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Retired Cornwall Police Service (CPS) sergeant and former city councillor Denis Moquin is hoping to turn StormontDundasSouth Glengarry red once more.

The SDSG Liberal Party of Canada riding association officially announced on Tuesday it had selected Moquin as its candidate for the upcoming federal election, slated for Sept. 20. Moquin who officially opened his headquarters at 1170 Pitt St. on Wednesday evening spent 25 years with the CPS and sat at the council table for two years, from 2005-06.

Following his tenure with the local police force, he was then head of the Community Agencies of Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry, which operated under the Eastern Ontario Training Board.

Thats all Ive ever done work with people, help people and get answers for them, he said Thursday. When I was a police officer patrolling the streets in Cornwall, I heard a lot of concerns and I dealt with some many of them. Theres some work to do.

Although Moquin said he isnt what one would call a career politician, that wouldnt stop him from being the type that is going to be available to all residents.

It doesnt matter where they come from, whether theyre Conservatives, Liberals, NDPs or Greens, he said.

Its his belief that his years at the local council table has enabled him to realize what issues the city and SDG face and more precisely, what they need.

While I was there, I really learned a lot, he said. People were able to contact me at any time and I want to be doing the same thing now.

Moquins priorities mirror what the Liberal Party of Canada has been releasing since the start of the campaign.

The priorities that have been set up by Team Trudeau I think are all relevant for our area, he said. Middle class, jobs, housing, health, climate change all of those are all part of the concerns in the riding.

I want to hear what they need and Im going to bring it to Ottawa and thats all there is to it. I dont want Ottawa to come to the riding I want the riding to go to Ottawa.

Moquin also spoke of the plight local small business owners are currently facing.

Ive heard from small businesses and they are finding it very hard to get back to their normal business practice, he said. There are not a lot of people knocking on the door for employment at this time. The middle class, people need to have a better feeling that something good is coming.

Im the person that will represent our riding the best I can, for the next four years. This is my goal and my promise to every resident they will not regret sending me to Ottawa.

He and his party have their work cut out for them. A Liberal has not been elected since the creation of the SDSG electoral district, before the 2014 federal election which also happened to be the first federal election after the creation of the Conservative Party of Canada stopped splitting the right-leaning vote between two parties to the benefit of the Liberals.

The only federal election where Guy Lauzon or incumbent CPC MP Eric Duncan didnt earn over 50 per cent of the ballots cast was Lauzons first campaign in 2014 when he defeated Bob Kilger. Tom Manley (2006), Denis Sabourin (2008), Bernadette Clement (2011 and 2015), and Heather Megill (2019) never came closer than getting 38.5 per cent of the ballots cast which was during Clements second campaign when the Liberals won a majority in Parliament.

Moquins headquarters open seven days a week, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

fracine@postmedia.com

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SDSG Liberal candidate Moquin: 'I want the riding to go to Ottawa' - Standard Freeholder

The late great Charles Krauthammer once wrote, To understand the workings of American politics, you have to understand this fundamental law: Conservatives think liberals are stupid. Liberals think conservatives are evil.

I would like to update this axiom to 2021.

Conservatives think liberals are stupid. Liberals think conservatives are killers.

Over the last 18 months, the free thinkers who dared question nonsensical masking or lockdowns were labeled everything from selfish grandma killers to ignorant Neanderthals.

Keep in mind, these morally superior name-callers were the same liberals who cheered and celebrated when then-President Donald Trump contracted the coronavirus.

One of former President Barack Obamas ex-staffers, Zara Rahim, wrote in a since-deleted tweet, Its been against my moral identity to tweet this for the past four years but I hope he dies.

When Sen. Rand Paul was attacked by his Kentucky neighbor in 2017 and left with a punctured lung and six broken ribs, MSNBCs Kasie Hunt relished the headline and said on-air that it was one of my favorite stories.

Recently when a man was killed in a race car crash in Georgia, blue checkmark and failed radio talk show host Tom Leykis wrote, One less Trump supporter!

But sure, Republicans are the venom-filled villains.

In fact, Neanderthal nation is wreaking so much havoc on social media with their disinformation about COVID-19 that Big Brother Biden is getting involved.

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki proudly informed reporters last week that the administration is flagging problematic posts for Facebook that spread disinformation.

Lets hope colluding with Big Tech in order to suppress opposing opinions doesnt interfere with President Bidens grueling ice cream schedule.

On Friday afternoon, a member of the Biden Fan Club asked the president what his message was for platforms like Facebook.

Joe replied, Theyre killing people. The only pandemic we have is among the unvaccinated, and theyre killing people.

Behind hair smelling and plagiarism, Biden is best known for his hyperbolic rhetoric.

Everything Joe Biden talks about, with the exception of Amtrak, is the worst thing since the Civil War.

This new liberal mantra sparked some hilarity on social media.

Journalist Glenn Greenwald reposted an old tweet from March 2020 in which Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., urged his followers, Stop wearing face masks. #coronavirus.

