The Most Powerful Symbol You Will See This Election

I am a Canadian, free to speak without fear, free to worship in my own way, free to stand for what I think right, free to oppose what I believe wrong, or free to choose those who shall govern my country. This heritage of freedom I pledge to uphold for myself and all mankind. John Diefenbaker

On January 6, 1941, Franklin Roosevelt, in his State of the Union Address; put forward four tenets of freedom that every citizen should enjoy:

Freedom of Speech
Freedom of Worship
Freedom from Want
Freedom from Fear

I watched a short Canadian newsreel recently, that would have been shown in movie theatres as propaganda.  It was made in 1943, at a time when Canadians were growing weary of war.

Lorne Greene of Bonanza fame, narrated, and started out by showing victorious battle scenes in an attempt to convince the movie goers that we were winning.  They just had to hold on a bit longer.

He then repeated those four tenets of freedom, one at a time, with all the passion he could muster.

It was very moving, and they were not just empty promises.  On behalf of the Government of Canada, Social Scientist, Leonard Marsh, prepared a report that was presented to a House of Commons committee that year:  Report on Social Services for Canada; as part of the plan for post-war reconstruction.

It wasn't enough to just bring soldiers home, They had to come home to a country committed to making that country, not only worth coming home to, but with visible signs of the things they had fought for. Their sacrifices were not in vain and the welfare state was born.

Initially, the term was used to describe an industrial capitalist society, in which the state manipulated the market, but in 1967, British historian Asa Briggs, in The Welfare State, laid out revised provisions of what the welfare state should look like:

- Provision of minimum income
- Provision for the reduction of economic insecurity, resulting from sickness, old age and unemployment
- Provision to all members of society a range of social services

Not just the freedom from want but the freedom from need.  If we were expected to make sacrifices during wartime, we needed to be taken care of at times of peace.

Then in the 1980s, Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher, turned the whole thing upside down.  Forget all that.  There was no such thing as society and no need for social services.  Give more money to the wealthy and the resulting economic boost would trickle down to everyone.

The corporate welfare state was reborn.

Conservatives will take every opportunity to use the word "freedom",  but clearly have no idea what it means.  Chest thumping and carnivorous nationalism is not freedom.  

Instead of freedom from want, they leave society wanting, and use fear, attacks on religious groups and stifling of free speech, so they can have us participate in perpetual war.

Photo-ops with soldiers, first responders, or anyone in uniform, might make you look good, but you can't remove them from the picture once the cameras are turned off.

Those who risk their lives for us, deserve better.  Indeed, all Canadians do.

Our hopes are high. Our faith in the people is great. Our courage is strong. And our dreams for this beautiful country will never die.  Pierre Trudeau

This election campaign, we're hearing a lot about the middle class.  There's no denying that a strong middle class is tantamount to economic security.  However, even with a strong middle class, there was still poverty. 

There was still want.

Instead of a higher minimum wage, that will only force small businesses out, we need a living wage guarantee for everyone. We need a strong social safety net, that includes a housing strategy, so terms like "homelessness" and "food banks" are removed from everyday conversation.

Courage, my friends; 'tis not too late to build a better world. Tommy Douglas

George Bush referring to corporations as "job creators" is a myth.  Corporations only create jobs when it's convenient to do so, and will shed jobs anytime they threaten their bottom line (as we're seeing now in Alberta).  And despite the fact that the public has subsidized these corporations for years, shareholders take priority over stakeholders.

Enough is enough.

A recent Nanos poll indicates that 2/3 of Canadians are ready for a change.  It's up to us to make sure that that change, is not simply more of the same.

If a picture speaks to us, the image of the crest above is speaking volumes.  It's not only a reminder of what freedom was supposed to look like, but also a reminder that we are failing our heroes and heroines.

Patriotism is not dying for one's country, it is living for one's country, and for humanity. Perhaps that is not as romantic, but it's better. Agnes MacPhail

Don't Forget the Canadian Veterans National Day of Protest

In response to the Harper government's treatment of Veterans, Michael Blais is organizing a national day of protest on November 6.

My name is Michael L Blais CD. I am a disabled veteran and a victim of the SISIP claw back. In response to the disrespectful manner Colonel Stogran has been treated by the government and due to the fact that the issues he and Dominion Command, RCL have presented has been ignored, a movement to organize a Veterans national day of protest on the 6th of November at 1100 hrs, local time
has been initiated. It is my hope that we can generate sufficient interest across the nation to start in Newfoundland and three and a half hours later, conclude in Victoria, BC. These objectives have been partially attained as we have representation in Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Quebec, Ontario, Alberta and BC already. Major rallies will be held in St John’s, London and Trenton with another being considered for Niagara Falls and Peter Stoffer’s riding in Nova Scotia.

