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The Role of City Councillor

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AN OPEN LETTER TO THE CITIZENS OF RED DEER

As a candidate for city council, I believe it’s time to take a look at what a city councillor is and what they stand for.

A city councillor is not a representative of any special-interest group. They are not elected into office to pursue their own agenda. A city councillor is a Public Servant. They are elected into office to serve the public interests. They are hired by you, the people of the city, to do the best job they can to steer the city in the direction that the majority of the citizens wish to see it go.

One citizen is once again pushing for a ward system in Red Deer. This issue was voted on in the 2013 election, and an overwhelming majority of the people said they didn’t want such a system of representation. After speaking with many people as to why they voted against wards, the common consensus I am hearing is that they felt that in a city the size of Red Deer they were concerned that a ward system would stop progress because we would have one area of town voting against another area, instead of councillors looking at the city as a whole. Now this same person is saying we should hold another vote on the same issue. So far I have only heard a few residents even bring this up. Electing 8 councillors who would support a ward system does not mean a ward system will happen. An issue like this still needs to be put to a vote by the people.

Candidates that are promising to “fix the problems we face” are not fully understanding the position they are running for. This is not a presidential position, where you sign an executive order and the issue becomes law. We as candidates are hoping to hear from you the citizens as to what you want us to do, and then do it to the best of our abilities. You, the voters, are the boss; we, the candidates, are the employees.

I have some thoughts myself as a private citizen as to what I would like to see Red Deer achieve over the next 4 years, and farther into the future. However, I am not under the illusion that by being elected to office I will be able to push my own agenda through. Rather, I would hope that when the people of Red Deer identify an issue that they would like to see addressed, I might have an idea on a way to address it that would meet the approval of the majority of the people, and be done in a way that is both time- and cost-effective.

Please let me know any comments you may have regarding this issue. I look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,
Jim Kristinson
Candidate for City Council

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Media

CBC tries to hide senior executive bonuses

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From the Canadian Taxpayers Federation

Author: Franco Terrazzano

The Canadian Taxpayers Federation filed a complaint with the Office of the Information Commissioner after the CBC refused to disclose 2023 bonuses for its eight senior executives until days after its President Catherine Tait is scheduled to appear at a parliamentary committee.

“This reeks of the CBC trying to conceal its senior executive bonuses so Tait doesn’t have to talk about it when she testifies at a parliamentary committee,” said Franco Terrazzano, CTF Federal Director. “The CBC is required to follow access to information laws and this nonsense delay is a blatant breach of the law.

“If Tait and her executives think they deserve their bonuses, they should be open and honest about it with taxpayers.”

The CBC proactively discloses certain information related to executive compensation in its annual reports. However, because the annual report lumps together salary and other benefits, Canadians don’t know how much the CBC’s eight senior executives take in bonuses.

Other Crown corporations have provided the CTF with access-to-information records detailing senior executive bonuses. For example, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation paid out $831,000 in bonuses to its 10 senior executives in 2023. The Bank of Canada paid out $3.5 million in bonuses to its executives in 2022.

On March 11, 2024, the CTF filed an access-to-information request seeking details on the compensation paid out to CBC’s eight senior executives in 2023, including bonuses.

On April 9, 2024, the CBC issued a 30-day extension notice.

The new deadline for the CBC to release details on senior executive bonuses is May 10, 2024, just days after Tait is scheduled to appear at committee on May 7, 2024.

In response to a previous access-to-information request, the CBC released to the CTF records showing it paid out $15 million in bonuses to 1,143 non-union staff in 2023. The CBC did not issue an extension notice on that request.

“Tait is wrong to hide the cost of bonuses for CBC’s eight senior executives from the Canadians who pay their cheques,” said Terrazzano. “Tait must do the right thing and confirm to the parliamentary committee that she will cancel CBC bonuses.”

The CTF filed the complaint with the Office of the Information Commissioner on May 3, 2024, regarding the CBC’s delay in releasing documents regarding senior executive bonuses.

“The CBC is legally obligated to release the bonus documents days after the parliamentary committee hearing so obviously Tait has the details readily at hand,” said Terrazzano. “If MPs ask for those details, she needs to answer.

“And just to be clear, the CTF is fine with the CBC releasing this information at committee or anywhere else.”

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Great Reset

All 49 GOP senators call on Biden admin to withdraw support for WHO pandemic treaty

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From LifeSiteNews

By Stephen Kokx

U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson warned that two international agreements are being considered at this month’s World Health Assembly that surrender U.S. sovereignty to the World Health Organization

Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin has rallied every Republican in the U.S. Senate to sign an open letter warning the Biden administration to not support pandemic-related measures being considered at the World Health Assembly (WHA) later this month.

“Some of the over 300 proposals for amendments made by member states would substantially increase the (World Health Organization’s) health emergency powers and constitute intolerable infringements upon U.S. sovereignty,” they wrote.

The WHA is the decision-making body of the World Health Organization (WHO). Its annual meeting sets policies for its 194 member nations. This year’s gathering, the 77th such undertaking, will be held from May 27 to June 1 in Geneva, Switzerland.

Johnson and all 48 of his colleagues informed the Biden administration that they consider the WHO’s widely criticized Pandemic Agreement a formal treaty that requires 2/3rd approval from the Senate per Article II Section 2 of the Constitution.

“Instead of addressing the WHO’s well-documented shortcomings, the treaty focuses on mandated resource and technology transfers, shredding intellectual property rights, infringing free speech, and supercharging the WHO,” they maintained. “The WHO’s most recent publicly available draft of its new pandemic response treaty is dead on arrival.”

A growing number of public figures as well as U.S. states and elected officials have raised the alarm about the Pandemic Agreement in recent months.

During an appearance on Tucker Carlson’s podcast in January, liberal intellectual Bret Weinstein argued that the WHO is gearing up for a “re-run” of COVID-19 in order to set up a “totalitarian planet.” He noted that the agreement is being modified so the WHO will have even more power to crack down on voices that dissent from Big Pharma’s narrative.

On Thursday, April 18, a group of GOP lawmakers and conservative activists similarly warned about the agreement at a press conference on Capitol Hill organized by the Sovereignty Coalition.

 

Johnson has been one of the most consistent voices in the Senate to expose the dangers of the COVID shot as well as the collusion taking place between the mainstream media and the medical industry. In February, he organized a roundtable discussion titled “Federal Health Agencies and the COVID Cartel: What Are They Hiding?” Dr. Robert Malone, vaccine expert Del Bigtree, GOP Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor-Greene, and many others attended.

Johnson and his GOP colleagues further drew the Biden administration’s attention to the WHO’s poor track record.

“The WHO’s failure during the COVID-19 pandemic was as total as it was predictable and did lasting harm to our country,” they wrote. “The United States cannot afford to ignore this latest WHO inability to perform its most basic function and must insist on comprehensive WHO reforms before even considering amendments to the International Health Regulations (IHR) or any new pandemic-related treaty that would increase WHO authority. We are deeply concerned that your administration continues to support these initiatives and strongly urge you to change course.”

They concluded that “in light of the high stakes for our country and our constitutional duty, we call upon you to (1) withdraw your administration’s support for the current IHR amendments and pandemic treaty negotiations, (2) shift your administration’s focus to comprehensive WHO reforms that address its persistent failures without expanding its authority, and (3) should you ignore these calls, submit any pandemic related agreement to the Senate for its advice and consent.”

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