Newmarket Watch

Hi folks, this is just a small plug for my new blog Newmarket Watch

I recently realized that many of us were spending so much time on the big picture that we are neglecting those local issues that impact us each day. In my Newmarket we've tolerated stupidity, dysfunction and graft as normal parts of municipal governments to the point that a know embezzler had the balls to run for office a number of years ago. This is not tolerable and I hope to build this blog into a group effort that will attend, monitor and critique council as well as reporting on various fun or important events going on in Nemwarket.

As it is now we are poorly informed by our local newspaper and politicians and I hope to improve this. If you're in Newmarket, drop by Newmarket Watch, or let local family know about the site.
If you wish to get involved in the project let me know

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Happy Raw Milk Day

Michael Schmidt was acquitted on 19 Charges today in Newmarket court.

I think it's great news to see that over bearing government interference has been beaten back in the case of Michael Schmidt, charged with the illegal sale and distribution of raw milk and raw milk products.

Sure raw milk CAN occasionally produce illness if contaminated but man has lived on this product for 1000s of years and survived, Mr Schmidt has never had anyone complain of illness and some of the best damn cheeses in the world are made with raw milk. This is a case of over zealous government policy attempting to interfere with educated peoples right to consume healthy whole food. It's not as if he's selling it as pasteurized when it's not. These consumers are more than eager to pay a premium for what they consider a more natural and healthy product, which should be their right. It also should be available without having join Mr Schmidt's brilliant but ridiculous Cow Share program. Who needs this grief just to buy a jug of milk!


I think the government needs to spend more time monitoring the filth in factory farms and meat packing plants and leave proven safe vendors of raw milk alone.



Besides he has Canadienne Cows a great historic breed which I like

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Shuffling a Cabinet with Half a deck

It’s quite amazing that the Conservative Party of Canada has such little depth of skills in its caucus that it just keeps moving the same damaged goods from one fuck up to another. Raitt was a total disaster at natural resources failing to handle the Chalk River Isotope Crisis, so is she gone? Nope, just demoted to the wasteland called labour!

Ambrose who failed at the Environment (which MP hasn’t) has done her required penance in Labour, (a nothing ministry especially in a Conservative government), now has the chance to screw up Public works a Ministry that controls billions in contracts. Of course they might simply be throwing Ambrose to the wolves should the investigation into the Federal Auction site blow up. After all we know the Cons suspect all women of being nothing more than a left wing fringe group. ( Personally I think he’s still pissed with Belinda!)

Peter Van Loan who is a general failure as a human let alone a minister slinks over to Trade so Day can move to Treasury. This is ominous as Day in Treasury screams of coming cuts.

Keith Ashfield adds Atlantic Gateway responsibilities to his existing Atlantic Canada Opportunities portfolio in order to give Peter MacKay more time to redact documents over at Defence. That’s good; Petey was looking a little worn out.

Overwork seems to be dragging on many of the Ministers as seen by the resignation of Greg Thompson, the minister of Veterans’ affairs. I don't get it, we generally treat our veterans like shit how hard can that be for a Conservative? Just keep ignoring them, that’s hardly a challenging job Greg!

Of course Rob Moore must be very pleased that his outstanding credentials of living in New Brunswick elevated him to the elite status of Minister of Small Business and Tourism

So what else?

We have Vic Toews to Public Safety
Christian Paradis to Natural Resources
Blackburn to Veterans affairs

All in all this shuffle is a typical conservative square dance where partners were changed but the tune remains the same. Unskilled, crass and indifferent to the voters in one ministry will still be unskilled, crass and indifferent in a different ministry. Out of the 145 Conservative MPs is this really the total extent of skills this government can access? Just this last session they had to use a Senator to fill one of the ministries.

I would like my Newmarket Aurora readers to note that if our Glorious MP Lois Brown is not capable enough to be rise above this group of has-beens and never-weres, she's certainly not capable of representing us.

A perfect example of this lack of depth in caucus can be seen over at Accidental Deliberations A total waste of skin, the entire bunch of them.

