Reformers Use Stall Tactics to Avoid Accountablity

The ongoing story of the hostile takeover of Canada's Rights and Democracy Agency, by the Harper government, just took another turn.

Reformer Jim Abbott is now filibustering the committee looking into the matter, to avoid hearing from a key witness. The widow of the man who may have suffered a heart attack as a result of the actions of our government.

OTTAWA - Conservative MPs are preventing the grieving widow of former Rights and Democracy president Remy Beauregard from testifying at a Commons committee.

Suzanne Trepanier has requested permission to appear at the Foreign Affairs committee to defend her husband's record and provide her version of
events that she believes contributed to Beauregard's fatal heart attack following an agency board meeting in January.

Rights and Democracy, an arms-length, taxpayer-funded agency, has been in turmoil for months as factions on the government-appointed board battled
over three small grants to Middle East rights-monitoring groups that are critical of Israel.

But the committee must first agree to the witness list and Conservative Jim Abbott has begun a filibuster to prevent the issue from coming to a vote.

Critical of Israel. That's all it takes these days.

We also learned from the lawyer for Amnesty International, Paul Champ, that the stall tactic of the Reformers to pay a retired judge and corporate lawyer, $ 600.00 an hour to decide whether they have to abide by our Constitution, could take up to two years.

In the meantime, there is still a serious threat that detainees are still being tortured.

OTTAWA -- Canadian Forces should not transfer Afghan detainees to Afghan-run prisons because they currently face a "serious and substantial" risk of torture, Amnesty International lawyer Paul Champ warned Wednesday.

Champ also predicted it could take government-appointed former judge Frank Iacobucci two years or more to review the disclosure bans by government lawyers on hundreds of documents related to detainee transfers.

He told MPs at a House of Commons committee that while they are studying allegations of torture of transferred detainees in 2006-07, "there still remains the risk of torture" today.

It's time to put an end to this nonsense. Parliament is the highest court in the land, and they are legally entitled to see all documents. It doesn't matter what anyone says to the contrary.

And if that means hauling Stephen Harper out in handcuffs, then so be it. I'm getting sick of this.

Gerard Latulippe's Appointment Has Unearthed More Serious Concerns With Harper's Agenda

When the Reformers announced the appointment of the controversial Gerard Latulippe to head up the Rights and Democracy agency, the immediate concerns were his homophobia and Islamophobia.

With the narrow minded views of his former boss, Stockwell Day, we can only imagine his views.

According to Fannie Olivier in The Canadian Press:

Some Muslim-rights groups had also called on Cannon to drop Latulippe as a candidate pointing to his past warnings on the threats posed by the geographic concentration of Muslim immigrants in Quebec. But Cannon stuck to his guns, saying Latulippe's "international background in advancing democratic governance and in strengthening civil society" will contribute to the work of the agency. "His breadth of experience in managing international economic development projects and in negotiating complex bilateral agreements will be an asset to the organization," ... Latulippe currently serves as resident director for the National Democratic Institute in Haiti.

The Public Service Alliance of Canada, which represents staff at Rights and Democracy, has claimed that workers are enduring a "witch hunt" and that the workplace atmosphere is "intolerable." Critics have accused Stephen Harper's government of trying to gag legitimate criticism of Israel by meddling in what is supposed to be an independent body.

Aurel Braun, the board chairman appointed by the Harper government in March, has defended the termination of funding to three rights groups, calling them "toxic organizations that are at the forefront of demonizing and dehumanizing Israel." A host of international NGOs signed a letter describing Braun's comments as a "public smear campaign."

So curious thing that I am, I asked myself what is a man who is both homophobic and Islamophobic, doing heading up an organization called the National Democratic Institute and ultimately Rights and Democracy? Not that a person's personal views, necessarily means that they can't act in a principled manner.

But knowing that Stockwell Day, Lawrence Cannon and 'Kennyism' are involved here, I had to at least check it out. Far too many red flags to ignore.

And again I knew I couldn't rely on the MSM for answers, so instead went to alternative sources, most from outside the country. As usual with investigating the religious right/neoconservative/Reform movement, you enter a maze and when you finally find your way out of it, you wish you'd never entered it in the first place.

But here goes ....

Ronald Reagan and the International Republican Institute

In 1983 Ronald Reagan introduced a scheme with the intended goal of building an infrastructure for democracy around the world, called the International Republican Institute. It would be funded through the establishment of the National Endowment for Democracy , which also funded the National Democratic Institute.

Sounds lovely right, all this democracy? Not if you're part of 'around the world' it isn't.

The intent of the NDI was to interfere .... or, I mean help to oversee elections in emerging democracies

So to recap: we have the neoconservative free marketeer Ronald Reagan, who begat the International Republican Institute, which begat the National Democratic Institute which begat Gerard Latulippe, who was appointed to keep tabs on Haiti. In fact he was there when the earthquake hit.

