Tea Party North ?

What rubbish! Stephen Harper is no Sarah Palin but Jack Layton is about as well informed and accountable as she is.

Strong article

This is my first encounter with The Tyee. Murdoch's explanation of the underpinnings of Harper's Backwoods move make a lot of sense. I'll be back.

Harper is conducting class war

If you look at what this government and other governments like it do(Campbell et el), is to hide behind closed doors and rule. Build up the police state to protect the wealthy from the uprising that will surely come if they continue down the same path. They're preparing for the inevetable backlash that may include armed resistance. Why else the prisons for crime that doesn't exist?

One of things that is wrong

One of things that is wrong with our society is that its wired for the priviledged. One the duties of our governments is to try and make our society have more of a level playing field so no one can take an advantage over another. Both of our governments have forgotten that and, to me, are trying in their utmost to wipeout that level playing field, hence, back to a class society.

Ignore the facts

The census would be irrelevant anyway, if Stockwell Day can disclaim 10 years of stats saying crime has dropped steadily, and bull through with plans to spend billions on prisons.

Notice in Moore's Capitalism movie

that Canada is included on that memo about plutonomy

Their True Wannabe Homeland...

Whatever wingnut fascist development occurs in the US, as its Empire collapses all around it, you can bet our own con-fascist US Empire Loyalists will attempt up here. For its in, especially, white-extreme conservative Amerika that their beating heart is. To these, our own "con-wingnuts", this Canada of ours is but the price of admission into the US Empire that they hope will make them all wealthy... in the course of selling it off.

They are so blinded by the Empire's Shock and Awe Show that they fail to see it is already past its shelf life due date, and starting to smell more than a little putrid already.

These guys and gals keep suggesting that we critics of The Empire should go to China, Russia, Cuba or Venezuela, when it is they who are the real "foreign wannabes" here. We want Canada to be Canada. Its own country. And it is they who should pack up and leave... for Amerika, their true Wannabe Homeland.

In the days of the old British Empire domination of this country, not that long ago really, which I well remember, it was part of this Sun That Never Set Empire, whom they were all gushy about. Except, of course, the sun did finally set on the old British Empire. But then, they never saw that coming either.

President Harper!

Coyoteman, my thoughts too!

can't fix the results

The census is a study that the gov't cannot fix the results; the usual m.o. of deciding an outcome then finding or manipulating numbers to match the preconceived outcome cannot work with the census. When they can't make the numbers fit, they destroy the work (GHG report) but Harpo has decided its better just not to do the numbers in the first place.

American

Harper is the most American Prime Minister we've ever had, and he is a doppelganger for the most extreme, conservative Christian element from that nation. If he ever gets a majority, this country is truly f*cked. Combine him with the extremist cable tv station that's in the works and we could start to see some serious culture wars in Canada

Conspiracy Theory

This is a nice little conspiracy theory you've written here, but you've failed to produce a shred of evidence to support your theory that Harper is doing anything at all to reduce the size of the Canadian state. In fact, he has vastly increased the size of government. I cite the first deficit in over a decade, a massive stimulus program, and auto bailouts. The fact is that Harper lost the support of many libertarians, including myself, a long time ago.

But I forgot, you don't actually need evidence of Harper's far right-wing plan to dismantle government, because it's all part of his "hidden agenda." This was something the Liberal campaign machine came up with years ago. Much like the UFO that crashed in New Mexico, there is no way to dissuade true believers of the conspiracy theory. Fortunately, most Canadians have come to realize that politicians much be judged on their actions and not on the ramblings of some far-left radicals.

For your info Mr jkline, Mr.

For your info Mr jkline, Mr. Harper and his collection of followers is the worst Government since RB Bennett. And please don't refer to me as a far-left radical, I like to think of myself as a Progressive Pragmatic and don't adhere to this left-right crap.

Conservatism is a losing battle

At least we can rest assured that new systems of social organization are always the result of the perceived discontents that arise from the actions of the current ones.

It is so much more important to adapt with change rather than continually attempt to resist it. Eventually, the changes that are forced upon us (ie. global warming) will overcome the coping methods that we've 'conserved' and then we're all F'd.

