A Glimmer of Hope...

The Ontario Landowners Association (OLA) has seized on something that has the potential to dramatically change the way government does business.

Before I get into their discovery, some background:

The OLA was formed due to the discriminatory treatment farm owners / land owners were and are still receiving at the hands of the Ontario Government - most notably - its Ministry of the Environment (MOE).

MOE has the power to enter any property without warrant and lay charges for various and sundry bizarre infractions. For instance, saw mills and cheese factories have been charged and even closed for polluting - in the case of saw mills for creating "saw dust" and in the case of cheese factories - "whey curd". It would be laughable if the economic consequences to the landowner was not so severe.

Larger landowners have been prevented from use of their lands in order to protect various species many of which are not in the least need of protection. In many instances entire tracts of land have been rezoned 'marsh lands' which has the effect of preventing the farmer from using it but he or she still enjoys the right to pay the realty taxes. No compensation is either offered or given. It is out and out 'State Theft'. And this, despite the fact, that our Country is made up of millions and millions of acres of marsh land, bogs, tundra, lichen and rock out croppings.

City folks have been slow off the mark viewing this outrageous treatment as just a "Rural" issue - but it is not. In this City of Ottawa, laws have recently been invoked to prevent homeowners from spraying their yards for weed control and, not surprisingly, the city is becoming one great big weed patch. Citizens who complained about the ill effects from spraying are now complaining about asthma caused by the weeds the spray was designed to kill. The City has also enacted a bylaw to prevent the cutting of trees. One family had to go to court to get permission to cut a tree that was destroying the foundation of their home.

And then there are the sign bylaws aimed at the Commercial Sector. In Russell Township, just east of Ottawa the Council - in its enlightenment, ordered its businesses to display their signs in both French and English. A Court Challenge is underway in regard to that - by a Francophone and an Anglophone. The Francophone arguing for the right to just have a French Sign and the Anglophone for the right to hang only an English sign.

When Trudeau brought in the Charter of Rights giving this Right and that Right, he purposely omitted the Right to Property. No mere omission that. Trudeau like all socialists / progressives had a fear of property owners; too independent for their liking.

Now to the Glimmer of Hope...

The Crown Grant.

You see, way back when, lands were deeded to original settlers by way of a Crown Grant. Our 35.5 Acres were deeded by the Crown in 1852 to a man by the name of O'Brien. The Crown reserved in our Grant the right to all White Pine since White Pine was used by the British Navy for the building of their Ships' Masts. Otherwise O'Brien - his Heirs and Assigns had and have the unfettered right to the enjoyment of our acreage. The same applies to other Crown Grants subject of course to any reservations that may appear in the Grant.

So the Question posed by the OLA is this: How can the Government now claim to have dominion over lands which it has already given away?

Put another way, it is a tenet of law that you cannot control that what you do not own.

How then can government tax your land? If you were to sell your car to your neighbour, you would have no right to charge him rent for its use. It is his absolutely. The same can be said for land and the OLA is starting to muster its forces to say just that.

If successful MOE would have to be disbanded since it would no longer have the right to arbitrarily interfere with the use of a citizen's real property. If they wanted to deem tracts recreational or whatever, they would have to pay the landowner for the privilege. What a novel concept.

The list goes on but what it would mean too is that government, robbed of its ability to interfere with one's enjoyment of his or her property, would have to downsize - that is say spend less. Taxes would go down but more importantly the intrusion of government into the lives of its citizens would dramatically lessen.

For those wishing to obtain a copy of their own Crown Grant it can be obtained from Ontario's Ministry of Natural Resources in Peterborough at (705) 755-2193.

As I see it...

"Galagher"

MY BARBER GUS

I have been going to the same Barber for over 15 years and find him to be the best one I have ever had.

He is from Italy and tells me that he has been cutting hair since he was 12. He is now well into his 40s.

'Gus' - not his real name - has 3 levels of talking - a) none; b) little; and c) just a bit more.

Today was my 6 week Pilgrimage to see him at his shop in down town Ottawa. He was stuck on level a) this morning.

In fact I can recall word for word our conversation despite the fact that I am getting somewhat forgetful and despite the fact that we spent some 40 minutes together - head to head sort of speaking.

In fact, had I not attempted to converse with him today - there would have been no conversation.

A Word by Word Account:

• Hi Gus......hi
• Nice Day?...guess so
• Guess you have been following the Soccer World Cup? ....nope (this despite the fact that his walls are covered with numerous pictures of various Italian Soccer Teams)
• Are your boys still in Judo?...nope
• Have either reached University yet?...one has.
• What's he taking...don't know.

At this point I thought I just might as well give up - I was beginning to sense that he was determined not to say anything.

I tried one more time knowing that he likes to put in large vegetable gardens.

Have you got your garden in yet Gus? What do you think - I wait till August?

Well at least my question elicited his longest response of the day. It also turned out to be his last.

The hair cut done - I paid Gus in silence and walked out.

I wonder what level he'll be at in 6 weeks time.

"Galagher"

THIS TIME NEXT YEAR...

Speculation continues to run rampant that Harper's Minority Government will not last through the coming Fall...

The Run Away Oil Rig continues to spew Oil on the Grand Banks. This followed Danny Williams demand that restrictions on Oil Drilling be relaxed. Dead oily fish and fowl litter the beaches and fishermen predict that their industry will be dead for at least a generation.

Meanwhile in the House of Commons, Opposition Leader Ignatieff led of Question Period today with the following probing question:

• "I have just received reliable information that an Afghan detainee, earlier handed over by our troops in that country, has been denied his right to receive his daily ration of ice-cream. Will the Prime Minister assure the people of Canada that such travesties will cease for good?

As of today, three of Canada's Big Five Banks have failed in light of the second financial crisis that continues to sweep the World. This current crisis began in early 2010 with the bankruptcy of Greece.

NDP Leader Jack Layton followed the Opposition Leader with this most topical question:

• Now that former Cabinet Minister Guegeris has resigned from both Cabinet and from Parliament, and has been prevented from running again in her constituency in the upcoming Election, will the Prime Minister assure the House that she will refund her pay for the time that she sat as an MP?

Work continues on the clean-up of the CN Tower. This Tower, once the tallest building in the world was blown-up last month by Islamic Extremists. The blast could be heard as far away as Pearson Airport by the many who were standing in line awaiting their turn to go through security.

Gilles Duceppe queried this afternoon on why Quebec was not receiving a greater share of the Federal Transfer Payments. While noting Quebec currently receives 75% of those funds he questioned the Government on why they should not also receive part or all of the remaining 25%.

Meanwhile, the National Media front pages were full of examples of MP misspending. The Report of the Auditor General, which came out earlier in the week pointed out that some Honourable Members had overspent there lunch allowances by as much as 9%.

While Nero Fiddled ...Rome Burned.

As I see it...

"Galagher"