Topic
Twenty-two black ops and hardball tactics by Team Harper while in power.
Cartoon by Greg Perry.
We used to help other nations keep it clean on voting day. Who will hold us honest?
Four times Harper flatly stated his debate opponents were just plain wrong. A reader asked us to check it out, so we did.
Rule one: Fear works. And more Conservative battle strategy laid bare by an early architect.
The Conservatives have been caught up in many shady activities since coming to power. The revelation that they may have been behind a robocall operation to suppress voting for opposition parties would rank, if proven, among the more serious offences.
Stephen Harper has denied involvement in the scam in which operatives acted under the guise of Elections Canada officials. Coincidentally, another controversy, the in-and-out affair, involved Elections Canada. Some of Harper's most senior officials took part in that operation.
In giving or not giving the benefit of the doubt on matters like these, the question of the track record figures prominently. To the misfortune of Team Harper, its record on duplicitous activities is hardly one to inspire confidence that its hand are clean.
There follows a list -- is Harperland becoming Nixonland? -- of dirty tricks, black ops and hardball tactics from the Conservatives' years in power.
1. Cooking the Books
The duplicity began in the election that brought the Conservatives to power -- the 2006 campaign in which they were promising a new era of transparency and accountability. Via some peculiar accounting practices, the Tories exceeded spending limits in the campaign, providing themselves with an advertising advantage in key ridings. They were later caught, had their offices raided by police and ultimately pled guilty last year to reduced charges of violating financing provisions of the Elections Act.
2. The Hidden Slush Fund
More than $40-million slated for border-infrastructure improvements instead went into enhancement projects in Tony Clement's riding in preparation for the G-8 summit. To conceal the intent of the spending from legislators, John Baird used the border fund as a "delivery mechanism" for the money.
3. Falsifying Documents
The document-altering scam involving Bev Oda's office and the aid group Kairos is only one of several instances in which the Tories have been caught document-tampering. They went so far as to alter a report by Auditor General Sheila Fraser to make it look like she was crediting them with prudent financial management when, in fact, it was the Liberals to whom she was referring.
4. Shutting Down Detainees' Probes
The Conservatives employed a number of authoritarian tactics to avoid culpability on the Afghan detainees' file. They included an attack on the reputation of diplomat Richard Colvin, the shutting down of Parliament and the disabling of Peter Tinsley's Military Police Complaints Commission. The Tories denied Tinsley's commission documents for reasons of national security -- even though commission members had national security clearance.
5. The Cotler Misinformation Campaign
In an act described by the Speaker of the Commons, himself a Tory, as reprehensible, Conservatives systematically spread rumours in Irwin Cotler's Montreal riding that he was stepping down.
6. The Suppression of Damaging Reports
A report of the Commissioner of Firearms that showed the gun registry in a good light was kept hidden by Public Safety Minister Peter Van Loan beyond its statutory release deadline. As a consequence, the report escaped the eyes of opposition members before a vote on the registry was taken. It is one of many instances in which the government has suppressed research that runs counter to its ideology.
7. Attempt to Frame the Opposition Leader
Late in the 2011 election camapign, a senior Conservative operative leaked bogus photos to Sun Media in an attempt to frame Michael Ignatieff as an Iraqi war planner.
8. Communications Lockdown
The government went to unprecedented lengths to vet, censor and withhold information. After denying legislators information on costs of programs, Harper became the first prime minister in history to be found in contempt of Parliament. The public service has muzzled like never before. Last week, several groups wrote Harper urging him to stop gagging the science community on the question of climate change and other issues. The Tories denied an opposition member accreditation to attend the Durban summit on climate change, then lambasted the member for not being there. Journalists have faced myriad restrictions. At one point in the in-and-out affair, PMO officials fled down a hotel fire-escape stairwell, Keystone-Kops style, to avoid the media. On another, the governing party had the police clear a Charlottetown hotel lobby of scribes wishing to cover a Tory caucus meeting.
9. Intimidation and Bullying of Adversaries
The list of smear campaigns against opponents is long. Some that come to mind are Harper's trying to link Liberal Navdeep Bains to terrorism; Vic Toews' labelling of distinguished jurist Louise Arbour a "disgrace to Canada" for her views on the Middle East; seeking reprisals against University of Ottawa academic Michael Behiels for being critical of the government; and the dismissal of Nuclear Safety Commission boss Linda Keen who the PM decried as having a Liberal background.
10. The 'Citizenship' Dog and Pony Show
As well as being muzzled, civil servants have been put to use for the government's political benefit. In one such case, the immigration department ordered bureaucrats to act as stand-ins at a fake citizenship reaffirmation ceremony broadcast by Sun TV.
