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Dunleavy supporters focus on politics, ignore his misdeeds – Anchorage Daily News

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Republican supporters of Gov. Mike Dunleavy argue that recall is an effort to “reverse the will of the people” by using the Alaska Constitution to advance a purely political agenda. They claim that the governor’s opponents don’t have any real grounds for recall, they just can’t get over that they lost the election. They are warning that allowing this to happen will start us down a “slippery slope,” resulting in radical methods used frivolously and frequently in the future, demeaning our politics and deterring qualified people from running, all to our ultimate harm.

What is interesting is that Dunleavy’s supporters don’t talk at all about the non-political reasons for the recall. They go on and on about how Gov. Dunleavy’s political view are right. Where is the defense of the actual misdeeds he is accused of? Where is the defense of his undermining of the judiciary, the use of government money for partisan political purposes, or gross incompetence in vetoing things without understanding what he was doing? Do his defenders think these things are all OK, but we should leave him in office because he has the “right” political views? That is the real “slippery slope” we should all be afraid of.

Just one example: Gov. Dunleavy cut the budget for the court system because he disagreed with their decisions on abortion cases. His message was clear — if the courts don’t decide abortion cases his way, he will punish them financially. This is a direct threat to the judicial branch of Alaska for political purposes. He acted similarly when he refused to follow the law and appoint a judge submitted by the Judicial Council. He did that because he wanted to appoint a judge more in line with his own political views, not one vetted through the Alaska constitutional process.

This is a legitimate complaint against the governor. Of course the leaders of the recall are political opponents of the governor; his campaign managers are not likely to initiate a recall. But the recall is not a hack job by sore losers of the election. The governor did it, he did it on purpose and he knew it was wrong. People may feel that they would like to have the judiciary more responsive to the political winds that blow through the state (a very bad idea, in my opinion), but the only legitimate way to achieve that is to amend the constitution, not to elect a governor who enforces only the parts of the laws he likes. Gov. Dunleavy deserves to be recalled.

Harold Johnston is a lifelong Alaskan and a retired family physician, educator and medical administrator.

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NDP caving to Poilievre on carbon price, has no idea how to fight climate change: PM

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OTTAWA – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the NDP is caving to political pressure from Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre when it comes to their stance on the consumer carbon price.

Trudeau says he believes Jagmeet Singh and the NDP care about the environment, but it’s “increasingly obvious” that they have “no idea” what to do about climate change.

On Thursday, Singh said the NDP is working on a plan that wouldn’t put the burden of fighting climate change on the backs of workers, but wouldn’t say if that plan would include a consumer carbon price.

Singh’s noncommittal position comes as the NDP tries to frame itself as a credible alternative to the Conservatives in the next federal election.

Poilievre responded to that by releasing a video, pointing out that the NDP has voted time and again in favour of the Liberals’ carbon price.

British Columbia Premier David Eby also changed his tune on Thursday, promising that a re-elected NDP government would scrap the long-standing carbon tax and shift the burden to “big polluters,” if the federal government dropped its requirements.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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Quebec consumer rights bill to regulate how merchants can ask for tips

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Quebec wants to curb excessive tipping.

Simon Jolin-Barrette, minister responsible for consumer protection, has tabled a bill to force merchants to calculate tips based on the price before tax.

That means on a restaurant bill of $100, suggested tips would be calculated based on $100, not on $114.98 after provincial and federal sales taxes are added.

The bill would also increase the rebate offered to consumers when the price of an item at the cash register is higher than the shelf price, to $15 from $10.

And it would force grocery stores offering a discounted price for several items to clearly list the unit price as well.

Businesses would also have to indicate whether taxes will be added to the price of food products.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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Youri Chassin quits CAQ to sit as Independent, second member to leave this month

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Quebec legislature member Youri Chassin has announced he’s leaving the Coalition Avenir Québec government to sit as an Independent.

He announced the decision shortly after writing an open letter criticizing Premier François Legault’s government for abandoning its principles of smaller government.

In the letter published in Le Journal de Montréal and Le Journal de Québec, Chassin accused the party of falling back on what he called the old formula of throwing money at problems instead of looking to do things differently.

Chassin says public services are more fragile than ever, despite rising spending that pushed the province to a record $11-billion deficit projected in the last budget.

He is the second CAQ member to leave the party in a little more than one week, after economy and energy minister Pierre Fitzgibbon announced Sept. 4 he would leave because he lost motivation to do his job.

Chassin says he has no intention of joining another party and will instead sit as an Independent until the end of his term.

He has represented the Saint-Jérôme riding since the CAQ rose to power in 2018, but has not served in cabinet.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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