If it is true that these important social programs are being nixed left right and center, then i would tend to agree that there is a hidden agenda in play here.

Unfortunately for Harper, the census debacle will be his

undoing. Not only because his revision was still mandatory and had jail sentences in it ( we can go to jail for not wearing a bicycle in this country if we get a fine and don't pay it) but it also costs an extra 75 million dollars on top of it all. No Canadians are proud of their institutions and our distinction between ourselves and American's. He has spent to much time listening to those foreign owned oil magnates in Alberta. To bad we used to have a national oil company to set standards but another crooked Canadian dismantled that and ended up on the Board of Director's of 150 different American companies. You know the one who sued the Canadian government for insulting his good name and took 2 million for Canadian taxpayers that he never returned after we found out he was on the take and it was proven in court! Well Harper makes Mulroney look like a piker-when Shelia Frasier opens the books the sh.t is really going to hit the fan-if he let's her at them that is!!! It is going to take force to get this guy out of office as he will try to use force to hang on even after he looses in the next election. I am glad we don't have a gun culture up here but you know what? I think we citizens should start to arm ourselves-we have a Fascist in Ottawa who thinks he owns the place.
Cheers,
RR

Harper

The biggest problem for the Conservatives will be the
economy. True, the whole thing is about to come unglued and Harper took credit for being the mastermind and saviour of Canada. Ask yourself, if the United States is in fear of a double dip recession, Asia has no one to sell things to and they
are now on the wrong side of the trade equation. The
Europeans are in trouble still and the markets are
reflecting this everyday, how will Canada manage its economy we are slowly being sucked into the mess and when that happens everyone will see the truth and Mr. Harper will have painted himself into a corner

jkline, it's not a hidden

jkline, it's not a hidden agenda, it's actually very much on the public record. Ergo, it's not a conspiracy theory. Just look at comments he made while he was heading the National Citizens Coalition, and even while leading the opposition. He's picked spots, but where he's been able to, he's gone quite far to the right. I don't event want to know what he would have done with a majority government.

Harper and his fanatism

Harper is a very dangerous person to be in control of a government. He is a person that would not change his mind even if somebody would show him he is wrong. He is a control freak and a true believer that a country can exist without a healthy society. He true believes that we don't need human rights, women rights,immigration (unless you are rich), statistics, arts, peacekeepers, UN and specially a healthy opposition. He believes that dictatorship or facism is a healthy government. If we allow him to continue, he will destroy this country. He has only contempt for the Canada we know. He craves for a total government control where the rich can be more rich and the rest of the population just have to fend for themselves or have to work for peanuts like China. He pretend no to like China because they don't have human rights. Who is he kidding? He would love to be the head of China government so he can tell everybody what to do or you can go to prison. Harper, good ridance. It is not a conspiracy, just read history and you will see him all over it (in a bad way). Nothing personal, just don't him to be the head of our government. I like Canada because it has conscience and social values that includes helping the less fortunate.

I'm annoyed at the

I'm annoyed at the misbranding of Harper as

1. an economist. He's an ideologue -- not the same thing (at least for this retiree who spent his life as a professional economist with PhD and all that)

2. a conservative, which might reasonably be defined "a political and social term from the Latin verb conservare meaning to save or preserve." Harper is more concerned with destroying than saving.

I support a fully independent BC

For any person who knows the truth, having to read what Stephen Harper has to offer certainly tests a man's civility.

I think Rene Levesque had it right. The older I get and the more I understand the world around me, the less Canada makes sense. Geographically big nations simply are not responsive to the people. I have no more ties to Nova Scotia -- a place which I love geographically -- than I do America or Japan.

Canada has no meaning any more. It cannot even offer protection to the people, its primary reason for being. It has never been an independent nation; it has always been a lapdog to the Empire of the day. Even its Constitution in 1982 was imposed upon the people with not so much as a national referendum. That shows you the contempt Canadian politicians have developed for the people; if it was ever truly different I am not entire sure.

Harper does not care what the people of Canada think, nor should he. He was bought the seat of government because he is comfortable serving the global Empire's design (and so would Ignatieff given the chance).

