The Canadian Press Tuesday March 08, 2005
Fort McMurray Today — A local anti-smoking advocate said she is content with a new smoking bill which proposes to bar cigarettes in all workplaces throughout the province.
“It’s certainly different than we had anticipated. From the initial information there was going to be provisions with smoking rooms. This looks very different. It completely bans smoking in the workplace which is very positive,” said Kathy McKenna, chairwoman of the Wood Buffalo Tobacco Reduction Coalition. “I think we should strive to protect people who do not chose to smoke, whether it’s a minor or an adult in the workplace.”
McKenna said she isn’t sure if the bill will pass but the province has come a long way.
“We can only hope. When you look at where we’ve come over the years, we’ve progressed to protect people from tobacco. But we need to continue to strive to make bigger steps. Just think of how much we’ve come along in even recognizing how harmful second hand smoke is.”
Montana’s general manager Lee Laverdiere said he isn’t concerned a provincewide law would hurt business but it would certainly restrict people’s options.
“I don’t think it would affect us too much if everyone had to be anti-smoking, but it’s nice to have the choice of which atmosphere you wish to be in. We’ll deal with it if it comes,” he said.
A rookie member of the legislature introduced anti-smoking legislation Monday that would ban smoking on the job or in public places across Alberta.
But the proposed law from Dave Rodney, a Calgary member of the legislature, is a private member’s bill, which means its passage is uncertain unless the government decides to throw its weight behind the tough new anti-smoking measures.
‘‘We’re doing it for all the right reasons,’’ Rodney told a throng of reporters outside the assembly after he introduced his bill. ‘‘We want to do great things and we just have to set up the strategy to do exactly that.’’
Bill 201 would ban smoking in the workplace as well as bars, restaurants, public buildings and public vehicles including buses and taxis. The only exceptions would be designated smoking rooms in hotels and group homes with smoking rooms.
Traditional aboriginal ceremonies involving tobacco would also be exempt. But there is no provision for designated smoking rooms, which some media had reported was included in earlier drafts of the bill.
Rodney has faced some difficult challenges, including climbing Mount Everest twice, but concedes this anti-smoking bill is one of his toughest.
‘‘Climbing Everest was an amazing struggle. I have seen it’s exactly the same in politics. We have incredibly lofty goals,’’ he said.
On Monday, Premier Ralph Klein said that butting out where minors are present is a must but taking the ban any further must be left to Alberta’s communities.
‘‘I would like to see a law that enforces a ban wherever children are ... but to also have a notwithstanding clause that would allow municipalities to go further if they want to,’’ Klein said in Calgary.
The premier added the law should be enforceable, and he wondered how it’s possible to force an 80-year-old man who has enjoyed a smoke and a beer for decades to now change his ways?
But Health Minister Iris Evans said ‘‘I think it’s clear that it’s going to be a debate, and that’s what the premier promised.’’
http://www.fortmcmurraytoday.com/story.php?id=147593
TOBACCO FREE COUNTERS CLAIM BY MANUFACTURER ABOUT DISPLAYS -ON
A letter March 7/05 from Christina Dona, manager of media relations with Imperial Tobacco Co. questioned Tobacco Free's Out of Sight, Out of Mind campaign which seeks to put a spotlight on the role of in-stores point of sale tobacco advertising in recruiting teens to become smokers.
Ms. Dona asserts that tobacco in-store advertising, complete with stand alone cigarettes displays at children's eye level next to the candy are aimed at solely at adults.
A California study looked at Grade 6 to 8 students who visited convenience stores once a week or more. After controlling for social factors, these primary students were 58 per cent more likely to become future smokers, an influence that ranks on the same level as having a parent as a smoker.
The Point of Purchase Advertising Institutes has found that more than 60 per cent of tobacco purchases are impulse buys, despite the addictiveness of tobacco. This is not surprising given that 20 per cent of smokers are occasional smokers , including almost 40 per cent of adolescent smokers.
In addition Health Canada has found a large majority of daily smokers-- 70 per cent--are trying to quit. Furthermore, Health Canada confirms that the average number of cigarettes smoked daily(by daily smokers) is highly volatile.
There are numerous references in internal tobacco company documents about the importance of impulse purchases to total tobacco sales: BAT, the International parent company of Imperial Tobacco says, "Many impulse sales are lost when stock is not available or cannot easily be seen or reached."
The industry knows the importance of power walls in sparking impulse purchases, that's why in 2003 they paid 88 million to retailers to put cigarettes under are noses.
The experiences of pharmacies shows that remove tobacco advertising will not hurt retailers. The available space will be taken by other companies that will pay to stock their products in the prime spaces.
It is a weak argument that tobacco companies need wall to wall advertising to persuade adult smokers to change brands. Apart those smokers who solely based on price, adult smokers are remarkably faithful to the brand that they first started with. Brand switching tends to occur only in the last two years of a person's smoking carrer as they mentally gear up to quit.