He has a website and a facebook group. Please join him a lend your voices to their cause.

Yellow ribbons are not enough. Don a poppy and join the Vets.

We Can't Let Harper Marginalize Our Veterans Any Longer!

Isn't it funny how a man who hid behind our troops to avoid questions about Afghan Detainees, allowing them to wear the shame, is now throwing them to the wolves?

There is an excellent column in the Globe and Mail about this, and we as Canadians need to be mad as hell!

I know I am. Farmers and Veterans. Who next?

As Canada attempts to remain buoyant after the recent conomic flood, Ottawa’s rush to cut the cost of government has one very large but often silent group on the chopping block: disabled veterans and their families .... Understandably, most veterans are too proud to protest the government for which they were willing to die. The government knows this and sadly, that is why the cuts have every chance in succeeding.

Harper's Attack on Canadian Veterans is Now Down and Dirty

Stephen Harper held a press conference today. And he held it at the same time as Veterans Ombudsman Pat Stogran.

Stephen Harper is truly an evil little man.

Canada's outgoing ombudsman for veterans expressed his fury Tuesday over the federal government's treatment of servicemen and women and the thwarting of his work by an obstructive bureaucracy. Pat Stogran said at a news conference in Ottawa that he was not going to comment on the Conservative government's decision not to appoint him to a second term.

Stogran said that as ombudsman, he was "impeded by a bureacracy that was deliberately obstructive and deceptive," and that information given to bureaucrats isn't reaching the minister of veterans affairs. Stogran said he was speaking out in order to highlight how badly many veterans are treated and to ask Canadians to stand up for their "sons and daughters." He vowed to use his remaining three months as ombudsman to continue trying to get Canadians to take notice.

Harper is having new yellow ribbons made. "Support the troops. Disown the Veterans"

And the wonderful Kady O'Malley is on top of things as usual.

As previewed in Orders of the Day, soon to be former Veterans Ombudsman Pat Stogran makes what could be his farewell appearance at the National Press Theatre today -- and his pre-press conference tweets suggest that it could be well worth tuning in to hear his parting thoughts. Check back at 2pm for full liveblogging coverage of Stogran, and stick around for reaction from NDP defence critic Jack Harris.

Jack Harris is great. Such a caring and intelligent man.

And the Liberals are demanding that Stogran be re-instated.

The federal Liberals are demanding the government extend Stogran's term. Both the Liberals and Stogran have been critics of the New Veterans Charter, saying it needs to be re-worked. Still, Veterans Affairs Minister Jean-Pierre Blackburn said that Stogran's anger may lay in the fact that his contract is not being renewed.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper also hinted as much while taking questions from reporters in Tuesday in Mississauga, Ont. "There are no positions for life," Harper said. "That's the way we do things."

What a smart-ass. He really just doesn't care.

We need to be mad about this. Write those letters to the editor. Our veterans deserve better than this.

Conservatives to Cut Funding to Veterans Affairs to Pay for American Weapons Contract

I posted the other day about the untendered contract worth 16 billion dollars that was going to American weapons manufacturer, and wondered how we could afford it given our massive deficit and debt.

I just learned how.

The Conservatives plan to cut funding to Veterans Affairs.

The Harper government’s short-sighted, skewed priorities could leave Canada’s war veterans and their families without support while billions are wasted on the G20 and sole-sourcing military airplanes, Liberal Veterans Affairs Critic Rob Oliphant said today. “Stephen Harper must explain to our men and women in uniform – past, present and future – why he’s spending $16 billion on warplanes, but won’t address the physical, mental and emotional needs of our brave veterans,” said Mr. Oliphant. “For a government that paints itself as pro-military, cutting back support for our veterans calls into question their long-term commitment to our troops.” The Conservative government says they’re considering recommendations to cut spending at Veterans Affairs, even though a report says the number of new veterans is expected to grow ...

Yet this government claims to love the military.

Liberal industry critic Marc Garneau said his party can't support an untendered contract of this size.