Taking care of one petty, power-tripping addict like Gordon Campbell is tough enough. Having to fight off the likes of a global fool like Stephen Harper as well is simply too much to stomach. This is why I support a sovereign BC -- if for no other reason than it is at least potentially manageable.

A modest proposal

Since Pee Wee is determined to make a meal of this it may well be time for the people of Canada so push back a little.

I think that a movement should be started now to organize and commit as many Canadians as possible to join together and tell Stephen Harper and his gang exactly what the average Canadian citizen thinks of the direction in which he is pushing this country.

One third of Canadians, under the current bastardized census proposal will recieve a long form census which they can choose to fill out or not.

One would hope that every single person who receives the long form csnsus would return it unopened to Statistics Canada after haveing written a short explanation for refusing to play Pee Wee's little game.

If large numbers of Canadians were to take this course of action it would sent Harper a message even an arrogant asshole like him could not ignore.

How about it?

samuidave

That's because "they" are making it more difficult by the day to actually get around this (potentially) great country of ours.

A Gift From Heaven....

I disagree with my friend samuidave above re Canada, but I do understand the frustration in these times especially, where he is coming from. These Harperites are driving an agenda that leads to class war on one internal front, but also to a kind of regionalism, in which Alberta occupies a special place, that could well lead to the evolution of stresses that will at least tend toward driving the country apart. (Ditto Quebec, but I actually think that Quebec does occupy a special, or at least unique place in "confederation" (as opposed to federation, along with our Native peoples.)

Which development the US would see as a gift from heaven: Canada in nice, easily digestible size pieces.Even a smörgåsbord from which they could pick and choose, and take only what they really want.(Which you know, from all the early signs, is going to include our northern territories. Alaska, sea to sea to sea.)

All of which, Canada, a gift I do not wish to see laid upon the plate of the Amerikans anymore than it already is. And it is, make no mistake.

(On the other hand, given the class, racial and growing poverty and economic instability stresses in The Empire homeland, compounded even further as "the far flung empire" comes unglued and lost to them, a situation is not entirely outside the realm of possibility, where some northern US states especially, might want to join Canada. Which would create another kind of problem dynamic :-)

I understand samuidave, but don't give up on "the country" yet, this early into the development of this historical period. It would play right into the Harper fascist/Liberal game plan to sell off the country by degrees through the NAU.

The great global peoples' need is, for Amerika to be weakened and made more humble, and less ambitious, not to build it up and strengthen it, by allowing it to absorb the lands and resources of this country piecemeal, or whole through the NAU.

I might add, IF Stephen Harper was a leader ...

... and not a follower, he would be leading the developed world away from this fascist-corporatist dominance.

A Leader would declare Canada a neutral and peaceful nation, immediately remove Canada from all foreign interventions, revoke NAFTA, remove corporations from operating within Canada, pay all foreign debt quickly, return the ability to 'counterfeit' currency to the Bank of Canada alone, legislate against any austerity programs for private business, outlaw lobbying, and grant full democracy to the people.

Canadians would be lead to a truly New World Order. Not a NWO founded on capital moving around the globe chasing profits at the expense of people, but one based on peace and protecting ones sovereignty first.

Economically, ALL of our resources and ALL of our people are to be valued as our national wealth. It doesn't take much of an economist to see that each time resources are shipped elsewhere, jobs are shipped away as well. We are currently stupefied by our 'Followership' into thinking this is OK while we deplete our wealth simultaneously at both ends!

A reduction in resource harvesting means jobs must move into the value-added, research and development, and service sectors. In short order our work-force will be pursuing operations for value, not merely consumption. Canadians will be able to afford Canadian products immediately, others as we can.

With full control of our currency, no foreign debt, fuller resource development, and a dynamic workplace built up with our own enterprise, it is a short step to finding the sovereignty we have never had.

Canada can, and MUST, stand on its own feet in order to have a free citizenry -- not one beholden to foreign chicanery. Canada then can be a nation which leads by example, evidencing that sovereignty and global cooperation can exist.

With this approach the world would stand behind Canada, I do believe, as we show America change must occur. The gauntlet would be thrown down. Soon other countries would follow, for the people there would insist their government do the same.