Putting cigarettes under the counter or covering up the power wall of packages will not stop adults smokers from asking for their brand. It will protect our youth when corner store tobacco advertising is out of "sight and out of mind."
Dr. Jim Morris Chairperson, Tobacco Free Thunder Bay
www.tbsource.com
Texas-style pokes takes hold in N.B. -NB
Bar owners risk losing licences and VLTs in high-stakes gamble
BY SARAH MCGINNIS SPECIAL REPORT As published on page A1/A6 on March 12, 2005
A 20-something woman, with long blonde hair and a silvery-grey blouse, shuffles playing cards then fans the deck out on a casino-style table. She flicks a blue and white card to each of the seven baseball cap-wearing men seated near her, then makes the rounds again.
Dealing stops abruptly and players, including the young woman, glance at their two cards. Most barely lift them from the red felt tabletop before placing them back down. The game begins.
This is Texas Hold'em poker, a seven-card game that's popping up in New Brunswick pool halls and bars. Players try to make the best hand from five communal cards and two they hold. Bets are high and bluffing is a must, a heady combination that is enticing hundreds of players across the province. But, the game could be turning local businesses into miniature casinos, as bar and pool hall owners install poker tables next to video lottery machines.
Poker is hot. Any night of the week Saint John card players can be dealt into a public game, and on Wednesdays and Sundays there are at least three separate tournaments in the city to choose from. The same is true for many other New Brunswick communities.
Participants aren't just after a night's entertainment or bragging rights, they're playing for cash. Most tournaments include a $35 fee to play for the night. Usually $5 goes to the business hosting the game and $7 is set aside for an end of season tournament, where upwards of $10,000 in trips to Las Vegas and cash are at stake. The remainder, $500 or more, is reserved for the top few players who, at night's end, have captured the most poker chips.
This week Fredericton Police announced they're ready to take action on such games. Texas Hold'em poker tournaments are illegal. Businesses hosting them could lose their liquor licences, VLT machines and face possible jail time if caught. Those that don't face empty bars or pool halls and plummeting profits as customers head next door for poker.
Last summer, Saint John pool hall owner Jeff Kennedy noticed that some of his regulars weren't showing up anymore. Those who warmed the well-worn barstools of J. K. Corner Pocket seemed to talk about one thing, poker. Texas Hold'em tournaments are being held at pool halls across the city and all over Fredericton, they told him.
Mr. Kennedy recognized that poker could be a great way to bring in folks on slow evenings. His competitors attracted 30, 40 or 50 players any night of the week. With the smoking ban looming and profits expected to drop because of it, last September Mr. Kennedy started holding poker games of his own.
"I built the tables myself," he explains, holding up one of four octagonal table tops, complete with green felt covers, wooden rims and drink and poker chip holders. He invested more than $1,000 to build them. He also removed a stage and re-tiled the floor in the far corner of his pool hall for poker games.
Initially, things went marvelously. He wasn't getting the same numbers as established tournaments, but every Wednesday night and Sunday afternoon Mr. Kennedy had 20 or 30 people show up eager to play cards.
Trouble started when a liquor inspector noticed a poker and pool poster on the wall. He removed the poster and left. Mr. Kennedy's staff alerted him. So, he called another liquor inspector. He was told Texas Hold'em tournaments are illegal, and if he held them in his licensed establishment, Mr. Kennedy could have difficulty getting his liquor licence renewed. That wasn't all. Mr. Kennedy was informed someone had filed a complaint against his games, and the liquor inspector told the Atlantic Lottery Corporation. A letter followed six weeks later, with the lottery corporation threatening to pull his five VLTs if the tournaments didn't stop.
"They're not bothering anyone else, why are they bothering me?" he said, sitting on the green leather couch located where his poker tables once sat. "I'm taking a hit because of Texas Hold'em now. Customers who were always in my establishment aren't anymore because of the poker frenzy, and they're going to go where the action is."
The Atlantic Lottery Corporation has no problem with Texas Hold'em poker tournaments, so long as they're legal, said spokesman Robert Bourgeois. With ESPN and TSN airing professional poker tournaments and home games being sold at department stores, Texas Hold'em has grabbed the public's attention. The ALC wants to cash in. The lottery corporation has designed a poker scratch and win ticket, but it's not interested in holding tournaments, he said. Instead, staff are informing business owners that Texas Hold'em is against the law, and threatening to take away VLT machines if they host games.
"We do have, under our contracts with retailers, clauses that allow us to remove VLTs," Mr. Bourgeois said.
The clause states that if businesses violate the law, or harm the reputation of the ALC, they could have their machines withdrawn.
"If we felt we needed to we can, and we would, remove VLTs," he said.
