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What I Stand For

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What I Stand For
WHAT I STAND FOR: PARENTAL AUTHORITY
 
“Government needs to respect the right of all parents to raise their children in the way they choose.”
 
As Canadians, we want the very best for our children. We also realize that parents are best equipped to support and love their children.
 
With this in mind, government needs to respect the right of all parents to raise their children the way they choose. This includes the right to:
 
· Pass on religious beliefs
· Instill family values
· Decide on schooling
· Restrict access to their children
· Protect their child’s health
 
 
WHAT I STAND FOR: DEMOCRATIC RIGHTS
 
“Government is not the grantor of rights, rather the protector.”
 
Members of Parliament should respect and defend our rights in accordance with the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
 
Government policies should not interfere with the ability of individuals, families or the church to make decisions within their respective sphere of influence in a manner that they deem appropriate.
 
Individuals should be able to make decisions in accordance with their personal conscience.
 
Freedom of speech, the most important Charter Right, should be protected at all costs. If Canadians are able to freely express themselves, we are able to freely callout the problems we see in our country.
 
Government must protect our right to pursue gainful employment, even in the midst of a global pandemic. All businesses are essential to those who rely on it to provide for their families.
 
Our freedom of assembly must be protected as this ensures Canadians are able to fulfill one of the most important drivers of mental health, spending time with others.
 
Families should be able to participate in the difficult decisions that impact their children and government should consider and protect parental rights in legislative decisions.
 
Churches should be able to keep their doors open to provide services to their members and to the community. Government should respect all religions and provide support to allow for religious facilities to operate safely and without fear of persecution.
 
 
WHAT I STAND FOR: COMPASSION FOR THE VULNERABLE
 
“Government has an inherent duty to enact policies that protect its citizens and their liberty.”
 
Government has an inherent duty to enact policies that protect its citizens. The absence of safety and security leads to division, the breakdown of civil society and unrest.
 
Government policies should be reviewed to ensure that they have no negative impact on the least, the lost and the last. Additionally, Canadians should be encouraged to seek the dignity of work as this provides personal fulfillment and positive contributions to society.
 
The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed areas where government policy has woefully failed and must be immediately improved in order to better protect the vulnerable among us. Examples include:
 
· More stringent regulations within long-term care facilities
· Reinstituting funding to fight human-trafficking
· Fulfilling commitments to end long-term boil water advisories on First Nation reserves
· Supporting holistic treatment for those impacted by the opioid crisis
· Providing wrap-around supports for veterans
· Expand funding to pregnancy care centres
 
Providing hope for the most vulnerable should always be top of mind in society. Government can set the right tone through well-crafted policies and adequate supporting regulations.
 
 
WHAT I STAND FOR: FISCAL RESPONSBILITY
 
“It is inappropriate for government to heap debt upon the backs of our children.”
 
It simply is not realistic to continue printing money. As our national debt continues to worsen, we run the risk of inflation, devalued currency and increasing interest rates. All of these factors would significantly worsen the financial situation for the majority of Canadians, making it harder for our economy to rebound.
 
Government needs to shift away from perpetual spending and taxing. Instead, finances must be handled with prudence and in accordance with a balanced budget. This requires an understanding of the scarcity of resources and the importance of maximizing value for every dollar spent.
 
Policies such as carbon tax and the proposed new Clean Fuel Standard need to be eliminated. Discussions around estate, wealth and principal residence taxes need to end. Investors, businesses and consumers are looking for confidence at this time. New or expanded taxes do not provide this.
 
Government needs to allow businesses to return to operation. Revenues from the private sector will be required to get us through the post pandemic period and more importantly, to tackle the significant debt that has been accumulated in the government’s response to COVID-19. We need increased investor fueled production and less debt driven consumption.
 
 
WHAT I STAND FOR: ACCOUNTABILITY
 
“Elected officials should learn from constituents at in person town hall meetings every month.”
 
“I was criticized for being too much concerned with the average Canadians. I can’t help that; I am one of them!” – John Diefenbaker, 13th Prime Minister of Canada.
 
Do you know who your Member of Parliament is? Have you ever spoken with him/her?
 
If you’ve answered no to either or both of these questions, does this seem concerning to you considering this person is supposed to represent your interests on the national and international stage?
 
For far too long now, Canada has been governed by those seeking to benefit themselves, their friends, connected insiders or their political party through the position of power they were elected to.
 
It is time for a change. Members of Parliament work for you. You are the boss!
 
If elected, I commit to holding at least one monthly in person town hall meeting. We need to get back to grassroots politics where you have the ability to speak with your elected representative on a regular basis.
 
Politicians shouldn’t promise to fix every one of your concerns. That’s not possible.
 
Rather they should promise to meet with you, listen to your concerns and work as hard as possible to get government out of the way so you can solve your concerns as efficiently as possible.
 
 

I have recently made the decision to seek nomination as a candidate in the federal electoral district of Red Deer - Mountain View. As a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA), I directly see the negative impacts of government policy on business owners and most notably, their families. This has never been more evident than in 2020. Through a common sense focus and a passion for bringing people together on common ground, I will work to help bring prosperity to the riding of Red Deer – Mountain View and Canada. I am hoping to be able to share my election campaign with your viewers/readers. Feel free to touch base with me at the email listed below or at jaredpilon.com. Thanks.

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US Halts Construction of Five Offshore Wind Projects Due To National Security

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From the Daily Caller News Foundation

By David Blackmon

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum leveled the Trump administration’s latest broadside at the struggling U.S. offshore wind industry on Monday, ordering an immediate suspension of activities at the five big wind projects currently in development.

