As much as I like to complain about laws and policies

A King for the People by Alex King

, there are other matters our public servants at the State level can and should address in between legislative sessions. When it comes to the wellbeing of the residents of Tyler and Wetzel counties, as well as those simply passing through this wonderful neck of the woods, those representatives should address the dangerous hillside slip that sends large rocks onto WV State Route 2 between Sistersville and Paden City. Regardless of any excuses made, there is no justification for the State allowing debris to so frequently disrupt a route it is responsible for maintaining. And although large rocks (or small boulders as some would see them) usually only slide into the road following hard rains, these instances happen often enough that people have almost lost their lives. This is in no way a judgment on those who work for the State and have to respond to the hillside slip for cleanup duty. I feel bad that they have such a mess to deal with in the first place, and I believe that addressing the issue will ultimately make their jobs safer and less hectic. It will also result in less risk to our first responders, who are often called out at random hours to navigate traffic around debris in the road. According to the information I've gathered, the State owns at least fifteen feet of the hillside as measured from the edge of the road. You would think that fifteen feet is enough room to adopt some form of preventative measure. Even if the price tag for such a project is expensive, our State government should be willing to spend millions to fix the slip if it means saving lives. If you've been paying attention the last few decades-or even the last few months-then you should understand the amount of our money the government is willing to fritter away. Is it so much to ask that our tax dollars go toward what they're intended to fund, such as projects to improve infrastructure? There is a large fence to stop falling rocks along a section of highway between New Martinsville and Moundsville, and from what I hear it only went up after a life was lost to debris falling into the road. Let's not wait until a tragedy happens. My calls to the State have been somewhat educational. Apparently, if enough people visit dotforms.wv.gov/cra and fill out a report, then the State will consider doing something about it. Despite the calls I've made and the questions I've asked, I'm still more ignorant about this matter than I'd like to be, and I am fine admitting that. The goal of this column isn't to frame myself as if I have the answers. I simply want to start a conversation. If you would like to correct any of my points or add to them, I am happy to convey the knowledge you share. While you can speak to me directly, I may also consider publishing your points in print if I think they'll bring clarity to a topic. Don't hesitate to email me at alkwriter@outlook.com. As always, be safe, and pay attention to your surroundings when traveling.

End the war in ukraine bring back trump

By Joe Ingino Editor/Publisher ACCOMPLISHED WRITER/AUTHOR OF OVER 800,000 Published Columns in Canada and The United States “I live a dream in a nightmare world” Funny how Trump use to deal with foreign affairs. In his own magical way he would befriend those America hated. In it’s magic Trump would control and manipulate them in a majestic fashion. The world was at peace Today under ‘COME ON MAN’ super hero Brandon. The world is chaos, the gas prices are out of control. Jobs are far from few. The world is facing threat of a third world war. COME ON MAN... Really. Thank the God’s for COVID as Covid has become the carpet of inwhich the incompetent can put the blame under. Putin in a way is smart. He seen the weakness in Biden. He seen how poorly Biden handled the Middle East. For the Russians it was an opportunity of a life time. The Chinese indirectly backing Putin. It was the perfect moment to invade. ISIS is rebuilding and waiting for America’s weakest moment to strike again...It is as if doomsday is a matter of time.... Then again... Imagine if Trump was in office. I am sure he would have met with Putin and cut a deal to not invade the Ukraine. That is what business men do. Negotiate. Biden much like in some of his speeches. His administration is all over the map. In this quest to save the environment he is killing the people on it by driving them to poverty. The gas prices are blamed on the supply line. On covid. On the war. When in reality the gas prices are the blame of an administration that has no direction and follows public opinion. We must go back to what worked. Trump had a solid understanding of our energy needs. He had the Arab suppliers basically giving the oil away. He had total control of the second teared oil producing nations and even in a position where he could export oil/gas produced and sourced in the U.S. Why the drastic change under the administration of captain ‘COME ON MAN’? Don’t get me wrong. This is not about being a Democrat or a Republican. This is about what makes sense for the people of the country. At some point politicians have to come to grip with the reality that we must act in the best interest of those that elected us. I guess that by jacking the gas prices up. The administration can justify selling more electric cars. Cars that much like the turbine turned out to be will be a great idea but not practical or logically sound. All we can do for now is grind our teeth and count day to the next election and hope that America is restored to at the least pre last election.

IT IS OFFICIAL AND I DID IT FOR OUR CHILDREN

IT IS OFFICIAL AND I DID IT FOR OUR CHILDREN By Joe Ingino Editor/Publisher ACCOMPLISHED WRITER/AUTHOR OF OVER 800,000 Published Columns in Canada and The United States “I live a dream in a nightmare world” Dear People of Oshawa. allow me to take this time and explain my recent decision to run for the office of Mayor. I am a hard working local business man raising a family like most of you. I work hard for what I have and know the true value of a dollar. I drive through our downtown and my heart aches. How can we live in such a rich nation and have our own country folk living on our streets. Many call the homeless a ‘problem’. When in reality it is more a circumstance. A circumstance that we are all having to deal with. Many blame it on social services. Others on drug/alcohol addictions. Some point the the lack of affordable mental health services for Canadians, not to mention the lack of affordable housing. To me these are all parts of a bigger picture. Many wise men have said that the solution to a problem lies in the problem. Well this is not a problem but circumstance of various factors. I say this because in order to deal with the homeless we must understand it’s parts and create a clear path/vision that we can follow. As it stands many of the services available are fragmented. They are scattered and restrictive. In part this is why even though making an impact are not effective. We have the services but not the vision to align them to the needs of those in need. We can drive by those in need and snub our noses up. Just remember we at any given time for an array of reason can become homeless or substance dependent. Not to mention suffer from mental illness that may causes us to become homeless. With this said. I can’t beyond me come to terms to on how our elected officials can go to sleep at night knowing people in need are sleeping out in the cold. On our downtown businesses doorways and our alleys. How can in good consciousness our municipal elect collect their pay when there are so many in dire need. You would think that the city elect would make it priority one to find a solution. Four years have passed and the problem has been getting worst. We are now to the point that the drug trafficking and sales are an all time high. Prostitution has shot up by 60%. People are dying of overdose at an alarming rate. Our parks and ravines are full of disposed needles. The real worrisome thing is that there are no real plans on how to deal with it. DO WE WANT OR NEED ANOTHER FOUR YEARS OF THIS? My decision to run in this election is one to clean up our city. I don’t need the job nor the money. I am doing it out of civic duty. I can write about it. My staff can report on it... at the end of the day. Nothing changes. For this reason I decided that I must put my words, my expertise and my knowledge to good use and do something about it before it gets worst. I pledge to fix our city homelessness and related issues. I am a man of my word. To prove it I will not take a penny of reenumeration until I achieve this objective immediately as it needs the outmost attention. I promise that I will work with the mind set that the tax dollars you entrust me to work with, as if they were my own. I will cut expenses. I will assure to freeze taxes for at least the four years I will serve in office. I will negotiate with major investors/industry/trade and the like to bring Oshawa opportunity and good paying jobs. This will help offset to pay for any increase in cost for services rendered. My four year forecast will be one that will transform downtown Oshawa to world standards. Bring developers and investors to offset the population expansion from Toronto. Stop allowing the use of prime farm lands for ‘stick and drywall’ type of developments as we see to the North of Oshawa. Other municipalities have done it why not Oshawa. Use the Mississauga model to tailor our own path forward. We need leadership not managers. Carter he did what he could with his limitations. Now it is time to make the right changes and take Oshawa back from the dark cloud of despair it has been under for the past four years and make it shine across the region, the province and Canada. Working with the Regional Chair to bring prosperity and opportunity to Oshawa. The Regional Chair has had many milestones and is doing exceptional work to attract business to Durham. We must align ourselves and our future growth with the efforts put forth by the Region. My administration with the help of staff and council will work to assure that no opportunity is overlooked. That all citizens have a voice and that all ideas and consultations are not brushed off to committee. I will dissolve many committee that are only a layer of red tape. I promise to make myself available to all citizens much like I am now as your editor and publisher of the Central newspapers. People of Oshawa should feel as if they can walk into my office any time and vent their ideas, concerns and opinion... Something that the current administration has failed to do. People in Oshawa feel marginalized, discriminated against and made to feel as second class citizens. THIS WILL STOP. Soon I will have a full detailed platform available for view. My 2022 plan of action. You may visit www.ingino.org At the current moment my 2018 platform stands.... and if you take the time to read it. Many of the issues presented are still applicable today. As the current administration has done nothing to improve our quality of life. Soon you will be able to read in full. We need to operate the City of Oshawa as the corporation that it is. We must stop relying on tax dollars and look for investment and partners to create revenue to infuse into programs and service for the people of Oshawa. TOGETHER WE CAN MAKE IT HAPPEN. Oshawa is for us to take back. It is for us to really elect real leadership. Now is the time to make a difference. Don’t make the same mistakes we have made in the past. We, our children can’t afford to pay for our mistakes. Use your vote wisely this election. 2022 Hopefully will be remembered as the year for change in Oshawa. If you like to volunteer or donate please call me at any time 905-441-2657 or sent cheques to 136 Simcoe St. N. #4 L1G 4S7.

