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http://ca.reuters.com/article/domesticN ... 1920131029Canada scandal deepens as prime minister accused of cover-up
By David Ljunggren
OTTAWA (Reuters) - A Canadian legislator at the heart of a spending scandal on Monday accused Prime Minister Stephen Harper of being involved in a cover-up deal, deepening a crisis that has engulfed the Conservative government.
Senator Mike Duffy made his allegations just days before a Calgary convention of the ruling Conservatives, who have lost support in the polls since the scandal broke in May and are now trailing the opposition Liberals.
The crisis is the worst to hit the right-leaning government since Harper came to power in early 2006 on a promise to boost accountability. Harper exercises strict control over the Conservatives - also known as the Tories - and such broad signs of division and dissent inside the party are unprecedented.
Duffy made his allegations in the Senate chamber, where comments are subject to Parliamentary privilege and make him immune from prosecution.
Duffy and two other senators - all appointed by Harper - face suspension without pay for allegedly charging too much in expenses. Duffy denies he did anything wrong but he said agreed in February to repay C$90,000 ($86,000) in expenses after Harper told him to do so on the grounds the affair was becoming a political embarrassment to the party's core supporters.
Duffy said he had been coached by the prime minister's office to say he had taken out a loan to pay back the C$90,000. In fact, Harper's chief of staff, Nigel Wright, wrote him a check to cover the amount.
Referring to the aftermath of the February meeting with Harper, Duffy said: "So I'm back home ... after the Prime Minister's decided we're going to do this nefarious scheme."
The government has said Wright acted alone, and Harper was not aware of the C$90,000 payment. Wright resigned in May after news broke about the check, a payment that caused anger among Conservative legislators and supporters.
Strongly recommend an image search of "Rob Ford." They're all winners! Example:Police have video of Toronto mayor, won't detail contents
TORONTO (Reuters) - Police said Thursday they have obtained a video "consistent" with media accounts that it shows Toronto Mayor Rob Ford smoking crack cocaine, but they would not confirm the contents of the video.
Ford, who has denied he smokes crack, said he could not comment on the matter because the video is evidence in a separate case before the courts. But he said he would not quit his job.
"I wish I could come out and defend myself. Unfortunately I can't because it's before the courts, and that's all I can say right now... I have no reason to resign," he told a raucous throng of reporters outside his office.
In the first official link between Ford and a high-profile Toronto drugs investigation, Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair on Thursday identified the mayor as a subject in a video recovered during the probe.
"I can tell you that the digital video file that we have recovered depicts images which are consistent with those that had previously been reported in the press," Blair said.
"I think it's fair to say the mayor does appear in that video, but I'm not going to get into the detail of what activities are depicted on the video."
Ford made international headlines in May, after U.S. media blog Gawker and the Toronto Star newspaper said their reporters had been shown a video that appeared to show him smoking crack.
Ibrahim wrote:.
Oh i don't know, you get some good ones ... You get some good and bad.
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Toronto Mayor Admits Smoking Crack
Mark Blinch/Reuters
Mayor of Toronto Admits to Drug Use: Mayor Rob Ford said he smoked crack cocaine when he was in a "drunken stupor" last year.
By IAN AUSTEN
Published: November 5, 2013 Comment
TORONTO — Ending six months of often vehement denial, Rob Ford, the mayor of Toronto, admitted on Tuesday that he had smoked crack cocaine while in office.
“You asked me a question back in May, and you can repeat that question,” Mr. Ford told a crush of journalists, photographers and camera operators outside his City Hall office. “Yes, I have smoked crack cocaine. But no, do I — am I an addict? No. Have I tried it? Probably, in one of my drunken stupors, probably approximately about a year ago.”
During his brief, impromptu news conference, Mr. Ford insisted that he had not been lying since May, when he first denied reports that he had used crack. At that time, the website Gawker and The Toronto Star each reported having seen a video clip that apparently showed him inhaling cocaine. Questions intensified last week after the city’s police chief, William Blair, said that his force had obtained the video, stored on a computer that was seized in an investigation of drug and gang violence.