Many business owners looking to cash in on poker aren't willing to call ALC's bluff. Greg Stewart owns several bars and pool halls in Saint John, including Jakes Steakhouse and Pub, The Outback and Dooly's in the Westmorland Mall. He said he wants to launch poker tournaments on a large scale, but said liquor inspectors informed him he could lose his VLT machines if he did. With 25 machines he said he can't afford to take the chance. Still, Mr. Stewart sees poker as a key way to bring patrons into his businesses and said it's unfair he's prohibited from holding tournaments when others, who haven't checked the rules, are doing it anyway.
"With the non-smoking we need something to compensate," Mr. Stewart said. "While it's hot, we should be in n it. We should be capitalizing."
When it comes to Texas Hold'em, VLT revenue isn't the only profit at stake. Aquarius Pub and Restaurant owner Steve Vair approached liquor inspectors in January for the rules concerning tournaments. He wanted to boost sales after the smoking ban. Inspectors said he could lose his liquor licence if he starts hosting poker nights.
"The bottom line was: I don't want to be in violation of my liquor licence, to risk losing my liquor licence because that is my livelihood here...Without that we're not in business," Mr. Vair said.
Are Texas Hold'em poker tournaments legal? It depends, said Vicky Deschênes, spokeswoman for the provincial Finance Department. According to the Criminal Code of Canada, all gambling that is not licensed by the province is illegal. The government licenses charitable organizations to host events such as bingos, raffles or Monte Carlos if the money raised goes to a non-profit community cause. The province doesn't, however, license Texas Hold'em tournaments and isn't looking at changing that, she said.
The province isn't regulating poker tournaments, but it says it's not responsible for ensuring the games stop either. Liquor inspectors are telling bar owners and pool hall managers that Texas Hold'em tournaments are illegal. They are also forwarding information on such games to the police, but it's up to the cops to enforce gaming laws, said provincial Public Safety Department spokeswoman Patricia Hyland.
Police know Texas Hold'em games are being held in major cities almost every night. Many forces, including the RCMP and Fredericton Police, have received calls from businesses asking for clarification on Texas Hold'em. This week the Fredericton police issued a warning about the game on their website. In most cases, police are advising people to consult lawyers, because they could be breaking the law, said RCMP spokesman Sgt. Gary Cameron.
"The criminal code is very specific. You can't make a profit (off gambling)," Sgt. Cameron said. "You have to be licensed from the province. If you are not licensed that's when it may be a criminal act."
This is not to say that police will be charging into private homes, breaking up neighbourhood poker games. People playing Texas Hold'em in their basement is legal, so long as no one is profiting by holding the game.
The moment an unlicensed third party collects fees, or holds money to distribute as prizes later, there could be trouble, Sgt. Cameron said. This could be seen as holding a common gaming house, an offence that brings with it a maximum sentence of two years in prison.
It isn't just tournament organizers who should be concerned about gaming laws, said Corp. Martin Gaudet of the Fredericton Police Force. Anyone caught attending an illegal card game could be charged, and face up to a $2,000 fine or six months in jail.
Fredericton and Saint John police, as well as the RCMP, say they'll investigate any complaints received about poker tournaments. That bothers Mr. Kennedy. Either Texas Hold'em should be permitted everywhere, or it shouldn't, he said. If police only investigate complaints, some tournaments will be shut down while others will continue reaping the benefits.
"Obviously there are no rules because other people are allowed to play," Mr. Kennedy said. "There are no rules because other establishments have been allowed to continue to operate without obstruction and only a couple of establishments have been told to stop."
Twice a week, retired elementary school gym teacher Gary Ewart is counting his chips at a Saint John poker tournament. He's been playing poker for more than a decade but discovered Texas Hold'em last year. He loves it and doesn't think his hobby should be a crime.
Poker may be played in Las Vegas, but local tournaments aren't casinos, Mr. Ewart said. In the past he's watched people lose $300, $400 and $500 at a single game. Texas Hold'em tournaments, however, have a set fee and when you're out of chips you're done.
"I've been to Legions and bars holding cribbage tournaments where they charge an entry fee and the top few people win the money. Texas Hold'em is the same thing," Mr. Ewart said.
People can spend hours plunking coins into brightly coloured VLT machines, or litter tables with crumpled papers and silver flecks from scratch and win tickets, so why isn't Texas Hold'em legal, asked Liberal Justice Critic T.J. Burke.
"I'm greatly disappointed in the province's prevention of these type of games," Mr. Burke said. "They have allowed VLTs, which are known to be addictive and can lead to dire consequences for people in terms of health and also financial problems . . . . Texas Hold'em is legal in casinos in other parts of Canada but they have chosen to take the routes of illegality (here)."
Mr. Burke is a poker lover himself. He plays Texas Hold'em at home at least once a week, or "as much as my wife allows," and owns his own felt table cover and clay poker chips made in Nackawic. Mr. Burke isn't alone. He shares his poker table with doctors, lawyers and police officers and said the regular games are hardly criminal.
Just as businesses are using poker to boost profits, the province should be making money off the phenomenon too, Mr. Burke said. By licensing tournaments, the government could ensure a slice of the cash go toward public programs such as health care or education, he said.
