Stephen Harper Inches Canada Even Closer Toward a Dictatorship

Within weeks of being elected in 2006, Stephen Harper limited access to his government, by both the media and the public.  He closed down a searchable database that provided easier access to information, and forbid any questioning of his ministers, without his approval, and even then questions had to be presented in advance.

Time magazine found Harper's actions so disturbing that they published an article on it:  Controlling the Message.  In the piece, Alasdair Roberts, a Syracuse University public-policy professor, asks, "How can the average Canadian make a judgment about whether their government is being well run if they don't have access to the information?"

A very good question, but what Roberts may not know is that since that time, things have only gotten worse.

Harper's office has been taking their own press photos, creating their own videos (Taxpayers on hook for $1.7-million as PMO rolls out video, By Bruce Cheadle, The Canadian Press, December 08, 2009), and have made most media events by "invitation only". 

They scripted their response to accusations of detainee abuse as early as 2007, causing one NATO official to suggest that Stephen Harper's office used a "6,000-mile screwdriver" to oversee the denial process.  Canada became the only country with troops in Afghanistan, not to have an independent media, and all news of the war, was directed from the PMO.

They have created a 200 page manual that caucus members must use to disrupt Parliamentary committees and a Purple File where embarrassing information requests are kept and dealt with directly by Harper's team.

None of this is surprising to those of us who have tracked Stephen Harper's career from Reform Party policy wonk to leading the National Citizens Coalition.

The annual gathering of the Writers' Union of Canada took place in Ottawa in June, with many former chairs on hand to offer memories of their time in office. Susan Crean remembered encountering a young, blue-eyed politico at a constitutional conference in Calgary in 1992. When the man learned that she had co-authored a certain book about American domination of Canadian and Quebec politicians, the man responded: "You should not have been allowed to write that book."

The man: Stephen Harper. Crean never forgot his words, but especially the word allowed. The room full of writers in Ottawa issued a gasp. Crean later elaborated on the encounter. "Harper spoke to me first and asked if I had written 'that book.' I asked which one, and he mentioned Two Nations, which I wrote with Quebec activist/sociologist and well known independentiste Marcel Rioux. ... Harper was clearly still angry about having had to read it at university. In his view, I took it, the book was treasonous. I was so shaken by his words, and his open hostility, that I immediately left the dining room." (A less proud country, By Lawrence Scanlan, Straightgoods, August 9, 2010)

We recently learned that Harper has added another very disturbing element to his message control.  He will now be censoring the RCMP.  Our RCMP.

The Star obtained a copy of a new communications protocol that requires the RCMP to flag anything that might “garner national media attention” to Public Safety Canada.  Everything from “media advisories, news releases, background info, media lines and talking points for spokespersons and senior officials/members” must be vetted.

Statements by RCMP members who appear before parliamentary committees would likely be massaged by the federal government beforehand, as the document clearly defines a “major event” as “an incident, event, announcement, and/or speaking engagement likely to garner national media attention.”

Is there anything left that would make Canada not a totalitarian country? If you know of something please share it with me, because this is very frightening.

Ursula Franklin -- the celebrated physicist, pacifist, author and Companion of the Order of Canada -- recently spoke to CBC Radio's The Current. She had survived a Nazi death camp and come to Canada hoping for better. Now 88, Franklin is "profoundly worried about the absence and erosion of democracy in Canada." (Scanlan 2010)

Ned Franks is Dead Wrong About Brigette DePape

I was busy yesterday and didn't get to say as much as I would have liked about Brigette DePape. Then I read Ned Franks column in the Star this morning, and couldn't possibly find enough words to tell him why he is dead wrong about this young woman.

Professor Franks is a constitutional expert but apparently not much of an expert on democracy.

Because if he believes that what took place on May 2, was democracy in action, then he clearly needs to read a few books on the subject.

This was the most undemocratic election in our history. Fifty-seven Conservative MPs were no shows, and almost as many NDP, the same.

Our prime minister limited questions to five, and even then only answered the ones he wanted to answer. Fences were put up and one person arrested simply for throwing a teddy bear over the barricades. Another because she had a picture of herself with Michael Ignatieff on Facebook.

If you weren't on a list you didn't get in. Period. In Kingston, the police drew an imaginary line for us not to cross, and when one one man fell over it, tripping on the curb, he was thrown against a police car and hauled away.

It was defined by dirty tricks, bogus phone calls, and Gestapo like control.

And with less than 40% of the popular vote (25% of eligible voters), Stephen Harper has almost 100% control of our country. This is democracy?

This young woman, and others like her, are smart enough to see that our system is badly broken.

And if we expect her to treat our institutions with respect, our current government is not leading by example. A 200 page manual instructing their MPs on how to disrupt Parliamentary committees.

Dean Del Mastro conducts himself like an animal, Pierre Polievre has had to have his mike shut off he was so obnoxious, and Peter Braid has attacked witnesses so voraciously, they have trembled with fear.

This government was found in contempt of Parliament, and yet they were able to run for re-election.

Bev Oda doctored a contract after it was signed and yet she was able to run for re-election.