“I wasn’t lying — you didn’t ask the correct questions,” Mr. Ford said on Tuesday. “No, I’m not an addict, and no, I do not do drugs. I made mistakes in the past, and all I can do is apologize, but it is what it is.”
Of the episode recorded in the video, he said: “I don’t even remember. Some of the stuff that you guys have seen me — the state I’ve been in? It’s a problem.”
Speaking during a weekly radio talk show that he co-hosts with his brother Doug, a city councilman, Mr. Ford apologized for occasionally getting drunk, but did not address the cocaine issue.
It was not clear why the mayor changed course on Tuesday. His admission only increased the calls from City Council members, opponents and allies alike for him to step down, at least temporarily.
“I think he’s lost the moral authority to lead,” Denzil Minnan-Wong, a longtime supporter of the mayor, told reporters outside the mayor’s office shortly afterward. “We’re in uncharted territory.”
John Filion, an opponent on the council, said he had filed a motion to strip the mayor of most of his powers. “The train wreck is happening," Mr. Filion said, “and we need to get rid of this distraction.”
Several municipal-law experts, however, said that neither the council nor the provincial government of Ontario had the power to remove Mr. Ford from office.
Both Mr. Ford and his brother have repeatedly insisted that the allegations of drug use were little more than a smear campaign by the news media, particularly The Toronto Star, which has also reported about several public occasions where Mr. Ford acted boorishly and appeared to be impaired.
About two hours before the mayor’s admission to reporters, Doug Ford extended his attack to take in Mr. Blair, the police chief, who told reporters last week concerning the video clip that “as a citizen of the city, I am disappointed.”
Doug Ford, his hands noticeably trembling, told a news conference that the remark showed that the police chief was biased, and he called for Mr. Blair to step aside until all the investigations related to the mayor were finished.
“It’s not up to the police chief to decide in the next election who’s going to be the mayor,” Doug Ford said. “It’s up to the people, and he’s lost track of that. He believes, again, he’s the judge, jury and executioner, and he’s not.”
Doc wrote:.
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http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/06/world ... .html?_r=0
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Toronto Mayor Admits Smoking Crack
Mark Blinch/Reuters
Mayor of Toronto Admits to Drug Use: Mayor Rob Ford said he smoked crack cocaine when he was in a "drunken stupor" last year.
By IAN AUSTEN
Published: November 5, 2013 Comment
TORONTO — Ending six months of often vehement denial, Rob Ford, the mayor of Toronto, admitted on Tuesday that he had smoked crack cocaine while in office.
“You asked me a question back in May, and you can repeat that question,” Mr. Ford told a crush of journalists, photographers and camera operators outside his City Hall office. “Yes, I have smoked crack cocaine. But no, do I — am I an addict? No. Have I tried it? Probably, in one of my drunken stupors, probably approximately about a year ago.”
During his brief, impromptu news conference, Mr. Ford insisted that he had not been lying since May, when he first denied reports that he had used crack. At that time, the website Gawker and The Toronto Star each reported having seen a video clip that apparently showed him inhaling cocaine. Questions intensified last week after the city’s police chief, William Blair, said that his force had obtained the video, stored on a computer that was seized in an investigation of drug and gang violence.
“I wasn’t lying — you didn’t ask the correct questions,” Mr. Ford said on Tuesday. “No, I’m not an addict, and no, I do not do drugs. I made mistakes in the past, and all I can do is apologize, but it is what it is.”
Of the episode recorded in the video, he said: “I don’t even remember. Some of the stuff that you guys have seen me — the state I’ve been in? It’s a problem.”
Speaking during a weekly radio talk show that he co-hosts with his brother Doug, a city councilman, Mr. Ford apologized for occasionally getting drunk, but did not address the cocaine issue.
It was not clear why the mayor changed course on Tuesday. His admission only increased the calls from City Council members, opponents and allies alike for him to step down, at least temporarily.
“I think he’s lost the moral authority to lead,” Denzil Minnan-Wong, a longtime supporter of the mayor, told reporters outside the mayor’s office shortly afterward. “We’re in uncharted territory.”
John Filion, an opponent on the council, said he had filed a motion to strip the mayor of most of his powers. “The train wreck is happening," Mr. Filion said, “and we need to get rid of this distraction.”
