I was lucky enough to attend a little cheque exchange for $10,000 at a local auto wreckers facilities today. OARA whose members have agreed to pay an extra $20 per vehicle they acquire though the Retire your Ride car recycling program donated to a great charity, 10,000 trees that owner David Gold recommended to them.  In the below pic is Ken Gold, politician Raymond Cho, Colin Creasey from 10,000 trees and David Gold.

The crack-cocaine of gambling has Quebec’s gaming commission facing a potentially crippling payout as gambling addicts try to hold it responsible for downplaying the dangers of video lottery terminals.  A class-action lawsuit brought by a group of pathological gamblers is seeking compensation from Loto-Quebec for their addiction treatments.

With the plaintiffs claiming around 119,000 gamblers can trace their addictions to VLTs, a judgment could cost Loto-Quebec upwards of $500 million, excluding exemplary damages.  “Despite the fact that studies on the dangers of pathological gaming and its treatments were known, the defendant didn’t consider its obligation to warn users of the dangers of dependence,” the statement of claim reads.

None of the lawsuit’s claims has yet been proven but after several years of jumping through legal, the trial phase of the case will finally begin in Quebec Superior Court next month in Quebec City.  Launched in 2001 by Jean Brochu, a lawyer and recovering gambling addict , the lawsuit cites government reports that claim VLTs have been tied to pathological gambling.  Loto-Quebec denies such a link exists and says problem gambling should be considered a personal health issue rather than one of legal liability.

“At the current time, there exists no expert, recognized by his peers… who proposes that VLTs are the cause of pathological gambling,” the defence statement reads.  The Quebec government began to regulate VLTs in 1993. Before then, Loto-Quebec estimated there were between 25,000 and 50,000 black-market gambling machines operating in the province.

Now there are around 12,000 VLTs in the province’s casinos, bars and restaurants.  A court decision last year forced the gaming commission to release documents about gambling-related suicides at Quebec casinos.

Last week, Quebec’s newly appointed health minister reiterated some of the unease public officials have about state-sanctioned gambling.

Yves Bolduc said both the government and Loto-Quebec should take additional measures to fight problem gambling.

He floated the idea of cutting the number of VLTs in poorer areas of the province.  Loto-Quebec promised in 2004 to remove some 1,142 VLTs by 2007, but has acknowledged it is still short of that goal.  The gaming commission contributed $1.6 billion to government coffers in 2006-07.  This final tally just about says it all, the government needs the cash and does not care how it gets it.

Talk about a party platform.  The Rhinos are back and they’re hoping to lure voters with the tantalizing promise of weekly orgasms - and marijuana in every pot. The Neorhino party promises to declare Spanish as Canada’s official language and pass legislation forcing Prime Minister Stephen Harper to go on a diet.

They’re proud of smoking pot, they draw their political inspiration from cigar-chomping comics and rock legends, and they want to get elected so they can stick it to “The Man.”  The new party - officially called neorhino.ca - is one of at least two groups claiming to be a reincarnation of the defunct Rhinocerous party that specialized in political satire.

Like the old Rhinos, the party has no clear political ideology except for two deep beliefs: something’s seriously wrong with the state of modern politics, and Canadian public discourse could use a lot more fun.  “We are a Marxist-Lennonist party - based on the philosophy of Groucho Marx and John Lennon,” said party president Francois Gourd.

He calls himself “Yo” Gourd, which in French sounds just like “yogurt.” He strode to the podium in the news-conference room near the House of Commons on Thursday sporting a cloth rhinoceros horn on his head.  The original Rhinos were founded in 1963 by Quebec author Jacques Ferron, and reached the pinnacle of their success in the 1980 election where they received 110,000 votes - or 1.01 per cent of the popular vote.

They never won a seat and stopped running election candidates in 1993 after an election reform law that stripped the party of its registered party status.  Gourd recently ran in Quebec’s Outremont byelection and finished sixth with just 145 votes.  The party claims to have 600 members in 30 ridings - 20 of them in Quebec.  Among its other campaign planks: Replace soldiers’ weapons with paintball guns; Create a national gas-barbecue registry; and replace the Defence Department with a Ministry of Laughter.

Beneath the thick veneer of gags, the party raises a serious point: people are so disenchanted with politics that almost 40 per cent of Canadians no longer bother voting in federal elections.  That, for the Neorhinos, produces a tantalizing bit of electoral math. If every single one of those non-voters were to cast a ballot for them, they could statistically hope to win a majority government.

The Neorhinos admit some respect for the established political parties - including the NDP and the Greens. They say it’s hard to like Liberals, and dismiss Conservatives as proponents of the politics of fear.  For example, they are no fan of the Tories’ war on drugs.  “We are for the Marijuana party of Canada - and we inhale. And we enjoy it,” Gourd said. “I am an illegal person. I have been smoking dope for 30 years.”

They poked fun at the prime minister for saying recently that he struggles to explain the drug references in Beatles lyrics to his son, Ben. To them, it offers further proof of how dull politicians are.  “We’re just joining the herd of the stupid, the idiots and the nuts,” Gourd said. “When you have to explain Beatles songs to your children, something is strange.”  I am not a big fan of politics but these folks seem to be heading in the right direction.

NATO has been under intense pressure to beef up its military presence.  But for those member nations bearing the brunt of the fighting, there is also intense debate about whether or not to extend the mission for their own troops.  How is Canada dealing with the issue?  I think Canadians in general are doing a good job of looking at this mission with an honest open attitude.  We really want to help and make a difference and have proven we are willing to risk our lives helping.  But considering some of the recent developments with the government of Afghanistan offering the Taliban reconciliation without first having them denounce violence is a little bit of a slap in the face for all those that are risking their life to help Afghanistan.
 
We are also now having a healthy debate about renaming the 401 highway that cuts through Toronto and is the major transportation corridor between Toronto and Montreal, Canada’s busiest thoroughfare. It’s about as far from Afghanistan and the fighting there, that can be imagined. But recently the 401 was designated the Highway of Heroes to honour Canadian soldiers killed in Afghanistan now numbering more than 70.

The fallen soldiers are flown from Kandahar to Canadian Forces Base Trenton, on the north shore of Lake Ontario. From there a funeral procession leaves the base and heads to Toronto where the bodies are taken to Centre for Forensic Sciences and along this Heroes Highway many people come to stand on the overpasses and show their support by waving Canadian flags and signs.

I would like to see a little more support from NATO and also some hard decisions by the Afghanistan government in further condemning the Taliban unless they stop the violence and seek peaceful negotiations.