A Step To The Right

Mayor Larry O'Brien Discusses McGuinty's Funding of Free Crack Pipe Program

Mon, 14 Jan 2008 11:01:00 -0500

Ottawa Mayor Larry O'Brien joined CFRA's Steve Madely this morning to discuss the McGuinty government's decision to fund the free crack pipe and needle program here in Ottawa. As you recall last summer, council overwhelmingly voted in favour of terminating this program at the end of the 2006 calender year. The provincial Liberals have now thwarted this decision by city council and will thus take over funding of the program. For more background, see the following: Liberal Hypocrisy on the Drug Front, and Response To Green Party Official RE: Liberal Drug Hypocrisy Make sure especially to read the comments section of that second link, it contains a good discussion between supporters and opponents of the program. "I will take every step that's legal and justifiable to end this program" -- Larry O'Brien, January 14th, 2008

Rick Chiarelli Discusses McGuinty's Funding of Free Crack Pipe Program

Mon, 14 Jan 2008 09:54:00 -0500

College ward Coun. Rick Chiarelli joined CFRA's Steve Madely this morning to discuss the McGuinty government's decision to fund the free crack pipe and needle program here in Ottawa. As you recall last summer, council overwhelmingly voted in favour of terminating this program at the end of the 2006 calender year. The provincial Liberals have now thwarted this decision by city council and will thus take over funding of the program. For more background, see the following: Liberal Hypocrisy on the Drug Front, and Response To Green Party Official RE: Liberal Drug Hypocrisy Make sure especially to read the comments section of that second link, it contains a good discussion between supporters and opponents of the program.

Revenue Minister Gordon O'Connor Interview With Vancouver Sun

Fri, 11 Jan 2008 12:24:00 -0500

Don Cayo of the Vancouver Sun sits down with Revenue Minister and MP for Carleton-Mississippi-Mills Gordon O'Connor, to discuss some of the more frequent complaints about CRA as well as discussion on some outstanding cases. You can view the news article written based on this interview here

Randall Denley Discusses Dalton McGuinty's Reelection Campaign

Wed, 10 Oct 2007 22:53:00 -0500

Today was voting day and election day in Ontario. Voters have overwhelmingly reelected Liberal Premier Dalton McGuinty in spite of what many had percieved as large blemishes on his record, and seem to have rejected adopting an MMP electoral system in a margin of about 2:1. At the start of the interview, Rob Snow mentions an article of Randall's that was published "on Sunday". That article can be viewed here.

The Story of Samantha Ambridge, An Ottawa Cancer Patient

Mon, 08 Oct 2007 14:35:00 -0500

Samantha Ambridge is an Ottawa cancer patient who has been failed by the Ontario health-care system. Background information: Samantha explaining her story to Lowell Green Large Writeup on Samantha from Ottawa citizen Patients wait as PET scans used in animal experiments

Exclusive ASTTR Interview With Allan Cutler

Tue, 05 Jun 2007 23:38:00 -0500

Tonight I had a blast speaking with Allan Cutler, "The Whistleblower". I was actually quite surprised at how "down to earth" Allan was - we had a conversation before the interview that was easily 20 minutes long! A great guy with a great sense of humour, it's honestly hard to see how the most partisan Liberal supporter couldn't like the guy if they got to know him. I had quite a few questions for Allan, and asked him about - Senate reform, - Electoral reform, - Parliamentary reform, - The FAA, - Mcguinty's Slush Fund Scandal, - His pcoming book, - the environment canada leak, - His political ambitions, and - Which policy he wants to see implemented. I hope you enjoy listening to the interview as much as I did conducting it!

Dr. Tim Ball With Ottawa Citizen Editorial Board

Tue, 29 May 2007 20:39:00 -0500

Retired climatology professor Tim Ball is fighting a difficult battle against the broadly accepted idea that human industry and conveniences are changing Earth's climate, and not for the better. Earth is warming up, Ball says, but it's not humans who are doing it. Human-produced carbon-dioxide is but a tiny fraction of the atmosphere's greenhouse gases, so ripping up the Canadian economy to reduce our emissions is folly, he says. In Ottawa for a speaking engagement, Mr. Ball stopped at the Citizen to speak to the editorial board about his theories of climate change (including why a warmer planet might not be bad for Canada) and the effects of consensus thinking among policymakers and the scientists they fund - and to answer questions about who pays for him to share his thinking with the world. Originally aired May 17th, 2006.