For this to take place, we must fundamentally change one thing first: remove WARFARE as a means to an end for all time. If Canada faces down the most intimidating neighbourhood bully of all time, a longtime 'friend', it will give strength to others to follow. This is called Leadership.

Obama, in the best position in decades to make the entire world better, dropped the ball. The time has come for Canada to stand up and showed some strength. Are we content to allow our plane to crash because we prefer to turn our minds away from the preventable yet impending horror of impact?

Is Stephen Harper, a man without vision for the nation, a man in the backroom making private deals in the dark with his other conspiring cohorts, the best we have to offer? Does anyone seriously call this leadership?

Facts don't matter to neo-cons

The more fuzzy our statistical knowledge of the Country, the more Harper and his ilk are able to implement their plutocratic agenda.

Data is the enemy of the ideologue. Now Day wants prisons for undeclared crimes. Stalags, more like.

This is the most dangerous and regressive Government Canada has ever had!

What leader has all the qualities that it takes?

Who will inspire the change that samuidave, coyoteman and many others talk about, what leader has all that it takes to make this happen? Who can fight the fight and who can offer Canadians a vision that will motivate this change, who will inspire the transformation of Canada?

Leadership

should be merely a representation of the will of those they lead.
Maybe representative is a better term.

either way the burden is on us to express that such changes are desired.
Even then, if only a minority of the lead are expressing the need for change, then change we can reasonably expect that change might not occur.
So, Noggy... Canadians are to generate and offer said visions and as such, inspiring a transformation of Canada comes down to Canadians themselves.
Maybe this is just naive idealism.

The most difficult stage of development...

"Who can fight the fight and who can offer Canadians a vision that will motivate this change, who will inspire the transformation of Canada?" wrote Noggy.

That is the question of the hour, Noggy. No doubt.

It would be nice to think that "leadership" per se is not needed, for "leadership" carries its risks too. And that "the masses" were in a place and stage of development where they had the wherewithall to lead themselves and build movement. But alas, I think it is a tad more complex than that. (Why does life at this level never give us easy problems to resolve? :-)

So, it seems clear to me, that "a kind of leadership" does need to emerge here, democratically rooted and firmly controlled, to at least mitigate against the emergence of "elitist" tendencies that seem to forever emerge out of "vanguardism". (Which was the historical result of many, at least, of the old vanguardist tendencies on the now Old Left.)

Now, how this comes about, I am not entirely sure. Some folks just have to take it on themselves to make it "kind of just happen". A good start anywhere, in the right socio-economic and political climate, can quick enough be taken up in many other places.

I know right now, though I am far removed from it, and don't know a whole lot about it or the folks involved, am closely watching this new, to me at least, Toronto Workers Assembly.

http://www.workersassembly.ca/

(I have signed the Call to Protest The Police State Tactids at the G20, of which it is at least a part. Which is linked to on the web site above.

In any case, all such or similar attempts to create new working class and other progressive activist groups right now, should be watched and studied. and where found suitable to the individual, joined and assisted. Then an eye kept to emerging opportunities for alliances, mergers, co-operative agreements as may lead to the building of greater unity.

If things don't develop a kind of life of their own from here, then we are premature... still ahead of the curve.

This is, in some ways, the most difficult stage of development we are in here. And yet, the future does not take care of itself without us.

Creating Canada

A good question, Noggy.

As BurdenofCulture notes "the transformation must come from Canadians themselves."

In order to change the politics, first the philosophy must change....

Which, ironically, as this article makes clear is exactly what Harper is trying to do himself: "Harper's ideological goal, he continues, is nothing less than "the transformation of the broad public philosophy of Canada "

Harper knows this must come first.

And he is intentionally changing the philosophical puzzle pieces one by one until they eventually fit together to reveal his "new government's" "new".... "Calgary School- improved"........ and truly alarming vision of Canada.

But the census stands in the way of these necessary manipulations....

As Bill Melater so aptly states about the census:

"The census is a study that the gov't cannot fix the results; the usual m.o. of deciding an outcome then finding or manipulating numbers to match the preconceived outcome cannot work with the census. When they can't make the numbers fit, they destroy the work (GHG report) but Harpo has decided its better just not to do the numbers in the first place."

