Sunday Afternoon Links

The links just keep on coming...

- My suspicion is that Skinny Dipper is absolutely right in his take on the Cons' parallel committee system:

I also wonder if this is a way to lessen any influence of parliamentary committees by having Conservative only consultative bodies which will probably be a one-way monologue from the Prime Minster to the cabinet ministers and then to the Conservative MPs and senators.

In effect the goal isn't to get input from outside Stephen Harper's bubble, but to give the false impression of fresh air by recirculating the same old stale spin. And while anybody paying attention should know better than to be fooled, Angelo Persichilli's column today is proof positive that there's plenty of ink being given to people who don't.

- Silver Donald Cameron wonders when we should reach the point of directly comparing the Harper Cons' "blend of political acuity, deceptiveness and cunning" to the start of fascist regimes in other democracies. But I'd think that there's another term missing from the description which actually provides the answer: "ruthlessness", which both goes to the heart of the Cons' attitude toward anybody who doesn't fit their ends and the level of determination required to stop them without matching their deception.

- Mike De Souza reports on the glaring need for Canada-wide investment in water and sewer systems. But unfortunately, while municipalities are pointing out their need for long-term funding that fits the bill of a "marathon" compared to the "sprint" pace of stimulus spending, the Cons are looking for ways to kick their feet up and declare that the federal government has decided not to run anymore.

- Finally, Deborah Behm's letter to the editor on the minimum wage deserves plenty of credit for its neat dissection of corporate complaints about wages in workplaces where tips form part of workers' income:

I read with interest Laurie Leigh's Aug. 7 letter in which Leigh details some of the hardships for small business owners which would be incurred if the Saskatchewan minimum wage is raised.

She notes that four of her nine staff "will regularly make between $20 to $50 per hour" as servers. These are impressively high hourly wages, especially in a small centre such as Maple Creek. Since gratuities are typically based on a percentage of the customer's bills, this indicates to me that Leigh's business is doing well, and that Leigh should be able to absorb any costs occurring from scheduled rises in the minimum wage.

(H/t to Kent Peterson.)