Young people are not going to sit by for the next four to five years, as Canada continues its race to the bottom.

Miss DePape may not have taken her rightful place on the bus, but hopefully, she has earned her place in history.

We need to encourage our youth to get involved, not vilify them when they do, in the only way they can. Through civil disobedience.

I applaud her and look forward to more of the same, from Canadians of all ages.

Dropping Jobs and Dropping Bombs. Welcome to Imperialist Canada

I didn't think I'd ever be reading headlines like this:
Canada drops 240 'smart' bombs on Libya

It didn't take our dictator long to start throwing his weight around.

Apparently they cost about $100 million, but what has this done to our reputation?

How long before these countries or their allies start fighting back?

Not to worry though. Peter MacKay is planning a massive layoff to pay for the bombs. Not sure when we start paying for dropping them.

What a horrible time to be Canadian.

A Dictator is a Dictator is a Dictator

Whenever I call Stephen Harper a "dictator" in a posting, I get emails from people telling me that I am wrong and that I don't know what a dictator is.

So I turned to the dictionary, which defines a dictator as "a leader with absolute, imperious, or overbearing power or control." And a dictatorship, as "a country, government, or the form of government in which absolute power is exercised by a dictator".

If you read Lawrence Martin's piece last week: Behold the most powerful PM ever, Stephen Harper now has absolute control of our country. He can even take our country into war, just on his command.

Jack Layton bragged today that he resides over the largest official opposition party in 31 years. But it is also the most powerless.

Harper has Parliament, the Senate and the Governor General was a Brian Mulroney insider. He has the media and will soon control the Supreme Court.

And if that isn't bad enough, we learn today, that he will also soon control the Ontario Court of Appeals. How long before other provinces fall under his sway?

Even before his majority, his government had reached all benchmarks of Fascism, and his determined to be the most secretive in history.

So please don't tell me that I don't know what a dictatorship is, or that Stephen Harper does not currently have dictatorial powers.

It's important for us to realize this, because we are the ones who allowed a single man to take absolute control of our country.

And while you might say that we are still a democracy, given that he was elected, even if it was with less than 40% of the popular vote, another man became a dictator when he was elected with just 43.9% of the popular vote.

Harper's Dictatorship Now Complete and Unchallenged

Warren Kinsella writes this week: Stephen Harper gives Canadians the finger

The discussion is Harper's latest snub of the media, no longer caring whether they challenge his decisions. It was deliberate and calculated. He didn't have to answer to them regarding his Senate appointments. They are no longer useful to him.

Let them stomp up and down. For the next 4-5 years he will no longer have to explain his actions to the Canadian people. He's always done what he wanted anyway, but now his control of our country is absolute.

Lawrence Martin writes: Behold the most powerful PM ever

He has it all:

•A fractured opposition and decimated Liberal party.
•An overpowering political machine that doubles and triples rivals in financial resources.
•A preponderant media advantage with most of the big fourth-estate players on side.
•A public service more submissive than ever before.
•Agencies and watchdog groups that are intimidated or stacked with governing party partisans.
•A majority in the Senate and the House, plus command over an increasingly dysfunctional parliamentary committee structure.
•A bossist structure in the governing party that allows no dissent from within.

Not to mention the fact that within a few months, he will also have control of the Supreme Court, and the Governor General is a Conservative insider.

When Jack Layton teamed up with Harper to destroy the Liberals, he must have felt pretty powerful. But looking around at the carnage, just how powerful is he really? Leader of what?

Stephen Harper is ending the democratic voter subsidies, where less than $2.00 was taken from each voting taxpayer, and going to the party of their choice.

Layton's surge was mostly superficial, and I doubt it will generate into massive fundraising, given that he's pretty much impotent, with few allies in the House.

And how easy will it be for the Liberals to rebuild? Their membership is currently on the rise, as many Canadians now realize that the Harper/Layton team has gutted the centre, but can the interest hold?

It's a very terrifying time to be a Canadian progressive.

Unbelievable. Harper Doesn't Even Pretend to Respect Democracy Now

In yet another unbelievably undemocratic move, Harper has moved Fabian Manning and Larry Smith back into the Senate, after they left to run as MPs.
They used our money to help with their campaigns, and are now going to again feed from the public trough as senators.

And why would the media even suggest that he's placing them there to help him make the senate more democratic by imposing term limits? He needs failed candidates to make the senate democratic?

Please tell me this is the latest Monty Python film, because it goes beyond bizarre.

Is it even legal?

Fabian Manning is the blowhard shyster in the following video. A really horrible man. It's time to scrap the senate, when they become nothing more than an extension of the Harper autocracy.

This government should just slap on uniforms, shut down Parliament and be done with it. I'm sick of the pretense that Canada is a democratic country.

So Harper Planned Coalition with the Bloc as Early as 1996

If Harper supporters were surprised to learn that he had agreed to a coalition in 2004, to become prime minister with the full support of the Bloc (Harper's team by Tom Flanagan), they will no doubt be shocked to learn that he had been planning this arrangement with the Bloc since 1996.