A Hot Political Conservative summer

by Maj (ret'd) CORNELIU E. CHISU, CD, PMSC, FEC, CET, P. Eng. Former Member of Parliament Pickering-Scarborough East As the weather starts to improve, leaving the cold days of winter behind, and Nature renews itself in splendor, the conservatives face new challenges. Let us first look at the provincial election just called in Ontario, where the provincial conservatives lead by Doug Ford are seeking re-election as the governing party. The parties in competition for the governing job are the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario (PC), Liberals, NDP, Greens and the New Blue Party of Ontario. The latter is a newcomer on the provincial political scene, and as usual, is being ignored by the established elite media, despite the fact that they have successfully registered candidates in all 124 electoral districts. So be it! With the pandemic winding down and people starting to resume some semblance of a normal life, the provincial election campaign is gearing up for the June 2nd election. The established parties seem to be in competition on promising many things, essentially trying to buy the votes of the electors. In this quest, the PC Party lead by the fearless Doug Ford, is far and away outdoing everybody. In his spending spree promises on various gigantic projects, the conservative way he is supposed to represent is long forgotten. The traditional conservative way of trying to spend wisely and working to balance the budget as soon as possible is out the window. The proposed conservative spending blueprint looks like a copycat of the governing Liberals' federal spending. Just one day before the provincial election was called, Justin Trudeau and Doug Ford stood together in friendship, to announce federal and provincial support for a $3.6-billion investment in auto plants in Windsor and Brampton to produce electric vehicles. Does anyone remember the fact that just three years ago, it suited Mr. Trudeau and Mr. Ford to make war on each other over the Liberal carbon tax? But this is what politics has devolved to nowadays; promise anything to be elected, and afterward conveniently forget whatever was promised. Just remember, four years ago, Doug Ford offered Ontarians $1 beers if they installed his Progressive Conservatives in government. And he delivered, though only briefly: The cheapest six-pack in Upper Canada today, costs a shocking $9.30. This time around, the swag in the PC loot bag comes with many trailing zeroes, and many goodies are transportation-themed: $1.1 billion to scrap licence-plate renewal fees; $645 million to cut the gasoline tax; $6 billion to build a new highway around Brampton. The government recently axed tolls on two GTA highways and so on. With all this said, good luck to you in the provincial election. Choose wisely! On the other hand, the federal conservatives are involved in another leadership contest. This is the third one after the electoral defeats of 2015, 2019 and 2021. Let us hope that this time they will choose wisely, because the next leader will have three more years to wait in the wings and hone his skills before the Liberal-NDP pact will allow an election to occur. The candidates for the Conservative Party leadership are Carleton MP Pierre Poilievre, former Quebec Premier Jean Charest, Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown, Haldimand-Norfolk MP Leslyn Lewis, Parry Sound-Muskoka MP Scott Aitchison, and former Ontario MPP Roman Baber. The Conservatives will announce their next leader on September 10. As the candidates are gearing up to convince Conservative Party members to vote for them in the leadership contest they are also careful to convince the general electorate that the Conservative Party is also ready to govern. We will see a lot of campaigning from the candidates during the summer with many new political issues appearing on the horizon both nationally and internationally. It should be noted that the perceived front runner in the conservative leadership contest at this time is Pierre Poilievre. It seems that his messages are well received by Conservative Party members and the public in general. Young, experienced, well prepared and energetic, he is a real asset for the Conservative Party. Along with other candidates and useful debates to follow, let us hope that a more energetic, truly conservative principled, newly reborn Conservative Party will emerge from the race, to soon lead the country. The previous two leaderships should be forgotten, as they were teetering and completely abandoned the basics on which the Conservative Party was built. With this said I invite you to follow the Conservative Party leadership contest campaign, hoping that better days will follow for Canada, that will preserve our history and traditions. Get ready for a long and hot political summer!

Negotiating Your Compensation, Are You Willing to Walk Away?

By Nick Kossovan You've gone through a phone interview and 2 face-to-face interviews, and a Myers-Briggs Personality Test. You like the company. Your last interview was with the person who'd be your boss-you bonded, you connected. The following day HR calls to inform you they'll be emailing you an offer. Anxiously you check your emails every 5 minutes. Finally, on your sixth email check the offer! It's $20K less than you expected. Now what? You negotiate! Most job seekers fear they'll appear greedy and lose the job offer if they ask for more money. That's rarely the case. Finding a hire-worthy candidate isn't easy. When you're a good fit for the job, it's in the hiring manager's best interest to make an offer you're satisfied with. Even if there's no wiggle room, the offer isn't going away; it'll stay on the table until you either accept it or reject it. The key to successfully negotiating compensation is to be prepared. Know what your skills are worth on the market. With all the salary information available online, there's no excuse to not have a ballpark salary in mind. Make sure to factor in where you live. Salaries can vary significantly from city to city, region to region. Visit websites such as Payscale.com, Salary.com and Glassdoor.com that offer salary comparisons across various roles and industries. It is common to ask applicants about their salary expectations early in the hiring process, usually during the phone vetting interview. Play it safe; you don't want to give a too low or a too high salary figure. Defer answering the question by stating you'd like to learn more about the job's duties and accountabilities before discussing compensation. Your goal is to make the employer like you, see you as an excellent fit for the position and company, and ultimately fall in love with you before discussing compensation. Adhere to the cardinal rule: Don't bring up salary! You may be negotiating against yourself if you throw out the first number. The employer may have been willing to make a higher offer than you had proposed. Your offer will likely be higher than expected if you've demonstrated an undeniable track record of success ("proven" is much more valuable than "unproven"). Therefore, you should emphasize proving (quantifying) your value throughout the hiring process. If the offer is lower than you expected, make a counteroffer based on your salary research. Depending on what the hiring manager says and how much you want to work for the company, consider negotiating to receive a raise six months into the role if you meet agreed-upon goals. (IMPORTANT: Get this in writing!) Many candidates make the mistake of only negotiating money. (salary, commission, bonuses) Other aspects of compensation can be negotiated, such as vacation time, work hours, perks, working from home, or a hybrid model, medical/dental benefits, tuition reimbursement, RRSP matching percentage, fitness and wellness subsidies, stock options, etc. Don't underestimate the outcomes of negotiating non-salary benefits. The bottom line: To get the compensation package you feel you deserve, which is highly subjective, you must be willing to walk away. Walking away frees you to continue looking for a company that'll agree to the compensation you desire. Never talk yourself into accepting a job offer! Either the compensation package offered works for you, or it doesn't. If the hiring manager informs you that your compensation requests aren't feasible, you have two choices: - Thank them for their time and continue your job search, or - Accept the offer WITHOUT expecting a raise or promotion later. (Unless you have it in writing, you'll receive a raise after meeting agreed-upon goals within six months or whatever timeframe you negotiate.). I believe if the employer's final offer doesn't provide the compensation you want, you're better off walking away. Hoping you'll be recognized for your work and given a 15% raise is a bad strategy. Negotiating compensation with candidates has taught me the most common reason people want more money is their lifestyle. This isn't a solid reason to convince an employer why you deserve the compensation you're asking for. Employers aren't responsible for the lifestyle you created. You created your lifestyle, not the employer. Before walking away, understand that ultimately your job satisfaction hinges less on getting your compensation negotiation right and more on getting the job right. The industry and position in which you work, your career trajectory, and the daily influences on you (e.g., management, coworkers) are significantly more important than the specifics of a job offer. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Nick Kossovan, a well-seasoned veteran of the corporate landscape, offers advice on searching for a job. You can send him your questions at artoffindingwork@gmail.com

