(written for rabble.ca's election coverage)
On Sunday, Stephen Harper described the Conservative Party of Canada as “centrist.” For a man who ran the National Citizens Coalition, and energized the Reform Party and the Canadian Alliance, this is a curious label to pin on the party he now leads. Harper has devoted his entire political life to the honing of a disciplined political instrument that will drive Canada to the hard right. Unlike George W. Bush, who is a frat boy, Stephen Harper is a true ideologue. His goal, which extends far beyond holding office for its own sake, is to transform Canada from a country he can’t stand to a lean satrap of America. He won’t be ready to hang up his skates until the word “Canada” has acquired a muscular meaning around the world. He won’t be content until this country’s tolerant, fuzzy, secular humanism has been expunged.
This is not a hidden agenda. But in the mainstream media, it’s regarded as bad form to talk about anything Harper said, did, or wrote before he took up residence at 24 Sussex Drive.
Harper’s waiting for a majority he would use to:
· Negotiate a much closer economic, national security and military union with the United States.
· Decimate the Canadian social state, with medicare shredded by the emergence of a patchwork system that varies from province to province with a growing role everywhere for the private sector.
· Cut taxes for the rich.
· Open the doors to a much larger role for “faith based” initiatives and the assault on secular values.
· Push ahead with oil sands development, condemning Canada to the role of the first world’s greatest per capita polluter.
· Privatize the CBC.
· Complete the militarization of Canada.
Under a Harper majority, the role of the opposition would be worth about as much as a warm pitcher of spit.
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5 comments:
Prof: James:
Harper won't need to privatize the CBC. He has it where he wants it. Just look at how Mansbridge and company are handling the war in Afghanistan, or as it is referred TO on the National, THE MISSION.
- continue his renunciation of Canada's 50-year foreign policy as an honest broker, a UN supporter and peacekeeper, in favour of America's wars and occupations;
- blindly follow America's headlong "surge" to be global chief of police, judge and prison warden,
- and to Amer4ica's construction of a global surveillance society, restricting our mobiliy and human rights, our rights to freedom of association and speech, and from arbitrary search and seizure
- continue his wars on crimes, drugs, sex, etc., as fruitless as devoid of any factual basis;
- sell of the post office and close down the wheat board;
- continue to cut any funding to disadvantaged groups, whether First Nations, other visible minorities, immigrants, women...
- seek even great secrecy, by continung to stall reform of the Access to Information Act, prosecuring "leakers," firing dissenters....
And if McCain gets in, double that.
Danny Williams referred to Harper's far-right agenda when he was interviewed by Don Newman today. At least someone of prominence is saying something.
I agree with anon on the sycophantic behavior of CBC-TV, esp. Peter M.
So NDP readers: happy with the fruits of your labours ... enabling the Harper gov't into power?
Read John Barber in todays G&M and do us all a big favour: withdraw from 40 ridings where you cannot win but can only split the vote and give Harper the seat. Get Dion to do the same in any ridings where the vote was split, and the NDP were ahead last time.
Best gov'ts in modern Canadian history were 63-65 and 72-74 when we had effectively a center-left coalition.
What troubles me is not 'left' or 'right' but rather that the countries that provide best for their people at all levels are also most efficient at creating wealth in the first place. Following the Americans is the wrong way to go.
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