In my last post, I had a video of the cartoon “The Cat Came Back” by Cordell Barker. This was a short I remember seeing on TV back when I was 6 years old.

I did some searching, and found some more recent work from the cartoonist.

Heres a disturbing cartoon about a baby from outer space. It’s enough to make you not want to have kids

Maybe I had gotten my hopes up too high. I thought Minister Prentice had heard the cry of the people and decided to consult with all stakeholders before tabling his copyright bill.

There are rumours in Ottawa this evening that Industry Minister Jim Prentice has decided to forge ahead with the Canadian DMCA with the bill to be introduced tomorrow morning, according to Michael Geist - A University of Ottawa law professor leading the fight for public consultations. With only a few days of delay, a proper consultation was not done.

The CRIA (Canadian Recording Industry Association) and other corporate lobby groups are not the only stakeholders on this issue. Other stakeholders include musicians, songwriters, software developers, and of course consumers. Minister Prentice has not properly consulted any of the other stakeholders. The non-corporate stakeholders should not have to wait until after the bill has been tabled and put forward to committee before having their say. They should be consulted well before the bill is drafted.

Let’s just hope this isn’t a complete sell out to the only groups Prentice has consulted with, but I’m not holding my breath.

With winter here, and no federal government announcement to extend funding for housing and homeless initiatives, Sault MP Tony Martin, the NDP social policy and poverty critic, pressed the government in Question Period Tuesday for a real plan. Here is the exchange.

Mr. Tony Martin (Sault Ste. Marie, NDP)
Mr. Speaker, since 1998 the Toronto Disaster Relief Committee declared homelessness a national disaster and 400 agencies from across the country agreed. The Liberal solution was to cut the funding for housing and the Conservatives have chosen huge corporate tax cuts instead of reinvesting in housing.

In Edmonton alone, 41 homeless people died last year. A homeless person died just this weekend in Montreal. This is a totally unnecessary disaster. When will the government establish a national housing strategy and when will it take these deaths seriously?

Hon. Monte Solberg (Minister of Human Resources and Social Development, CPC)
Mr. Speaker, the strategy of the government is to take steps that make a difference in the lives of people, which is why, when we came to office, one of the first things we did was to invest heavily in affordable housing. There is $1.4 billion in the housing trust today. The government is investing more in affordable housing than any government in history. We have also put in place the homelessness partnering strategy. We believe that a roof over a person’s head is the place to start to give them a hand, $270 million for that. We understand how important it is to make sure that people who are living in poverty get a–

Mr. Tony Martin (Sault Ste. Marie, NDP)
Let us be clear, Mr.Speaker, that money came from the “NDP budget”, when we forced the Liberals to cancel their corporate tax cuts. The St. Michael’s Hospital says homeless people die at a rate 10 times higher than people living in homes.

Meanwhile, all of the programs, federal homelessness, federal housing rehab and affordable housing are set to expire in a few months. The minister should visit the streets, talk to homeless people and get a dose of reality , because winter is here. Where is the plan?,

Hon. Monte Solberg (Minister of Human Resources and Social Development, CPC)
Mr. Speaker, I hate to break it to the member, but the NDP has never been in power so there was no budget from the NDP. I need to tell the member that the New Democrats have no monopoly on concern when it comes to looking after the homeless. Last week I was meeting in Vancouver with groups who work on the streets to help people get a roof over their heads, give them the helping hand that they need so they can ultimately get out of the situation they are in.

We are concerned about this. We are pouring resources in. It is more than just rhetoric with this party. We are getting the job done.