The Tories are expected to spend $9-billion on the planes themselves but commit to as much as $16-billion when 20 years of maintenance and support are included. They're going to join the Americans in purchasing F-35 joint-strike fighters. Mr. Garneau said the best value-for-money should be determined through a competitive process. “If the Conservatives won’t put an end to this contract, a future Liberal government will,” the Liberal MP said at an Ottawa news conference.

At the very least they will put the contract on hold until determining whether needed, and ensuring that it will not hurt those who have served.

“At a time when the Conservatives are also signaling significant cuts to Veterans Affairs, a $16-billion sole-sourced contract, agreed to without transparency, can’t be allowed to proceed."

A step in the right direction. Or should I say left?



Update from the Globe.

“Two competing principles are at work here,” observes Brian Lee Crowley of the Macdonald-Laurier Institute for Public Policy, an Ottawa think tank. “On the one hand, we have great pressures on the government to reduce spending, and so abolishing the Department of Veterans Affairs might result in some administrative savings, say by rolling it into the Department of National Defence,” he said. “On the other hand, if there is one group to whom the country owes an undeniable debt of gratitude that should be manifested in solicitous attention to their needs, it would be those who risked their lives on behalf of the country. I tend to come down on this side of the conflict.”

My father was a veteran and that department was very important to him. And besides. What about the veterans of this war?

Stockwell Day Exploits Veterans for Political Gain

Stockwell Day has proven time and again that he is not in politics for us. He is only it for himself.

But perhaps one of his worst acts (and that's saying something considering his record), was when he exploited Canada's veterans for political gain.

Not the first or last to do it, but the way it was done raised the ire of these brave men and women who deserve better.

You might wonder why I would bring this up now, but considering the fact that the Conservatives are mining Michael Ignatieff's writings and videos from decades ago, I thought I'd do a little prospecting myself.

These stories reveal a pattern, and took place not while Day was a private citizen, but when he was an elected official.

McDonough has company on home turf
November 11, 2000
By HEATHER SCOFFIELD
Globe and Mail

Halifax — Stockwell Day and Alexa McDonough spent an awkward Remembrance Day together on Saturday, after the Canadian Alliance leader invited himself into the NDP leader's home turf for the elaborate memorial ceremony in this historic port city.

Ms. McDonough has laid a wreath in the Halifax ceremonies before, and so organizers were pleased to have her again this year. But the participation of a second political leader was unprecedented, and for many in the audience of about 2000, also unwelcome.

"He's just looking for votes. I think it's wrong," said Jerry Blumenthal, a local councillor.

"I'm not impressed with Stockwell," added 78-year-old Percy Lambert, a veteran of the Second World War.

While some of the ceremony participants said they didn't mind Mr. Day joining in, and Ms. McDonough said she had no problem with it, many others in the audience or who laid wreaths said Mr. Day was "opportunistic" and "inappropriate."

Ms. McDonough said she would not campaign today out of respect for the veterans, but she did attend several military events anyway, and spoke out about the need for the Liberals to better recognize and compensate aboriginal veterans.

Behind the scenes, NDP staff were seething at having their leader share a stage with a rival. However, throughout the ceremony, Mr. Day was hidden by the war memorial, and the cameras could only get a clear shot of Ms. McDonough.

Halifax regularly has one of the biggest Remembrance Day ceremonies in Canada. With its history of shipping soldiers off to war from the port, and with the Department of National Defence one of the largest employers in the province of Nova Scotia, the day is widely observed here.

"It through a loop into us when we first heard they were both coming," said master of ceremonies Tom Waters, a navy commander. Mr. Day's staff called to ask if he could attend the ceremony three days in advance, Commander Waters said.

"He just said he wanted to be in a service, a Remembrance Day service.... It was a request that he made."

Organizers told Mr. Day's camp that they would accommodate him, but warned him to keep his political agenda out of sight.

And yet:

Legion not impressed with Stockwell Day
November 14, 2000
CBC News

Canadian Alliance Leader Stockwell Day received a luke warm welcome at a Dartmouth legion Saturday.

Legion members say they were upset reporters and television cameras followed Day as he mingled with veterans.

Day later apologized to the legion, insisting he didn't know the media would accompany him.
New Democrat officials were also upset by Day's last minute decision to lay a wreath at the same memorial as party leader Alexa McDonough.

The party claimed Day was attempting to steal the spotlight from McDonough in her home town.

All five federalist party leaders laid wreaths at Remembrance Day ceremonies honouring Canada's fallen war heroes Saturday.

Dirty politics. Ms McDonough showed class while Day revealed he had none. No wonder his own party gave him the boot.