...the "alliance" of centre-right parties might require — to finally surmount the Liberal seat count in the House of Commons — an arrangement to be negotiated with the Bloc Quebecois to secure that party's support in Parliament.

"Separatists" and "Socialists". His tickets to power.

And yet he's now questioning the Oppositions right to take power in a coalition if he fails to get a majority.

Harper Says he Won't Try to Form Coaltion. Who Besides Layton Would Join Him in One?

With typical arrogance Stephen Harper is saying that if he doesn't get the most seats he won't try to form a coalition. Who besides Layton would trust him?

If he fails to win his party will replace him.

He knows it and we know it.

And Graham Thomson gives his colleagues a dressing drown:

I'm upset with my colleagues in the media, with journalism professors, with teachers in general and with anyone responsible for informing Canadians how our system of parliamentary democracy works. That list certainly includes myself. We have obviously fallen down on the job.

How else to explain the headlines in newspapers -and the resulting chatter -around the country making it look as if Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff is planning a coup after the federal election if he doesn't win the most seats? To read some of the stories, spiced up with quotes from outraged Conservatives, you'd think Ignatieff was ready to break out the guns and storm the doors of Parliament with his ragtag team of minority Liberals, New Democrats and Bloc Québécois.

I'm ashamed with our media myself. They should know better.

And Harper is saying that even if he gets a minority he sees no reason for compromise. Nothing will change. He will run Parliament like he has a dictatorship.

Giving Canadians the finger.

The Toronto Star says Harper is taking the low road.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper's emotional blackmail is beginning to wear thin. He's been stumping the land stirring fears that a Liberal-led “reckless coalition of losers” is poised to seize power and create a “black hole” if the voters are imprudent enough to deny his Conservatives the majority they crave.

“Michael Ignatieff's ambition to be prime minister trumps everything,” the Tories say. “Even how Canadians vote.” It's clever spin. But it's baloney. Anyone who is following this shallow campaign knows that the Conservatives, not some other clutch of losers, are likely to be back in power on May 2, crafting yet another Tory throne speech and budget. Every poll suggests the election is theirs to lose. This would be their third crack at governing since 2006.

We have to stop him. We can no longer count on help from the NDP so we'll have to slug it out alone.

It is Not About the Budget. It is About a Government That Has Lost the Confidence of the People.

Reuters and other media outlets are suggesting that if this government falls it will be over the budget.

They couldn't be more wrong.

This government is falling because there has been one lie too many.

One deceit too many.

One enormous abuse of tax dollars too many.

One disregard of Canadians too many.

One dictatorial move too many.

One childish game too many.

They are in contempt of Canada and we've had enough.

Have You Ever Seen a Pan With the Teflon Scraped Off?

We had a set of Teflon pans when I was a kid, a gift to my mother when my brother got his first job. They were great things but required a lot of extra care.

With us seven kids, who spent more time arguing over whose "turn it was to dry", taking special precautions with pots and pans never made it to the top of our list.

If we could hide them in a cupboard so they'd have to be washed when it wasn't our turn, that's what we did.

Suffice it to say that within a year those pots looked liked the side of an old barge in dry dock.

Bruce Anderson has a column in the Globe today: Ethics, arrogance and the end of the Teflon Tories.

He suggests that their arrogance may be their undoing.

Because up until now, they have simply dismissed all allegations against them, as partisan blather, ignoring the fact that Canadians want answers.

This arrogance got them into trouble the last prorogation, when they underestimated how important democracy is to Canadians.

They are doing the same now with the Contempt of Parliament charges, hoping we won't care. But we do care dammit.

The Conservatives just keep putting those pots in the cupboard, hoping we won't notice, but the Teflon has been eroding, and we're left with the ugly. It's time to replace them.

Anderson does question why the Liberals want an election now, but what he fails to understand, is that despite the poll of 15% of the people who answer their phone, there is a very large group of Canadians who want this election so bad we can taste it.

We have never had closure on so many issues from the Afghan Detainee abuse to the waste of our tax dollars on Harper's self-promotion. We want our chance to voice our concerns, and we will do that publicly, in droves.

Everyone who has ever been marginalized, polarized, beaten, verbally attacked and ignored by this government will rally.

The media and pollsters ignored us before, and we proved them wrong.

Give us that election and we'll show you how it's done.

Elementary Students for Democracy. How Inspiring

A group of elementary students from Ecole Franco-Nord in Prince George, marched against Stephen Harper's removing 'Canada' from official government communications, and exchanging it with 'Harper'.

Kudos to their teacher and kudos to them, for reminding us how important our democracy is.

There is not enough civic education in schools, and these children are learning at a young age how important it is to preserve our democratic principles.

The Government of Canada belongs to us. It does not belong to Stephen Harper. This will send a clear message, not only to the government of the day, but to any in the future, who might attempt something like this.

These students will grow up to be responsible citizens. My hats off to them.

It's Official. No More 'Canada' Allowed. It's Harperland Now

We knew it wouldn't be long. First he had all the official portraits taken down and replaced with photographs of himself. Then his MPs signed big cardboard cheques.