Several municipal-law experts, however, said that neither the council nor the provincial government of Ontario had the power to remove Mr. Ford from office.
Both Mr. Ford and his brother have repeatedly insisted that the allegations of drug use were little more than a smear campaign by the news media, particularly The Toronto Star, which has also reported about several public occasions where Mr. Ford acted boorishly and appeared to be impaired.
About two hours before the mayor’s admission to reporters, Doug Ford extended his attack to take in Mr. Blair, the police chief, who told reporters last week concerning the video clip that “as a citizen of the city, I am disappointed.”
Doug Ford, his hands noticeably trembling, told a news conference that the remark showed that the police chief was biased, and he called for Mr. Blair to step aside until all the investigations related to the mayor were finished.
“It’s not up to the police chief to decide in the next election who’s going to be the mayor,” Doug Ford said. “It’s up to the people, and he’s lost track of that. He believes, again, he’s the judge, jury and executioner, and he’s not.”
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By some accounts?Typhoon wrote:The new puritanism.
I recall watching the president of a major pharmaceutical company being carried drunk out of a high-end hostess bar and poured into a taxi.
The bit that had everyone laughing for days afterwards was when one of the hostesses came running out with his shoes.
However, he did a great job in his position by all accounts.
Churchill was by some accounts an alcoholic, yet many consider him to have been a great leader.
So I think the question is whether or not the current major is good at his job.
US Grant was notorious for getting dead drunk after battles but never before.Typhoon wrote:The new puritanism.
I recall watching the president of a major pharmaceutical company being carried drunk out of a high-end hostess bar and poured into a taxi.
The bit that had everyone laughing for days afterwards was when one of the hostesses came running out with his shoes.
However, he did a great job in his position by all accounts.
Churchill was by some accounts an alcoholic, yet many consider him to have been a great leader.
So I think the question is whether or not the current major is good at his job.
I'm sure that there is. The point is not to make a detailed comparison, simply to suggest that having a drinking issue is not an impediment to being successful at what one does.NapLajoieonSteroids wrote:By some accounts?Typhoon wrote:The new puritanism.
I recall watching the president of a major pharmaceutical company being carried drunk out of a high-end hostess bar and poured into a taxi.
The bit that had everyone laughing for days afterwards was when one of the hostesses came running out with his shoes.
However, he did a great job in his position by all accounts.
Churchill was by some accounts an alcoholic, yet many consider him to have been a great leader.
So I think the question is whether or not the current major is good at his job.
He normally drank the volume of a small kitchen room.
okay, okay, that may be an exaggeration (like most of his drinking probably was) and it's hard to label people, especially dead people...
but there is more than a bit of difference between Rob Ford and Winston Churchill, even if their physiques are similar and they both nurse a vice or two on occasion.
Typhoon wrote:.
Churchill was by some accounts an alcoholic, yet many consider him to have been a great leader.
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Thank You VERY MUCH for your post, Doc.Doc wrote:US Grant was notorious for getting dead drunk after battles but never before.Typhoon wrote:The new puritanism.
I recall watching the president of a major pharmaceutical company being carried drunk out of a high-end hostess bar and poured into a taxi.
The bit that had everyone laughing for days afterwards was when one of the hostesses came running out with his shoes.
However, he did a great job in his position by all accounts.
Churchill was by some accounts an alcoholic, yet many consider him to have been a great leader.
So I think the question is whether or not the current major is good at his job.
Others consider him a violent colonialist and reactionary, but also an alcoholic.Typhoon wrote:Churchill was by some accounts an alcoholic, yet many consider him to have been a great leader.
One smart move is going on your brother's radio show and constantly talking about what a great job you are doing. It starts to get traction.Typhoon wrote:So I think the question is whether or not the current major is good at his job.
The Supreme Court of Canada has granted declaration of aboriginal title to more than 1,700 square kilometres of land in British Columbia to the Tsilhqot'in First Nation, the first time the court has made such a ruling regarding aboriginal land.
The unanimous 8-0 decision released Thursday resolves many important legal questions, such as how to determine aboriginal title and whether provincial laws apply to those lands. It will apply wherever there are outstanding land claims.
The decision, written by Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin, also has implications for future economic or resource development on First Nations lands.