NOW IS YOUR TURN TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE

By Joe Ingino Editor/Publisher ACCOMPLISHED WRITER/AUTHOR OF OVER 800,000 Published Columns in Canada and The United States “I live a dream in a nightmare world” GREAT NEWS!!! As of May 2nd, 2022 we the people can do something about the marginalization practiced by City of Oshawa elect. ((of a person, group, or concept) treated as insignificant or peripheral). Marginalized groups include women, people with disabilities, people of color, LGBTQ+ folks, Indigenous peoples, people of a lower socio-economic status and so on. These groups have been historically disempowered and oppressed by influential and discriminatory groups such as those elected to represent us in Oshawa. The culture at the City of Oshawa is one of hypocritical nature. Pretend you are doing something when in reality very little gets done. The Mayor boasted on 1Billion in development, but failed to point out the poor planning by the City in allowing ‘sticks and cardboard’ subdivisions to be built on prime farm lands to the north of Oshawa. A mistake that will cost the city billions in the future in policing, public health and standard of living in the area. The City is very unfair and bias. If you are not to directly benefit someone on council or follow the City political arrogant and pretentious ways. You are black balled as an outsider and nothing you suggest even gets consideration. For example during the height of COVID a local downtown business owner offered the city $100,000. in subsidy. The businessman was refused at committee and at council. The City elect including the Mayor showed poor judgement and lack of professionalism as not even a notice was sent back to the businessman with a reason of why the very generous offer was declined. Only that through the mouth of some council, stated that they just did not approve or like the particular business person. More recently. C.A.M.P - Community Assisted Meal Program. A volunteer based program that fed hundreds every day were denied a permit to continue it’s services. Once again. The denial was never explained nor any formal reason was given to the organizer. According to the organizer. Once again. The City has a prejudice/bias towards him as it was not a City or city councillor initiative. THIS HAS TO STOP. How can anyone on council go to bed at night knowing that hundreds of people are sleeping in tents and on our s treets. How can any council member with a good conscious cash their pay cheque knowing the need of our city and the poor state that it is by their reluctance to get things done. People are constantly asking me to run for the office of Mayor. Many state that the people of Oshawa can’t afford to make the same mistakes again. If I was to run for office. I would pledge that until I find a solution to the homeless problem in Oshawa. I would not collect one penny in renumeration. The money that would have come to me I would donate it to a worthy cause and or set up a program funded with those dollars. I could not in good conscious and rooted morals take the people’s money when the people of Oshawa are suffering. As your Mayor, I would cut back all wasteful expenditures. I would personally work with developers, business people and those of like minds to create a real development plan of action. Not one that would take year to accomplish. Instead one that would be implemented right of way and come to fruition before my term in office was up. This would entail a very aggressive and decisive plan that can be done and has been done in other municipalities. I would address the assessment values of properties, restructure the property tax system. To give special incentives to those that have owned their properties for a long time vs those that are just purchasers. We need to find a balance so that the core of our system is maintained while the developing aspect of Oshawa contributes for a better future for all. This will include an aggressive campaign in the quest of bringing good paying jobs. Oshawa is for us to take back. It is for us to really elect real leadership. Now is the time to make a difference. Don’t make the same mistakes we have made in the past. We, our children can’t afford to pay for our mistakes. Use your vote wisely this election. 2022 Hopefully will be remembered as the year for change in Oshawa.

Its time to strengthen Canada's manufacturing

by Maj (ret'd) CORNELIU E. CHISU, CD, PMSC, FEC, CET, P. Eng. Former Member of Parliament Pickering-Scarborough East Inflation has reared its ugly head and the Ukrainian war has the world in turmoil. Canada should think seriously about its manufacturing capabilities lost to the globalization fantasy. Global supply chains are shattered and Canada starts to see the unpleasant results. Relinquishing strategic manufacturing capabilities to other countries made Canada suffer in the pandemic due to lack of vaccine and personal protection production facilities. COVID-19 has made it clear that Canada needs a strong domestic strategic manufacturing sector to produce what our people need. Industrial production has been stagnant in this country for many decades and it's a must for Canada to create and sustain a resilient strategic manufacturing economy that will also be more competitive in global markets. In today's world there is a need for strong national strategic manufacturing that will create good jobs while minimizing environmental impacts and keeping expertise and essential skills at home. The COVID-19 pandemic and the war raging in Europe have revealed the fragility of the international economic arrangements we rely on in times of crisis. In its most acute sense, this took the form of lack of access to essential goods. Years of offshoring, outsourcing and just-in-time production has left us, and others, ill-equipped to deal with the pandemic and today's dangerous world. As a result, many countries have quickly turned inward, enacting policies mandating that personal protective equipment meant for export must now be used for domestic purposes, cutting off Canada's supplies of these essential goods. In Canada, both federal and provincial governments reacted slowly, lacking long-term planning for critical supplies. Ultimately, the pandemic has illustrated first hand, the importance of a strong domestic manufacturing sector to produce what Canada needs. It has also shone a light on the decline of the Canadian manufacturing sector over the last number of decades. Over the past 20 years in Canada, GDP from industrial production has essentially been stagnant due to political neglect, complacency, lack of expertise and mismanagement. Manufacturing presently accounts for roughly 10 percent of Canada's GDP, down from about 16 percent in 2000 and far lower than the high of 30 percent in the 1950s when we had politicians such as C.D. Howe who really meant business and created the wealth and standard of life that Canadians enjoy today. As a result, it took the Canadian manufacturing sector close to six years to recover from the 2008-2009 financial crisis. In contrast, Germany, a country with a domestic industrial strategy, has seen GDP from industrial production rise by more than 66 percent over the last 20 years, and its manufacturing sector rebounded from the 2008 crisis in less than three years. The decline in manufacturing has been a key contributor to the stagnation of wages in Canada and Canada's increased reliance on the extraction and export of unprocessed natural resources. Never mind that the extraction of these natural resources is also under threat from the liberal government, strangely enamored with fantasy driven environmental concerns. If these combinations of ill conceived political strategies are not changed, they will contribute to a wild recession and a sharp downgrading of the standard of life for Canadians. In 1980, almost 20 percent of all jobs in Canada were in the manufacturing sector. By 2021, that had dropped to 9 percent. In short, the era of globalization and liberalized trade regimes has not been kind to Canadian manufacturing. It is true that the pandemic has presented a challenge to a global economic order that too often relies on cheap labour, prioritizing cheap goods and short-term gain. Canada cannot ignore the fact that it is still party to dozens of international trade and investment treaties and our manufacturing sector is still heavily reliant on export markets. Therefore, Canada needs to create and sustain a resilient manufacturing economy that will also be more competitive in the global marketplace. Successful manufacturing economies such as Germany's, have supported advanced manufacturing that creates good jobs and cannot be offshored to low-wage countries. Following this model requires rethinking the role that the state and workers can play in the revitalization of manufacturing. This must start with the joint priority of creating good jobs, while minimizing environmental impact. Policy decisions must be made with those considerations at the forefront. With the creation of good jobs as the focus of a manufacturing strategy, it follows that Canada must ensure it has a properly trained workforce. Canada needs concerted training and apprenticeship policies that assure a highly qualified workforce. Government and employers have a responsibility to provide workers with training, apprenticeships, upskilling and reskilling. Union involvement is also critical when analyzing the real or potential impacts of automation. Automation and technological development is not inherently good or bad, but if the effects on employment, communities and environment are not considered, the potentially positive effects of automation can be lost. The federal and provincial governments should play key roles in ensuring the oversight and co-ordination of key industries and supply chains. In developing a national manufacturing strategy, the federal government should define made-in-Canada while considering the entire supply chain. One of the fears of strengthening environmental standards - and of the possible increased cost of using Canadian-made goods - is that they will simply be undercut by cheaper imported products, rendering higher standards counterproductive. A comprehensive manufacturing strategy must include mechanisms such as border carbon adjustments (BCA) to prevent undercutting of strengthened environmental standards. A BCA would apply to goods produced in countries that have no form of carbon pricing, in particular on trade-exposed products with high emissions such as steel and aluminum. This would help to reflect the true cost of imported goods. Where it really is unfeasible to re-shore a supply chain (for example, there is no prospect for domestic production or Canada simply does not have the raw materials), then supply chain diversification is an option. Rather than relying on one country or one global supplier, Canada needs to diversify. When it comes to ensuring markets for goods produced in Canada, one of the most promising means of augmenting demand for domestically manufactured products is to tie sustainability goals into procurement policies. Despite the lack of procurement policies in the CUSMA, Canada should work with U.S. allies to ensure a binational strategy for North American manufacturing. However, Canada cannot rely on the old mechanisms, such as offshoring or ever-expanding export markets, for the goods it does produce. This requires a rethinking of the role of the state and workers in revitalizing Canadian manufacturing. Ultimately, it requires directed policies that promote good jobs to benefit communities across the country, while reducing environmental impact. Politicians need to be focused on the progress of Canada and the well being of Canadians. If Canada does not seize this opportunity to rethink the role of manufacturing in our economy, it risks being left behind in a dynamically changing international economic order.