Now in the final stage of taking complete control of the country, public servants are no longer allowed to refer to Canada as ... well... Canada.

First it was the "Government of Canada." Then it was "Canada's New Government." Now it's the "Harper Government." Public servants from four different departments have confirmed to The Canadian Press that they received a directive late last year that the words "Government of Canada" in federal communications be replaced with "Harper Government."

The "Harper Government" moniker rose to prominence in 2009 when its use was noted in light of a controversy over Conservative MPs posing with giant, mock government cheques bearing the party logo and MPs' signatures. The practice was stopped for a time. Since December, the "Harper Government" has been showing up again in government communications.

And he's not a dictator? A very sick man.

Join this group. I'm trying to contact AVAAZ for a petition. He has gone way too far this time.

Fantino's Victory Moves us Closer to a Police State

Political philosopher Hannah Arendt, in her book Totalitarianism, describes how both the Nazis and the Bolsheviks used the military and the police, combining the two to create their authoritative regimes.

I've posted a video below. At about the 5:30 mark, you'll notice on the budget projections, that the RCMP are referred to as the Royal Canadian Military Police. Did they undergo a name change or is there a new policing body?

We could ask the prime minister, but our media won't allow it.

We could ask our media but they would not be allowed to answer the question even if they knew what it was, for fear of being beaten up by the RCMP, one or two.

So we can only speculate.

Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair claims that one of the videos being used to show unheard of police brutality was doctored. If that's the case, why were there no convictions?

And what about the hundreds and hundreds of other videos? Were they all doctored?

A little conspiracy theory going on in your head Blair? A little tinfoil police helmet?

James Laxer tells us to Wake up: Arbitrary rule is all around us

The recent election of Julian Fantino in Rob Ford's Toronto, should be our wake up call.

If the left does not unite to bring down this regime, they might as well be holding the gun.

Hannah Arendt, once questioned whether Nazi Germany was in fact a full totalitarian dictatorship, since it depended so heavily on a "certain societal consensus". Good question.

"The force possessed by totalitarian propaganda - before the movements have the power to drop iron curtains to prevent any one's disturbing, by the slightest reality, the gruesome quiet of an entirely imaginary world - lies in its ability to shut the masses off from the real world." - Hannah Arendt

The G-20 was a test for martial law, which may be required when the Harper government releases it's austerity budget.

And we passed it.

We will now allow this government to get away with anything.

If Americans are Suffering From Amnesia What are we Suffering From?

Henry Giroux believes that the American people are suffering from amnesia. With George Bush on his book tour and the craziest of the Republicans in the White House, they have clearly forgotten just how bad the Bush administration really was.

We live in an age in which punitive justice and a theater of cruelty have become the defining elements of a mainstream cultural apparatus that trades in historical and social amnesia. How else to explain the electoral sweep that just put the most egregious Republican Party candidates back in power? These are the people who gave us Katrina, made torture a state policy, promoted racial McCarthyism, celebrated immigrant bashing, pushed the country into two disastrous wars, built more prisons than schools, bankrupted the public treasury, celebrated ignorance over scientific evidence ("half of new Congressmen do not believe in global warming" )

A theatre of cruelty. Racial McCarthyism. Immigrant bashing. Torture a state policy. Building more prisons than schools. Climate change denial, et al.

Sounds like the Harper government.

So what are we suffering from?

Media deficiency? Brain damage? Narcolepsy? Laryngitis? All of the above?

Stephen Harper committed one of the worst offenses against democracy this week. He extended our WAR by three years simply on a whim. And he didn't even have the decency to announce it in Canada but waited until he was safely in Seoul Korea, where we couldn't ask questions. Not that he ever answers them anyway.

The Star Phoenix calls it an insult to citizens:

On a very narrow technicality, Prime Minister Stephen Harper is correct that he need not seek Parliament's permission to keep military trainers in Afghanistan.

But his refusal to put the matter up for debate in Parliament this week shows a gross disrespect for all Canadians, particularly the soldiers who have been risking their lives in Afghanistan. It illustrates such a blatant disregard for the fundamentals of democracy that it must have the tens of thousands of soldiers who fought and died for the cause rolling in their graves overseas. Perhaps the greatest insult is that it was at a press conference in Seoul, South Korea, the prime minister admitted he would be going back on his ill-considered words to remove all Canadian troops from Afghanistan by next summer.

Where's the outrage?

And because of El Presidente"s "whim", "I'll declare war because I can", our troops are not prepared.

Because Canada's new $500-million a year training assignment is to last until 2014, one of the imperatives that the military has suddenly been seized with is the urgent need to find a new staging base to replace Camp Mirage, which was closed to Canadian Forces earlier this month because of a spat with the United Arab Emirates over civilian landing rights. Stopgap measures, such as airfields in Cyprus and in Germany, which were hastily decided in order to get the combat mission out of Kandahar next summer, involve hours of extra flying time and only work long-term if Ottawa is willing to shell out tens of millions of dollars extra for three years for fuel.

500 million dollars a year. That's a pretty expensive "whim". But nothing is impossible when El Presidente barks out the orders. Usted debe obedecer!