Sara Landriault Discusses Tax Fairness For Stay At Home Parents On CFRA

Sun, 27 May 2007 10:53:00 -0500

CFRA's Nick Vandergragt is joined by Sara Landriault, unpaid advocate for tax fairness for families with stay at home parents. Sara discusses the benefits of tax fairness systems such as income splitting and flat tax, and details her battles against the generously paid advocates for complete state-run subsidized daycare. Originally aired 10AM May 27 2007. WARNING: This show is not for the faint of heart. VISIT: Sara's blog - http://choiceforchildcare.blogspot.com/ National Family Childcare Association - http://www.careofthechild.com/ Fund The child - http://fundthechild.tripod.com/

Dr. Tim Ball: Why There’s Nothing New About Climate Change

Sat, 26 May 2007 23:02:00 -0500

"Why There’s Nothing New About Climate Change" is a speech delivered by Historical Climatologist Dr. Timothy Ball at Lunch On The Frontier. Originally aired January 26th, 2007

Dr. Tim Ball Responds To Suzuki Temper Tantrum

Sat, 26 May 2007 13:58:00 -0500

If you listened to the last episode, you would have heard a rather interesting outburst from David Suzuki when challenged with an opposing argument. This is Dr. Ball's response to that interview, in which he also challenges many theories put forth in An Inconvenient Truth. Unlike Suzuki who stormed off afterwards, takes questions from listeners calling in. Originally aired February 21st, 2007

David Suzuki Throws Hissy Fit When Challenged On Global Warming

Sat, 26 May 2007 11:07:00 -0500

In an interview with AM640's John Oakley, David Suzuki nearly self combusts in his hypocrisy and storms out of the room at the end of the interview. Do temper tantrums contribute to global warming? After Suzuki insinuates that scientists who disagree with him are "shilling" for big corporations, Oakley asks him where he gets his funding. Suzuki replies that his foundation takes no money from governments and complains that "corporations have not been interested in funding us." In fact, his own 05/06 Annual Report shows funding from ATCO Gas, IBM Canada, Bell Canada, Jackson Power & Electric Ltd., Warner Bros. Entertainment Canada Inc. and at least 52 other corporations! Later on, having demonstrated how little he knows about the workings of international treaties, Suzuki dismisses questions about the scientific integrity of Kyoto, characterizing Oakley's observation that "a lot of scientists feel they're intimidated from speaking out..." as nothing more than "a lot of baloney." "2,500 scientists signed the IPCC (Inter-Governmental Panel on Climate Change) Report on February 2!" Suzuki exclaims. I decided to check this out for myself - and discovered that, in fact, only 51 individuals signed the IPCC Report released on February 2. (Click here to download a copy of this report.) Originally Aired February 15th, 2007

Dr. Tim Ball Discussing Global Warming

Fri, 25 May 2007 19:42:00 -0500

CFRA's Daniel Prousallidis is joined by Dr. Timothy Ball, Chairman of the Natural Resources Stewardship Project, to discuss global warming and some of the myths surrounding the controversial subject. Originally Aired May 20th, 2007

Adler Discusses Polling on Afghanistan Mission with Strategic Counsel's Tim Woolstencroft

Wed, 23 May 2007 15:03:00 -0500

Charles Adler discusses recent Canadian opinion polling on the Afghanistan mission. He asks questions of Woolstencroft (Strategic Counsel) about how the poll was conducted. Adler discovers that what polling firms refer to as 'balanced questions' are usually aimed at uninformed voters, and suggests if the public were better informed polling results would be drastically different. Case in point, Adler says if Canadians knew more about the Taliban, they would overwhelmingly refuse to support negotiations with the Taliban.

This Week In Politics, Episode 6

Mon, 21 May 2007 21:29:00 -0500

Another solo mission this week. These are the topics I discuss: * Jamie Carrol's remarks flaring Liberal Party infighting, * Justin Trudeau considers departing form capitalism, * 2nd Environment Canada leak, * Race Card being one of Dalton's election strategies, * Dalton's $1 million of flights from Toronto, Niagara, and Hamilton

This Week In Politics, Episode 5

Mon, 14 May 2007 09:58:00 -0500

Again, some subtle changes to the flow this week. Jordan Alcock joins me again after a week off and we dissect a fairly active week in politics. I kept my commentary to only a few issues this show, deciding instead to focus on a few key items. Lately we've been hearing charges that racism played a roll in the Air India disaster and the political handling of the aftermath. I argue against this notion as put forward by former socialists Ujjal Dosanjh and Bob Rae. I also tackle the sacred cow of multiculturalism in discussing the fading detainee controversy. In discussion, Jordan and I dissect the repercussions in Ottawa that Gilles Duceppe's departure and reversal will have. We also scold some Tory ministers for conveniently hiding some travel expenses and have a look at the proposed changes to the makeup of the Commons. After tossing around ideas about the proposed new makeup of the Commons, we talk about Dalton McGuinty's slush fund scandal some more. Please check out the latest episode and let us know what you think. The show is available on iTunes for your convenience.

