Canada gone Rogue

Note: This article was written Dec 9th, before there had been a single #IdleNoMore protest or dance. I believe the ferocity with which the #IdleNoMore movement has taken off strongly supports my thesis.

Canadians need help to wake up and see what is happening to their country.

Canada has long been respected around the world for it's tolerance, democracy, open borders, and friendliness. However, in the year-and-a-half since our last Federal election, Stephen Harper, Prime Minister of Canada, has transformed the country into a rogue petro-state, reviled around the world, and exercising dictatorial control over Canada's people and laws.

This is now recognized by countries around the globe. On November 29th, 2012 at the United Nations General Assembly MP John Baird, Canada's Minister of Foreign Affairs, was introduced to take the stage. No welcoming applause was given:

What follows is a reminder of some of the damage Harper has inflicted on Canada, bringing us up to date (to the beginnings of #IdleNoMore).

Harper first became Prime Minister in February 2006, although he was not content with his minority government. He called another election in October 2008 to try to get a majority, and again failed to do so winning 37% of the vote. However, just six weeks later, Harper prorogued parliament (cut short the parliamentary session) to stop the opposition parties conducting a vote of no confidence. Proroguing is meant to be used to allow the government to refocus, but it was used in this case to stop a majority coalition (representing the majority of Canadians) from bringing down the minority government. Harper again prorogued parliament in 2009, this time to avoid ongoing investigations into the Afghan detainees affair. Dr. Nelson Wiseman, Professor at the University of Toronto said at the time, "no Prime Minister has so abused the power to prorogue."

Abuse of power. That is something the Canadian people are now becoming used to.

In March 2011, Stephen Harper's government was found in contempt of parliament, which is without precedent in Canada or any other Commonwealth country. It clearly demonstrated "the Conservatives’ profound disdain toward the only democratic national institution we have" (Thomas Walkom).

In May 2011, Canada voted again and gave the Harper government a majority in parliament. What happens in Canada when a wannabe dictator shows disdain for democracy? We make him into an actual dictator!

Except that we didn't. Some of us did. A minority. In fact, only around 38% of the popular vote went to Harper, although that somehow gave Harper 54% of the seats in parliament–a majority. That's a 16% difference. And 16% is over 5,000,000 people. The Conservative party has managed to rig the elections in such as way as to steal the votes of five million people. It's also worth stating that the 38% is of those who voted–only about 25% of the population who legally can vote, voted for Harper (roughly 8.5 million people).

But that wasn't enough for Harper. On election day, illegal robocalls were orchestrated by members of the Conservative party (of which Harper is the leader) as a voter suppression tactic to try to stop supporters of other parties from voting. The investigation continues, but there are currently around 200 ridings–two-thirds of the total–alleging that robocalls were made within their boundaries. Many of the ridings were won by tiny margins–as little as 18 votes. The closest 11 ridings all report voting irregularities of this nature, and in these ridings as little as 0.05% of the vote made the difference. Stephen Harper is not the legitimate Prime Minister of Canada, and should not control a majority parliament.

In June 2010, the G20 were to be held in Canada. Harper decided that the meeting should take place in downtown Toronto (Harper hates Toronto), and proceeded to militarise the downtown core, spending over $1.1 billion–the most expensive weekend in Canadian history. Pittsburgh G20 a few years before had a budget of $18 million.

Fortress walls were built, and police were brought in from other provinces. Peaceful protestors and passers-by were kettled–surrounded by police, beaten, and then arrested without cause. Over 1000 people were arrested–the largest mass-arrests in Canadian history–and peaceful protests were repeatedly dispersed using violent force. Ombudsman André Marin called it “the most massive compromise of civil liberties in Canadian history.” Canada was left reeling from the violent blow done to its citizens.

In December 2011, Peter Kent, the Minister of the Environment in Canada, announced Canada's withdrawal from the Kyoto Accord. Canada remains the only country to do so. Canada would have been fined $14 billion for failing to meet its emission cuts targets. To add to the insult, the announcement was made one day after countries around the world agreed to a treaty to limit carbon emissions in COP17 in Durban. The following year in COP18 (Doha), Canada was called a "pariah" and there were questions raised as to whether Canada should have any stand at the table while negotiating a second Kyoto protocol.

