Canada’s Debate

I’m doing something today that I haven’t done in a very long time… I’m writing something out by hand. Granted, I will eventually type this up (and that is presumably how you’re reading it) but for now I’m enjoying a more tangible writing process.

Harper, Stephen Harper,
Head of the Conservative Party;
From the ‘burb of Leaside,
Pretends to be from the Prairies.
If he’s running from the Press Gallery,
Someone probably said “Minority.”
Harper, Stephen Harper,
He’s a douche-bag stone-age Blue Tory!

Take a bow Stephen Harper, you’ve earned it. What did you do to earn such a dramatic flourish you ask? You proved once and for all that your ideology is all that matters. Not only did you cut the GST despite the fact that it made no economic sense to do so, not only did you repackage crime legislation that already had parliamentary approval in order to add in measures that the opposition doesn’t support, not only did you turf your only candidate that had a chance of representing the 8% of all Canadians who live in Toronto, you did it all while only making one small concession to progressive or enlightened ideas; you had a state visit with the Dalai Lama. Naturally, China is supremely pissed; and if America is a sleeping elephant then China is quickly becoming sort of stalking predator which in no way resembles a crouching tiger. Normally I would applaud such a move, but in this case it is clear that Harper is conducting his government without any clear strategy for achieving what Canadians in general want for this country. (Continue reading…)

So there was a cabinet shuffle this week… A few high profile members moved around, and a few quieter ones came and went. The big news of Harpers minority two-step was the banishment of O’Connor to the Ministry of Keeping Your Mouth Shut and wounded-Pete being installed as Minister of Defense. Most writers and bloggers have suggested that McKay was installed to raise the profile of the Afghan mission and put a better face on it.

After watching Harper run things (and make no mistakes, he’s running things) for the past couple of years it’s clear to me that the opposite is true. McKay hasn’t really accomplished anything in the last three years except look good for the camera and get swindled by people who are more clever than him (Stronach, Harper, Danny Williams, Condi…) In each case though, he looks good, as he’s taking a beating. The press gives him a sort of “Aw shucks” treatment usually reserved for dogs and precocious white children.

It’s pretty clear to me that McKay is taking over because he doesn’t make waves. Harper wants people to forget about Afghanistan, not appreciate it; and McKay does one thing and one thing well: he avoids the tough questions while staying in the spotlight. Most Canadians know about the casualties coming back from Afghanistan, but those can be tolerated so long as the mission seems “just.” Every time O’Connor opened his mouth that illusion vanished… With McKay in charge Canadians will keep on dying, but they’ll die quietly and the subject will be ignored in Parliamentary reporting.

How transparent is the Conservative’s budget? Well not only is the National Post calling it for what it is, a blatant vote-grab, but even the Canadian Free Press is rejecting it. If you can’t win that crowd over, then you’re not doing a good job of being Conservative.

The federal government’s budget introduced by Finance Minister Jim Flaherty is a bald-faced attempt at buying a majority in Parliament, while it sells out the so-called Conservative principles that the Harper government espoused prior to becoming the government. It’s almost as if some disease afflicted whatever party might happen to gain the upper hand that causes them to become profligate taxers and spenders.

So Stephen Harper is in the GTA today, and much to my surprise he is actually making a meaningful commitment.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper has unveiled a Greater Toronto Area anti-gridlock green strategy worth up to $1.53 billion.

In an election campaign style event, Harper announced this morning in Downsview that his government will spend up to $962 million for public transit projects.

People can cry “Alas the farmers,” all they want, but the fact is that this nations transportation infrastructure is in a shambles from coast to coast, and nowhere does the situation cost more than in the GTA. It has practical costs in terms of money, productivity and environmental damage. So Stephen Harpers gesture is a much appreciated, albeit unexpected one.

Of course, I am also the enjoying the irony of Harper engaging in yet another practise that he criticized the Liberals for unmercifully for years: the practise of making end of year spending announcements, or announcements leading up to an election.

Well I think it’s about time to wrap up the poll and start a new one (look for that around lunch time,) so I guess I’m going to talk about the Tories. Now, I wasn’t entirely sure what I was going to write about, until I remembered reading an article from the Globe and Mail yesterday.

It’s been three weeks since I’ve had the ocassion to talk about Harper’s much ballyhooed and little implemented Accountability Act… and here I am, trying to figure out something to write about the Tories when I come across this article:

The Harper government has opened the door to a watering down of its vaunted strategy to crack down on lobbying, as it contemplates forcing lobbyists to only report their formal verbal communications with federal officials, documents show.

Under proposals that are circulating in the government-relations industry in Ottawa, lobbyists would not have to report “spontaneous” verbal communications with government officials, nor would they have to disclose e-mail or other written exchanges.

Now the Accountability Act was stillborn months ago, but Harper and his caucus have continued to play the role of Whirling Dervish, spinning it for all that it’s worth. Even though he has exempted his own members from its purview, cancelled provisions that would impede his ability to govern, and circumvented the act at every opportunity, Tory supporters continue to cling to it, perhaps to rationalize the ridiculous belief that he represents a beacon of integrity and ethics. Well, here’s yet another nail in the coffin of his Accountability Act. Ladies and gentlemen, start your spinning…

PS: I’m having a heck of a time trying to come up with Accountability Act post titles, so if you don’t mind sharing feel free to leave your suggestions.

The Liberals are accusing the Conservative government of plumbing new partisan depths by politicizing Government of Canada departmental websites…

The website of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Canada carried the minister’s statement, which concluded with a jab at the Liberal opposition.

“At a time when the Opposition parties are being soft on security and soft on terrorism, Canada’s New Government remains unwavering in its determination to safeguard national security,” said Day’s statement.

This is beyond deplorable. I dare anyone to defend this behaviour… go ahead and try.

Not to beat a dead horse, but the Accountability Act story just won’t die. I’ve mentioned the Conservatives’ vacillation several times recently, and I have no intention to stop. This legislation is the sort of “feels good, does nothing” crap which allows bad governments to govern, and is as such the anathema to democracy.

The federal Accountability Act is trotted out by the Conservative government at every opportunity to illustrate its commitment to clean up government. …

But closer scrutiny of the much ballyhooed law reveals that almost 50 per cent of the act has not been passed into law, leaving gaping holes in the promises that helped get the Conservatives elected more than a year ago.

“They have been making false claims that they kept all their promises. People have been sold a bill of goods,” says Duff Conacher, the co-ordinator of Democracy Watch, a group advocating government accountability and corporate responsibility.

Link. Just something to keep in mind…