11. Writing the Book on Disrupting Committees
The Tories quietly issued their committee chairpersons a 200-page handbook on how to obstruct the opposition. The handbook recommended barring witnesses who might have embarrassing information. It went so far as to instruct chairpersons to shut down the committees if the going got really tough. The Tories have also issued an order that frees cabinet staffers from ever having to testify before committees. They are resorting more frequently to in-camera committee sessions, away from the public and media eye.
12. Leaking Veterans' Medical Files
Colonel Pat Stogran, who was dropped as veterans' ombudsman after making waves, says he became the target of anonymous defamatory emails and other dirty tricks after criticizing the government. Other veterans, Sean Bruyea and Dennis Manuge, say their medical files have been leaked, going all the way back to 2002, in an attempt to embarrass them.
13. Unfixing the Fixed-Date Election Law
The prime minister brought in a fixed date election law which, he said, would remove the governing party's timing advantage in dropping the writ. He promptly turned around and, earning Jack Layton's lasting disdain, ignored his own law and issued a surprise election call in 2008.
14. Declaring Brian Mulroney Persona Non Grata
In the wake of the Karlheinz Schreiber cash hand-out controversy, Harper's team, in its zest to disassociate itself, went so far as to put out the false rumour that Mulroney, who won two majorities for the party, was no longer a card-carrying member.
15. Unreleasing Released Documents
The Conservatives have resorted to the use of shady tactics to de-access the Access to Information system. In one notable instance cabinet staffer Sebastien Togneri ordered officials to unrelease documents that were on their way to the media. Freedom of information specialist Stanley Tromp has catalogued some 46 examples of the government's shielding and stonewalling.
16. Ejecting Citizens from Rallies
Operatives hauled voters out of Harper rallies in last year's campaign for the simple reason that they had marginal ties to other parties. The PM was compelled to apologize.
17. Hit Squad on Journalists
Operating under phony email IDs, Conservative staffers have attacked journalists in thousands of online posts in an attempt to discredit them and their work.
18. Dirty Work on Dion
The Conservatives have set records for the use of personal attack ads. In the 2008 campaign they ran an online ad which depicted a bird defecating on Stephane Dion's head. Protests compelled them to withdraw it.
19. Tory Logos on Taxpayer Cheques
The economic recovery program was paid for by taxpayer dollars but the Tories tried to make political gains by putting their party logo -- until they were called on it -- on billboard-sized cheques. Surveys by journalists showed the money was distributed disproportionately to Conservative ridings and partisans.
20. The Rob Anders Nomination Crackdown
The prime minister has been accused of turning his own party into an echo chamber. When someone tried to exercise her democratic right to challenge Harper loyalist Rob Anders for the nomination in his Calgary riding, Harper's men descended like a black ops commando unit, seized control of the office, seized control of the riding executive and crushed the bid.
21. The Rights and Democracy Takeover
Groups like Rights and Democracy supposedly operate at arm's length from the government. But the Harperites, in what journalists described as boardroom terror, removed or suspended board members and stacked the board with pro-Israeli hardliners. As part of the ethical anarchy, a break-in occurred at headquarters.
22. Vote Suppression Tactics
Along with the accusation of pre-recorded robocalls sending voters astray in last election, reports of several other Tory vote suppression tactics have surfaced. They include a systematic live-caller operation in which Liberal supporters were peppered with bogus information.
The list does not include such controversies as the Cadman affair in which the Conservatives allegedly tried to bribe independent MP Chuck Cadman for his vote; the whitewashing by Integrity Commissioner Christiane Ouimet of 227 whistleblower complaints against the government; the allegation by eyewitness Elizabeth May that Harper cheated in the 2008 election’s televised debates by bringing in notes; and many others. ![[Tyee]](http://thetyee.cachefly.net/ui/img/ico_fishie.png){kind=small}
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Grumpy
1 year ago
Herr Harper.............
............Canada's kinder and gentler Hitler.
As the Herr Harper and his malodorous crew of Nazi's take Canada and her democracy on the brink of the black hole of despotism, there seems no escape, no mass uprising, no knight on a white horse, to rescue this once great country.
Evil to those who do evil to Canada.
Malum ad qui malum Canada.
miguel
1 year ago
One Term
The Conservatives will have one term as a majority, and then it's minority or exile like Mulroneys'party went down. Unless...the tricks get worse.
pwlg
1 year ago
we've seen this all before in BC
Hopefully Canadians will not have to suffer as long as BC residents have had to under the Campbell regime and now the Falcon-Clark coalition government.