Haiti and the National Democratic Institute (and IRI)

I've already posted on Haiti and the reason the earthquake claimed so many lives. American foreign policy. But it was American foreign policy directed by ... wait for it ... the IRI and the NDI.

Shirley Pate, an authority on Haiti's struggles wrote:

On January 9, 2007, Washington, DC’s Woodrow Wilson Center sponsored a panel discussion entitled, “Haiti: Can the International Community Make a Difference?” Given the international community’s lengthy history of involvement in Haiti, it seems an odd question. If you have been following Haiti over the last several years, you know that it has made a considerable difference in Haiti; unfortunately, it is of the most destructive kind.

Pate explains:

Early in the new millennium, the US, France, and Canada rolled out plans for the demise of Haiti’s democratically-elected president, Jean-Bertrand Aristide. Aristide, a priest guided by liberation theology as a way to achieve societal advancement, worried the international community. During the 1990’s, President Aristide began to resist the structural adjustment programs that IFIs ( International Financial Institutions) required as a condition for obtaining loans. Most structural adjustment programs rob countries of their social programs and steer national economies toward privatization. Aristide knew that not only were the IFIs’ loan requirements onerous, but acceptance of these loans would condemn Haiti, like other poor countries, to perpetual indebtedness.

By the late 1990’s, with the founding of Fanmi Lavalas based on its opposition to privatization, the IFIs considered Aristide to be in outright rebellion against them. Later, when he proposed doubling the minimum wage and mandated a full 30% of the Haitian budget be dedicated to education, the US-dominated international community decided it was time to teach him a lesson.

On the occasion of an electoral dispute in Haiti’s May 2000 elections ... the US falsely accused Aristide of stacking the deck. After this “undemocratic” characterization was circulated in the press, the main lesson was delivered. The US cancelled much of its assistance funding to Haiti and demanded that the IFIs follow suit.

This bullying tactic fits with Harper's current agenda as described by Ellen Gould under the sub-heading Selling financial liberalization to the world:

On the international stage, Canada is a major proponent of financial liberalization. At the WTO, Canada heads a group of delegations pressing developing countries to open their economies to the supposedly superior services of foreign financial institutions. ... The enormity of what's at stake in the WTO financial sector negotiations is revealed in a February 2006 bargaining request sent from Canada's Department of Finance to developing countries. Canada asked that foreign financial institutions be guaranteed rights to "establish new and acquire existing companies" in all financial sectors. This would mean among other things that countries would have to allow 100 per cent foreign ownership of their banks and insurance companies.

So hold that thought as we go back to Shirley Pate.

While the loans were being cancelled, the US was ramping up the campaign to destroy President Aristide personally. Through an underworld of US-invented non-governmental organizations and journalists for hire, the US established a network that planted scurrilous lies about the President in the international media which included everything from his appearance to charges of corruption. It was impressive teamwork that helped bring about the coup d’etat.

Over the course of a few years in the early 2000’s, the US funded and armed a group of “rebels,” (many of them among the most dangerous human rights abusers in Haiti) to attack Haiti from the Dominican Republic On February 29, 2004, amid fake reports issued by the US that Port-au-Prince was about to be captured by the “rebels,” President Aristide was kidnapped by US diplomats and marines, forced onto a US airplane, and sent to the Central African Republic.

The US plane had barely set down in the capital, Bangui, when the Washington, think tanks, giddy over an Aristide-less Haiti, met to discuss what should be done next. The congratulatory back slapping could be heard all the way down in Port-au-Prince.

And remember, all of this is being done under the IRI/NDI, during the reign of terror, known as the Bush Administration. (You can read more here)

Currently there is an investigation underway to determine the U.S. role in the coup.

Rep. Barbara Lee and ten other members of Congress re-introduced a bill calling for an investigation of the Bush Administration's role in the 2004 Coup d'État of Haiti. The original bill, known as the TRUTH Act, has been referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs at every session since Lee first made the case for a congressional investigation in March of 2004:

"We do not teach people to overthrow our US government, and the Bush administration must not participate in the overthrow of other democratically-elected governments. The United States must stand firm in its support of democracy and not allow a nascent democracy like Haiti to fall victim to the Bush Administration's apparent policy of regime change."

And if you scroll down the page you'll see one of the topics being investigated (8) The impact of the International Republican Institute, the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs, and other organizations funded by the United States Agency for International Development on the political process in Haiti.

