Reform Party Has Come Full Circle With Attacks on Quebec and First Nations

More than two decades ago, when the Reform Party was organizing, several protest groups formed to try to keep this group from gaining influence in Canada.  It was well known that they were xenophobic, homophobic, misogynist and just plain weird.

For the most part the media ignored them as just another Western protest party, so when a motion was raised to round up all "undesirable" immigrants and ship them back, they smiled.  When Sikhs were referred to as "ragheads", they grimaced.  When it was determined that a woman's place was in the home, they shook their head and walked away.

Even the right-wing Toronto Sun called them a "bunch of dung kicking rednecks".

If only they had paid attention then, we might not be in the mess we're in now, with a government that is determined to bootjack every Canadian value we ever held, and turn us into a country based on American conservatism.  When head of the National Citizens Coalition, Harper wrote an oped piece for the National Post, praising Alberta and "its adherence to "American enterprise and individualism", suggesting that it was a better model for Canada.

And  later, "Westerners, but especially Albertans, founded the Reform/Alliance to get "in" to Canada. The rest of the country has responded by telling us in no uncertain terms that we do not share their 'Canadian values.' Fine. Let us build a society on Alberta values." (Dec 8, 2000)

Which he clearly states means an adherence to "American enterprise and individualism".  I think the Tea Party is selling cushions with that slogan embroidered on them.  They make great stocking stuffers.  
 
 

 
The horrendous omnibus crime bill, that even made Texas lawmakers blush, is a devastating blow to this country, but what I find more alarming, are the open attacks on Canada's First Nation communities and Quebec.
 
The Reform/Alliance had a severe set of policies for dealing with Canada's Aboriginal people, and with a majority, Harper can finally do what he intended to do when he wrote much of the policy.  Secret committee meetings headed by the American Tom Flanagan, author of the racist First Nations, Second Thoughts, that diminish not only their role in Canadian history, but challenges their position, guaranteed by legally binding treaties. 
 
The committee will be discussing the right to sell land on Reserves, but it's not too hard to determine how this will play out.  Natural Resources on those lands will no longer belong to the community, and if a non-aboriginal wanted to purchase a lot to build a home and the band refused to sell it to them, Ezra Levant would go into another "white people" rant, calling the community "racist".  They would soon be driven out .... again.
 
Quebec is also feeling the affects of the Reform Party agenda.
 
As the new Bloc leader, Daniel Paillé says:   "Quebeckers are watching a Conservative majority government reshape Canada into something unfamiliar.  The crackdown on crime, the elimination of the gun registry and the fact that Quebec didn’t get a piece of a gigantic federal contract to build new ships are just the start."
 
The Bloc are now tied with the NDP for support in that province, and with a feeling of isolation, brought on by these fundamental changes, I think the Bloc will rise again, perhaps stronger than ever.
 
John Ibbitson said recently that the problem the NDP face is that most of their MPs are from Quebec, while most of their membership is from English speaking Canada.  How do they regain the trust of Quebekers without alienating their core?  Remember that several of their new MPs have separatist leanings, while the NDP is firmly federalist.
 
I have to admit that I'm very frightened for our future.
 
I received two emails and one comment on Facebook, from my right-wing followers, about Canada's sixth place showing on the annual "Prosperity Index".  However, what's interesting is how we got that ranking.
 
Beat out by Norway, Denmark, Australia, New Zealand and Sweden, the indicators were "social equality", "tolerance" and "welcoming immigration policies", all things that the Reformers want to change.
 
Income disparity is on the rise, and with that goes "social equality".  Our immigration policies are becoming as Draconian as our new law and order agenda, and human rights offices have been closed so that we won't hear how "tolerant" we are now.
 
I remember a comment I read some time ago.  I can't recall the source, but they said "those who take credit for the rainfall should not complain when they are blamed for the drought".
 
Canada's right-wing is taking credit for our current standing, despite the fact that they had no hand in the things that earned us that position.  But I can guarantee that if we fall over the next year or two, they will not shoulder any of the blame.
 
The big question, however, will be if as a people, we change, because ultimately we are the ones responsible for our position on that scale.
 
There is an interesting segment in the CBC archives, of when Reform decided to stop bashing Quebec, in order to take the party nationwide.  To appeal to the mainstream, they knew that they would have to tone down their rhetoric.
 
But Harper no longer needs Quebec, so all bets are off.  What a horrible man and what a horrible party.

Rhona Ambrose: Just One of the Boys

Well she's back. Miss 'book banning', 'climate change denying' 'American corporation loving', Rhona Ambrose, has now been put in charge of denying women's rights.

Bev Oda removed 'equality' from the Status for Women, with an eraser provided by Stevie. Helena Guergis made me want to get a sex change operation, with no desire to share that ditz's gender, so they bring in the big guns.

Rhona herself. The woman who dismissed Ken Dryden's childcare plan, by suggesting that women didn't want to hear about how to raise their children from "some old white guy".

Quite rich considering that Ambrose grew up wealthy, so has no idea what working women need, and she has no children! (Unless you count Pierre Poilievre and John Baird).

The Religious Right must be tickled pink. They loved her before:

Dryden, as social develop­ment minister, was negotiating his national child care plans with the provinces at the time. Her comment received criti­cal acclaim for chutzpah on at least two significant grounds.

The first was that Ambrose used statistics from a Vanier Institute of the Family survey to argue that most young cou­ples would like to have at least one parent stay at home with the children during their first few years, or at least make their own child care arrangements outside the home, rather than put their children in state-run institutions. She likely knew that a Vanier survey was a good arrow to use in pierc­ing Dryden's armour, because he himself was on the institute's board of directors.

... her argument was patently conser­vative — arguing for the traditional family. It struck a blow against the sometimes conventional wisdom that to be "with it" one had to be a Liberal and antitraditional. Particularly galling to many conservatives is the kind of state-run day­care system that would replace parental influence with state indoctrination as a tool for child development. That idea conjures up the Cold War—era, anticommunist imagery of Marxist-dominated state nurseries that allegedly prevailed in the Soviet Union, maintained so that mothers would be "free" to sweep Moscow sidewalks or clean the public latrines all under threat of exile to Siberia and permanent separation from their progeny.

Of course most couples would like to have one parent at home, but the fact of the matter is, they don't make the kind of salary we pay Rhona, so can't afford to. But wow! Right to Marxism and the Liberals supporting only non-traditional families.

Well now Rhona, who is the biggest cheerleader for Canada becoming a corporate run state, next to Stevie himself; claims that women care more about crime prevention than any silly old notion of equality. Pack a Colt in your bra and make the boys a sandwich. That's her plan.

Don't know about Marxism, but can't help thinking Gestapo in this new Conservative gender war.

The fight has escalated with news of cuts to long-standing feminist organizations in Canada in recent days and a Conservative senator’s friendly advice to aid advocates in Ottawa this week that they should “shut the f--- up” or risk further backlash from the Harper government. The Liberals have now counted more than 20 groups that have endured probably fatal funding cuts from the Harper government, most of them devoted to women’s equality or advocacy.

Clearly Ambrose needs to find a new babysitter for her 'kids', because little Johnny Baird had a tantrum and screamed out "Let Freedom Reign". Can't imagine Martin Luther King condoning anything this government does.

I hate to admit it, but I'm actually missing Helena Guergis. At least with her we never expected much, and she didn't disappoint.

Sources:

1. The Pilgramage of Stephen Harper, By: Lloyd Mackey, ECW Press, 2005, ISBN: 10-1-55022-713-0, Pg. 180