It looks like the blank cheques are beginning to roll.  Budget 2009 hasn't even received Royal Assent, and the government is already out there giving money away with gay abandon.  The Prime Minister made one such announcement last Friday, touting a "major new job-creating investment in Canada’s network of national trails."

Sounds great, until you look for details.  Who's getting this money?  Not, as you might have expected, the Trans Canada Trail Foundation, an organization with a track record (pardon the pun).  No, it's some new 'National Trails Coalition' that doesn't even have a website.  Further digging produced even more disturbing details.  According to one of the coalition partners, there's still no plan in place for administering the money.  No one knows how much each partner will get, or how much each one has to pony up (it's a matching grant, apparently) or anything else for that matter.  So this is what the Prime Minister considers a "major new job-creating investment"?  Hold on to your wallets, friends.  We may be in for one of the wildest government give-away gimmicks we've ever seen.

sigh.  What a time for the media to be losing investigative reporters to layoffs.  This needs major exposure for the scam that it is.

When I think of all the areas that need money (childcare anyone?) and that could help the economy and Canadians directly, this just makes me ill.

sigh.  What a time for the media to be losing investigative reporters to layoffs.  This needs major exposure for the scam that it is.

When I think of all the areas that need money (childcare anyone?) and that could help the economy and Canadians directly, this just makes me ill.

Not a huge fan of the Canadian Taxpayers Association but here is an interesting link that has gained strength with the announcement of recent spending commitments.

http://www.debtclock.ca/

Build some trails around the tarsands area . Support ecotourist industry. With the National Geographic Article, we got some free tourist ads.They'll be coming.

But, imagine all the noise and carbon emissions from those snow mobiles and other fossil fuelled things.

Why would the government give away money to an organization that hardly exists. The government seems to have no plans whatsoever for spending the stimulous money, its kind of a first come first serve plan. What is the Senate doing to exercise some control over this?

I am afraid I have to agree with Bast and Olivia on what the Trans-Canada Trail is really about.  I was a fan of the idea of the trai early on, when i saw it as a way of recnooecting Canadians with exercise and nature.  Repeatedly, however, i have seen the TCT been re-framed as a thoroughfare for off-highway vehicles and snowmobiles.   I have had some close contact with champions of the TCT, and they have done nothing to dispel this impression, and increasingly appeal to the motorized recreationalists as the core of their support.  I hate to think the Tories think the same thing, though certainly in Alberta  ATV'er/snowmobiler tends to equate with rural working class which strongly  equates with Tory loyalist (or more fringy right wing).

If you want nature trails I’m afraid you will have to do it yourself (http://users.auracom.com/drawls/Woodland%20Pics/NatureTrails.htm ) The Conservation Authorities, and the Municipalities that fund them, are under ever increasing budget constraints with ever increasing program responsibilities. This government just was not listening when advised to give the GREEN economy a boost if they wanted it to be sustainable. Nothing new there.

OMG!  This isn't NATURE trails.  It's thick-necked, noisy, habitat destroying snowmobilers and off-highway motor vehicles.  Why? Sorry, I'm forgetting my nice Canadian respect for diversity here.  But really.  Shouldn't we be concentrating on people who need to eat and pay rent after they've been laid off their jobs and get re-trained for a sustainable job that will last for the rest of their working lives?  Instead of pandering to conspicuous consumers?  And what kind of jobs are we talking about here, anyway?  It's a 1 year grant.  TEMPORARY jobs is what we're talking about.  No future, no new skills training, nothing.  This is just awful.  Nothing less than awful.

I live in Lawrence Cannons riding so I will be watching closely the dollars we receive.  Altho' we do not allow snow mobiles....it would be nice to see more hiking trails; however, the lack of administration in place in a worry!

It looks like it's going to be money for ATV'ers and snowmobilers...WHF??? Oh, wait a minute, those folks would probably vote Con, yes? Got it, got it. It's a giveaway plan for the boys with toys. Great visioning, Stephen. You have made me even lose respect for your office, and not just the man.