Opinion
How bad does it have to be, before city-hall stops growing?

Red Deer is shrinking. There are 1,000 fewer residents living in Red Deer now than there were a year ago. Jobless rate just went up a half a percentage point. The majority of Red Deer residents are having to do with less, but not our city hall. They are expanding again.
When times are tough, like they are now, people adjust, they multi-task, they adapt and they get it done.
In business, every crew, every department, every division, and every employee believes they are indispensable, they need a full or expanded team, and yet they survive cut-backs, lay-offs and down sizing. But not our city hall, it continues to grow.
An employer once told me he would not hire a former public service employee, because of the culture. A lawyer once told me that there is a certain culture down at city hall that defies logic and common sense. When I hear about how the bickering and internal conflict between employees has increased 1,275% in 6 years, down at city hall, I start to grasp the “culture”, reference. Do the employees, check reality at the door, when they go to work?
The city will be hiring another full time human resource staff. Councillors Tanya Handley, Lawrence Lee, Buck Buchanan and Mayor Veer voted against the hire. Interesting is the fact that our Mayor who spends the most time, of all elected officials, at city hall, and deals with more issues directly, voted against the hire.
Some of the rationale for voting in favour of the hire, seemed almost protectionist and counter to the reason for them being able to vote in the first place. The councillors were elected to protect the residents, needs and taxes, not to act as a union representative for the employees. It comes back to the idea of a culture, almost like a cult, within city hall.
“Familiarity breeds contempt” An odd expression, but appropriate. Perhaps the turnover of councillors is so low that the employees as a whole have contempt for the councillors? One on one, maybe less than obvious, but as a whole, the employees control the council.
Perhaps it is time to seek out councillors who had to be fiscally responsible, had to be accountable for profit and losses other than on a balance sheet. Councillors who have had to tighten their belts, make the tough decisions, and face shareholders and investors?
Perhaps on October 16 we should do a zero based audit on our incumbents and decide whether to renew their contracts. If there ever was need for a slate of fiscal-hawks, perhaps this election is the time?
If there ever was a time in recent history for a council with some backbone, it is now. If the conflict between workers is so high, then perhaps we should re-examine our hiring criteria and practices.
An oil company can lay off 25% of it’s staff, during tough times and still produce oil, I am sure our city can cut back and still run our city. After all there are fewer builds, fewer permits, fewer inspections……….
2025 Federal Election
Liberal MP Paul Chiang Resigns Without Naming the Real Threat—The CCP

Dan Knight
After parroting a Chinese bounty on a Canadian citizen, Chiang exits the race without once mentioning the regime behind it—opting instead to blame “distractions” and Donald Trump.
So Paul Chiang is gone. Stepped aside. Out of the race. And if you’re expecting a moment of reflection, an ounce of honesty, or even the basic decency to acknowledge what this was really about—forget it.
In his carefully scripted resignation statement, Chiang didn’t even mention the Chinese Communist Party. Not once. He echoed a foreign bounty placed on a Canadian citizen—Joe Tay—and he couldn’t even bring himself to name the regime responsible.
Instead, he talked about… Donald Trump. That’s right. He dragged Trump into a resignation about repeating CCP bounty threats. The guy who effectively told Canadians, “If you deliver a Conservative to the Chinese consulate, you can collect a reward,” now wants us to believe the real threat is Trump?
I haven’t seen Donald Trump put bounties on Canadian citizens. But Beijing has. And Chiang parroted it like a good little foot soldier—and then blamed someone who lives 2,000 miles away.
But here’s the part you can’t miss: Mark Carney let him stay.
Let’s not forget, Carney called Chiang’s comments “deeply offensive” and a “lapse in judgment”—and then said he was staying on as the candidate. It wasn’t until the outrage hit boiling point, the headlines stacked up, and groups like Hong Kong Watch got the RCMP involved, that Chiang bailed. Not because Carney made a decision—because the optics got too toxic.
And where is Carney now? Still refusing to disclose his financial assets. Still dodging questions about that $250 million loan from the Bank of China to the firm he chaired. Still giving sanctimonious speeches about “protecting democracy” while his own caucus parrots authoritarian propaganda.
If you think Chiang’s resignation fixes the problem, you’re missing the real issue. Because Chiang was just the symptom.
Carney is the disease.
He covered for it. He excused it. He enabled it. And now he wants to pose as the man who will stand up to foreign interference?
He can’t even stand up to it in his own party.
So no, we’re not letting this go. Chiang may be gone—but the stench is still in the room. And it’s wearing a tailored suit, smiling for the cameras, and calling itself “leader of the Liberal Party.”
2025 Federal Election
PM Carney’s Candidate Paul Chiang Steps Down After RCMP Confirms Probe Into “Bounty” Comments