The census is simply, as my son said the other day, basically a "detailed description of Canada"...of this country so many of us love, what it means to be Canadian - how that is reflected in a belief in in a strong social infrastructure. Harper has more than a distaste for that description and he is clearly and intentionally re-writing that definition/description of Canada.

The real danger I find is that we are allowing Harper to set the agenda here - and we are becoming merely reactive, rather than active.

Just as it is convenient to say "Obama dropped the ball".....when his message all along was one of "comfortable change" - never one of radical change where America had to look itself in the mirror. He perfectly reflected the prevailing philosophy....good, decent people who wanted change but without much discomfort. Change that didn't disturb much of anything but that would somehow magically transform the world. Obama's grace and charisma served to focus the delusional belief in that kind of magic.

It's trite, I know, but we only change the world by first changing ourselves...by not dropping the ball in our own court....the only court we have any kind of real control over.

Tom Robbins once wrote:

"We waste time looking for the perfect lover, instead of creating the perfect love."

A quote that is equally applicable to "leaders and leadership" as well.

Again, it is the difference between wasting our time being merely reactive... and actively creating something new.

Lovers and Leaders...

"...the transformation must come from Canadians themselves."

In order to change the politics, first the philosophy must change...." writes Lynn.

Goddamn fine, woman. Really fine. It's the head of the nail.

But especially loved, over which there is always much anguish, including by yours truly, ""We waste time looking for the perfect lover, instead of creating the perfect love."

A quote that is equally applicable to "leaders and leadership" as well.

Even though still, we have reason to fear our choices of both lovers and leaders sometimes. Sometimes still, we simply have no choice but to take the leap from Lover's Leap. :-)

Always a good read, Lynn.

Des

Ditto for the preponderance of attention being paid to the ship with the Tamils aboard - and the alledged connection to the "terror" group, the Tamil Tigers.

Its time to think beyond everyday life.

Lynn, what a great thought, "We waste time looking for the perfect lover, instead of creating the perfect love".

I think its time to write a letter to the local newspaper and ask the readers, whats your opinion on the direction of our country, what direction should we be headed in.

Change the people and you change the world.

Harper used Census long form data in his own thesis

Harper and his confederate gang of retards makes me sick. I cannot believe these morons are actually running government. Yesterday it was announced he'd raised the salaries of his senior bureaucrats 19% - these are the people kissing his ass and doing his bidding. Meanwhile he's reducing Stats Can to rubble, muzzling scientists, and doing his best to instill his old testament ideology across the public service.

Obviously Canada needs to build in protections for a secular public service and agencies like Stats Can. Canada has never before had to endure an actual dictator until now so it hasn't needed such protections, but obviously we are not immune to electing profoundly horrible people and so...time to rally for democracy.

I can't wait to see the back of these idiots.

Dumbing down

Yes, the US is so dumbed down, the middle class is gone, the medical system is in shambles and the nation is in decline. I spent 10 years their, and in that time it has gone from bad to worse. Jobs, especially middle disappeared at an alarming rate, the supreme court has become very political leaning toward the right. So go ahead Mr. Harper have your Tea Party, bring the nation to it's knees, you right wing fool.

No defense against people like....

"Moral relativism simply cannot be sustained as a guiding philosophy," he said. "It explains the lack of moral censure on personal foibles of all kinds... [I]t leads to... tribalism in the form of group rights."

"a huge contempt for democracy" and exploits populist sentiment to strip away the rights of minorities and dismantle what is left of the welfare state."

This is something I have been crying foul about forever. We should never have accepted that the 'specifics' in our Charter of Rights being interpreted as 'only's'. These rights are set in the Charter with the intent of constituting a ratification of the UN Declaration, which states that

Article 2.

 Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion…”

In our own Charter, likewise, the wording is:

15. (1) Every individual is equal before and under the law and has the right to the equal protection and equal benefit of the law without discrimination and, in particular, without discrimination based on race, national or ethnic origin,…”

Now the bandwagon of stupidity that we have all jumped on is that the words
‘such as’, and ‘in particular’ translated into ‘only’ or ‘exclusively’. People would jump right to the listed items and immediately get hot and bothered to also get ‘their’ particular rights into the list. People concerned about discrimination based on BMI, mental health issues, transgendered states, etc, etc, etc ad nauseam queued up to get on that all-important list, when in fact all discrimination is prohibited already. The legal profession served itself, as always, even to the point of our Chief Justice, Beverly McLachlin, pronouncing that the list was soon going to be so long that it would become meaningless inasmuch as it would include everybody. Duh.