This Week In Politics - May 6 2007

Sun, 06 May 2007 14:13:00 -0500

The show is getting more and more popular with each passing week. Thanks to everyone who has taken the time to listen so far, and if you haven't yet, I encourage you to check it out. This week is a shortened episode as there is no panel, but that will return again for the next show. Topics this week include: * Randy hillier wins PC nod * Liberal ministers aide receives grant for his group. * Canada declares Iraq invasion legal * Age of consent * Judicial appointments linked to political donations: study * Duceppe said ready to flee Ottawa * New detainee agreement * Tories to close Elections Act loophole * Fixed election dates

This Week In Politics - April 29 2007

Sun, 29 Apr 2007 18:03:00 -0500

This is the third episode of This Week In Politics and it's guaranteed to be the best yet - or your money back. This episode features a change in format as it's not only just a broadcast, but also features a panel as well. This week I'm joined only by fellow Blogging Tory Jordan Alcock , but future panels will feature 3 or 4 people in the discussions. Featured commentary in this episode includes: * Dalton McGuinty's FLICK OFF campaign and immigration slush fund scandal * Motions on Afghanistan and Kyoto * Conservative communications trouble On the panel, we discuss: * What does it mean to support our troops? * Tory Green Plan * Inefficient light bulb ban * Torture allegations & war crime allegations Later towards the middle and end, we had some problems with audio distortion that weren't audible when we were recording but popped up afterwards. My apologies for this - this was my first time recording an online discussion and I will be better prepared for it in the future.

This Week In Politics - April 15th 2007

Sun, 15 Apr 2007 16:34:00 -0500

In the inaugural episode of 'This Week In Politics', the new ASTTR podcast, I discuss: - Deal between Elizabeth May & Stephane Dion, - Election speculation, - Louise Thibault leaving the BQ, - 'Best PM' polling, - Jean Chretien on SSM, - Fabrice Rivault claiming responsibility for the official recognition of the Quebecois nation Since this is my first show, all constructive criticisms and comments are more than welcome :-)

This Week In Politics - April 22nd 2007

Sun, 22 Apr 2007 13:15:00 -0500

Episode two of 'This Week In Politics'. Wasn't able to work out a convenient time to record with a partner so that will start next week. Topics this episode include: - Dion expressing doubt in our military, - Greens lose top strategist, - Brian Mulroney honoured, - Fraser Institute tax report, - John Baird tabling report warning of recession under Kyoto, - Liberal EDA president charged with fraud, - NDP Quebec star candidate, - (Senator) Bert Brown & Harper's strategical error, - Polling investigation, and - Dalton McGuinty's OLG scandal And you can now find us on iTunes, so if you use that program you can subscribe to the podcast for automatic updates. http://www.itunes.com/podcast?id=252177756

Charles Adler Debates Elizabeth May On Her Deal With Stephane Dion

Sat, 14 Apr 2007 10:23:00 -0500

Shortly after the deal between Stephane Dion and Elizabeth May had been announced, she is interviewed on air by Charles Adler. Adler goes on the offensive for May's affront to democracy in the deal. It sounds to me as if May didn't bother to prepare for this interview, and Adler rightly calls her on some very questionable statements. This is the weakest I've ever heard the Green Party leader.

Green Party Candidate Kevin Potvin discusses September 11th Consporacy Theories

Fri, 13 Apr 2007 10:15:00 -0500

Kevin Potvin discusses September 11th Conserpiracy Theories on Wednesday, April 11th, 2007 on CKNW. Two days after this interview, Kevin Potvin claims an article he wrote 4 years ago in which he describes the destruction of the World Trade Center as "beautiful" was purely "symbolic". When one listens to this interview, it's clear his beliefs are much more than simply symbolic.

ASTTR Interviews Elizabeth May

Tue, 27 Feb 2007 09:17:00 -0500

An exclusive interview for A Step To The Right. I interview Green Party leader Elizabeth May and ask her about, among other things, reports that she is in talks seeking electoral cooperation with Stephane Dion.

ASTTR Interviews Pierre Poilievre

Mon, 29 Jan 2007 23:19:00 -0500

An exclusive interview for A Step To The Right. I interview Pierre Poilievre of the Conservative Party. Topics covered include: - Federal Accountability Act implementation - Role as parliamentary secretary - Integrity Commissioner - Dion calling for an election - Soft Opposition on crime - Governments performance & what he wants to see - Environment - Maher Arar - the next federal election