“Today we’re sending notifications to the five large offshore wind projects that are under construction that their leases will be suspended due to national security concerns,” Burgum told Fox Business host Maria Bartiromo. “During this time of suspension, we’ll work with the companies to try to find a mitigation. But we completed the work that President Trump has asked us to do. The Department of War has come back conclusively that the issues related to these large offshore wind programs have created radar interference that creates a genuine risk for the U.S.”

Predictably, reaction to Burgum’s order was immediate, with opponents of offshore wind praising the move, and industry supporters slamming it. In Semafor’s energy-related newsletter on Tuesday, energy and climate editor Tim McDowell quotes an unnamed ex-Energy Department official as claiming, “the Pentagon and intelligence services, which are normally sensitive to even extremely low-probability risks, never flagged this as a concern previously.” (RELATED: Trump Admin Orders Offshore Wind Farm Pauses Over ‘National Security Risks)

Yet, a simple 30-second Google search finds a wealth of articles going back to as early as October 2014 discussing ways to mitigate the long-ago identified issue of interference with air defense radars by these enormous windmills, some of which are taller than the Eiffel Tower. It is a simple fact that the issue was repeatedly raised during the Biden Administration’s mad rush to speed these giant windmill operations into the construction phase by cutting corners in the permitting process.

In May, 2024, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s (BOEM) own analysis related to the Atlantic Shores South project contains a detailed discussion of the potential impacts and suggests multiple ways to mitigate for them. An Oct. 29, 2024 memo of understanding between BOEM and the Biden Department of Defense calls for increased collaboration between the two departments as a response to concerns from members of Congress and others related to these very long-known potential impacts.

The Georgia Tech Research Institute published a study dated June 6, 2022 detailing “Radar Impacts, Potential Mitigation, from Offshore Wind Turbines.” That study was in fact commissioned by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM), a private non-profit that functions as an advisory group to the federal government.

Oh.

report published in February 2024 by International Defense Security & Technology, Inc. describes the known issues thusly:

“Wind turbines can create clutter on radar screens in a number of ways. First, the metal towers and blades of wind turbines can reflect radar signals. This can create false returns on radar screens, which can make it difficult to detect and track real targets.

“Second, the rotating blades of wind turbines can create a Doppler effect on radar signals. This can cause real targets to appear to be moving at different speeds than they actually are. This can also make it difficult to track real targets.”

The simple Google search I conducted returns hundreds of articles dating all the way back to 2006 related to this long-known yet unresolved issue that could present a very real threat to national security. The fact that the Biden administration, in its religious zeal to speed these enormous offshore industrial projects into the construction phase, chose to downplay and ignore this threat in no way obligates his successor in office to commit the same dereliction of duty.

Some wind proponents are cynically raising concerns that a future Democratic administration could use this example as justification for cancelling oil and gas projects. It’s as if they’ve all forgotten about the previous four years of the Autopen presidency, which featured Joe Biden’s Day 1 order cancelling the 80% completed Keystone XL pipeline, a year-long moratorium on LNG export permitting, an attempt to set aside more than 200 million acres of the U.S. offshore from future leasing, and too many other destructive moves to detail here.

Again, a simple web search reveals that experts all over the world believe this is a real problem. If so, it needs to be addressed as a matter of national security. Burgum is intent on doing that. All half-baked talking points aside, this really isn’t complicated.

David Blackmon is an energy writer and consultant based in Texas. He spent 40 years in the oil and gas business, where he specialized in public policy and communications.

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International

No peace on earth for ISIS: Trump orders Christmas strikes after Christian massacres

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MXM logo MxM News

President Trump said Christmas night that he ordered U.S. forces to carry out airstrikes in northwest Nigeria, targeting ISIS-linked militants he blamed for a campaign of mass killings against Christians.

In announcing the operation, Trump said the United States delivered “powerful and deadly” blows against terrorists who have been “viciously killing, primarily, innocent Christians,” adding that he had warned them repeatedly that the slaughter would bring consequences. He credited precise U.S. strikes, said his administration would not allow radical Islamic terrorism to take root, and closed with a Christmas message blessing the military while signaling more action if the attacks continue.

The strike followed weeks of intensifying reports documenting targeted violence against Christian communities across northern and central Nigeria, violence that multiple journalists and religious freedom advocates have described as genocidal in nature.

Islamist factions including Boko Haram and allied jihadist militias have, for more than a decade, carried out coordinated assaults aimed at erasing Christian villages from the Middle Belt and the north. Those attacks have repeatedly spiked around Christian holidays, particularly Christmas and Easter.

During a December 16 briefing attended by reporters and advocates, speakers described the violence as a deliberate campaign of obliteration. Steven Kefas of the Observatory for Religious Freedom in Africa pointed to the timing of the attacks as evidence they are religiously motivated, noting that assaults frequently occur on Sundays and Christmas Eve. If the killings were random criminality, he asked, why are Muslim communities not attacked on Fridays or on the eve of their own celebrations?

Critics say the crisis has been compounded by denials from Abuja. President Bola Tinubu has consistently downplayed the religious nature of the violence, framing it instead as banditry or climate-related conflict, and pushed back on international scrutiny even after Trump designated Nigeria a Country of Particular Concern for religious freedom earlier this fall.

While the Nigerian government later declared a state of emergency and dismissed senior defense officials, watchdog groups report that Christians who survive the attacks — and journalists who document them — continue to face threats and intimidation.

According to Open Doors, Nigerian Christians now endure an average of eight violent attacks every day, a level of brutality critics say the government has long minimized or ignored.

The issue has also drawn attention beyond Washington. In a Christmas Eve message, Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel remains the only Middle Eastern nation where the Christian community is thriving and added that militant displacement and attacks against Christians in Nigeria “must end.”

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