When Job Hunting Find a Job Fast with these Methods

By Nick Kossovan No job seeker wants a prolonged job search, especially if they're unemployed. Holistically the most efficient way to land a job is to stay focused and determined-persevere! Create a daily job search schedule with daily job search activity goals (e.g., Number of applications and reach outs to companies you'd like to join.). Constantly be networking. Ask your contacts to introduce you to their contacts. Nothing will get you into an organization faster than having an inside person vouching for you. Set up job alerts-lead generation-on job boards such as Monster, Indeed, ZipRecruiter, companies you're interested in and LinkedIn, so opportunities land in your inbox. Follow up on every lead. Finally, constantly look to improve, especially when it comes to interviewing. After every interview, evaluate yourself and tweak your answers and questions for the next time. Besides having these job search habits and tools in place, focus on the following: 1. Search for your tribe. Those who read my column know my fundamental job search advice: Search for your tribe! Looking for your tribe is the best compass you can use when searching for a job. Don't look for a job; look for where you belong and will be accepted. Trying to fit into a company where you don't belong will frustrate you and extend your job search. Think: "I'm not looking for a job; I'm looking for my tribe!" 2. Be realistic about your worth to employers. Labour costs are a business's enemy. No doubt you've heard about the "Great Resignation," also being called the "Great Reshuffle," and how companies are having a hard time hiring. I'm going to throw some cold water on this narrative. Job seekers are now trying to negotiate a high compensation package, benefits, perks, flex hours, WFH, etc. Employers are making concessions (for now) to candidates' demands because they're in a bind. Job seekers aren't considering what will happen when the job market turns around, which it inevitably will. When the job market turns expensive employees who aren't providing a healthy ROI for their salary will be the first to be downsized. Don't let today's "employees are in the driver seat" feel-good story make you an expensive hire. Know your market worth and aim for compensation amount. (There are many online resources such as Glassdoor.com. Payscale.com and Salary.com that offer salary comparisons.) Yes, you can benefit from an employer's current hiring struggle, but beware, you'll become a liability if their revenue slumps. Remember, economies are constantly expanding and contracting; therefore, think long-term. Keeping your compensation package realistic gives you a better chance of getting hired over more qualified candidates who expect, because the media keeps reporting there's a labour shortage, employers to grovel to hire them. Be humble, be realistic regarding your salary expectation. 3. Present yourself as the solution to the employer's problems. Jobs exist to solve an employer's problems. Whether we're an accountant (Problem: Keeping track of revenue and expenses.), a sales representative (Problem: Revenue generation.), or an HR manager (Problem: Hiring the right employees, retaining current employees.) presenting yourself as the answer to an employer's problem is the best way to convince an employer you're the person for the job. The next time you come across a job opportunity you want to pursue, ask yourself: 1. Why does this job exist? 2. What problems is this job supposed to solve? 3. How do my skills and experience make me the person to solve the problems this job exists to solve? Then, whether you're applying to a job opening or you're a referral, focus on communicating to the employer reasons you're the best person to solve the problems the job is supposed to solve. 4. Make your LinkedIn profile SEO-friendly. These days, a great deal of hiring is done via LinkedIn, where recruiters and hiring managers search for and approach potential candidates to fill their open roles. Therefore, in order for your LinkedIn profile to appear in searches it must be SEO (Search Engine Optimization) friendly. The following 3 SEO tips will increase your odds of appearing in searches: 1. Research and include throughout your profile relevant SEO-boosting keywords. 2. Complete your profile in full, including a current profile picture. 3. Regularly share keyword-rich content, using relevant hashtags. A clear plan and staying focused are essential if you wish to avoid a lengthy job search. Above all, believe in yourself! Employers are attracted to confidence stemming from candidates knowing their skill set and experience are precisely what the employer needs. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Nick Kossovan, a well-seasoned veteran of the corporate landscape, offers advice on searching for a job. You can send him your questions at artoffindingwork@gmail.com

TEARS FROM MY HEART

By Rosaldo Russo Allow me to begin this column by thanking the Oshawa/Central newspaper for allowing me the opportunity and access to the press. Not to many if any allow an average person like me to tell the world what I see and think. In my opinion. The Editor/Publisher is a real upstanding type of guy. He shoots from the hip and hold traditional core values. My name is Rosaldo Russo. I came to this great country to make a better life for myself and my family. I thank Canada for everything it has allowed me to do and earn. I worked construction all my life. I know the value of hard work and honesty. I remember as a boy my father always telling me to work hard and buy land. So I did. I remember days when I did not have enough to eat. I go to work... but I did not wait for hand outs. I rounded up my pride my skill and my determination to succeed and went to work. In those days the only benefits we received was the fact we were employed. Before retiring I was the owner and operator of local material supply company that allowed me to retired without worry. Now that I have time to enjoy life. I look around me and have some concern for future generations. I see that the world is finished. I’m sorry if I sound soft old and feeble...but I can’t help it. When I look around me and see those that are supposed to be our leaders do the things they do. I can’t help but to feel my hart tear as a piece of me is slowly dieying as I see that the opportunities that this country once offered me are no longer available for generations to come. You look around you and all you see are people with their heads buried in their cell phones, computer and now virtual reality machines. What happened to human social interaction? How can we walk our street and see people living on doorways? How can we live with our conscious knowing such suffering is taking place in a country like Canada. I was once a strong contributor to the Liberal party. I see now I was fooled and my efforts wasted. But don’t get me wrong. The conservatives are no better. Not to mention the NDP. We in Canada are becoming a third world country. Year by year our quality of life is slipping. I thank God every morning that I got to enjoy Canada and that Canada gave me the opportunity to live a hard but very satisfactory life. I owe no one nothing and what I have I earned the hard way. Working long days and not eating at time to pay for what I owed. I pray that somehow we can get Canada back. That we put our difference aside and appreciate common sense and elect true leaders. Check out the Canada for Canadian Party.