Of course he's thought of everything and is now recruiting on porn sites, because apparently that's where "18-to-34-year-old" macho men hang out, tempted with phrases like "Nasty Panty Flash" and "Christian Values". Who knew?

Don't even get me started on what this does for women's rights. Two words our dictator would never use together until they included "must destroy". I suppose they also rule out gays who might not be drawn to "Nasty Panty Flash".

Stevie thinks of everything, doesn't he?

Giroux believes he has the cure for American amnesia:

We need to rally behind and support the public intellectuals, media outlets and growing social movements that are instrumental not only in providing the memory work needed to keep democracy alive, but also in developing the conditions for a vibrant formative culture to provide alternative values, knowledge, social relations and hope in the darkest of times.

How do we cure the disease of the Harper government? As much as I'd love to have amnesia so I could forget the country that Canada used to be, it's not an easy task.

We're in Harperland now and I'm reminded of that every day.

I have the Link to the 'Mad' Scientists. Great Site

I posted a story about Canadian scientists fighting back against Harper message control.

But the link didn't work.

This one does and it's a great site.

The Every day, scientists, researchers and regulators working in government departments, agencies and laboratories contribute to the health, safety and prosperity of Canadians and their communities.

Go scientists.

A Deceptive Democracy: Harper From Pugnacious to Dangerous

A CULTURE OF DEFIANCE: History of the Reform-Conservative Party of Canada

With a possible election on the horizon, and a new Governor General at Rideau Hall, it's important to review what happened during the 2008 coalition attempt; a perfectly acceptable and legal alternative in a Parliamentary democracy.

It's also important to understand how Stephen Harper operates, so we can prepare ourselves for the next campaign.

Canadian journalist Michael Valpy has referred to the Harper government as the "most pugnacious" in memory, but I think he was too kind.

From manuals on how to disrupt committees to attack ads outside of an election, Mr. Harper came to Ottawa ready for a fight. He never intended to work with opposition, only to make it go away.

In other words, he never intended that 2/3 of Canadians, speaking through their elected MPs, would have a voice. And yet almost five years later he is still there. And in fact, has only gotten worse. How is that possible?

There are a lot of reasons I suppose. A corporate media and a disinterested public would certainly be near the top of the list. Photo-ops instead of taking questions, allows him to control the message and his image. That would also be up there.

But I see something else.

Laura K on her blog American by Birth, Canadian by Choice, posted a piece: Canada for the people, not the conservative party. It was originally going to appear in the Mark News as part of a series, "Who owns Canada?" but too many edits prompted her to instead post it on her blog.

It is excellent and everyone should read it. Well researched and to the point.

But I had one criticism found in this comment.

"A majority of Canadians did not vote for Stephen Harper's Conservatives. Yet we are held hostage to his anti-democratic agenda because he has so successfully exploited an antiquated, first-past-the-post electoral system and a pitifully weak opposition."

Every time a progressive journalist claims that we have a "weak opposition", Harper's polling numbers rise and more and more Canadians are turned off the political process. Because the piece that gives all the right reasons for getting rid of the wrong government, bursts into flames. The message to readers is "what's the point?"

We'll go with the devil we know, or just stay home, and continue to be "held hostage to his anti-democratic agenda." We have to call out all journalists who continue to resort to the theory of a weak opposition. They are weakened after a full frontal assault on the democratic process, but they are far from weak or unworthy. In fact in 2008, they were stronger than ever. As Elizabeth May reminds us:

Great moments of flux and crisis allow innovations to occur. The fact is that the prime minister lost the confidence of the House in December 2008, whether or not the matter was put to a vote. His spectacular miscalculation led to something that would have been impossible to imagine even weeks earlier. Arch-enemies put aside their distrust and ancient hatreds. The Bloc has an intense dislike for Stephane Dion, who, as champion of federalism, was the author of the Clarity Act. Stephane Dion has always been similarly hostile to the Bloc .... Now, here was Dion ready to work with Duceppe. And more amazing, Jack Layton was prepared to assist a Liberal to become prime minister. The NDP's hatred of Liberals was once described to me by an NDP friend who labels himself as a "fundamentalist." No matter how much it might make sense to cooperate, he assured me, NDPers could never and would never cooperate with Liberals. A coalition was simply the stuff of fantasy only days before it became a reality. (1)

I remember reading one comment that said Stephen Harper had not only united the right, but also united the left. Not exactly true because the PCs were never really that right-wing. However, semantics aside, the opposition was ready to forget their differences and work for the common good.

But I don't think they anticipated what happened next, as even the media started referring to it as a "crisis".

The Invisible Hand of Karl Rove

Michael Valpy has called the 2008 election campaign "one of the most uncivil in modern Canadian history." It was pure Karl Rove. And while the mud slinging dirtied the political landscape, Stephen Harper kept his hands clean, more or less. And that's because he was never in the trenches. His entire campaign was in a bubble.

