Phil is not giving Brant a good name, the Welcome to Brantford sign will one day say:
HOME OF THAT DUMBASS, PHIL.

“Wayne Gretzky said 'you don’t skate to where the puck is at, you skate to where the puck is going.' What I fear is that the current government has been so focused on this week’s polls that they haven’t looked ahead.”Mr. Brison said that we are still in a real recession, and the hard-working people of Brant know that. But the Conservatives, including Phil McColeman, are wasting money on the G20 summit and prisons, instead of investing in long-term solutions.
Conservative MPs heaped praise Monday on three ex-convicts who've cleaned up their lives, without seeming to grasp they're exactly the types of serious, repeat offenders targeted by the government's latest tough-on-crime legislation.It gets even better…
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"We need to clearly focus on the type of people -- and they are the repeat offenders, they're the most heinous people -- that we're trying to focus this legislation on," Conservative MP Phil McColeman told the committee.
That prompted witness John Hutton, the executive director of the John Howard Society of Manitoba, to interject.
"I'm sorry, these are the people you're talking about!" said Hutton, extending his arms to encompass the other witnesses at the table.
"Mr. Speaker, since being elected to the House some two years ago and a bit, I will take no lessons from the member for Ajax—Pickering when it comes to presenting issues to Parliament that are not based on any factual evidence. I will take no lessons from that member."That's right – Phil is an expert at presenting issues that are NOT based on factual evidence!
Caring not enough for MP
Mr. Speaker, our government is standing up for new immigrants who choose to come to Canada; the immigrants who make the choice to work hard and play by the rules. Our Conservative government stands up for immigrants who choose to make a home in Canada.The obvious fact is that Phil is again parroting the party line. What's less obvious is that he's deliberately hiding the fact that the new Conservative Bill C-49 is a literal assault on the Constitutional rights of new Canadians (and those seeking refugee status).
Our government makes foreign policy decisions based on what's right and on the principles that Canadians hold dear. These positions may not always be the most popular with some members of the UN, however we will not apologize for doing what is right.Great work, once again parroting the party line without even understanding what it means. What ARE the principles that Canadians hold dear? Making a fool of ourselves on the international stage? Letting the rest of the world take care of funding for needy Africa? Being so belligerant in the Middle East that we get kicked out of the United Arab Emirates? Refusing to fund maternal health programs??
New job for police chiefOn its face, it looks like Phil is hooking up his buddies with sweet government jobs. If only he could stand up for ordinary Brantfordians with the same degree of success!Our very recently retired chief of police, Derek McElveny, has been appointed to the National Parole Board. He made no mention of this when he retired just a few days ago, but he surely was aware of the appointment.
He will receive his full, unreduced, pension as a police officer and will receive a handsome salary as a member of the National Parole Board.
He is a very close friend of MP Phil McColeman, a "skiing buddy" who spends much time with Mr. McColeman in New York State.How much was our MP involved in this appointment? Why did Mr. McElveny not tell us when he retired that he was getting this appointment? Does our MP think it is fair to take steps to ensure his buddies are rewarded with our tax dollars?
Richard Trebilcock
Brantford
Next year, the Conservatives will spend billions on corporate tax cuts, while offering no flexibility to cities and communities who had to wait on the government’s delays.… The federal government is stiffing municipal ratepayers with the bill for Conservative delays instead of helping to finish projects. We need to finish the job and extend the deadline.But Brant city councilors doubt that Phil and the Conservatives will listen to their request.
Twenty coalition MPs originally supported the simple and straightforward bill to scrap the long gun registry, but under pressure from their Ottawa bosses, they turned their backs on their constituents and voted to keep the registry. One of those flip-floppers…Well you know what, Phil? If I don't register and insure my car I can be charged on summary conviction and have to pay a fine. In other words, I'm a "criminal." That's because a car can be used as a deadly weapon and can cause damage to property, in addition to being an invaluable tool. Kind of like a gun, don't you think?
On this side of the House, we do not believe in treating law-abiding hunters, farmers and sports shooters as criminals and we will continue to work to scrap the $2 billion wasteful registry.
…we have taken action on the economy and on many other fronts including cracking down on crime. In particular, we have introduced several measures to crack down on violent gun crimes.So instead of preventing violent gun crime by making people register their guns, Phil would rather punish people after they've committed the crime. In terms of considering the victim, I think that your average victim would rather not be a victim in the first place. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
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The bottom line, as I mentioned, is that Canadians want a justice system that works.