The Phobia Era

By Joe Ingino Editor/Publisher ACCOMPLISHED WRITER/AUTHOR OF OVER 800,000 Published Columns in Canada and The United States “I live a dream in a nightmare world” I just about fell off my seat this week when I read this news headline: Russia bans 61 Canadians from entering country, calls Ottawa’s actions ‘Russophobic’. What is wrong with people today. They don’t like you and they label you as being PHOBIC. A phobia by definition: A phobia is an uncontrollable, irrational, and lasting fear of a certain object, situation, or activity. This fear can be so overwhelming that a person may go to great lengths to avoid the source of this fear. One response can be a panic attack. This is a sudden, intense fear that lasts for several minutes. Wow, so now we Canadians are deemed in fear of Russians and vice versa? Where will the insanity end? I think those that label others are the ones with the seriously compromised psychological profiles. Think about it. How far out of touch with reality must you be that you have to label others with a psychological deficiency in order to uphold your view of society/environment. Is that not what psychosis is --- a severe mental disorder in which thought and emotions are so impaired that contact is lost with external reality. Think about it... is this not what the media plays on? A psychotic episode is by definition: During a period of psychosis, a person's thoughts and perceptions are disturbed and the individual may have difficulty understanding what is real and what is not. Symptoms of psychosis include delusions (false beliefs) and hallucinations (seeing or hearing things that others do not see or hear). This gives understanding to many terms we hear in the media in order to pressure conformity... Homophobia, Islamaphobia and the many more that people are labeled with as soon as they oppose a particular point that is not that of the person wanting change to defend. a point of view that is not widely accepted. A way to sway thought in order to create opinion towards a particular ideology. At the least those pointing and labeling can be said to suffer from a case of Neurosis.... and in part this gives rationale as why at one time or another people with these types of mental deficiencies were deemed as outside of the norm and treated as psychiatric conditions. Neurosis may be defined simply as a "poor ability to adapt to one's environment, an inability to change one's life patterns, and the inability to develop a richer, more complex, more satisfying personality." In other words... news agencies like CNN play on this balance between sanity and insanity as they tilt the outcomes based on the weight of the information they present. In another press release.... that proves this point... it read: Surging gas prices, Ukraine war pushed inflation to 6.7% in March: Statistics Canadas annual rate of inflation hit 6.7 per cent in March, up a full percentage point from its reading in February, Statistics Canada said Wednesday. First question... how can they claim that a war in such far away place... have such a huge impact on the economy of a country like Canada. Are we to believe we are that fragile? Could it be that the government is using this flaw in the masses thinking. that by blaming such a conflict as the war on the Ukraine as the cause of our economic demise... that it takes away from having to report the real reason why our economy is falling apart. Trudeau. Not to mention the excuse for governments to rip us off at the pumps. First it was the carbon tax. A tax that is nothing a rip off. Now the Ukraine war has opened the door of opportunity for governments to go over the top and charge what they want for gasoline. Are we the consumer to believe that we live so close to the supply line that war breaks across the planet and we are that unstable? What happened to the reserves? What happened to the supply and demand regulation? You see my point. We the people are nothing but fools led by media strings. The Ukraine war could not have come at a better time. The population at large have their daily eye fill of the poor children being killed in the Ukraine as we forget the real enemy within our shores... COVID. We are led to believe that we must pay more for our fuel due to the bad, bad, bad Russians. When in reality it is nothing short of a made up gateway for government to rise prices and get higher taxes out of our pockets. We are far from FREE. We are far from having choices. We are nothing short of modern day slaves that are led by misconception, confusion and misinformation. Psychotic/Neurotic’s at best in a sea of the same. Our Free will nothing but an illusion of our own confusion and delusion of an environment that is controlled and prescribed by our controlled destinies. A destiny that through our ignorance is our demise.

Canada and the Charter of Rights and Freedoms

by Maj (ret'd) CORNELIU E. CHISU, CD, PMSC, FEC, CET, P. Eng. Former Member of Parliament Pickering-Scarborough East Last week we had the 40th anniversary of the entry of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms onto the Canadian national scene. As we look at the evolution of our nation, we should remember that many of the rights and freedoms that are protected under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms (Charter) including the rights to freedom of speech, habeas corpus, and the presumption of innocence, have their roots in a set of Canadian laws and legal precedents sometimes known as the Implied Bill of Rights. Many of these rights were also included in the Canadian Bill of Rights (CBR), which the Canadian Parliament enacted in 1960. However, the CBR had a number of shortcomings. Unlike the Charter, it was an ordinary Act of Parliament, applicable only to the federal government, and could be amended by a simple majority of Parliament. Moreover, the courts chose to interpret the CBR only sparingly, and only applied it on rare occasions to find a contrary law inoperative. Additionally, CBR did not contain all of the rights that are now included in the Charter, omitting, for instance, the right to vote and freedom of movement within Canada. The Charter enshrines an array of rights and freedoms: fundamental freedoms, democratic rights, equality rights, and more. Canadians hold these rights and freedoms against the state. Where the state limits these rights and freedoms without sufficient justification, the state's actions are legally void. The Charter has essentially reshaped Canadian society, primarily on account of how the Charter has been interpreted and applied by courts when state action is tested for compliance with the Charter. However, as with any good and noble intentions, the fact is that the effect of interpretation plays an essential role in practice. If it is not done right by the people who do it, their misguided interpretation can lead to unforeseen and quite negative effects on the evolution of our society. The task of interpreting and enforcing the Charter falls to the courts, with the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) being the ultimate authority on the matter. With the Charter's supremacy confirmed by section 52 of the Constitution Act, 1982, the courts continued their practice of striking down unconstitutional statutes or parts of statutes with regard to federalism, as they had done earlier with case law. However, under section 24 of the Charter, courts also gained new powers to enforce creative remedies and exclude more evidence in trials. That reinforces the necessity of judges to protect the law and avoid political interference. We must not forget that the Charter was intended to be a source of "Canadian values" and "national unity" and that the initial premise of the federal government of the time was to develop a pan-Canadian identity. The intention was to create a society where all people are equal, where all citizens share some fundamental values based on freedom, based on the premise that all Canadians could identify with the values of liberty and equality. We must not forget this and we must invite people in government to abide by these noble principles. The Charter's unifying purpose was particularly important to the mobility and language rights of citizens. I stress mobility because Canadians must be able to travel throughout all of Canada without any kind of restrictions. The Charter has also had a lot to say about the criminal justice system given that the Charter enshrines the right to be free from unreasonable search and seizure, the right to not be arbitrarily arrested or detained, the right to be tried within a reasonable time, and the right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty. The "principles of fundamental justice" mentioned in section 7 have also shaped the contours of constitutional state action in the realm of criminal law. These principles oblige prosecutors to disclose to persons charged with crimes the evidence against them so that they can properly defend themselves. These principles also bar the Canadian government from extraditing citizens for prosecution without assurances from the foreign government that the death penalty will not be pursued. The Court also held that a law denying the vote to citizens who have resided outside of Canada for more than five years unjustifiably violated the right to vote. The Charter has left an indelible mark on Canadian society over the four decades of its existence. Let's keep the positives of the Charter alive in both mind and practice, to continue to improve our society.

NOT JUST ANOTHER DAY

By Rosaldo Russo Allow me to begin this column by thanking the Oshawa/Central newspaper for allowing me the opportunity and access to the press. Not to many if any allow an average person like me to tell the world what I see and think. In my opinion. The Editor/Publisher is a real upstanding type of guy. He shoots from the hip and hold traditional core values. My name is Rosaldo Russo. I came to this great country to make a better life for myself and my family. I thank Canada for everything it has allowed me to do and earn. I worked construction all my life. I know the value of hard work and honesty. I remember as a boy my father always telling me to work hard and buy land. So I did. I remember days when I did not have enough to eat. I go to work... but I did not wait for hand outs. I rounded up my pride my skill and my determination to succeed and went to work. In those days the only benefits we received was the fact we were employed. Before retiring I was the owner and operator of local material supply company that allowed me to retired without worry. Now that I have time to enjoy life. I look around me and have some concern for future generations. I see that the world is finished. I say this with sadness and tears in my eyes. I am a common man caught in a time of social transition. I remember the days of my youth. Having to look for opportunity and appreciate every bit of help I would receive. I had pride but did what needed to be done in order to not only live another day but also make sure that my family did not go without or suffer. The long hours doing jobs I at times did not want. Construction is not easy. Today, I look around and people have no conviction. No responsibility and no sense of self worth. I watch what is taking place in the Ukraine and how the media reports death. The death of civilians. Children, the old, women and the innocent. There is no justice. No humanity. Then again... it appears that the atrocities against humanity during war are being amplified. We can identify with the human suffering as we see ourselves in their plea to live in a free democratic country that offers opportunity as Canada has me. I can’t help to tear to think that many Canadians take this great country for granted. That others feels as this country owes them something. When in reality this country offers the greatest opportunity of all. We can become the people of the Ukraine. We are not immune from oppression nor threat of war. We must rejoice in the quality of life we have and vow to do all in our power to preserve it.