Others agree it's only a matter of time before the province will deal themselves into the game. "I'm certain at some point when Atlantic Lotto and the province wake up they'll find it's an excellent source of revenue," said Mr. Stewart. "(If they do) I want to get into it. I want to do it and I want to do it on a big scale."
For now, Mr. Kennedy has moved his barely used poker tables into an unlicensed backroom of his pool hall, which was until recently his apartment. The rectangular room, with its chipped red paint and faded newspaper articles about pool players, still hosts the occasional game.
The venue change means there's no more drinks being served, no fees going to support his business and hardly any players anymore. In fact, he's not sure how long he will bother with Texas Hold'em, even though some of his competitors are thriving off it.
"It was originally a move to get more people in my place, now it's just a little bit of stubbornness on my part," he said. "I've been told I can't do it, but others are and that doesn't wash with me."
http://canadaeast.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050312/TPEBRIEF/303120121
Man charged in B.C. blaze to plead not guilty -BC
CTV.ca News Staff
The man who allegedly started a blaze that destroyed 75 homes and burned thousands of hectares of land will plead not guilty to the charge against him, his lawyer says.
Michael Barre has been charged with one count of dropping a burning substance within one kilometre of a forest.
It is an offence under British Columbia's Forest Practices Code, and carries a maximum penalty of two years in jail and a $500,000 fine. Barre could also have to cover some of the costs of fighting the fire.
Barre has told people that he thought his cigarette started the blaze in the McClure-Barriere region, on Aug. 1, 2003. However, his lawyer, John Hogg, says he will be pleading not guilty to the charge.
"There will still be an issue as to whether his cigarette did cause it," Hogg told CTV's Canada AM on Monday.
"There is a little discrepancy on where exactly the fire started, in terms of yards here or there, one way or another."
A trial date is expected to be set today or in a few days.
The fire destroyed dozens of homes, burned down 26,000 hectares of land and displaced 8,500 residents. The total property damages are estimated at $8.2 million.
Despite the devastation, there are some in the community who are supporting Barre with a petition.
Rick Appel and his wife, Pat, have collected 600 signatures, according to The Globe and Mail.
Rick Appel told The Globe that most people who have signed the petition feel that Barre has suffered enough by having to watch friends and neighbours rebuild.
He also questioned whether the forestry service could have done more to prevent the spread of the blaze.
Hogg said he isn't sure the petition will have much of an impact on the case.
"Although I suppose it if gained momentum and had enough signatures, someone might have to pay attention," Hogg said.
Hogg said Barre has learned to live with the devastation of the fire, but initially, he and his wife were "borderline nervous breakdown" and had to leave the province for a while.
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/1110809544044_100/?hub=TopStories
My email regarding the Sunday news show
SMOKERS OF THE WORLD, UNITE! March 13/05
How are smokers fighting back against anti-smoking legislation? They're mad as hell and they're not going to take it anymore - at a smokers' rights rally in Toronto, we meet the smokers of the world who are uniting against what they see as an unjust law.
"Your program made it seem like there wasn't 200 people opposing the smoking smoking legislation, by editing. There are people who know this is about rights, what we can do in properties we pay taxes for, including our home and businesses. I see that the "prohibition advocates" are trying to get ALL homes smoke free, next. When will it end? A study mentioned during the Harm Reductions Forum, in April/04, said that even the most draconian ban will only reduce smoking to 17%. In other words the Ontario government wants to spend spend BILLIONS to reduce smoking by 3%. This commitment will take decades. The harm of tobacco is based on stat's (epidemiology studies), and we all know how easy stats, and questionnaires can be wrong.
Thank You"
http://www.cbc.ca/sunday/
The Medical Minute: Asthma - more than just wheezing
Penn State Family & Community Medicine Thursday, March 10, 2005
Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center
Penn State College of Medicine By John Messmer
What do John F. Kennedy, Leonard Bernstein, Ernesto (Che) Guevara, Calvin Coolidge, Charles Dickens, Theodore Roosevelt, Marcel Proust, Woodrow Wilson and Antonio Vivaldi have in common? All were asthmatics, just like 15 million Americans, one-third of whom are children. The mental picture many people have of asthma is a wheezing person with an inhaler, but asthma is more than just wheezing. While many asthmatics from the past suffered with frequent wheezing and shortness of breath, current medical therapy can control asthma very well.
What is asthma?
Simply put, asthma is a condition of inflammation of the air passages of the lungs. Inflammation is what happens when the immune system attacks something. The immune response in asthmatics can be triggered by allergies, such as to cats, dust, mold or pollen; by irritants, such as smoke, dust or cold air; or by infections, such as cold and flu viruses. Once the immune response is started, chemicals from the inflammatory process are released in the air passages, causing them to swell and constrict, reducing the amount of air the person can get into and out of the lungs. Asthmatics may cough or wheeze, or simply feel short of breath. In serious cases, airflow is reduced significantly, causing collapse or even death. About 500,000 Americans are hospitalized and around 4,000 die from it each year.
