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Just wanted to say how much I enjoy this site.. thanks for all the hard work and great info.
Subject: The Pink Portage
Andrew Metcalfe is trying to generate a strong campaign that will
help raise awareness and lead to continued cancer research by portaging
1200km across Ontario. He set out on Sunday, June 3rd from Kingston, Ontario
and will be looping around Ottawa and then setting out for his finish line
which is Windsor, Ontario. He is attempting to finish in 40 days and I must
say, so far he is doing great. He is already nearing Ottawa.
This my seem like a lot but it is nothing in comparison to what a cancer
patient goes through on a daily basis. As have many, our family has seen
first hand the affects of cancer and Andrew is having that motivate him
every step of the way right to the finish line.
Please check out his website at http://www.pinkportage.com and read his story and
follow Andrews progress across Ontario as he has selected a SPOT satellite
Gps system for safety and to provide reliable location updates.
http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=07GYJc8jEHeqMiRiaiN3RlvqeqAl8W6f2
He can do WHAT???
Source: http://www.unitednorthamerica.org/democracy.htm
In Canada, the Monarchy has full executive powers, but does not wield them. Then who does? For all practical purposes the answer is the Prime Minister of Canada. The Prime Minister (PM), while not directly elected by the people in national elections, is traditionally an elected representative of the party that has the most seats in the House of Commons. Besides being able to preside as an un-elected official in the Senate (this has happened twice in Canada's history), the appointed leader has a host of unilateral powers, some of which include the authority:
To appoint the Governor General of Canada (through whom the PM technically exercises most of his/her powers, some of which are listed below);
To appoint Senators to the Canadian Senate;
To appoint Supreme Court justices and other federal justices;
To appoint all members of the Cabinet;
To appoint the entire board of the Bank of Canada;
To appoint the heads of the military, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and other government agencies;
To appoint CEO's and Chairs of crown corporations such as CBC;
To dissolve Parliament and choose the time of the next federal election (within a 5 year limit);
To run for re-election indefinitely (no term limits);
To remove Members of Parliament (MPs) from the ruling party's caucus;
To deny any MP the right to participate in parliamentary debate or run for re-election;
To dismiss individuals or groups of representatives from serving in Parliament;
To ratify treaties; and
To declare war.
It should be noted that the final four powers, which are called "prerogative powers", are rarely used by a Prime Minister; primarily because they have not proven politically expedient, and would be unpopular if used. All appointments made by the Prime Minister are at his/her sole discretion. While the United States has confirmation hearings for all presidential appointments, there are no confirmation hearings for any appointments including cabinet members, Supreme Court Justices and Senators in Canada. Arguably, the Prime Minister is one of the most powerful elected leaders of any democratic nation. The checks in the Canadian system are limited to either outright revolt within the Prime Minister's party, an action that has never taken place in Canada, or refusal by the Governor General to assent to an action proposed by the Prime Minister. This is a doubtful course of action since the Governor General is appointed "on the advice of", which is to say, effectively appointed directly by the Prime Minister. To quote from former Prime Minister Chrétien's website:
"The Prime Minister used to be described as 'the first among equals' in the cabinet, or as 'a moon among minor stars'. This is no longer so. He (she) is now incomparably more powerful than any colleague. The Prime Minister chooses the ministers in the first place, and can also ask any of them to resign; if the minister refuses, the Prime Minister can advise the Governor General to remove that minister and the advice would invariably be followed. Cabinet decisions do not necessarily go by majority vote. A strong prime minister, having listened to everyone's opinion, may simply announce that his (her) view is the policy of the government, even if most, or all, the other ministers are opposed. Unless the dissenting ministers are prepared to resign, they must bow to the decision."
Regarding The Wall in Port Carling. Congrats to Ian Wallace for speaking up about the need to maintain Port Carling's iconic photo mosaic wall. It has made Port Carling a destination for visitors from around the world. It would be a real shame if it were to deteriorate. And when it was created there was a small reserve fund set aside by Muskoka Lakes Township for its maintenance. The volunteers who raised the money for the mosaic actually raised the reserve fund, too. So is that reserve fund still in existence?
Excellent question, and I believe the short answer is that the reserve $10k or so has been used for refurbishment already, but MNW will seek a more definitive answer. Here’s something else to check: I believe The Wall is still the largest historic digital display of its kind. Councillor Baranik mentioned we’ve slipped behind Japan in the overall ‘largest’ category, however. Perhaps we have a title to defend!