When Job Hunting Make Finding a Great Boss Your Priority

By Nick Kossovan Which came first, the chicken or the egg? Over the course of my career, I learned the "hard way" that it's better to report to a good boss at a bad company than a bad boss at a good one. The typical job seeker reads through job descriptions hoping to find one that reads like them. The thinking: "The closer I fit the job description, the more likely I'll get hired." That kind of thinking is counterproductive to your career and enjoying your employment. Yes, to be invited for an interview, your skills and experiences must be aligned with the job description. What about being aligned with your future boss? Shouldn't finding a stellar boss be your priority? Job seekers tend to focus on the company, salary, paid time off, benefits, etc. and not on the person they'll be reporting to. Reverse your priorities, focus on the person to whom you'll report, then the company, salary, etc. A great boss isn't just someone who knows the business, make decisions and intuitively delegates. A great boss is a teacher, a mentor and above all is someone you can count on. They're someone who shows you your opportunities to enhance your skillset and who believes in you. When you have a great boss, you learn not only what you need to know to do your job, but also what you need to know to move forward. For these reasons and many more, you should focus on choosing a great boss first. Don't just focus on the company or industry. A great boss is critical to your success. My career today exists because of three great bosses I was privileged to have worked for. Undoubtedly, you've heard of the "Great Resignation" and how employers have difficulty filling their open positions. This has resulted in recruiting efforts, especially for candidates with in-demand skills, becoming aggressive in luring (READ: deceiving, duping, misleading) candidates. I often hear from new hires who are disheartened to discover that the position, workplace, and management are entirely different from what they were told during the hiring process. Before accepting a job, get to know your future boss. Without good leadership-leadership that supports you-your dream job isn't a dream job. When employees are asked to describe a great boss, they say: - Puts people first. - Leads by example. - Shares information. - Is committed to excellence. - Shows appreciation and gives recognition. - Delegates effectively, then gets out of the way. - Has your back and wants to see you succeed in your position and career. A great boss is hard to find, difficult to part from, and impossible to forget-they make your work life significantly better. No one does, or tries to do, their best work without a supportive boss and a healthy work environment. In contrast, a bad boss micromanages you, blames you, and holds you back in an attempt to not lose you, all which will make you miserable. Never accept a job offer unless the person you'll report to was part of your hiring process and you had the opportunity to ask them questions such as: - How do you acknowledge achievements? - What irritates you? - What's your communication style? - Over the next 12 months, what would be my highest priorities? - How do you measure and track success? - How do you address performance issues? - How would you describe your management style? How will you manage me? - Please tell me a story that illustrates your management style. - What characteristics should a person have to be successful in this role? - What challenge(s) is the company currently facing? How are they being addressed? - What's your philosophy on performance reviews? How often is performance evaluated? - What would you add or subtract from the current team to strengthen performance and productivity? - What constitutes a workday? What are the working hours? What are your expectations regarding taking work home, staying late or being reachable after hours? - Can I get a copy of the employee handbook to read at home? What's in a job description does matter. However, in our hyper-changing world, it's also temporary. Accepting a job shouldn't solely be based on a job description, which will for the most part be irrelevant in a few years. In terms of having an envy-worthy career, leadership is much more important since it focuses on the long-term. Your time spent doing your due diligence determining whether you and your potential new boss can have a great working relationship will be time you won't regret having spent. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Nick Kossovan, a well-seasoned veteran of the corporate landscape, offers advice on searching for a job. You can send him your questions at artoffindingwork@gmail.com

Boosting Nitric Oxide the Antidote to Getting Older

The French existentialist, Gabriel Marcel, asserted “Life is not a problem to be solved but a mystery to be experienced.” Nevertheless, scientists remain intent on figuring it out. The cells in our bodies are susceptible to damage. A sunburn is a visible example. Ultraviolet rays scorch skin cells, causing rapid death. Damage occurs at a slower pace from poor diet, excessive alcohol, smoking, and all kinds of physical and mental stress. Over time, the biological process of replacing damaged cells through replication involves compounding errors, and cells die completely. When too many cells die, biological systems start to falter. This, in short, is aging. Researchers are exploring experimental drugs, essential trace minerals, and even calorie restriction as avenues to longer lives. What is the best course in the meantime? Practice preventive medicine from an early age and stick with it. But what if you are already well along in life’s course? Aging is not a prospect; it is a daily reality. Are you feeling tired, falling asleep in the afternoon, losing your keys or interest in sex? Are you concerned about cardiovascular disease, hypertension, osteoporosis, high cholesterol, diabetes and its complications? Do you want to limit the pain and swelling of arthritis, calm the inflammation of asthma and assist the immune system in fighting infection? The older one gets, hopefully the wiser too. That means a look at history. In 1998, Robert F. Furchgott, Louis J. Ignarro and Ferid Murad shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine for their discoveries on the role of nitric oxide in the cardiovascular system. Researchers had long known that nitroglycerine eased coronary pain by increasing blood supply to the heart’s muscle. But it remained a mystery why arteries expanded until these Nobel laureates explained how nitric oxide sends messages to every cell in the body in nanoseconds. Nitric oxide first attained star status in the treatment of male impotence. Erectile dysfunction is cured by drugs that produce nitric oxide, sending increased amounts of blood to the penis. Early in life we produce large amounts of nitric oxide in the endothelial lining (the innermost lining) of blood vessels. This keeps arteries expanded. But after age 40, production of nitric oxide decreases, arteries constrict causing hypertension, and constant pressure injures the inner wall of coronary arteries. This damage results in a chemical and inflammatory reaction that kills one North American every 37 seconds. 27 million North Americans also suffer from arthritis, a debilitating condition. When nitric oxide increases circulation, nerve and joint inflammation decreases, which can result in dramatic relief from osteoarthritis. Another 25 million North Americans suffer from Type 2 diabetes due to obesity and 57 million others have borderline diabetes. High blood sugar gradually destroys the circulatory system resulting in heart attack, stroke, kidney failure, blindness, amputation of legs, and it doubles the risk of Alzheimer’s Disease. Decreased amounts of nitric oxide may play a major role in the development of Type 2 diabetes. Low levels result in insulin resistance making it difficult for insulin to enter cells to maintain a normal blood sugar level. Italian researchers found that diabetes patients who also had kidney disease had nitric oxide levels 37 percent lower than healthy people. Nitric oxide levels are significantly lower in patients suffering from depression too. To get more nitric oxide, add leafy greens and beets to the diet. Nitric oxide supplements work quickly when the need for a boost is more urgent. Sign-up at www.docgiff.com to receive our weekly e-newsletter. For comments, contact-us@docgiff.com. Follow us Instagram @docgiff and @diana_gifford_jones

Modern Internet Nothing But A Public Toilet

By Joe Ingino Editor/Publisher ACCOMPLISHED WRITER/AUTHOR OF OVER 800,000 Published Columns in Canada and The United States “I live a dream in a nightmare world” I remember back in 1995. No computers, no cell phones. I remember how by accident I came to find the internet. At around that time. The Central was looking to enter the FM world. After careful study we realized that the availability of FM frequencies was limited and the cost to acquire could end up in the millions. Satellite transmission at that time was reserved for the military, government and big business. Not an option. Then I found out about this by mere luck as at that time we had just moved our platform from Apple to PC. In setting up our network. A friend of mine at the University mentioned how there was a race happening in this new world of internet. He explained how someone had just developed this new share ware type of virtual communication system. A freeware that was to revolutionize the world. As I became more interested. I began to imagine all the possibilities including that for publishing. I became on intrigued that I attained a line of service and begin posting. At that time it was primal so you could only do a page or two and there was no real place of situating it for public view. Mostly at that time was a list referencing you to a particular file. I remember the first actual 24 page newspaper we published was on a bright blue screen with yellow lettering. NO PICTURES. Those were the days... As the internet technology became better understood. There was a race for quickness. The race for net speed took off. At first no one really wanted to invest online...Until such time as the world first browser was introduced. WorldWideWeb was more of a cataloguing system than a browser as we know it. Cello. When released on 8 June 1993 it was one of the first graphical web browsers, and the first to run on Windows: Windows 3.1, NT 3.5, and OS/2. It was an improvement but no real commercial use. NCSA Mosaic which was a graphical browser running originally on Unix and soon ported to the Amiga and VMS platforms, and later the Apple Macintosh and Microsoft Windows platforms. Now this truly revolutionized the internet. People started purchasing computers for work... such as running simple bookkeeping/record for small to medium business. Netscape when introduced to the world gave endless possibilities to what the internet could be used for. Soon after Microsoft, which had thus far not marketed a browser, finally entered the fray with its Internet Explorer product (version 1.0 was released 16 August 1995) and like they say. The rest is history. The internet introduced as a self governing freeware software had now enter a new dimension of utility. I remember at about that time. Our publishing the online version was catching the attention of the world. People from all over the world praised THE CENTRAL and could not believe what we were doing online. Soon after that is when the decay of the net began. Merchandiser had found the golden grail to push products world wide. Even though not to many people had computers. It was enough to spark the interest of entrepreneurs. The more sophisticated the browser the more ads and people trying to sell you something. I remember when you use to type in something simple like ASPIRIN and you would get good solid information on the subject. Today you type in ASPIRIN and the first 10 pages is about someone trying to sell you aspirin or something similar. Things truly turned for the worst when the introduction of chats hit the net.. it gave birth to social media... Today’s internet has so much information so much misinformation. So infiltrated by that of which the net was not intended to be used like that it is slowly loosing it’s value. It is becoming much like on the old TV at the end of the night they would broadcast that white noise screen. From all the criminal elements to all the opinionated souls. Not to mention the many governments as well as media that use the net today as a tool to manipulate public opinion. To control what you buy, how you buy it when (AMAZON). Is free will on the line with the net? After all everytime you get online... Your every move is monitored and saved. Your smart phones input your every move. Your daily routines are easily monitored. This system is nothing short of an information public toilet. Soon, we will have no choice but to interact as Artificial Intelligence will take away our choice of staying away from the net.

