In an attempt to discover what exactly the Northern Foundation was, and just what role Stephen Harper played in it, I seem to have more questions than answers. This isn't surprising given that Harper has always been so secretive about his past.
According to Dr. Debra Chin in The Canadian; "Prime Minister Stephen Harper was a member of the ultra-right wing Northern Foundation in 1989 (he claims to have been kicked out in 1991) ... this Foundation was comprised of Neo-Nazi social Darwinist intellectuals.
"As social Darwinists, Canada's Neo-Nazi intellectuals believe that society and the world in general, would be strengthened when weaker "mongrel races" accept their "inferiority" and are allowed to perish, without the protection of social policy, like universal public health care, and human rights ...
"The Northern Foundation of which Mr. Harper was a member, is a male-dominated and self-anointed "white brotherhood". Females are not excluded though, provided that they accept its highly conformist and male chauvinistic culture of fascism ... the substantive policy direction of the Conservative government, appears to be emphatically driven by the expressed agenda of the Northern Foundation. This includes massive cuts to programs aimed, for example, at advancing the status of women; and protecting minorities from institutionalized discrimination.
"The Northern Foundation, with the support of corporate allies was able to get Mr. Harper elected in the first place by indeed, taking over the mass-media in Canada. This was done to shelter Mr. Harper from the kinds of critical journalism which had kept him out of power, in the first place. Corporate mass-media owners would seek to remake Mr. Harper and the Conservative Party from being ultra right, into a fabricated image of a non-threatening "moderately conservative" party.
"Trevor Harrison also documents that “He [Mr. Harper] had little trouble doing so, as the media had been largely muffled by one fact: press baron Conrad Black, then reaching the height of his powers was also a member of the Northern Foundation and equally shy about having it publicly known." Mr. Harrison elaborates that, "Journalists feared incurring his wrath as he employed many of them at the time, and was a potential employer for those whom he didn’t employ. Had they made the membership list public, Mr. Black would have been exposed."
Dr. Chin does go into more detail, but while this might sound like sensationalism, her theory may not be too far off the mark. I had originally believed that the Northern Foundation began as a group of intellectuals who opposed multiculturalism and immigration, believing that Canada should strive to be a purely Anglo-Saxon nation. When I learned of the 'white supremacist' element I assumed that it was just a project that got out of hand, and was eventually taken over by these hate groups.
However, the work that the NF was doing actually coincided with the activism of neo-Nazi groups (who were in it from the beginning), so again the whole thing is a puzzle that may never be solved.
Critics of the Harper government have often used the terms 'Darwinists' and 'Zionists', so I guess I'm not the only questioning just who exactly Stephen Harper is and what on earth he is or was into?
The 'Zionist' is in relation to his decision to court the theo-cons, which he suggests will mean putting more muscle in our foreign policy. This is a very dangerous road to go down because our foreign policy should never be based on biblical prophesy; because we risk putting into motion events that will fit that prophesy, even if it means abandoning sound logic.
The Darwinism is a little more difficult to pin down, but if there is one thing that the groups and individuals involved with the Northern Foundation, at all levels, have in common; it's anti-multiculturalism and putting an end to immigration from 'third world countries.' The rhetoric of early Reformers like Doug Collins, William Gairdner and Kenneth Hilborn, is not unlike that used by men like Paul Fromm and Wolfgang Droege.
The Pioneer Fund and the Northern Foundation
When researching the Northern Foundation, one name continuously pops up: The Pioneer Fund. I came across an old article from 1995: "Just thought your people would be interested in both the Old Farmer's Almanac list server and this article which I downloaded from there a few months ago. Notice how almost the entire American Pioneer Fund crew is tied in with the Canadian far right, the Church of the Creator crowd, George Wallace of The American Independent Party, and the Western Guard and Tom Metzger neo-Nazi crowds. "The entire North American right is closely allied and has used Wickliffe Draper and The Pioneer Fund as the focal point for their activities for over 35 years now. Ken McVay at the Almanac server has hundreds of great files primarily on the Holocaust Denial crowd but many on Liberty Lobby, Fascism, Nazis, and other far right extremists. The World Anti-Communist League linkages back to Draper and Pioneer are for me the most dangerous and interesting."
Ken McVays website provides extensive material gathered from these various 'hate groups' and the people behind them, but on his list for the Northern Foundation researchers and activists, he includes six names with ties to the Fraser Institute, a neo-conservative think-tank that also has extensive ties to the Reform Party and now the Reform-Conservatives. Grant Brown, John F. Furedy, Ruth Gruhn, Christopher Hodgkinson, Doreen Kimura, Kenneth Hilborn and Fraser's founder, Michael Walker.