No handshakes on street corners or rallies in the parks. Only highly staged backdrops for his daily political message, and assemblies where Tory staffers and security officers closely monitor the crowds ... The Harper campaign keeps a short leash on national and local media, limiting questions and access to local candidates, sometimes calling on RCMP security to block reporters from doing their jobs. Harper "hides from Canadians. He lives in a bubble." (2)

This allowed him to avoid having any of the ugliness pinned on him. The only exception was when cohorts Steve Murphy and Mike Duffy helped to engineer Dion's demise.

And when Stephen Harper realized that he had failed to get his majority, he promised to play nice.

In his election-night victory statement in Calgary, he pledged to fulfil his party's election platform, but also to govern for Canadians who had voted for other parties. And he offered cooperation with opposition MPs. 'This is a time,' he said, 'for us all to put aside political differences and partisan considerations and to work cooperatively for the benefit of Canada. We have shown that minority government can work, and at this time of global economic instability we owe it to Canadians to demonstrate this once again. We stretch out a hand to all members of all parties, asking them to join together to protect the economy and weather this world financial crisis. (3)

And the same conciliatory tone was reflected in the throne speech. But then all hell broke loose.

Seeing an opportunity to crush the opposition, Stephen Harper again went on the attack, gambling on what he perceived as a weakened opposition: "The government's plans to suspend women's rights to seek legal redress on pay-equity issues and the right of federal civil servants' to strike were seen as unalloyed ideological actions ..." and "The plan to eliminate parties' vote subsidy was labelled provocative and a partisan attack aimed primarily at the money-straitened Liberals."

And all of these changes "were concocted in the Prime Minister's Office, sent over to the Finance Department at the last moment, and not presented to the Conservative cabinet or parliamentary caucus for prior discussion." (3)

And in the ensuing uproar Jim Flaherty challenged the opposition to "Bring it on" while Peter Mackay "boasted to the Halifax Chronicle-Herald on Thursday that, when the subsidy measure came before Parliament, the opposition would blink. 'When they play chicken,' he said, 'they wind up looking like chickens."' Except they didn't." (3)

Then when the coalition was presented, Stephen Harper and a compliant media turned it into a "crisis", and when things heated up, rather than assuming the role of prime minister, asking that calmer heads should prevail, Harper continued to fan the flames.

Dennis Pilon, a political scientist at the University of Victoria, stated that : "I do not mean to be an alarmist in suggesting that we may be heading for violence. But the actions of this prime minister are coming dangerously close to inciting mob rule." (4)

All of this speaks to the lengths that this man will go, just to hold onto power, and they speak to the fact that he cannot be trusted.

This book, Parliamentary Democracy in Crisis is a warning to us, that we are indeed in crisis. Every action of this prime minister is moving us closer to a dictatorship.

That is not hyperbole but fact. He has challenged the supremacy of Parliament more than once, and even threatened to go to the Queen if he didn't get his way. These are not the actions of a sane person.

And if we exercise our democratic rights and vote him out, we can be sure of one thing. He will not go quietly.

Previous postings on this topic:

1. Coalitions and a Knowledge Deficit

2. Drama on the High "C"'s. Coalition, Coups, Crisis and Conspiracy

Sources:

1. Losing Confidence: Power, Politics and Crisis in Canadians Democracy, By Elizabeth May, McClelland & Stewart, 2009, ISBN: 978-0-7710-5760-1, Pg. 233

2. Harper a man who 'lives in a bubble': Tory campaign goes to extraordinary lengths keeping him from public, By Richard Brennan, Tonda McCharles and Joanna Smith, The Toronto Star, September 25, 2008

3. Parliamentary Democracy in Crisis, By Peter H. Russell and Lorne Sossin, University of Toronto Press, 2009, ISBN: 978-1-4426-1014-9, Pg. 6-11

4. May, 2009, Pg. 226

Is Christian Paradis Travelling Through History With Bernhard Rust?

A CULTURE OF DEFIANCE: History of the Reform-Conservative Party of Canada

Two Germans were eyeing a burly lout in the Nazi uniform who was striding through a university hall. First man: "What is the policeman doing here?" Second man: "Sh, sh. That is the man selected to succeed Einstein."

That joke was published in a 1933 Time Magazine, as part of a story entitled 'Science: Jews Without Jobs':

Two German-Jewish winners of Nobel Prizes were without jobs last week. Both are full of years and distinction. Dr. James Franck, 51, was a professor at Gottingen University. He won his Prize in 1925, for experimental physics. Professor Fritz Haber, 64, was director of the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Physical & Electrical Chemistry in Berlin. He invented the important synthesis of atmospheric nitrogen and hydrogen into ammonia which supplied Germany with explosives and fertilizers during the War. Like Nobel Laureate Albert Einstein, Laureates Haber and Franck resigned their German jobs to avoid Adolf Hitler's white pogrom. (1)

Since coming to power 4 1/2 years ago, Stephen Harper has also been engaged in a "white" extermination of knowledge, especially scientific.

So while recent news has revealed that Canadian scientists have now had their muzzles tightened even further by Stephen Harper and his faithful officer, Christian Paradis; it should not be surprising to anyone.

However, it should be extremely alarming to everyone.