Greenwald asked the obvious follow-up question: I wonder how many people Eric Swalwell literally killed with this tweet?

The iconoclastic author also reposted an old story from the Daily Kos, an online progressive media hub. The article focused on Vice President Kamala Harris old comments regarding her vaccine hesitancy.

In September of 2020, Harris said on CNN, I would trust the word of public health experts and scientists, but not Donald Trump because theres very little that we can trust that comes out of Donald Trumps mouth.

Does Joe Biden want to condemn Kamala Harris for killing people?

MSNBC host Joy Reid once tweeted that, the fact that Pfizer was not part of Operation Warp Speed and took no Trump government funding makes me feel better about their vaccine. Just speaking for myself, I wouldnt go near anything that Trump or his politicized FDA had anything to do with.

Wow. There is so much disinformation and fear-mongering in that one tweet.

Dont be intimidated by condescending liberals with zero credibility.

Their ever-changing opinions are too inconsistent for debate so they have resorted to branding their political opponents as murderers and killers.

Americans have every right to voice their opinions, no matter how unpopular they may be.

No one should not be made to feel guilty for questioning mandatory vaccinations, lockdowns, mask-wearing or social media censorship.

Standing up against the intolerant majority does not make someone morally bankrupt or evil.

Disagreeing with Jen Psaki and defending freedom does not make you a killer.

It just makes you a conservative.

Listen to Grace Curleys radio show every weekday from noon to 3 p.m. on AM 680 WRKO.

Excerpt from:
Curley: Condescending liberals have zero credibility - Boston Herald

OTTAWA -- MPs on the House of Commons finance committee have heard a plea from the country's farmers that the government's plans to rewrite tax laws shouldn't make it difficult, again, to pass the family farm from parents to children.

Farmers and small business owners have for years asked the government to address an inequity in federal law that saw hundreds of thousands in extra taxes heaped on families that wanted to sell their company to another generation of owners.

A Conservative private member's bill passed last month rewrote part of the Income Tax Act so business owners could pass on companies to their children or relatives at the same tax rate as if they were selling to a stranger.

The Liberals now say they plan to rewrite parts of the new rules to deal with potential loopholes that could lead to tax evasion.

Speaking to a House of Commons committee Tuesday, Mary Robinson, a P.E.I. farmer and president of the Canadian Federation of Agriculture, urged MPs to make sure the Liberals' promised amendments wouldn't reintroduce the tax inequities that the bill, known as C-208, addressed.

"We believe the targets for future amendments can be addressed while maintaining this access for Canadian farm families. However, we believe this can only be assured through dialogue with farmers and farm advisers," Robinson said.

"The potential for unintended barriers is significant unless informed by those with direct experiencing managing farm succession and financial planning."

First announced last month, the government's plan to do its own rewrite of the tax laws created a heap of confusion, drew the ire of Conservative MPs, and ultimately led to Tuesday's rare summer meeting of the finance committee.

One day after the bill got parliamentary approval, the Finance Department announced the government would introduce amendments and apply the rules on family business sales starting Jan. 1, 2022.

Business groups expressed concern that the department was delaying implementing the new rules that left owners and families caught up in a legislative limbo.

Parliamentary law clerk Philippe Dufresne told the finance committee that the bill officially became law when it received royal assent in late June even though it didn't contain a specific coming-into-force date.

He said the government's announcement of a possible delay was surprising and unseen in modern history. He noted it is more common to see the government apply proposed tax rules before they become law on the assumption that they'll gain parliamentary approval.

Liberals and Finance officials told MPs that there was nothing out of the ordinary in what the government announced, although it might have just been misunderstood.

They pointed to a statement Monday evening from Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland that said C-208 was the law of the land.

The Canadian Chamber of Commerce, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business and the Canadian Federation of Agriculture voiced their pleasure that government had cleared up confusion and would help with succession planning.

Freeland's statement, hours before the committee meeting, also signalled the government's plan to introduce amendments to close loopholes that could help people avoid paying taxes.

She cited the possibility of converting dividends to capital gains to take advantage of the lower tax rate without any actual transfer of the business between family members.

Any changes would apply no earlier than Nov. 1.

"As finance minister, it's my job to be sure everyone in Canada pays their fair share, and to close loopholes which permit tax evasion," Freeland told reporters in Longueuil, Que.

"What we will do is consult widely with stakeholders, publish some draft legislation, some draft amendments to C-208 designed to close those loopholes."

Opposition parties noted during the committee hearing that the government could have proposed amendments to C-208 while it was being debated, and argued Freeland's stance now was spurred by a parliamentary hearing on the matter.

The committee also decided to invite Freeland to testify before the committee on the issue within the next two weeks.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 20, 2021.

See the article here:
Liberals, MPs urged not to unwind easing of tax rules on sale of family businesses - CTV News

Roger Melanson (via Zoom)

The provincial Liberals say New Brunswicks health care system is on life support and the Higgs government needs to resuscitate it now.