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[This bill], therefore, reflects this government's commitment we have made to Canadians to stand up for victims and to ensure our streets, our homes, and our playgrounds are safer places.
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This act would ensure the protection of our society is given paramount consideration
in my part of the country, small town Ontario, $3.1 million is a lot of moneyIs "small-town Ontario" how we want the world to see Brantford? Absolutely not.
Cost of McColeman's Advertising
Dear Editor,
I read that Members of Parliament have chosen not to disclose their office expenses, which total millions of taxpayer dollars.
Of course, an individual MP can disclose his/her expenses and our MP Phil McColeman should do so as a matter of integrity.
He has spent a lot of money advertising himself, which is not the purpose of his office budget. Many ads have been paid for by us, as taxpayers, ads which show Phil's and/or name - coffee with the MP, skating with the MP, eat pork with the MP, not to mention his website at the bottom of the flag.
Tell us,Phil, how much of our money have you spent advertising yourself? We want to know before the next election.
Nic Coivert
PM showing his true colours
The federal Conservative government has been fairly successful in hiding their puppet-master behind a curtain of secrecy and deceit. Glimpses of the wizard, however, are beginning to show as the curtain flaps in the wind. We are beginning to see some instances of Prime Minister Stephen Harper's views on issues like women, retirees, the arts, the environment and justice. It's not that he is trying hard to be open, it's just that his slip is showing. Here are a few actions that point to the course he is tacking.
* Scrap a national day-care plan that would allow more women to go to work and pay income taxes vs. $100 a month, which doesn't even cover the cost of diapers and wipes.
* Scrap the long-gun registry, even though the evidence shows long guns were used in 40% of domestic violence homicides prior to its implementation-now reduced to 15%.
* Scrap the promise to not tax income trusts, causing retirees to lose millions of their invested retirement funds.
* Scrap the Kyoto accord whilst denying climate change, tarnishing Canada's international image.
* Scrap the promise to reform the Senate, all the while stacking the Senate with Tory appointees.
* Scrap major features of Corrections and Conditional Release Act to allow for longer sentences for inmates at a cost of up to $100,000 a year per inmate.
* Feign indignation about a lax parole system even though the National Parole Board is now stacked with conservative patronage appointments.
*Feign surprise that inmates over 65 years of age receive pensions. The government has had four years to figure things out.
Soon, the wizard will be revealed on full display in living colour, pulling strings and manipulating the smoke and mirrors to try to obscure the rest of his agenda, including Canada's role in the torture of Afghan prisoners, abortion and family planning.
Rick Trebilcock, Brantford
I see that Coun. Richard Carpenter has moved a resolution thanking Brant MP Phil McColeman for "looking into other funding methods."I'll tell you how the deficit will be paid off: by a future non-Conservative government that believes in responsible spending!
Coun. Carpenter seems to have forgotten that there is really only one source of funding, and that is the taxpayer. This is the same councillor who was properly critical of our MP for not getting funding for our main need, roads and bridges.
The real question to ask is one that Mr. McColeman hasn't answered. Who is going to get the country out of the massive deficit hole that the Harper government has dug for us? The deficit is now $56 billion. MPs are spending our money like drunken sailors and taking credit for it. Is he also taking credit for the huge deficit that will be passed on to us and to our children? Not a word from him on that.
Tell your constituents, Mr. McColeman, how the deficit will be paid off. If you can't do that, then stop spending our money and taking all the credit for it.
Chris Melling, Brantford
The Liberal Party of Canada will certainly continue to make accusations suggesting that this decision will waste time for Parliament, while the opposite is true. The Liberal Party has been wasting the time of all Parliamentarians for months by using the Liberal-controlled Senate to gut vital legislation that has already been approved by the House of Commons. However, through this move, the Conservative government will put an end to Michael Ignatieff`s opportunistic political games and be able to take a majority position in the senate. This will allow us to take important bills that have been blocked by the Liberal Senate and get those bills passed, for the benefit of all Canadians.If we want to talk about "opportunistic political games," how about undermining democracy yet again just because Harper doesn't want to face questions about abuse of Afghan detainees. Shutting down Parliament in a recession is irrational and cowardly; justifying the decision by saying that it will allow the Conservatives to stack the Senate is basically stating that democracy should be put on hold so that the Conservatives can consolidate power. It's like cutting off your nose to spite your face. Except that Harper is cutting the nose off the face of Canada, to spite the Liberals.