Who gets asthma?
There is a strong tendency for asthma to run in families. Boys tend to get it more than girls, but in adults, it is more common for women to have asthma. It can develop at any age. There is some evidence to suggest exposure to cigarette smoke increases the possibility of asthma, particularly for young children. Since the prevalence of asthma is increasing, researchers have looked at everything from diet and obesity to environmental influences to explain it, but there is no concrete explanation for the increase.
What are the symptoms?
Wheezing is the hallmark symptom, but cough and shortness of breath, particularly if induced by exercise, cold air or a virus could be asthma. If severe, a person experiences tightness in the chest. In mild cases, it can be difficult to be sure, since the cough and difficulty breathing may be fairly mild. Not all wheezing is asthma, so self-diagnosis is not a good idea. Gastroesophageal reflux and heart disease also can cause wheezing.
How is it diagnosed?
A physician will evaluate the symptoms a person is experiencing and examine the heart and lungs. If wheezing is heard in association with a history consistent with asthma, a presumptive diagnosis can be made. Many times, a pulmonary function test (PFT) which measures lung function, can be used to help secure the diagnosis. If the PFT is consistent with asthma, it might be repeated after treatment with asthma medication to see if the abnormalities clear up. Since the PFT could be normal while the person is not having symptoms, sometimes it will be done after exposure to a medication known to induce asthma, methacholine. If methacholine causes asthmatic changes on the PFT, it supports the diagnosis.
How is asthma treated?
The most important part of asthma treatment is to control inflammation, which will stop the disease process. An inhaled steroid, a form of cortisone, very often is the foundation of treatment. These medications treat the inflammation very well and tend to have minimal side effects. They should be continued even if there are no symptoms. A leukotriene inhibitor may be beneficial in some people. This is another type of anti-inflammatory that is not a steroid, but it does not work for all asthmatics. A long-acting bronchodilator helps keep the airways open to improve airflow. Short-acting bronchodilators should be used minimally; if they are used more than a couple times a week, the asthma is not sufficiently controlled. Sometimes asthmatics stop using their anti-inflammatory and long-acting bronchodilators in favor of the rapid-acting medications because they feel the latter is working. It is possible to become insensitive to the effect of short-acting inhalers if used alone, making emergency treatment less successful. Death could result. Theophylline has been used for decades, but can have some serious side effects. More typically, it is added to other therapies in adult asthmatics if needed. Cromolyn and related compounds can control the release of histamine and can be a useful adjunct in appropriate people.
What's the prognosis?
Excellent, in most cases. There's no reason for asthmatic people to stay on the sidelines or limit their activities. Asthmatics can excel in all walks of life. Even some Olympic gold-medal winners have been asthmatic. Working with one's doctor on a treatment and monitoring plan can allow most asthmatics to manage their disease with minimal problems.
Asthmatics should get regular check-ups and be certain they understand what medications to take and how to use them. They should have a plan for self-monitoring and treatment if the asthma worsens. Asthmatics should never smoke and should make every effort to avoid exposure to smoking. Many times, children's asthma resolves by adulthood. With proper treatment, there can be fewer lost work and school days, and more importantly, fewer deaths from asthma
http://live.psu.edu/story/10831
American Cancer Society to Ohio Lawmakers: Ban Indoor Smoking by May
- 03/11/2005
The American Cancer Society is boldly trying to hold a flame to Ohio lawmakers in hopes of making Ohio the eighth state to ban smoking in businesses and public places.
The organization on March 10 gave Ohio lawmakers an ultimatum: Ban smoking before May 3 -- the date of primary elections in the Buckeye State -- or the group will begin a grassroots campaign to collect 100,000 signatures, which it would to submit to state legislators next January to put a smoke-free ordinance before the General Assembly.
"Right now, the American Cancer Society is working to change Ohio's future," said Don McClure, chief executive officer of the Ohio Division of the American Cancer Society. "We are asking for your help to make Ohio smoke-free. Help stop Ohioans from dying from second-hand smoke. Help protect every Ohio worker and customer."
If Ohio lawmakers fail to snuff out smoking or try to dilute the law, the American Cancer Society says it will collect another 100,000 signatures to put the smoke-free ordinance on the ballot in November 2006.
"We support a state law that states one simple fact: You have a right to breathe clean air," McClure said.
The American Cancer Society cites a growing body of evidence that second-hand smoke poses serious health risks to non-smokers.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in a recent report placed second-hand cigarette smoke in the same category as radon, asbestos, arsenic and other cancer-causing toxins and concluded there are no safe exposure levels for second-hand smoke. Second-hand smoke increasingly is being linked to lung cancer, heart disease and other illnesses and diseases.
The American Cancer Society also cites research conducted by the advocacy group Tobacco-Free Ohio that suggests bars, restaurants and other businesses in Toledo -- one of 14 Ohio cities with a smoking ban already in place -- have suffered little or no economic impact as a result of the indoor smoking ban.