Canada first Liberal-NDP budget

by Maj (ret'd) CORNELIU E. CHISU, CD, PMSC, FEC, CET, P. Eng. Former Member of Parliament Pickering-Scarborough East Canadians had every reason to fear this April's federal budget, especially in light of the NDP prop up of the Liberals that may keep them in power until 2025, in exchange for new spending promises. Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland did not disappoint with $60 billion in new spending, without meaningfully addressing economic growth by lowering taxes or reducing suffocating regulations. A spate of initiatives including child care, dental care and possibly pharmacare in 2023 represent the biggest social program expansion in the past two decades. They are accompanied by a federal debt projected to reach $1.25 trillion this fiscal year. This includes a debt to GDP ratio of 47.6 per cent, a $52.8-billion deficit, a record high personal indebtedness to disposable income ratio of over 186 per cent, inflation at 5.7 per cent and signals that the Bank of Canada will raise interest rates aggressively. Canada is currently confronting supply chain constraints caused by the world pandemic, compounded by the war in Ukraine, labour shortages, unaffordable housing for many first-time urban buyers, urgent military needs and a struggling and increasingly expensive health-care system burdened by an aging population. Furthermore, poor productivity and insipid long-term economic growth prospects (2020-2060) mean per capita GDP will decline relative to other OECD countries, a terrible condemnation of government policy. We need to look at the spending record of the Liberal government, now exacerbated by the support of the spend all galore NDP, out of reasonable concern about the future they are creating for us. The government's pre-pandemic fiscal policy is the best indicator of its policy preferences in relatively normal circumstances, while holding a majority government. It may therefore be the clearest and most unconstrained expression of what Prime Minister Trudeau and his inner circle fundamentally think when it comes to the magnitude and scope of government spending. During its first five years in office, the Trudeau government increased program spending by an average of 6.4 percent per year. This resulted in a rise from $248.7 billion in 2014-15 (which was the last full year of the Harper government) to $338.5 billion in 2019-20. Had program spending matched the government's current proposed rate of 2.2 percent annually over this same period, it would have reached $277.2 billion in 2019-20, or $61.2 billion lower than it actually was. It's important to emphasize that this is just the difference in that single fiscal year. Over the full five-year period, it would obviously have made a significant difference in managing the deficit In other words, had the Trudeau government introduced its purported better fiscal management several years earlier, the federal government would not only have entered the pandemic with a budgetary surplus, but it would have accumulated far less debt along the way. To accomplish this, however, you need professionalism and a clear vision of the country's affairs which are missing badly in the actual government configuration. Then the pandemic hit and the federal budget spiked to unprecedented levels due in large part to a massive increase in government spending. Program spending hit $608.5 billion in 2020-21-a near 100-percent year-over-year increase. Yet the basic idea was that most of this spending was supposed to be temporary. It would help to sustain businesses and households in the face of government-imposed restrictions on economic activity and would then be withdrawn as those public health mandates were lifted. However, this April's budget, tells a different story. While spending increased by a whopping 99.8 percent in 2020-21, it's only projected to fall by 22.3 percent in 2021-22 and 10.1 percent in 2022-23 before it resumes rising in 2023-24. The upshot is that federal program spending will henceforth remain elevated relative to its normal more prudent trajectory. Temporary pandemic spending, in other words, has now become permanent. This isn't a sign of fiscal prudence. It's the starting point for a structural deficit. In the budget the 2030 Emissions Reduction Plan gave fair warning with an initially uncosted program that has little chance of achieving its stated objectives. The plan will undermine national unity, drive inflation higher, increase unemployment, reduce energy security and independence and perpetuate a shameful lost opportunity to help our allies and reduce net global GHG emissions. However, it will provide bragging rights, appeal to environmental alarmists and feed the psychological need of progressives for self-congratulation. For radical activist turned minister of environment and climate change, Steven Guilbeault, it's the least we could do. The military is finally getting some attention, but expenses will only grow to 1.5 per cent of GDP, below the two per cent targeted by NATO. Otherwise, Justin Trudeau seems oblivious to the geopolitical energy crisis and how it is causing European and other countries to reassess renewable energy due to their negative impact on cost, reliability, energy independence and national security. The longer he remains in denial, the costlier it will be for Canadians, although by then Trudeau may have moved on to another globalist enterprise. A centrepiece of the budget is a plan to address the housing crisis, another big problem. It seems this plan is somewhat conflicted in preventing foreign purchases for two years but helping first-time buyers, which will more than likely drive up prices. On the revenue side, a special 15 per cent tax on banks and insurance companies will likely harm investment and economic growth. A minimum tax hike on the upper middle class is also promised. Never mind that our children and grandchildren will be paying for our current social programs when they will be supporting a larger cohort of seniors. Basically, we are using our kids' credit cards to buy stuff for ourselves today. It is impossible to call that either wise or virtuous. These Liberal NDP policies go beyond economic harm to an ongoing socialist intrusion into people's lives since Trudeau liberals took power in 2015. Now the concern is that the NDP malefic influence will accelerate the more or less Kafkian consequences. So this is the beginning of worse news to come with the next budgets. Get ready to tighten your belts. What do you think?

Negotiating Your Compensation, Are You Willing to Walk Away?

By Nick Kossovan You've gone through a phone interview and 2 face-to-face interviews, and a Myers-Briggs Personality Test. You like the company. Your last interview was with the person who'd be your boss-you bonded, you connected. The following day HR calls to inform you they'll be emailing you an offer. Anxiously you check your emails every 5 minutes. Finally, on your sixth email check the offer! It's $20K less than you expected. Now what? You negotiate! Most job seekers fear they'll appear greedy and lose the job offer if they ask for more money. That's rarely the case. Finding a hire-worthy candidate isn't easy. When you're a good fit for the job, it's in the hiring manager's best interest to make an offer you're satisfied with. Even if there's no wiggle room, the offer isn't going away; it'll stay on the table until you either accept it or reject it. The key to successfully negotiating compensation is to be prepared. Know what your skills are worth on the market. With all the salary information available online, there's no excuse to not have a ballpark salary in mind. Make sure to factor in where you live. Salaries can vary significantly from city to city, region to region. Visit websites such as Payscale.com, Salary.com and Glassdoor.com that offer salary comparisons across various roles and industries. It is common to ask applicants about their salary expectations early in the hiring process, usually during the phone vetting interview. Play it safe; you don't want to give a too low or a too high salary figure. Defer answering the question by stating you'd like to learn more about the job's duties and accountabilities before discussing compensation. Your goal is to make the employer like you, see you as an excellent fit for the position and company, and ultimately fall in love with you before discussing compensation. Adhere to the cardinal rule: Don't bring up salary! You may be negotiating against yourself if you throw out the first number. The employer may have been willing to make a higher offer than you had proposed. Your offer will likely be higher than expected if you've demonstrated an undeniable track record of success ("proven" is much more valuable than "unproven"). Therefore, you should emphasize proving (quantifying) your value throughout the hiring process. If the offer is lower than you expected, make a counteroffer based on your salary research. Depending on what the hiring manager says and how much you want to work for the company, consider negotiating to receive a raise six months into the role if you meet agreed-upon goals. (IMPORTANT: Get this in writing!) Many candidates make the mistake of only negotiating money. (salary, commission, bonuses) Other aspects of compensation can be negotiated, such as vacation time, work hours, perks, working from home, or a hybrid model, medical/dental benefits, tuition reimbursement, RRSP matching percentage, fitness and wellness subsidies, stock options, etc. Don't underestimate the outcomes of negotiating non-salary benefits. The bottom line: To get the compensation package you feel you deserve, which is highly subjective, you must be willing to walk away. Walking away frees you to continue looking for a company that'll agree to the compensation you desire. Never talk yourself into accepting a job offer! Either the compensation package offered works for you, or it doesn't. If the hiring manager informs you that your compensation requests aren't feasible, you have two choices: - Thank them for their time and continue your job search, or - Accept the offer WITHOUT expecting a raise or promotion later. (Unless you have it in writing, you'll receive a raise after meeting agreed-upon goals within six months or whatever timeframe you negotiate.). I believe if the employer's final offer doesn't provide the compensation you want, you're better off walking away. Hoping you'll be recognized for your work and given a 15% raise is a bad strategy. Negotiating compensation with candidates has taught me the most common reason people want more money is their lifestyle. This isn't a solid reason to convince an employer why you deserve the compensation you're asking for. Employers aren't responsible for the lifestyle you created. You created your lifestyle, not the employer. Before walking away, understand that ultimately your job satisfaction hinges less on getting your compensation negotiation right and more on getting the job right. The industry and position in which you work, your career trajectory, and the daily influences on you (e.g., management, coworkers) are significantly more important than the specifics of a job offer. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Nick Kossovan, a well-seasoned veteran of the corporate landscape, offers advice on searching for a job. You can send him your questions at artoffindingwork@gmail.com