In a virtual news conference on Tuesday via Zoom, the official opposition says the shortage of health care professionals is worsening at an alarming rate.

Interim Liberal leader Roger Melanson says existing health care professionals need to be retained and more need to be recruited.

Whats happening now is because conditions are so challenging and theres such a lack of resources that people are burning out. And its putting even more pressure on the people who are working in the system.

Melanson says the province needs to put more into the health care system.

The provincial government needs to invest some money. We need to have competitive salaries. We need to have better working conditions. And we need to have these people go to work every day and enjoy what they do.

Melanson says health care staff are burning out amid challenging working conditions and a lack of resources.

In February 2020, the Higgs government tried to implement a plan to close emergency rooms overnight at several rural hospitals. Thanks to public outcry and the Liberal Partys threats to bring down their minority government, they cancelled this decision, added Melanson.

Now after a year and a half of inaction by the Higgs government, we are seeing hospitals at maximum capacity, with some forced to reduce their emergency room hours, and ambulance offload delay times increasing rapidly. This is beyond unacceptable.

The Department of Health issued a statement in response on Tuesday afternoon through communications director Bruce Macfarlane.

New Brunswicks health care system has been facing significant challenges for many years. The Department of Health is working to address those challenges, with help from the regional health authorities, industry stakeholders, and communities across the province.

In recent months, the Department of Health has organized a series of public consultations, which offered New Brunswickers the opportunity to share their ideas and vision for a more responsive and effective health-care system.

Despite the challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Department has been successful at addressing some of those health care challenges. It has cut the number of patients waiting longer than a year for hip or knee replacement surgery by 50 per cent, with continued efforts underway to ensure no one will wait longer than a year by the end of March 2022.

Meaningful change is also coming to how the province delivers mental health services. As part of its five-year plan to overhaul the existing system, work is being done to improve the quality and accessibility of services.

Last fall, the province launched rapid access addiction and mental health services, offering walk-in and rapid appointment services, on a trial basis in Campbellton. More than 300 individuals have already benefited from these services, cutting the average wait time for care from four to five months down to a week or less. There are plans to expand this programming to other communities this fall.

In addition, since June, the department has launched three new nurse practitioner clinics in Saint John, Moncton and Fredericton. The 18 nurse practitioners working in these clinics have already taken on more than 5,000 patients waiting for a primary care provider from the Patient Connect New Brunswick list.

Efforts continue to recruit more nurses and physicians, though the department understands that jurisdictions everywhere are struggling with staffing shortages. Last week, tentative agreements were reached with two of the three nurses collective bargaining units, and contract talks are still underway with other health care units.

Read more:
N.B. Liberals Say Health Care Is On Life Support - 91.9 The Bend

Aftershocks from The Bulwark's recent publication of a 12,000-word hit job on a right-wing think tank "What the Hell Happened to the Claremont Institute?" continue to rock the conservative intellectual world. The latest tremor has been felt at Powerline, where Reagan biographer Steven Hayward provocatively asks, "What the Hell Happened to Bill Kristol?" Kristol, you see, is a founder and leading force behind The Bulwark (where I participate in a weekly podcast). If he was willing to publish an extended polemic against a leading institution of the intellectual right, can Kristol even be considered a conservative anymore?

To which I would reply: What if Bill Kristol has been a liberal all along?

How could it be that the man who served as Dan Quayle's chief of staff, who founded and edited for two decades one of the leading conservative magazines in the country, who was a leading advocate for the invasion of Iraq in 2003, and who was the public face for neoconservative ideology from the mid-1990s on how could this man have always been a liberal? Answering the questionrequires a brief detour into history.

Bill Kristol's father, Irving Kristol, became one of the original neocons during the 1970s. Until that point, he and his ideological compatriots had considered and called themselves Cold War liberals. But by the time of George McGovern's presidential campaign in 1972, they'd become convinced that the Democrats were heading left on foreign policy, crime, and cultural questions. That led them to begin allying with Republicans. By the election of Ronald Reagan in 1980, the partisan shift was complete.

This new alliance with conservatives persisted even after the Democrats had tracked back to the center during the mid-1990s. Why? Inertia, mostly. The neocons had grown used to working with and reaching compromises with conservatives in order to advance the things that mattered most to them. And for Irving's son Bill, what mattered most was developing a "neo-Reaganite foreign policy" for the post-Cold War world. This would be a foreign policy in which the U.S. used its unmatched military might and geopolitical preeminence to challenge tyrants and spread liberal democracy around the globe.

During the administration of George W. Bush, that sounded conservative. But since Donald Trump's hostile takeover of the Republican Party? Not so much. With the GOP expressing open hostility to democracy promotion abroad (and even at home), Kristol has now undertaken his father's rightward migration in reverse.

But does that signal a fundamental change? Or merely a pragmatic response to altered circumstances? I'd say the latter. Bill Kristol has always been a hawkish, idealistic liberal. What's changed is which party is best suited to serve as that disposition's natural home.

See the original post:
Were the neocons liberals all along? - The Week Magazine