Now I know that Dimitri Soudas will immediately cry foul, suggesting that I'm comparing this latest attack on science to the extermination of six million Jews, but this was 1933, when Time assumed that the Holocaust would be benign, and limited to loss of rights.

But it was a period when the Nazis were trying to centralize power, or as Hitler's science/education minister Bernhard Rust remarked, "The whole function of education is to create Nazis."

Besides, Ezra Levant has accused the wonderful Margaret Atwood of collaborating with Al-Qaeda, so the bar has been set pretty low. And in the case of attacks on the scientific communities, then and now, the facts speak for themselves.

Time Travellers

"Our national policies will not be revoked or modified, even for scientists." Adolf Hitler

Christian Paradis is not a scientist. His degree is in corporate law. And yet:

Natural Resources Canada scientists were told this spring they need “pre-approval” from Minister Christian Paradis’ office to speak with national and international journalists. Their “media lines” also need ministerial approval, say documents obtained by Postmedia News through access-to-information legislation. The documents say the “new” rules went into force in March and reveal how they apply to not only to contentious issues including the oilsands, but benign subjects such as floods that occurred 13,000 years ago.

They also give a glimpse of how Canadians are being cut off from scientists whose work is financed by taxpayers, critics say, and is often of significant public interest — be it about fish stocks, genetically modified crops or mercury pollution in the Athabasca River. “It’s Orwellian,” says Andrew Weaver, a climatologist at University of Victoria. The public, he says, has a right to know what federal scientists are discovering and learning. (2)

Bernhard Rust was not a scientist. His degrees were in linguistics and philosophy, and yet:

World great is Max Planck because he conceived the quantum theory, an exploit of pure science. Last week he listened with other German scientists in smoky Diisseldorf to Nazi Minister of Science, Art and Education Dr. Bernhard Rust, who felt called upon to deny that Hitlerism is hostile to Science.

"We are not! Nein!" cried Nazi Rust, "but we do not believe in Science divorced from the people. Nein! They are false scientists who believe that scientific life of a higher order can exist for itself alone while questions of the day are solved somewhere in the lower regions." (3)

So why does this matter? Lets hear the rest of the story of Nobel Prize winning physicist Max Planck:

That night Max Planck's scientific peers made him feel that he must make a bold reply to Bernhard Rust. Sad-faced Max Planck did not fail Pure Science. Next day at the Congress of the Kaiser Wilhelm Society for Advancement of Science he made what was considered a daring speech indeed. To have praised live Jew Albert Einstein would have been madness, but he did praise dead Jew Heinrich Hertz, discoverer of "Hertzian waves." And bold Max Planck said: "History proves that the greatest and most vital discoveries were made by scientists who worked for the sake of pure science only."

Indulgently Nazi Rust did not crack down on Professor Planck, but as president of the Society Herr Planck dolefully reported that 85 scientists have sent in their resignations and are suffering "economic difficulties" under the Nazi regime.

Same day in Munich, home of dark beer and darker Adolf Hitler. German artists were assured that Hitlerism is not opposed to art by Dr. Paul Joseph Goebbels, Minister of Propaganda & National Enlightenment. "Since National Socialism looks upon itself as the Art of Politics," crowed Cock Goebbels. "it feels a natural kinship with the other arts and artists." (3)

"Arts and artists" ... "scientists"... has a familiar ring, doesn't it?

"We are not! Nein!" cried Stephen Harper.

In another interesting co-incidence:

Citing actions taken by the Conservative government since winning a minority government in 2006, 85 scientists across Canada have signed an open letter to all national party leaders calling on them to state how they will 'improve Canada’s track record' regarding the objectivity of science. This is the second such initiative within the week, the letter on 7 October being signed by 120 scientists.

The scientists signing the latest letter represent hundreds of researchers such as Deans, Department Heads, Research Chairs, and research team leaders. They come from academic fields of Anthropology, Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, Biology, Community Health and Epidemiology, Criminology, Earth & Ocean Sciences, Educational Psychology, Environmental & Engineering Sciences, Land Resource Science, Medicine, Nursing, Philosophy, Physics, Psychiatry, Social Work, and Sociology.

"85 scientists across Canada" ... "Herr Planck dolefully reported that 85 scientists have sent in their resignations." Are we going to let it get that far?

Sources:

1. Science: Jews Without Jobs, Time Magazine, June 05, 1933

2. Ottawa’s media rules muzzling federal scientists, say observers, By Margaret Munro, Postmedia News, September 12, 2010

3. GERMANY: False Planck? Time Magazine, June 18, 1934

4. Canadian scientists protest Harper's attacks on science, Wikinews, October 13, 2008

Media Turned the Tables on Our Dictator and Refused to Answer His Questions

I absolutely love this story. Herr Harper visited Vancouver Island to announce more spending of our money, and before the event, the local media was given the usual instructions.

"I want you over there, sir, with the rest of the media"; "Remember, no questions. Do you have a problem with that?"

But the first question came from the Fuhrer, and guess what? The media refused to answer him.

Isn't that priceless?