...more

the more

There are places and situations in the world where there really are positive lists for ‘rights’. You may remember the somewhat recent trouble in Rajasthan. It had to do with tribal rights, as in one group being worried that the certification of rights for another group would preclude their own chances of being listed. Apparently being on the list is all-important for participation in the economy and political rights, the whole shebang.

This is not how it is here. Your manager may not decide he can exclude you from promotion because of your big nose, although this is not listed in the Charter ‘in particular’. The burden of proof is on him, that it will make your job performance poorer. And, of course, this kind of frivolity has been tried, but not, to my knowledge, successfully.
So as much as it pains me, I am on side with the Pres-, oops, Prime Minister here and always have been. If we cannot see that united we stand, divided into tribes we fall, then we deserve to be discriminated against on the basis of lack of fundamental understanding, and that’s not listed in the Charter!

dorothy

I can see your point in "siding" with Harper. The reasons put forward FOR the long-form census generally stated that the information is required for long-term planning.

Quite frankly, no recent government has ever planned (well perhaps "planned" - but never executed) a plan muvh past the next election date. And with the penchant for minority governments - with virtually no infrastructure to support this "phenomena" in Canada, there will never be a need for long-term planning. And with the long-banished "custom" of being living, working and dying in or near the place of one's birth, how can anyone predict with an accuracy what will happen in five years?

However, Harper has shown himself to be quite devious, so I will continue to try to look at the other side of the coins he so casually flips out from Ottawa.

Missing the point

The value of Statistics Canada's data collection has nothing whatever to do with 'individual' rights.

Harper knows this, as does, or ought, anyone who thinks about it for a moment - the Charter and the principle of protecting individual and collective rights is an entirely different matter which should not enter into any debate about the relative value of compelling the collection of statistical data.

The particular and 'personal' data collected in any census is embargoed and inaccessible to the public or to researchers for 92 years after the census data has been collected.

The suggestion that anyone's personal information is going to be made public to anyone is absurd until 92 years down the road.

The fact that I can now access the personal data collected by the Dominion Bureau of Statistics about my great grandfather's family in 1911 is a matter of some 'personal' interest to me and anyone else concerned with historical and genealogical research. Anyone who is today concerned about the privacy of that 'historical' information is, in my view, blowing smoke.

Anyone, like Harper and his fundamental supporters, who conflates the fact that personal information is (and ought to be) collected on more or less the same basis as it was in 1911 (and at 5 year intervals thereafter) with a debate about Charter Rights or individual and collective discrimination is not addressing the reality of the long-form census debate.

As I suggested earlier, a movement to refuse to answer any long form census questions by the one-third of Canadians who receive the long form next year is, in my view, absolutely the best way to demonstrate to Harper exactly how much Canadians appreciate his ham handed interference with tried and true Canadian customs and institutions.

Hands off the Census Pee Wee.

What nonsense - over the

What nonsense - over the years, Canadians have slowly allowed the government to take over more and more of things that communities and people use to do - under the assumption that government would be able to do it better. But they haven't and it is costing us huge amounts of money because huge bureaucracies have been created and they assume that they know better about how my money should be spent. Here's the fact - if a community wants to support a local theater group they will and governments offering grants etc. only distort community support. The census use to be a the short form counting heads but over the years it morphed into this 40 page survey. Most of this information is already available in various government databases but bureaucrats and academic researchers are just too lazy to go find it. Want to know how many bedrooms in my house? - check the property tax records that every government that levys property tax keeps (and in my community you can go to the city webpage, type in a address and find this out). Ask the churches/religious institutions how many individuals are members/confirmed etc?

I applaud Harper for taking many small steps to get the government out of my life - the long form survey suits academic researchers but NOT ME!!! The short form IS the census and will continue.