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Newmarket Aurora Anti Prorogation/ Pro Democracy Rally

Well it looks like we are going to go ahead with our own rally in Newmarket Aurora despite the powers that be at Canadians Against Proroguing Parliament who originally thought we are too close to Toronto and Barrie to have our own event. I agree that we might pull oh 30-40 people from each of the other events, but I'm sure just as many people if not more will not go to any event if they have to travel an hour plus. There are a lot of small towns between Newmarket and Barrie and for people in King City, Maple, Uxbrigde, Stouville etc they might like to join our mid point rally rather than travel into Toronto.

Newmarket Aurora is a Conservative riding and we have an MP (Lois Brown) who is more than willing to follow the Conservative talking points while defending Mr. Harper's cowardly attempt to hide from the Afghan detainee issue. Mr Harper has shown nothing but his contempt for our Parliament and citizens despite running on honesty and transparency. I'm not even going to go into all the other things he's done to piss us off. Ms Brown, always the good little soldier does what shes told and so deserves her own share of the blame and her own little protest. I wonder if Ms Brown still considers The Economist to be her favorite publication now that it has labeled Prorogation as "Naked Self Interest"

Personally I believe that we need to look at the big picture and act locally. So a local rally we shall have!

I don't know all the details yet as we still have a planning meeting tonight but the rally will begin at 1 p.m. Jan. 23 at Newmarket's Market Square and, weather permitting, will continue on foot to Ms Brown's office at Mulock Drive and Bayview Avenue.

We are planning this as a safe, family friendly protest (so wackos stay at home), and anyone who wishes to join us, invite friends or offer support may do so at our facebook site

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Just a thought on resource depletion, emergency preparations and economic resilience!

Most people who've heard of peak oil accept that it is a real phenomenon. Many people also realize that with rising world populations, increased consumption and the growing affluence of Asia that there will be a great many commodities from food, silver, distillates, catalysts, chemicals, rare earths and energy that will come into short term or permanent shortage at some time in our near future.

It is my belief that the GPC needs new ideas that will not only work towards the reality of resource depletion by advocating reduced consumption but at the same time creating policy that will strengthen Canada's resilience to the economic shocks caused by possible shortages. With this in mind I think that the GPC should adopt policy calling for the creation of regional strategic stockpiles that work with industry to make sure that primary materials required for the smooth operation of Canadian economic engine do not run out due to short term market shortages, or environmental emergencies.

I would also suggest that strategic reserves of grains, emergency supplies, and vital infrastructure components should be created so that in case of something like a massive blackout, ice storm, solar flare, hurricane etc. important infrastructure like the power grid or water treatment system can be restored in a timely manner without relying on foreign deliveries or waiting for the manufacture of damaged equipment. I'm sure there are already some government and utility provisions in place for such events but with the combination of resource depletion and the expectation of more volatile weather from climate change these programs surely need to be beefed up.

Now I admit there is no way to hoard our way to prosperity but having a strategic reserve for for energy is something most counties have. We do not! Canada always makes excuses for itself because it’s so big and cold, all the more reason to have a stockpile so no one ends up freezing in the dark, NO?

In today's just in time delivery system a strategic supply of food is only sane considering grocery stores and the distribution system only have a few days of anything in stock.

A strategic supply of rare earths for example will not keep us in business if the world runs out but would certainly keep industry running during a short term delivery interruption and would also be a great carrot to entice manufacturing companies to set up shop in Canada. Rare earths are especially important to those Green Techs we claim we wish to support like the manufacture of PV units and wind turbines.

Precursor chemicals for common and wide spread drugs like thyroxin, blood thiners or increased stockpiles of insulin might also be wise.

This is not an over night project but something that would take the better part of decade to build up to. Consultation with industry, economists, logistics people and the prioritization of which materials to stockpile would be a project unto itself but certainly energy and food should top of the list.

We are also in a time when currencies are going wild, the possibility sovereign defaults are being openly considered and it might just make sense to put part of our reserves into something that is real, growing in rarity and vital for our economic engine rather than more U.S. T bills.