Shirley Pate discusses the recent earthquake and relief efforts:

Yesterday, I watched news of rescue efforts in Port-au-Prince. Elite rescue teams, such as the one from Fairfax County, VA, were focusing primarily on the Montana Hotel and the headquarters of the UN "peacekeeping" force, MINUSTAH. Anyone who knows Haiti knows that the Montana Hotel is the most lavish lodging your can find in Port-au-Prince and is frequented by wealthy business people, foreign dignitaries, and served as the initial headquarters of the MINUSTAH force. Meanwhile, in the neighborhoods most heavily hit by the earthquake, Haitians, equipped with nothing more than their bare hands, dug frantically to save their families and neighbors.

So another recap: George Bush under the mandate of Reagan's International Republican Institute, and the National Democratic Institute in Haiti are currently under investigation for their role in the 2004 coup against, and kidnapping of, the popular, democratically elected Aristide. The NDI in Haiti is headed up by none other than Gerard Latulippe, who is now president of the troubled Rights and Democracy.

And who is heading up the current relief mission in Haiti? Wait for it ... George W. Bush.

So Now What?

The Rights and Democracy agency which is supposed to be arms length of the government, has recently undergone a hostile takeover by the Harper government and McCarthyism or 'Kennyism' is being used to rout out anyone who opposes Canada's aggressive plans for the Middle East, especially with Palestine and Iran. They've conducted a witch-hunt, and have been firing dissidents and it is believed that they may have even caused the death of one man.

If you want to learn more about their plans, you'll have to read the Old Testament.

But this brings me to why they chose Latulippe, who has been involved with the controversial National Democratic Institute. Again, I could find nothing from the MSM, but this little article certainly got my attention.

From Michael Allen, University of California:

Canada is poised to set up a new democracy assistance organization, based on the experience and structures of existing foundations, but reflecting distinctively Canadian characteristics and priorities.

A proposal has been tabled in the House of Commons, with legislation likely to follow next month, to form a Canadian Centre for Advancing Democracy, funded by an annual parliamentary appropriation of $30-70 million.

A new poll by the US-based Council on Foreign Relations suggests that supporting democracy has fallen out of favor with the US foreign policy elite. But, perhaps perversely, international commitment appears to be growing ... the democracy agenda can no longer be portrayed as Made in the USA.

So while the USA is trying to get out of 'coup' business, Canada's jumping in with both feet. (This isn't Harper's first foray into this stuff though) And is anyone surprised by this statement:

Modeled on existing foundations such as the National Endowment for Democracy and party-based institutes like the National Democratic Institute, the International Republican Institute ....

There you go.

We are right back to Ronald Reagan and the International Republican Institute, above.

So to Recap the Recaps.

Reagan - neocon - privatization - IRI - NDI - Haiti - Coup - Bush - Trouble - Oh, oh - Latulippe - Bush. Americans ending schemes and moving on - Canada adopts schemes since they are working so well - Harper (above) promoting 100 % foreign ownership (bullying them) to developing countries, in his own privatization scheme.

No wonder Professor Allen heads his piece: The D-word out of favor? Don’t tell the Canadians

IS THIS REALLY YOUR CANADA?

More on Harper's Hostile Take Over of Rights and Democracy. Who are These Guys?

Following the continuing story of the hostile takeover of our Rights and Democracy agency, we learn that the Reformers are still on a rampage, firing dissidents and making life a living hell for anyone who dares to defy them.

In the latest round, they have appointed another Christian extremist, Gérard Latulippe, as president of the agency.

OTTAWA - A former politician with strong ties to the Conservative government has been appointed the head of a troubled human rights agency, in a move that is sure to enrage the opposition parties.

Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon announced late Tuesday that he had appointed Gerard Latulippe, a former Quebec Liberal who also ran for the Canadian Alliance federally in 2000, as president of Rights and Democracy. The announcement, which was made late at night on the eve of Wednesday's throne speech, came on the same day that it was reported that three senior managers at the Montreal-based agency had been fired.

The government-funded agency has been in turmoil for months as Tory appointees and other board members have clashed, squabbling over the funding of rights groups critical of Israeli policies. Critics have accused Stephen Harper's government of trying to gag legitimate criticism of Israel by meddling in what is supposed to be an independent body.

Again I take exception to the comment: '... that is sure to enrage the opposition parties.' Yes the opposition did their job and opposed, but this should enrage any Canadian citizen who is not nuts. Look at what just happened here. Wake up people.

Blogger Dr. Dawg says; the anti-gay rights Islamophobe Gérard Latulippe...

Mr. Latulippe was a colleague of Lawrence Cannon's when he was in the Quebec provincial government of Robert Bourassa.

He was also an advisor and the Quebec lieutenant of Stockwell Day's, and ran unsuccessfully for Day's Alliance Party in the 2000 election. As his lieutenant in that province, he must have also been involved with Stocky's coalition proposal to the separatist Bloc, as reported in the New York Times. Just don't tell Rodney Weston because he doesn't like deals made with parties that want to 'break up Canada'.