The rhetoric and language used by the Harper government has also become extremist. In February 2012 the government introduced Bill C-30, a bill that contained draconian internet spying and anti-privacy laws. It was widely condemned, in much the same way SOPA was condemned in the US. However, Public Safety Minister Vic Toews claimed the opposition “either [had to] stand with us, or with the child pornographers.” Really. That's what he said.

In line with Harper's narrow-sighted vision for an oily Canadian future, the Harper government also introduced an 'anti-terrorism' bill that labelled environmentalists as terrorists. John Bennett, executive director of Sierra Club Canada condemned the bill, saying "It’s an indirect suggestion that somehow environmentalism is attached to terrorism and that’s just wrong." Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver, along with Harper himself, made the claim that foreign-funded, radical environmentalists were threatening Canada's economy–and by extension, Canada itself–by trying to stop oil pipelines from being built. NDP MP Megan Leslie stated, "I find it offensive that there is a list that puts people trying to protect the environment on the same list as white supremacists."

While Harper was the leader of the opposition he supported dissent, stating, "When a government starts trying to cancel dissent or avoid dissent is frankly when it’s rapidly losing its moral authority to govern." Now, it seems, he’s trying as hard as he can eliminate dissent completely, silencing scientists and most recently bringing down vital firewalls required for the country to remain democratic. There goes his moral authority.

Another tactic the Harper government has used, which both damages Canadian democracy and highlights the governments extremist agenda, is to push through omnibus budget bills. A budget bill is effectively a vote of confidence, and so any Conservative MP that votes against it is effectively voting themselves out of office. In June 2012, Bill C-38, the laughably-named "Jobs, Growth and Long-term Prosperity Act," was pushed through the House of Parliament unmodified after Tory MPs rejected thousands of proposed amendments. The bill was 425 pages, and, amongst other things, removed nearly all environmental protection from Canadian water, soil and air–none of which had anything to do with implementing the budget. The environmental regulation was stripped to stop opposition to oil pipelines and expansion of the destructive Albertan tar sands. The bill also removed the need for Canada to protect its species that are threatened with extinction. Harper is willing to wipe out millions of years of evolutionary history in order to pursue his extremist, oil-based agenda.

However, there is still a major legal force that can stop oil pipelines being built in Canada–the First Nations. In Canada, the First Nations are sovereign nations that hold control of their land, and the Federal government must seek their approval for projects like pipelines. Harper's second omnibus budget bill in 2012, Bill C-45, is designed to strip as much power from the First Nations as possible. The bill has been described as unconstitutional and an abuse of power. Again, Harper's government rejected all the proposed amendments and used its house majority to push it through. Many First Nations chiefs went to parliament to protest the bill's illegality, but were rebuffed by security.

Harper is also tabling many other bills that are designed to strip the First Nations of power: Bills C-27, C-428, S-2, S-6, S-8, S-207 and S212. This includes the wonderfully-named bill, "Safe Drinking Water for First Nations," which would actually remove funding and responsibility for providing safe drinking water. Onion Lake Cree Nation Chief Wallace Fox recently described the Harper government as 'enemies'. On December 10th 2012, thousands of Canadians across the country came together for the #IdleNoMore day of action. You should have been there.

It needs stating that this is not just a criticism of the Left towards the Right. The ~193 nations of the United Nations are politically very mixed, including extremes on both sides, as well as everything in-between. The silence that John Baird received at the UN last week is now echoing across the planet. John Baird was unique in receiving no welcome–both Israel and Palestine, as well as every other speaker from every other nation received a welcoming applause. Canada is the odd one out.

It's also needs stating that Stephen Harper does not necessarily represent the Conservative party. Stephen Harper and his cabinet are extremists seeking a narrow future for Canada based on oil. They have hijacked the Conservative party and are enforcing their will on them, but there are many Tory MPs who resent the bullying, as well as many loyal members of the party who are disgusted by the tactics being used and the direction the country is going. Those Conservatives need to stand up and speak out for their country, just as much as members of every other party.

The politics of this country should no longer be measured on the Left-Right spectrum–our politics today needs to be measured on the Tyranny-Freedom scale. The longer Harper is allowed to retain power, the further Canada will devolve towards tyranny. How long will we–the majority–allow this to happen?