Conrad Black was involved with the National Citizens Coalition, the Northern Foundation and the Fraser Institute; and his wife was actually a contributor to the FI. According to Trevor Harrison in his book; Requiem For a Lightweight: Stockwell Day and Image Politics, Conrad Black was behind the creation of Stockwell Day, as a charismatic leader, until it turned out that he had a rather dubious past. Having given up on Day, it would appear, as Dr. Chin points out; that he then turned to a new protege, Stephen Harper, and aimed to turn him into 'a fabricated image of a non-threatening "moderately conservative".'
The list of Northern Foundation activists and researchers can be found here. There are a few pictures here. If you're wondering about the red ensign in the photos, it's because they don't like the new Canadian flag and want to return to their 'anglo' roots. This link reveals ties between the Pioneer Fund and the Council on National Policy.
Before going ahead with the Pioneer Fund, I want to say something about the list. I don't think that everyone on that list are really engaged in 'hate crimes', and only a few could be deemed 'neo-Nazis'. I have found when researching, that the accusation of being a neo-Nazi is pretty loosely applied, and threatens to water down legitimate, violent antisemitism or racism.
What has made the Pioneer Fund so controversial is that much of the research they finance, centers around race and the notion of racial superiority. (Refer to video above) When it comes to scientific research in general, historically a great deal of it has been controversial. From Galileo to Darwin, their theories and subsequent discoveries have met with opposition.
That being said, many of the so-called 'discoveries' funded by this group have been refuted, and using President Obama as an example, it kind of throws their 'proof' out the window. As a multicultural country we've had an opportunity to interact with people of all cultures and colours and know that intelligence or stupidity is pretty evenly spread.
However, I still support the right of researchers to seek truths, no matter how controversial, while maintaining the right to dismiss their findings. It is however, a slippery slope if those findings are made public, and touted as clear hard fact, when they marginalize specific groups and potentially target them for discrimination or worse.
Social Darwinism and Neo-Conservatism
Darwinism as it relates to Canada's neo-Conservatism deals in a smaller way with race, but seems to theorize that genetics play a role in most aspects of who we are. If we are poor, it's because of some genetic mutation.
"Neo-Conservatives often define themselves against people whom they see as riddled with human imperfection and weakness. Would-be heroes preach tough love solutions and the glory of free-market discipline against uppity Indians, welfare moms and minority activists. (Mike) Harris strategist Tom Long described his government in 1996 as a purifying force in society, claiming that citizens gave us their vote because they wanted us to go and clean out the barn. They knew it was a tough job, but they also expect us to see it through to the end.
"Behind much of this paternalism is the old assumption that people who are dependant, vulnerable or just plain different should be treated like children. 'Poverty is simply a reflection of the fact that sufferers were dealt an unlucky intellectual or physical allocation from the roulette wheel of genetic inheritance,' mused Michael Walker, director of the Fraser Institute. Poor people are increasingly treated like defective citizens - people who ... are suspected of suffering from some tragic racial-biological imperfection". (Slumming it at the Rodeo: The Cultural Roots of Canada's Right-Wing Revolution, Gordon Laird, 1998, Douglas & McIntyre, ISBN: 1-55054 627-9, pg. 35)
The concept also has religious tones:
"The business flavour of modern neo-conservatism finds some of its roots in the entrepreneurial-evangelical culture of Canada's Social Credit movement. From the 1930's onward, Social Credit served as a homegrown university for neo-cons, with its graduates populating (and often leading) crucial right-wing institutions like the Reform Party, the Alberta Tories and the Fraser Institute." (Laird, 1998, Pg. 86)
It's interesting to note that the Canadian Social Credit founder, William "Bible Bill" Aberhart, ran a bible school and two of it's graduates were Ernest Manning and James Keegstra. (I'm just saying, not implying anything)
"Throughout his political career, Ernest Manning was motivated by religion, and more specifically, by anti-Socialism: 'Socialism, to Manning, is a system which largely prevents the individual from attaining the state of grace and hence salvation ... Giving to the individual societal benefits such as free medical care ... breeds idleness... causing a break down in his relationship with God'."Manning argued that 'where the state imposed a monopoly on a service ... the sinful philosophy of state collectivism scored a victory'.
"According to Reverend Ben Smillie, using Ernest Manning as an example, these evangelical sects 'have religiously sanctified the privileges of the economically powerful.' The multi-millionaire Ernest Manning could denounce the 'Godless materialism' of the communist system, while materialism sanctioned by God allowed him to 'equate (his) wealth with the Blessing of God.'" (Preston Manning and the Reform Party. Author: Murray Dobbin Goodread Biographies/Formac Publishing 1992 ISBN: 0-88780-161-7, pg. 9)
So if you're poor, it's because of genes and if the government helps you they hinder your ability to achieve salvation. And apparently, the wealthier you are, the Godlier you are, so they have every right to look down at the sinners, and 'clean out the barn' by denying social benefits, like public health care and Canada Pension.
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