Apparently he wasn't privy to Harper's 'firewall letter' or heard of his plans to divide Canada along ethnic lines. If he did he'd be giving his boss a good talking to.

But what is more troubling about Latulippe, are his views of Muslims. He once argued that the “geographic concentration of more and more immigrants from Muslim countries” undermined “the proper functioning of Quebec society.” He added if Quebec failed to change the way it selected immigrants, it faced a significant threat: the “unnecessary risk of fostering domestic terrorism.”

"In our opinion this promotes an unfounded fear of Muslims and of Muslim immigration in Canada," said Ihsaan Gardee of the Council on American-Islamic Relations Canada.

We need fewer Hagee/McVety disciples, not more.

IS THIS REALLY YOUR CANADA?

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Related Postings

When it Comes to Women's Rights in Afghanistan, Lawrence Cannon Says What Rights?

Lawrence Cannon Brought Into Rights and Democracy Controversy

Did the Conservatives Engineer a Break-In as Part of a Hostile Take Over?

When it Comes to Women's Rights in Afghanistan, Lawrence Cannon Says What Rights?

Last spring, when news that the Afghan Parliament had passed a law depriving women of their children in cases of separation, banning them from appearing in public without the permission of their husbands, and making it illegal for them to refuse to have sex with them; Canadians were outraged.

We immediately demanded answers from our government.

Our young men and women are fighting in that country and one of the things they are fighting for is the rights of women; or so we're told.

Foreign Affairs minister Lawrence Cannon got on it right away.

Canadian officials contacted Karzai's office, and Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon spoke to two Afghan cabinet ministers Tuesday seeking clarification. Karzai's office has so far refused to comment on the legislation, which has been criticized by some Afghan parliamentarians and a UN women's agency but has not yet been published.

Critics say Karzai's government approved it in a hurry to win support in the upcoming election from ethnic Hazaras — a Shia Muslim minority that constitutes a crucial block of swing voters.

"If these reports are true, this will create serious problems for Canada," said International Trade Minister Stockwell Day, who fielded questions in the House of Commons. "The onus is on the government of Afghanistan to live up to its responsibilities for human rights, absolutely including rights of women.

Fast forward to 2010, and the hostile take over of the Rights and Democracy agency by the Conservative government. Lawrence Cannon has already been brought into the mix when it was discovered that he lied about knowing that there were problems, instigated by his party.

So should we be surprised to learn that Cannon knew of the new Afghan law months before it was passed, so his huffing and puffing was nothing more than that?

Lawrence Cannon swore he knew nothing about the law and that it came as a complete surprise to him… he was contradicted by two employees - the president, Rémy Beauregard, and Razmik Panossian, its policy director, who told Embassy Magazine that Canada had known it was coming for months…

Rémy Beauregard was the gentleman who suffered a heart attack and died because of the horrendous actions of our tyrannical government. As I've said many times, if you question them they will set out to ruin you.

But apparently, Cannon was not the only one who knew.

Ottawa’s man, Aurel Braun, did not appreciate the fact that employees contradicted two Conservative ministers about what was known about Kabul’s misogynistic law….

So there were two high ranking Conservatives who knew of the law and supported it with their silence. We can only assume that the other one was Stockwell Day, since it was he who stood up in the House of Commons and said "The onus is on the government of Afghanistan to live up to its responsibilities for human rights, absolutely including rights of women."

He probably took notes to see if he could get away with enacting a law like that here.

Give him time.

IS THIS REALLY YOUR CANADA?

Lawrence Cannon Brought Into Rights and Democracy Controversy

In the ongoing saga of the hostile takeover of the Rights and Democracy agency, a group that is supposed to be arms length of government; a shady character if there ever was one, just entered the mix.

Our very own Lawrence Cannon. Who'd a thunk it? I mean besides me.

But as Larry is denying having any knowledge of the plot, claiming he never saw the warning letter, evidence reveals that he is lying ... Again!

Not only did he get the letter but he almost immediately put two of his cronies on the board to make sure the agency spun their findings his way. Better known as Hagee 101.

Cannon was told of trouble at agency
Rights and Democracy president wrote minister in November warning of 'divisions'
February 11, 2010
Bruce Campion-Smith Ottawa bureau chief

OTTAWA–Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon was warned last November that brewing troubles at Montreal-based Rights and Democracy risked becoming an "embarrassment" for the government and would give Canada a black eye on the world stage.

In a letter that would later prove prescient, Remy Beauregard, then president of the agency, wrote Cannon saying that the board of directors was facing "deep divisions." He pleaded for an urgent meeting to lay out his case....

IS THIS REALLY YOUR CANADA?