We should cry out to the nation what this type of politics and ideology will bring to this country.
As Nikiforuk has stated, we are but a petro-state governed by those from the province of oil, fossil fools the lot.
This article should be sent to all readers lists and asked to be spread, go viral. It's time to rub their noses in their own #&!@.
Skywalker
1 year ago
I wonder
Did the power corrupt or did the corrupt get power? Not that it makes any difference.
jimmmmy
1 year ago
as toni saprano famously said
as toni saprano famously said "what are yah gonna do". its 4+ year until an election and mr. harpers appointies run the para-military police [rcmp], the senate, and the supreme court. the beatings will continue until morale improves.
jimmmmy
1 year ago
miguel, remember the mulroney
miguel, remember the mulroney tories were replaced by the new improved tories under mr chretian,who completed the sell-off of canadian soverignty.. now we have a full blown facist regime in charge. and they will be very hard to dislodge from power.
Lawrence
1 year ago
@ skywalker
Corrupt people get into politics to make money.
Usually they're lawyers who know that changing a law can make you money.
I would also say there are places in Canada that have had a long history of corruption.
margsview
1 year ago
Dirty Tricks or as media reports 'business as usual"
Throughout the Tory reign these corrupting behaviors have been known and in some cases reported by our media. But during the elections not 1 related questions was made---why? While CETA was negotiated in Europe and Canada not 1 question was posed during any election--we are now finding out why. I don't believe our system is capable of timely cleaning out certain parties stooping to dirty tricks. This month the US federal government is passing HR357 a ban on protesting en mass. Since our Tories have been try out similar US strategies such as raising our retirement age and scaring the public about the efficacy of our public pensions---it may be time to consider other types of movements that do not put individuals in legal harms way as was done during the G20. This so-called secure event showed the difficulty in mimicking the past, by peaceful protesting. As an alternative some consideration has given to trying varying tax movements. One of the main problems we have unique to Canada is our timidity and willingness to see others act while we comfortably complain and wait for times to change. This may explain why those people targeted in your 22 points received little support from our public. Sad but telling.
cw
1 year ago
Parallels
When Augusto Pinochet was in power in Chile a theatrical troupe of refugees put on a play hosted by a group in a local community about what was happening there.
After the play the members of the troupe discussed how they could see the signs in Canada paralleling their situation's arrival. I was skeptical at the time.
No more.
Blake
1 year ago
23. Setting Up Front Groups On Campus
http://www.wikileaks.org/wiki/CBC_Radio_One_report_on_Canadian_Conservative_campus_front_groups,_20_Mar_2009
terrencew
1 year ago
Robocalls
"I am not a crook!" Remember that line? And the miscreant who uttered it? And what happened to him? I there is any justice in this country, his latest incarnation, Mr. Harper, will meet the same fate.
lynn
1 year ago
Tricky Dicky and Sleazy Stevie
"This article should be sent to all readers lists and asked to be spread, go viral. It's time to rub their noses in their own #&!@." ~ pwlg
A very good suggestion by pwlg.
And a great article.
It far surpasses the superficial and disjointed coverage of the mainstream media pundits who not only can't relate one obstruction of democracy event to another but seem barely able to remember them in any kind of in-depth or analytical context. It's like every Harperland dirty trick is a first time offence....to be viewed in virginal isolation, and so we must start from square one as citizens who value democracy...and explain, almost apologize for our outrage. Complicity on the part of the msm, no doubt... but also dereliction of duty on the part of journalists.
This list shines a sharp and focused light on the accumulating debris of corruption choking the flow of democracy in this country.
alive
1 year ago
What a great new word!
fossil fools
Skywalker
1 year ago
@ terrencew
From today's news report that seems to be what Harper is saying by accusing the opposition of a smear campaign. Imagine that. The party of the negative attack ads talking about a smear campaign against them.
RickW
1 year ago
jimmmmy
You nailed it! First Mulroney, then Chretien, now Harper. Birds of a feather.....
avandoc
1 year ago
Let's do something about it
Just a week or so ago, a debate raged on the Tyee about whether the opposition parties should try to cooperate in order to win the next election. With a laundry list of chicanery and bullying like this, how can anyone have any doubt? We the people need to make it loud and clear to opposition politicians that they should take the high road and work in a legal way to get rid of Harper in the next election (if not sooner). It's LEGAL for parties to work in coalition. Harper is using possibly illegal means to take and maintain power. A coalition is far more legitimate than the Cons' tactics.
It happens in every other parliamentary democracy. Are Canadians so dumb they would ignore this obvious solution to a crisis that threatens to destroy the country? And that's not hyperbole--separatism is again on the rise in Quebec. They will not put up with Harper indefinitely.
