Vive Le Canada

Mel On Census

Posted on Monday, May 10 at 08:36 by sthompson
As of today it looks like thanks to the good work of ViveleCanada and Bill Blaikie Statistics Canada is backing away from using Lockheed Martin for the Canadian census. I gather they will still buy the software from LM but LM employees will not be involved. This said, I gather that the StatsCan position has changed a couple of times recently and we are seeking further clarification. Apparantly Chapter 11 doesn't apply "because LM is a Canadian company" i.e. a subsidiary and as such can't sue the government. I'm sceptical here. There will be more about all of this on Vive. But right now it looks like we have won our battle. I think it's another sign of the potential power of the net. Bravo to Bill and Susan Thompson. Mel Hurtig

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  1. by Dave Ruston
    Mon May 10, 2004 6:02 pm
    Thing is, i thought any corporation can sue the government under chapter 11 of NAFTA, be it foreign, domestic, or subsidiary. That`s why Dalton McGuinty couldn`t stop urban development on the Oak Ridges Moraine like he promised in the election campaign. Because the developers vowed to sue! What has to be done in cases like this and with health care, is to not let ANY form of privatization or corporate expropriation over the said industry or resource. Once that door is cracked open, then under chapter 11, it can`t be slammed shut! But so far, with this census, this is good news but I`d like to know more of some of the conditions behind the scenes.

    ---
    Dave Ruston

  2. by avatar Flick
    Mon May 10, 2004 6:14 pm
    I suppose, NAFTA or no, any company can sue if the government backs
    out of a signed contract. Too bad for the ogvernment, they shouldn't
    have signed it in the first place.

    If they sue, the Alliance folks will probably raise a ruckus about the
    government costing themselves money by caving in to communists and
    reneging on a holy promise (business deal) with a saintly engine of
    social progress (weapons corporation).

    ---
    “Sex, Drugs, Love, Marx...”
    Flick Harrison’s new digital feature
    MP3, trailer, scenes and stills at:
    http://www.armedrabble.org/sdlm.htm

  3. by sthompson
    Mon May 10, 2004 6:31 pm
    I've also heard that the people from Lockheed fired last Friday are to be hired back this week to help with the test day.

    Yet to be confirmed, but maybe partially because of the threat of a potential lawsuit? Who knows.

    ---
    Now call it extreme if you like, but I propose we hit it hard, and we hit it fast, with a major, and I mean major, leaflet campaign.--Rimmer, Red Dwarf

  4. by avatar whelan costen
    Mon May 10, 2004 7:19 pm
    I still can't figure out whether to celebrate or not; we won a battle, but if we are still using LM software what is the guarantee that they haven't created a backdoor to access it from elsewhere and therefore...whoops sorry folks we were wrong! I guess I just can't feel secure knowing that a foreign company with ties to so much destruction is involved in our census??? Why not Canadian, why not wait if we don't have the Canadian equivalent yet...what is the hurry to revise the system?

    ---
    If I stand for my country today...will my country be here to stand for me tomorrow?

  5. by Kory Yamashita
    Mon May 10, 2004 7:34 pm
    I'm with Whelan... I feel like this is a classic example of appeasement of the masses. They're not really addressing the security problem here. They're merely trying to make our boycott less effective.

    I still have no intention of filling out a census form until Lockheed Martin is OUT.

    -KY

    ---
    Kory Yamashita

    "What lies behind us and what lies ahead of us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us." - Oliver Wendell Holmes

  6. by 4Canada
    Tue May 11, 2004 7:18 am
    I third that motion. NO FOREIGN COUNTRY DOING OUR CENSUS ON ANY LEVEL, SOFT OR HARD.

  7. by Dave Ruston
    Tue May 11, 2004 4:51 pm
    Sometimes you have to be extreme to get it done!!!

    ---
    Dave Ruston



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