Why Stephen Harper's Attack Dogs Must be Muzzled

Stephen Harper's attack dogs have always been ankle biters, but they are increasingly now going for the jugular.

This is both embarrassing and alarming, as this country's experts are being not only marginalized, but ostracized.

Columnist Frances Russell asked just before Christmas: Who's next on Harper's smear list?

The George W. Bush administration isn't gone, its policies and political style have just moved north.

Like the Bush administration, the Harper government uses Karl Rovian tactics to smear and intimidate not just opposition critics, but parliamentary officers, heads of quasi-judicial agencies and tribunals and even Canada's seven major Christian churches Who's next?

Peter Tinsley, chair of the Military Police Complaints Commission and Paul Kennedy, chair of the Commission for Public Complaints Against the RCMP, have both been refused second terms for not toeing the government's line. Tinsley's sin was initiating the Afghan torture probe; Kennedy's was criticizing the RCMP's actions regarding the Taser death of Robert Dziekanski at the Vancouver airport...

While the list of Harper victims is much longer, we did learn this week of another viscous attack, this time on the CEO of the Toronto Dominion Bank, because he dared to speak out in favour of raising taxes to pay down the deficit.

Of course maybe if the media quit downplaying the situation with words like 'spat', we might have a better chance of restoring some order to this zoo.

PM's office attacks top banker in deficit spat

OTTAWA–Prime Minister Stephen Harper's office went after one of Bay Street's top figures – TD Bank CEO Ed Clark – for saying senior Canadian executives favour higher taxes to slay Ottawa's deficit ....

IS THIS REALLY YOUR CANADA?