"Did they tell you this is all oyster shells?" Stephen Harper said to the media, assembled behind a make-shift partition 10 metres away at the Deep Bay Field Research Station. He paused a moment, holding a crushed shell which made up the surface we walked on outside the $8.8-million structure, which should open by January. The dozen reporters present, surprised he'd even acknowledge them, said nothing. His security men, looking the part in dark suits (with bulges) and sunglasses, kept looking our way and beyond, into the trees.

... For the media it was an odd dance, since no talking with the PM was permitted, and he allowed but that single comment to acknowledge them, during
the quarter-hour allowed. "Give ya 30 bucks if ya ask a question," one scribe said to another. But it wasn't that easy. He was too far away for that, and engaged with others.

He's no Jean Chretien:

This wasn't Jean Chretien, who enjoyed engaging with media. Chretien would come over and talk to us. Sometimes he'd get all choked up about it, or someone else would, he was that intimate. I was working in The Pas, Manitoba, years ago, when Chretien showed up. Forget the suits and hidden guns, the little guy from Shawinigan was on his own. Somewhere in my vastness of papers, there's a photo of myself face to face with old Jean, discussing a point. He was accessible.

And you have to think that Mr. Harper might ultimately be the loser in this game he's playing, setting himself apart from the media rabble. Because while it may be safer in some ways, it also has its risks: being seen as lacking courage is one of them, and failing to address local concerns is another.

Harper has announced that he may "secretly" visit Thunder Bay. No questions allowed. I think the media should stand in a row and turn their backs to the man. He has not earned their respect, so they need not show it.

Amnesty International Has Declared That Canada is no Longer a Democratic Country

A rather chilling report from Amnesty International, has confirmed that we are no longer living in a democratic country.

Stephen Harper has eroded our democracy to the point where we are now officially more of a fascist nation than anything even resembling a free country.

...what Amnesty International's new secretary general has to say about the human rights approach of Harper's government is sobering for those who support such fundamental rights as freedom of opinion and respect for democratic principles.

Amnesty International's new leader, 49-year-old Salil Shetty, told delegates attending the Aug. 23 CIVICUS World Assembly meeting held in Montreal on citizen participation in society that his organization was worried about human rights in Canada.

Shetty stated: "Amnesty International is more and more concerned about the serious worsening of the human rights approach of this government.

I can speak from personal experience, if you want some idea of how this government does things. I belong to an advocacy group: Canadians Rallying to Unseat Stephen Harper.

During the G-20, signs with our name and web address mysteriously appeared, and the front page of MacLeans showed a man wearing a gas mask, predominantly displaying one of them, walking away from a burning car. We have no idea who he is or where the signs came from. The photo looked very professionally staged. Our group's budget is small and we could never have afforded anything like that.

Our administrators posted a disclaimer, but we did not close up, the way they no doubt hoped we would. I am so proud of them.

But there was a message there. A week or so before Dimitri Soudas had denounced us as radicals. I can assure you we are anything but. We are a group of ordinary Canadians, from all walks of life, committed to restoring democracy to this country.

We collect a bit of money and puts ads in newspapers when we can afford them. We share links, quotes and stories. I get a lot of information there that I use on my blog.

We have got to start taking this seriously. And we have also got to start demanding that our media do a better job of keeping us informed. They have allowed this man to operate in almost total secrecy, and now as the secrets are being revealed, what we've learned is the stuff of spy novels.

Did you ever honestly believe that an international organization would accuse Canada of being undemocratic? CANADA? What has he done to us?

Harper Will Continue to Dismantle Canada Until Voters Are Given Hope

Ralph Surette has another excellent column in the Chronicle Herald, but I do have one criticism. Until the media, even those well intentioned, stop suggesting that Michael Ignatieff is weak, or that we have no opposition, Harper will continue his reign of terror until there is nothing left.

Other than that, everything Mr. Surette says is true.

One thing the vast majority of us are distinctly not waiting for is for the Harper government to actually improve anything, especially not to advance the cause of a properly functioning democracy. On the contrary, the drift is ominous: towards a tyrannical control from the Prime Minister’s Office aimed at dismantling large parts of the Canadian state, punishing anyone who questions its aims, manipulating information, and turning the society into an alloy of right-wing religion and big money.

The truly ill-omened part is that Stephen Harper can do this while in a minority. That is, even if the Conservatives do shoot themselves in the head — and they came close by destroying the census long form as a useful public instrument — they’ll keep governing in zombie form if the opposition remains as fractured as it is. And even more ominously, it’s not just us.

South of the border, the undead detritus of the Bush/Cheney devastation still stalks the land and, amazingly, may well capture control of the Congress this fall, their main hope being to prevent the Bush tax cuts for the rich from coming to an end on schedule, which would have devastating consequences for national finances in the
long run.

It just seems that no matter what these guys do, and as horrible as most people know they are, they are almost untouchable. But I swear if Jack Layton goes after the Liberals next election, instead of working to dethrone the dictator, I will never, ever, ever, have anything to do with the NDP again.

In 2008, they actually attacked the carbon tax, instead of going after the person they knew had no intention of ever addressing climate change. They handed Harper the election.