Sam Cooper
Just after midnight Monday, Liberal MP Paul Chiang announced he is stepping down as the Liberal candidate in Markham–Unionville — hours after Canada’s federal police confirmed it was “looking into” allegations that he endorsed handing a political rival to a foreign government in exchange for a bounty.
“This is a uniquely important election with so much at stake for Canadians,” Chiang wrote in a late-night statement. “I do not want there to be distractions in this critical moment. That’s why I’m standing aside as our 2025 candidate.”
The announcement followed a day of escalating controversy, triggered by The Bureau’s Friday report and a series of breaking developments over the weekend and Monday, detailing Chiang’s remarks at a January meeting with Chinese-language media.
At a January news conference with Chinese-language media, Chiang suggested that Joe Tay’s criminal charge in Hong Kong would create a “great controversy” if he were elected to Parliament, according to the Ming Pao newspaper. He then reportedly crossed into territory that Hong Kong rights groups have asked the RCMP to investigate — potentially amounting to counselling kidnapping and violating Canada’s foreign interference laws — by suggesting that Tay, a Canadian citizen wanted under Hong Kong’s National Security Law, could be “taken” to the Chinese Consulate in Toronto to claim a HK$1 million bounty.
The UK-based human rights NGO Hong Kong Watch filed a formal letter to RCMP Commissioner Mike Duheme on Monday morning, requesting a criminal investigation. The letter alleged Chiang’s comments may amount to “counselling to commit kidnapping” under Canada’s Criminal Code, and potentially violate the new Foreign Interference and Security of Information Act.
By late evening, the RCMP confirmed it was “looking into the matter,” citing the serious and growing threat of foreign interference and transnational repression. While no criminal charges have been laid, and no details about potential protective measures have been released, the federal police said it is working closely with intelligence and law enforcement partners.
Chiang did not reference the controversy directly in his resignation statement, instead framing his decision as a step to protect the broader interests of the Liberal campaign. He expressed pride in his record and gratitude to his community.
“For the past three-and-a-half years, it has been the greatest honour of my life to serve the people of Markham–Unionville as their Member of Parliament,” he wrote. “Every single day, I served with integrity and worked to deliver results.”
The move comes after mounting calls for Chiang’s removal, including from more than 40 Hong Kong diaspora groups and international human rights advocates who said his remarks endorsed Beijing’s tactics of transnational repression. Joe Tay, the Conservative candidate targeted in the remarks, revealed Monday that he had contacted the RCMP for personal protection even before the comments were made public.
Chiang had previously apologized for what he called a “terrible lapse in judgment,” but had retained the backing of Prime Minister Mark Carney — until Monday night.
More to come on this breaking story.
The Bureau is a reader-supported publication.
To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
-
2025 Federal Election1 day ago
Poilievre To Create ‘Canada First’ National Energy Corridor
-
2025 Federal Election1 day ago
Chinese Election Interference – NDP reaction to bounty on Conservative candidate
-
2025 Federal Election1 day ago
Joe Tay Says He Contacted RCMP for Protection, Demands Carney Fire MP Over “Bounty” Remark
-
Censorship Industrial Complex2 days ago
Welcome to Britain, Where Critical WhatsApp Messages Are a Police Matter
-
2025 Federal Election1 day ago
Hong Kong-Canadian Groups Demand PM Carney Drop Liberal Candidate Over “Bounty” Remark Supporting CCP Repression
-
Daily Caller13 hours ago
Biden Administration Was Secretly More Involved In Ukraine Than It Let On, Investigation Reveals
-
2025 Federal Election1 day ago
Fixing Canada’s immigration system should be next government’s top priority
-
2025 Federal Election1 day ago
Beijing’s Echo Chamber in Parliament: Part 2 – Still No Action from Carney