TERM LIMITS

TERM LIMITS

by Alex King TERM LIMITS I used to be against the idea of adding more term limits in government. It seemed obvious to me that, if our system functioned correctly, we as voters could decide how many terms our elected officials served. While that logic is practical, it fails to account for just how comfortable people have become simply voting for someone familiar with little understanding of how the choices made by that representative have (or haven't) affected their lives. If the public is apathetic about policy and legislation, then length of time in government will continue to overshadow the actual decisions made on our behalf. Many are concerned that term limits will expel some of the best politicians from office and cause more harm than good. However, the curtailing of time a single person is allowed to spend in a position will result in a greater variety of representatives. It may even lead to a broader conversation about ideas, with time-tested theories and values becoming stronger factors than the "electability" of a single person. Although I would like to see West Virginia do as several other states have done and apply term limits to the legislature, I am not saying that to pick on anyone currently in the state house and senate. I'm instead hoping that such a move at the state level will inspire other states to do the same, creating a larger conversation about the need for term limits when it comes to those who serve in Washington D.C. At the very least, I think it's worth considering.

It is not about being a Democrat or Republican

By Joe Ingino Editor/Publisher ACCOMPLISHED WRITER/AUTHOR OF OVER 800,000 Published Columns in Canada and The United States “I live a dream in a nightmare world” I often catch myself looking up at the Gods and begging they bless me with more patience as I ran out of bullets a week ago after having to deal with so many ignoramus. By definition an ignoramus is one that has gone beyond the ability to rationalize fact and goes about spewing information based on hearsay and or rumor. Ignorance is not a sin. Nor is is a defamatory word as ignorance by definition is: lack of knowledge or information: "he acted in ignorance of basic procedures", or in plain words. He did not know better. I think in this category most of us fall into. But to be a ignoramus, it takes years confusion, delusion and general psychological melee. This is not more prevelent than when you hear political discussions. In most cases. Both sides attempt to rationalize political position based on hearsay, rumor and or bias opinion. Even those in the political game resort to statistics, reports and events to justify their position. To be ignorant is to be human... as the ignorant mind is constantly adjusting to it’s environment. Picking up cues and tales as it lives through it’s personal destiny we all call life. When it comes to political ideology it appears that even though rooted on a democracy. A democracy that in it’s self is ignorant of modern times as it can be seen during election. If so then how can we even begin to rational political ideology. The Democrats denounce the Republicans. The Republicans denounce the Democrats.... and the battle rages through he ages with one for sure thing. The people are left to pay the price for ideology. Personally, and you can’t take it from a King amongst the ignorant. I believe that no matter your political incline. Politics should be about the people and not the politics. It should be about taking the people that you represent to heart as if they were your own family. This is not what is happening in modern politics. You ask the average voter. Why do you support the Democrats/Republicans. Oh my father and his father all supporters this view or that view and I feel that they are the best representation for the people.... Don’t think this type of thinking is isolated... it is not and very dangerous to modern day society... Worst are those that are confused to the point that wear their heart on their sleeves and follow media reports as if was the words of the messiah preaching gospel. We as a people can’t be led by misconception. We can’t be red or blue out of ignorance. We have to be people first. We must strive to educate ourselves on what is best for all of us based on constant change through information, red or blue.

Let’s Abolish the NDP,Liberals and Conservatives

Let’s Abolish the NDP,Liberals and Conservatives By Joe Ingino Edit

or/Publisher ACCOMPLISHED WRITER/AUTHOR OF OVER 800,000 Published Columns in Canada and The United States “I live a dream in a nightmare world” The other in conversation the topic of Canadian politics came up. Those to the left defended their position and those to the right theirs. Understandable. If we have not learned from our neighbors to the south. Democracy is dead. It has proven to be easily manipulated. It can be swayed and left for scrutiny on many fronts. Democracy as it was intended has lost it’s purpose and meaning in modern society. The voice in the wind appears to be directing us to a global governance mentality. Something that has merit but do to the human nature element of greed it will never work as it was intended. Many philosophers, social scientist have warned us of modern times becoming challenging when it came to dealing with the never ending population numbers. The general concept either from the left right or middle is control of the masses. During ancient times, Gods of different believes ruled the land through fear. Today with the failure of the church and many religions of the world have forced governments to dismiss religious doctrines and venture on just political ideology. The common mind is left to fend for itself. From spiritual belongnes to political affiliation. Many that have strong political believes towards one end or the other or even those that sit idled in the middle share the same frustration. Look at the disgust in Canada. The Liberals running on nothing more than Trudeau nostalgia are seeing the end of the tunnel. They are desperately attempting to regain public approval. The Liberal party has gone as far as to form and alliance with the NDP. How low can you go? The NDP led by an openly defiant leader of Canadian traditions, values and principles. Where are we going with this? Don’t think. “OH JOE”. The conservatives are no better. You are right. The conservatives are an embarrassment to politics. They are the face of greed. From O’Toole to all the ones are now attempting to jockey for the leadership. WE THE PEOPLE are becoming nothing but numbers. We have become slaves of our design. We live our lives in anticipated bubble governed by daily routine. With this said, then what is the answer to future political hope. Are we to surrender and be governend as we stand by careered politicians on either side of the spectrum. Making empty promises only to get in office and shut us down. Has our society in the past 50 years become better or worst place to live? Democracy works only in small isolated communities where survival is dependent on making the right choices for the betterment of the whole. Today’s democracy in part worst that way but looses it’s real purpose and essence due to the indifference in our national unity. This is why we have each province representing their interests in Ottawa. I believe that the democratic principle of having a say should be preserved as the root of any new political ‘ism’. I believe that having this fundamental root to work from. One can began to build a new political ‘ism’ that will unite the left and the right and bring forth all to a neutral position of satisfaction based on the fullfillment of that of which modern democracy fallaciously believes it is achieving. In principle we all want the same. We all want to feel safe. We all want to have the ability and access to opportunity. We all want to have jobs, raise a family and live our life in peace. For this reason. I support this new to be registered federal party. Canada for Canadians. Canada for Canadians is the new ‘ism’. This party will take the best from the right and from the left. For example. We as nation must protect our health care for everyone. Forget the American model. We must have post secondary education for everyone. We must graduate more medical and specialized people. We must cut back on foreign aid. We must get tough on immigration and refugee relations. We must become more focus on energy development. We must work on using foreign aid funds to create manufacturing, commerce and industry in Canada. We must make sure that veterans, seniors and those homeless are not treated like social token but assisted and treated with dignity and resources. These are just a few of the many benefits of CANADA FOR CANADIANS. Find out more. Just ask me. 905-432-2657