GWNorth
1 year ago
Hopeless??????
Never forget, we are always just one election away from a dictatorship. A few changes here and a few changes there and low and behold the rules have changed and we can't even get rid of them without insurrection.
kmdyson
1 year ago
With a list this long
and the mandate so young...we can hope that the robo call scandal will get traction and cause some by elections...mind though that anyone who does so runs the risk of indefinite detention...at some black site...where water-boarding will be on the breakfast menu...t'is a sad state of affairs that we have come to this...our own government hi-jacking democracy so that they may stay in power...
igbymac
1 year ago
Wow, huh?
And elected three times?
Obviously Canadians are fcuking idiots if this is considered democratic. The alternative is that the game is rigged.
And there you have it.
Okanagan Orchardist
1 year ago
I sent this off...
.. to my Conservative MP.
Do you think I'll get an answer?
I asked him a month ago as to how many trips he had made between Ottawa and his home in the Okanagan. He didn't answer that either. This was at the time some Cons were being queried about using gov't jets and helicopters. He's a newbie, so if he wants to get his pension he'll have to get re-elected.
Grania
1 year ago
Election
It is past time the Governor General halted this travesty of deplorable leadership and an new election is called. This time, it is not outrageous to consider UN election monitors. Canada now has many of the same issues as any third world dictatorship. The costs of a new election can be covered by cancelling the plans for the pandas and using that ten million dollars at home.
cyberclark
1 year ago
Conservative Hard Ball leaves no room for Honor!
Add to this the installing of a Conservative heavy on the CBC approval board for comments!
One example of many is this one:
2012/02/28 | 12:41 AM ET
Dalton McGuinty is totally correct! Being a manufacturing state a lower dollar would serve them well.
Redford's Alberta on the other hand charges Canadian Dollars for the oil whereas every other province charges US dollars.
So the Oil Companies are pocketing the exchange on royalty amounts charged....
Alberta royalty explained here http://albertathedetails.blogspot.com/2012/02/alberta-royalty-explained.html
They took the time to show the article as being posted on my personal page however it never did show up.
I posted variations of the same comment without links to other peoples posts but none of these showed up on their article.
Harper is pulling out all the stops to protect and shape what it can on the Alberta Election. No holds barred!
Gnube
1 year ago
Election monitoring
Perhaps we could ask Iran to monitor our next election. We could bring our process up to their standards.
thereginamom
1 year ago
We cannot wait until 2015!
This government has to fall -- soon! Canada can not wait until 2015 to oust these cheats and liars -- these criminals. Robocon will be their downfall, the proverbial camel.
Mogs
1 year ago
Harper a Dick too?
Part 1 of 2
I too have been watching the sleazy (couldn't help this word slip it just slithered out of my mouth ;) rise to power of the (Far) Right (less) Honorable Prime Minister (Slicko) Steven Harper, humph. This man unfortunately is not a mental moron but he is a danger to Canada. It has been said that he has been anointed by the larger powers that be, in the greater Geo-political world sphere of NWO types, to be the man that dismantles democracy in Canada, which in retrospect seems credibly obvious; we can not let him get away with this.
I have seen the change in him he is not the political idealist he may once have been. He sold his soul to the highest bidder and does not work for Canadians anymore or unless you are with him and if your not its easy; your either a terrorist, an Eco terrorist, an anti big business terrorist, an anti development terrorist, an anti G8 (NWO) terrorist or an anti free trade (which benefits only Multi- and Transnational Corporations and the extremely rich) terrorist and if that does not work you are simply a child pornographer, because you have a computer that is internet connected.
Why do you think the NWO would choose Slicko? Here is what Slicko had to say about coalition governments governing Canada in the winter of 96-97, which by the way is quite a reverse from election 2011 where coalition governments became painted as a terrorist plot of some sort:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/51938443/Stephen-Harper-and-Tom-Flanagan-Our-Benign-Dictatorship-Next-City-Winter-1996-97
Basically if I may paraphrase here what Slicko and Tom “Assassinate Julian” Flanagan had to say about a coalition government. Because Canada is such a vast and diverse country the only fair way to govern it is with a coalition of all the separate and diverse regions of Canada, preferably five parties, (basically North, Far West, West Center, East and Far East), represented fairly. Now get this they also emphatically stated that our form of government meaning a sitting one party majority government in Canada was nothing more than an elected dictatorship they called “benign” here is the title of the paper and opening salvo
“"Next City, Winter 1996/97."