The American Cancer Society says it will be joined in its SmokeFreeOhio.org campaign by the American Heart Association, the American Lung Association and other health advocacy groups.
- Josh Cable
http://www.occupationalhazards.com/articles/13093
Other Findings of the Elon Poll -NC
By ABC 11 Eyewitness News
(03/11/05 -- UNDATED) — The March Elon Poll found mixed news for President Bush, Governor Easley and strong support for public displays of the Ten Commandments.
President Bush's overall job approval rating stands at 52 percent, which is three points higher than the Elon Poll indicated in February. Pollsters say the increase is within the poll's margin of error of plus or minus 4.1 percentage point.
The poll had some good news for Governor Mike Easley, with 59 percent of respondents saying they approved of his proposal to raise cigarette taxes from 5 cents to 50 cents per pack over the next two years. Fifty-three percent said they approved of Easley's plan to continue a half-cent sales tax to help balance the state's budget.
Not all of the news was rosy for the governor. Sixty-five percent disapproved of Easley's proposal to reduce the state income tax on people in the highest income bracket.
Poll respondents widely supported displaying the Ten Commandments on government property. Seventy-nine percent supported displays inside city council chambers, 74 percent backed displays in public classrooms and 78 percent supported them in courtrooms.
The poll surveyed 571 adults around North Carolina between March 7 and 10.
Online Producer: Brian Shrader
http://abclocal.go.com/wtvd/news/031105_NW_otherpollfindings.html
Researcher Focuses On Obesity-Cancer Link
Study Conducted By Investigator At The Arkansas Children's Hospital Research Institute
Mar 12, 2005 8:15 am US/Mountain
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) The path to good health is through the stomach, according to Reza Hakkak, a research investigator at Arkansas Children's Hospital Research Institute.
Hakkak's preliminary studies show that a carcinogen known as DMBA, found in some cooked foods as well as cigarette smoke and car exhaust, causes mammory tumors to develop in obese rats more than two times more often than in lean rats.
Hakkak, also a professor of dietetics and nutrition at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, has been awarded a $250,000 grant from the Susan. G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.
His research is on the role of the diet in preventing specific kinds of diseases, especially breast and colon cancer. The grant money will help him further his research into the relationships among obesity, carcinogens and breast cancer that he began two years ago.
His work under the new grant will again involve rats. The rats will be surgically altered so they mimic post-menopausal women, who are at the greatest risk of developing breast cancer, Hakkak said. They will then be fed special diets that include carcinogens in an effort to determine the links between obesity and tumor development, he said.
People are exposed to carcinogens every day in two major ways, Hakkak said. Everybody has some exposure to a limited amount of airborne carcinogens — such as from cigarette smoke or vehicle exhaust — while others are in the food they eat.
"The diet is the (best) route into the human body for carcinogens," Hakkak said, "so we need to pay attention to what we eat."
All foods have the potential to either aid or discourage diseases from appearing, Hakkak said. "The diet either promotes or prevents diseases," he said.
The level of fat in foods is a factor in promoting disease, as is calorie intake. Hakkak said that, since 1980 the average calorie intake per person in this country has risen significantly.
One type of chemical found in foods that can help prevent disease are phytochemicals in fruits and vegetables.
"These are really beneficial," Hakkak said.
Recognition of that has prompted dietary experts to raise the recommended daily intake of fruits and vegetables from 5 servings a day to nine.
"Food is the cheapest way to prevent diseases," he said. "I think nutrition research will have to make every single effort to prevent obesity, to solve this problem," Hakkak said.
http://news4colorado.com/health/health_story_071101735.html
Mercury Rises Over EPA Pollution Rules
By Steven Milloy Monday, March 14, 2005
As the Environmental Protection Agency prepares to announce next week final rules intended to reduce mercury emissions from power plants, EPA officials and the Bush administration are coming under heavy fire from the Government Accounting Office, Congressional Democrats, and environmentalists.
But in reality, it’s another pointless Washington, D.C. political tug-of-war that we should all hope no one wins.
In January 2004, the EPA proposed several options for reducing mercury emissions from power plants. A technology-based option capping pollution at each U.S. power plant and supposedly reducing mercury emissions by 29 percent by 2008 is favored by environmentalists.
The EPA estimated that this option would cost power plants -- that is, users of electricity -- $2 billion per year and provide $15 billion or more in annual benefits.
A so-called “cap-and-trade” option, favored by the Bush administration, would not set emissions limits at every plant, but would instead establish a national emissions cap. The EPA would then distribute emissions allowances to power plants that could be traded between plants. Under cap-and-trade, emissions allowances would be reduced by 29 percent by 2010 and by 70 percent by 2018. The agency estimated the cap-and-trade option would cost $3 billion to $5 billion annually and provide anywhere from $58 billion to $73 billion or more per year in benefits.