The case focused on the Tsilhqot'in First Nation's claim to aboriginal title over 440,000 hectares of land to the south and west of Williams Lake in the B.C. Interior.
A B.C. Court of Appeal ruling in 2012 gave the Tsilhqot'in sweeping rights to hunt, trap and trade in its traditional territory. But the Court of Appeal agreed with the federal and provincial governments that the Tsilhqot'in must identify specific sites where its people once lived, rather than assert a claim over a broad area.
The Tsilhqot'in, a collection of six aboriginal bands that include about 3,000 people, argued the court's decision failed to recognize the way its people had lived for centuries.
The court heard the Tsilhqot'in people were "semi-nomadic," with few permanent encampments, even though they saw the area as their own and protected it from outsiders.
Establishes meaning of title
In its decision, Canada's top court agreed that a semi-nomadic tribe can claim land title even if it uses it only some of the time, and set out a three-point test to determine land titles, considering:
Occupation.
Continuity of habitation on the land.
Exclusivity in area.
The court also established what title means, including the right to the benefits associated with the land, and the right to use it, enjoy it and profit from it.
However, the court declared that title is not absolute, meaning economic development can still proceed on land where title is established as long as one of two conditions is met:
Economic development on land where title is established has the consent of the First Nation.
Failing that, the government must make the case that development is pressing and substantial, and meet its fiduciary duty to the aboriginal group.
In other words, the decision places a greater burden on governments to justify economic development on aboriginal land.
The court also makes it clear that provincial law still applies to land over which aboriginal title has been declared, subject to constitutional limits. ...
A case of 'national importance' empowers First Nations, but may complicate big resource projects
The Supreme Court decision on Thursday granting the land claim of a B.C. First Nation is not only a game-changer for many aboriginal communities across the country, but also for the government and the resource industries.
The unanimous ruling granted the Tsilhqot’in First Nation title to a 1,700-square-kilometre area of traditional land outside its reserve, marking the end of a decades-long battle.
But it also clarified major issues such as how to prove aboriginal title and when consent is required from aboriginal groups, which will affect negotiations on major projects such as the Northern Gateway pipeline.
“This is a case of national significance and national importance, bulletproof in its legal reasoning,” says Bill Gallagher, a former treaty rights negotiator and author of Resource Rulers.
While it was heralded among First Nations as a “game-changer” and one of the most important Supreme Court decisions, others warn that it will further complicate approval for resource projects such as Northern Gateway.
[...]
Across most of Canada, indigenous people signed land treaties with the Crown that gave up their claim to land in exchange for reserves and other promises. But for the most part, that didn’t happen in British Columbia.
There are hundreds of indigenous groups across British Columbia with unresolved land claims. That means the Tsilhqot’in win sets a precedent that many others in the province will be watching closely.
“There are many, many other First Nations in B.C. that will read this court case, get their lawyers in the room and rightly say, ‘How close to this set of facts is our set of facts?’” said Gallagher.
Grand Chief Stewart Phillip, of the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs, said the ruling marks an opportunity to 'participate in the economic future of this province as equal partners.' (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press)
“Some will be quite close and some will not be remotely close, but for those First Nations that are close, they will be able to use this as a precedent.”
Grand Chief Stewart Phillip of the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs said the ruling marks the start of a “genuine dialogue of reconciliation that has eluded us for so long.”
Top court finds province of Ontario, not First Nation or federal government, has jurisdiction over logging
The Supreme Court of Canada ruled today in favour of the Ontario government's right to permit industrial logging on a First Nation's traditional lands.
Friday's 7-0 decision comes on the heels of a historic judgment in the Tsilhqot'in case in British Columbia that changed the way governments must deal with First Nations who can claim aboriginal title over their traditional territories.
The difference between the Tsilhqot'in and Grassy Narrows First Nations is that Grassy Narrows had a treaty with the government. The Tsilhqot'in did not. ...
Most First Nations have yet to post salaries
The vast majority of First Nations chiefs and band councils have yet to post their financial statements online under new transparency rules passed by the federal government last year.