Our benign dictatorship Canada's system of one-party-plus rule has stunted democracy. Two prominent conservatives present the case for more representative government-by Stephen Harper and Tom Flanagan” (see part 2)
Mogs
1 year ago
Harper a Dick too? Two!
Part 2 of 2
So not only does Harper know he has unfettered power, he plans to make full use of it and have us fall in line into the ‘bigger picture’ of one world government order. Hence the Security Perimeter Agreement with the US behind closed doors, this one is truly scary and the Euro free trade pact. The Security Perimeter Agreement gives the US ultimate say as to whether or not Canadians can enter or exit our own country and not just to the US and back but to anywhere in the world, after all we might be terrorists, right? But also who can and cannot enter Canada, do you feel sovereignty slipping away yet, for the good of the 'bigger picture'? Read what Ralph Nader warned Canadians about during the 2011 election here regarding the Security Perimeter Agreement:
http://thecanadausinstitute.uwo.ca/Files/Naderpub%20final.pdf
And if any of you doubt that Robo-call was not put into play by Slicko's "operation reelection: majority at any cost", read this: obviously a test run in the 2008 election to see if it would work and if anyone would notice:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/lawrence-martin/the-curious-case-of-saanich-gulf-islands/article2354592/
It did work and few noticed are you getting the “big picture” yet? Why the new jails when crime is statistically declining?
Here:
http://www.canadaandtheworld.com/decliningcrime.html
And google here:
Police-reported crime statistics in Canada, 2010
And google here:
Police-reported crime statistics in Canada, 2009
The new jails are for people like us, not criminals, but lawful citizens that disagree with Harper’s criminal cabal that is attempting to steal Canada and put it in the lap of foreign Transnational Corporations and other alien filthy rich foreigners.
I don’t know about the rest of you but I’m pissed and righteously so. The 24th of May 2012 (“The holiday is colloquially known as May Two-Four in parts of Canada;”) long weekend falls on the 19 to the 21 of May this year. This notice should give all Canadians time to march on Ottawa “two-four” abreast and stay on Parliament Hill until Harper and his crooked band of cronies’ leaves and is locked up for good. You Egyptians have set the bar high, you showed us how to get rid of a crooked sleazy corrupt Dictatorship and now we will show you how to get rid of a crooked sleazy corrupt Benign Dictatorship! I will see you there!
Canada before it is to late set aside your differences that leeches like Harper prey upon and get him out because he criminally deceived his way into office; therefore he is now officially a “criminal terrorist” committing conspiracy to subvert the Canadian Government and its Sovereignty from within and the good news is its open season on terrorists because George Bush declared it so!
I AM a Righteously Pissed CANADIAN.
Mogs
1 year ago
Now on the lighter side!
On the lighter side a little poem for your amusement:
Harper’s Land and the Roving Polling Stations,
A Magical Mysterious Act: Election 2011!
He’s building really big jails,
And soon it’ll be filled with the wails,
The shrieks of a dying Democracy,
Soon we’ll be a Harper Autocracy,
Harper land is definitely here,
The voting fraud makes it ever so clear,
Canada is gone forever,
Unless we all shout “NEVER”!
The F-35’s he’ll use on us,
It will be like we’ve been hit by a Libyan bus,
That is if we give him a chance,
So now we must kick him in the pants,
It’s time to say goodbye,
We know Steve gave it a try,
But, Harper you’re beginning to smell,
So it’s time that you said farewell.
Steven Harper you’ve gone way to far,
You think our heads are empty like a jar,
But we’ve caught you red-handed,
And now it looks like you’ve landed,
In a terrible mess,
Now c’mon just fess,
Up to the fact,
That you orchestrated this act!
And because of that,
You will never get fat,
At the hogs trough political,
Because we aim to cut your umbilical,
So you’ll never again be able,
To sit at the con party table,
No sir not ever again,
You won’t be allowed to campaign!
We’ll march two-four abreast,
We’ll put Harper to the test,
We’ll call it the Canadian spring,
We’ll have a real good fling,
We’ll march on Parliament Hill,
We’ll get rid of that schill,
Who calls himself the prime minister?
Since really he’s evil and sinister.
Know anyone that can put this to music?
I AM a Righteously Pissed CANADIAN.
igbymac
1 year ago
2 remarks
I have seen the change in him he is not the political idealist he may once have been.
As a founding member of Reform, which he left because it simply was not near radical enough for him, I am not sure when his idealist period may have existed. You'd have to clarify that political nugget before I'd concur.
do you feel sovereignty slipping away yet,
Quite the presumption that this nation ever had supreme legal and independent authority over its own matters. So, no, we cannot lose what we have never truly had.