Though it appears that the cap-and-trade option offers a much better cost-benefit ratio, the Government Accounting Office poured cold water on the EPA’s plan this week in a report claiming that the agency distorted its cost-benefit analysis to make it appear that the Bush administration’s cap-and-trade option was superior to the technology-based option preferred by environmental groups.
“The administration is showing a blatant disregard for the health of children, the health of women of childbearing age,” Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., told the Washington Post. “The agency’s mercury rule first failed the public health test. It then failed the science test. Now it’s clear that EPA cooked the books,” added an environmental activist.
The criticisms are partly valid and partly junk science. Incredible as it may seem, none of the benefits estimated by the EPA for either option are tied to human health improvements resulting from lower mercury emissions, according to the GAO.
The GAO recommended that the EPA go back to the drawing board and include in the cost-benefit analysis the human health benefits of reductions in mercury emission from power plants or at least to provide qualitative information on how these benefits are likely to compare under the technology-based and cap-and-trade options.
But this would be an exercise in futility. Although mercury emissions from power plants have never been regulated before, no scientific study documents a single adverse health effect attributable to mercury from power plants.
In September 2001, researchers from Brookhaven National Laboratory estimated the incremental health risk to fetuses -- supposedly a highly vulnerable population -- from power plant emissions of mercury to be between 1 in 1 million and 1 in 100,000. In EPA-land, such minuscule and hypothetical risks typically do not warrant regulatory action.
A November 2004 study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “confirmed that the blood mercury levels in young children and women of childbearing age usually are below levels of concern.”
One reason for the absence of data linking power plant mercury emissions with health effects is that U.S. power plants simply aren't a major source of mercury emissions. Including natural sources of mercury, U.S. electric utilities are responsible for only about 0.6 percent of global mercury emissions.
The glaring fact is that there likely will be no health benefits resulting from reduced mercury emissions, regardless of whether they’re brought about by the Green-supported technology-based option or Bush administration-supported cap-and-trade option.
So how did the EPA estimate that its proposed mercury control options would bring about billions of dollars in annual health benefits even though reductions in mercury emissions have not been demonstrated to bring such benefits?
The vast majority of the estimated human health benefits for the two options were based on supposed reductions in premature deaths, heart attacks and respiratory ailments allegedly attributable to reduced levels of emissions of fine particulates (soot) from the plants -- a hypothesized by-product of proposed mercury control options.
While these estimated health benefits sound great, they are most likely illusory. Though the EPA has claimed since 1996 that soot causes premature deaths and other health problems, this assertion has never been credibly substantiated.
I’m all for reducing air pollution to the extent further reductions will provide real and measurable benefits at a reasonable cost. That is quite different than the current mercury circus featuring fabricated risks and fake benefits.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,150086,00.html
Montco: No jobs for smokers
County considers only hiring nonsmokers to cut health costs.
By Pamela Lehman
Of The Morning Call
In what might be one of the first regulations of its kind for a government agency, Montgomery County officials said Thursday they are considering a policy that would ban the hiring of smokers.
The county could save millions in health insurance premiums by hiring only nonsmokers, Commissioners Chairman Jim Matthews said, adding, ''I think it's common sense to know you'll save money if you don't hire people who smoke.''
| SMOKING BY THE NUMBERS |
• An estimated 46 million adults in the United States smoke cigarettes.
• Last year, smokers cost the country $157.7 billion ($3,391 per smoker) in health-related economic losses, which include $81.9 billion lost in productivity and $75.5 billion spent on extra medical care.
• Cigarette smokers are absent from work 6.5 days per year more than nonsmokers.
Sources: U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S. surgeon general's office, American Cancer Society
|
But the idea appalled county employees like Mary Lou Eutera, a smoker for nearly five decades who asked, ''Are we living in freaking Russia?
''I don't think anyone has the right to dictate whether someone is allowed to smoke or not,'' said Eutera, who works in the prothonotary's office. ''Why not hire someone for their talents and education?''
Matthews, an ex-smoker and the ranking Republican on the GOP-dominated, three-member board of commissioners, said the county is only beginning to look at a policy, but it could be instituted by early 2006.
The policy would not pressure current employees to stop smoking, he said, and they would not be in danger of losing their jobs.
''A new employee that smokes might not have any ill effects of that smoking for 20 or 30 years,'' Matthews said, ''but by then it could cost us millions.''
This year, the county is paying $24 million for health insurance for its 3,200 full-time employees. That's an increase of about $1.3 million from 2004.
Matthews said he has directed the county's health care consultant, CBIZ Benefits and Insurance Services Inc., based in Plymouth Meeting, to provide a cost analysis of possible savings.
The county's solicitor is investigating the legality of the proposal, and that's where the county truly is in uncharted waters, said Bruce Walter, senior vice president of CBIZ Benefits.
''It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that the long-term savings could be in the millions,'' Walter said. ''We really commend them for their forward thinking, but we're going to have to wait and see what the courts say about the legality of this issue. It's very unclear right now.''