Under the First Nations Financial Transparency Act, First Nations leaders have 120 days after the first quarter — so, by end of day Tuesday — to make public their audited financial statements for the last fiscal year, including the salaries and expenses of their chiefs and councillors.
As of Monday night, on the eve of the deadline, the government confirmed that 20 First Nations out of more than 600 had their financial statements posted on the government's web site.
First Nations already have to produce their financial statements as part of their funding agreements with the federal government, but this is the first time they are being asked to post the information online.
First Nations without a website can ask larger First Nations organizations to post their financial statements for them.
Under the new rules, the minister in charge must also publish the documents on the department's website.
First Nations who refuse to comply could be subject to a court order or see funds withheld from them. ...
Ron Giesbrecht of the Kwikwetiem First Nation is listed as the chief and economic development officer and was paid $914,219 in remuneration and $16,574 in expenses. The documents state remuneration could include salary, wages, commissions and bonuses.
In a statement, a spokesperson for Aboriginal Affairs Minister Bernard Valcourt said, "The reported salary of the chief is very troubling and his community members deserve an explanation."
[...]
According to the financial documents, the biggest source of revenue for the band was $8,225,000 from the province of British Columbia.
The Kwikwetiem First Nation is a small band in Coquitlam, B.C., with a total of 81 registered members, according to the Aboriginal Affairs website. ...
Less firearm-related homicide
The rate of homicide with firearms in the U.S. (3.2 per 100,000) is more than six times higher than in Canada (0.5 per 100,000), according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. In fact, the U.S. holds the dubious honor of outpacing most other developed countries in this category, including Norway and England and Wales (all 0.1 per 100,000); Australia, New Zealand and Germany (all 0.2 per 100,000); and the Netherlands (0.3 per 100,000).
Man Who Killed Soldier With Car Was Radical Muslim, Authorities Say
By Richard Esposito
Authorities were monitoring Martin Rouleau and had revoked his passport before he allegedly drove his car into two Canadian soldiers, killing one, in a Quebec parking lot Monday.
Rouleau, 25, was a radicalized Muslim who may have acted alone but had links to other suspected fundamentalists, according to authorities. The commissioner of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police confirmed Tuesday that Rouleau was one of the 90 individuals the government had already announced it was monitoring.
The possible terror attack on Canadian soil and the soldier’s death were the first since the country joined the international effort against ISIS.
Rouleau allegedly ran down the two soldiers as they walked in the parking lot of a strip mall in St. Jean-sur-Richelieu, 25 miles south of Montreal, just before noon on Monday. The impact injured both men, and one soldier died at a local hospital. His name and rank have not been released. The second soldier’s injuries are not life-threatening.
After striking the soldiers Rouleau led police on a high-speed chase, which ended when his car flipped over in a ditch. Rouleau was shot by police after exiting the vehicle and died after being transported to the hospital.
Prior to the incident, Rouleau had already had his Canadian passport revoked, and was being monitored by the RCMP, according to Canadian officials. Authorities said Rouleau had “tangential links” to other radicalized individuals already known to officials.
Radio-Canada reported that his Facebook page identified him, in French, as Ahmad the Converted, and included a video with an ISIS logo. Rouleau converted to Islam about a year ago, and authorities were concerned that he had become radicalized.
Public Safety Minister Steven Blaney said the hit and run was "clearly linked to terrorist ideology." A provincial police official said Tuesday that the hit and run was deliberate, and that the car had been in the lot two hours prior to the attack.
Canadian officials have been concerned about the potential for attacks in Canada on U.S. and Canadian targets, including military personnel, because of the nation’s involvement in the international effort to fight ISIS. Earlier this month Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced that Canada would deploy six planes to bomb targets in ISIS-controlled areas. Opposition parties charged that the prime minister was leading the country into a prolonged war, but parliament authorized the strikes by majority vote.
ISIS Imitators Discussed Attacks on US Targets in Canada
Soon after Harper’s announcement, intelligence officials told NBC News that Canadian authorities had heard would-be terrorists discussing potential ISIS-inspired “knife and gun” attacks against U.S. and Canadian targets inside Canada. They have been concerned that these attacks have a lower threshold from desire to action than relatively sophisticated attacks using explosives, and may shorten the timeline between radicalization and overt acts.