The Most Regulated Province In Canada.

Quebec?  I don't have time to write this article but I certainly would like to read it.  Which province has the most regulations and red tape?  My guess is Quebec though I only have anecdotal evidence to back up my perception.  Is there a measure we could come up with to fairly compare provinces and cities in terms of the legal hoops businesses have to jump through?  Can we measure government intrusiveness into our personal lives?

This should contrast nicely with Maclean's front page expose that Quebec is the most corrupt province in Canada.  Critics have said that there hasn't been a fair comparison between other provinces, so lets compare them.  I would also like to see a measure of corruption.  How corrupt are our cities and provinces and how do they compare to each other?

My Guess is that Quebec will win both distinctions.  Most corrupt and most regulated may very well correlate to each other.  More ridiculous rules mean more people will not care to follow them.  This could breed a culture of backroom under the table dealings that don't stop at small time rule braking.  If you want people to follow the law, the law had better make sense.

Call it gateway corruption.  It starts with some ridiculous ordinance that is selectively enforced and it ends with cash stuffed envelopes.   

This is my theory.

Any enterprising journalists or bloggers care to test it?  If you don't you'll have to wait until I get around to writing it myself.  Please be fair.  I love Quebec and I don't want her unfairly tarnished.  Its important to acknowledge a problem if you want to solve it.

Meanwhile the Bloc strong armed parliament into a bill outside parliament's jurisdiction.  Free speech is not negotiable no mater what the HRC or the HOC thinks.  Sad and pathetic.  Would they do this for Alberta?  I think not.  Alberta should not be spared either.  Everyone should say what they have to say and its the merit and logic and veracity of those statements that shall be judged.  Its not important how offensive a statement is.  Its only important that it is true or false. 

I will be renewing my subscription Maclean's now as well.  They need the money to fight for free speech.  I let my subscription lapse through the summer but its time to renew.  Get your copies here.

A Short History of Corruption

Jean Charest appointed a former Supreme court Justice to the inquiry today.  This Judge, Michel Bastarache, was never appointed previously by Quebec and is therefore a little more trustworthy.  The inquiry seeks to expose weather revelations made by Marc Bellemare are true.  The former Justice minister, turned whistle blower, has claimed in several interviews that party bagmen pressured the government to appoint Judges they requested.  He also claims to have witnessed illegal cash donations made by the construction industry.

Corruption has a long history in Quebec.

Recall Brian Mulroney's Airbus scandal.  The former Progressive Conservative Prime Minister proved too slippery for the multiple investigations into that matter.  For reasons unknown Mr.Mulroney received a cash stuffed envelope from Karlheinz Schreiber.  Most people have had enough of this little mystery.  They have concluded that Mr. Mulroney was probably a crook, and that the extinction of his party is enough punishment for one politician anyway.

Then came the Liberals under Jean Chretien.  The scandal was called Adscam or the Sponsorship Scandal.  Money was paid to ad agencies for no work and then donated into the Liberal Party.  Approximately 100 million dollars was lost by the taxpayer, some of it only to damage taxpayers further by ending up in Liberal Party hands.  The Liberals promised to pay the money back, but as with all Liberal promises, they have not been honoured.

Now we hear of more scandals at the provincial level.  Jean Charest was once leader of the same party Brian Mulroney led.  Will he be able to stay above suspicion?  Is he as unflappable and Paul Wells once claimed him to be?

He may yet escape, but his party will feel the judgment of the voter.  They are rightfully peeved already about large tax hikes.  Peeved enough to storm the Finance Minsters office and protest in the thousands.  The 77% disapproval of Jean Charest before this newest scandal will surely get worse.