From a legal standpoint, there is no criminal statute forbidding the hiring of only nonsmokers, said District Attorney Bruce L. Castor Jr. But he suspects the policy could be challenged in federal civil court and doesn't think it could be applied to row office employees.
'Bottom line is, I'm going to hire the best people available, whether they smoke or not,'' Castor said.
County solicitor Barry Miller said there are no legal cases to support the policy. ''We just don't know whether or not the county can do something like this,'' he said. ''They are looking at a tremendous unknown here.''
If the policy saves the county money, it's worth considering, said Tom Ellis, the other Republican commissioner. ''If the numbers come back and say this could make a difference, maybe we'll be a leader in this.''
Debbie Rudegeair, who works in the county's clerk of courts department, said she is vehemently opposed to the proposal.
''It is complete and total discrimination,'' she sputtered as she lit a cigarette in front of the courthouse in Norristown. ''It's my lungs and my health, and if I want to smoke, I should be able to smoke myself into the grave.
''What are they going to do next? Not hire people who have a few drinks or eat too much food?''
Others said the plan could save on future health care costs and might even encourage some people to quit smoking.
Patrick Brennan, a painter in the county's public property department, started smoking at age 7 when he would go to the store to buy groceries for women in his neighborhood. Their quarter tips would buy him a pack of cigarettes.
''I don't agree that smokers shouldn't get medical support because they choose to smoke,'' said Brennan. ''At one time, it was considered a status symbol to smoke, and now it's a punishment if you do.''
Matthews, the commissioners chairman, conceded the county might be approaching a slippery slope.
''What if someone doesn't smoke when you hire them and they then pick up the habit, or what if someone smokes but says they'll waive health coverage?'' Matthews said. ''These are all things we need to look into.''
He said the idea came from an anti-smoking policy instituted in January by a Michigan company, Weyco Inc.
Weyco, a medical benefits administrator, ordered its 200 employees to stop smoking and fired four workers who couldn't or wouldn't kick the habit.
The path the company decided to take was unfortunate, Matthews said.
''Any of our employees who smoke now are never going to be pressured to quit,'' he said. ''If you want to go outside and freeze your toes off to catch a smoke, that's fine. I would be along with them now if I were still smoking.''
Matthews said he hasn't smoked in about two years and continues to use nicotine gum to curb his cravings.
''It should be a reward, not a punishment system,'' he said. ''I was an avid smoker for many, many years, and I know what the struggle is like.''
Matthews said he'd like to offer incentives to encourage current employees not to smoke, including payment for anti-smoking programs and medicines.
Although Brennan said he enjoys a smoke, he won't smoke in restaurants where people are eating.
''That's one thing that really bothers me when I'm trying to eat, and I show the same consideration to others,'' he said. ''I don't think smokers should be lighting up around people trying to have a meal.''
Philadelphia City Council is scheduled to vote Thursday on a bill to ban smoking in bars, restaurants and other workplaces.
Weyco and other companies have been instituting ''no smoking'' policies in an effort to drive down health care costs.
pamela.lehman@mcall.com215-529-2614 or 610-278-1862
http://www.mcall.com/news/local/all-a1_2nosmokemar11,0,5136043.story?coll=all-newslocalpolice-hed
Airbrushing history
At France's National Library in Paris, caretakers have airbrushed a cigarette out of a poster of philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre in preparation for an exhibition to commemorate his life, reports the London Telegraph. Rarely seen in public without a cigarette, Sartre once said, "Smoking is the symbolic equivalent of destructively appropriating the entire world." So, it's clear that smoking was a big part of Sartre's life and work.
To be fair, the National Library is supposedly following a French law that bans cigarette advertisements. There are similar bans here, though one doubts the Smithsonian would airbrush a cigarette out of FDR's mouth. The Telegraph story, however, reminded us of something George Orwell wrote: "Who controls the past controls the future: Who controls the present controls the past."
Attempts to control the past by no means are unique to France. Indeed, examples of similar manipulation abound in the United States, where most universities are dedicated to it. At Vanderbilt University in Nashville, for example, certain groups successfully lobbied to have the word "Confederate" removed from Confederate Memorial Hall, which was originally built with money from the United Daughters of the Confederacy. One of the more famous images from September 11 was the three firefighters who raised a flag above the rubble of the World Trade Center. The picture was further immortalized in a bronze sculpture, except that the three white firefighters had been replaced with a black, Hispanic and white firefighter. Same image, imaginary people. A spokesman for the group that commissioned the sculpture defended it: "I think the artistic expression of diversity would supersede any concern over factual correctness." And, in a slightly different vein, Harvard President Lawrence Summers was recently chastised for suggesting that genetic factors might influence a person's chosen profession.
Attempts to alter the past by distorting the truth also work in reverse: By emphasizing the bad at the expense of the good. A particularly egregious example of this is how liberal educators have been able to diminish the stature of our Founding Fathers because they were white slave owners. Some have even equate
Opinion Piece 
