Fixing Harper - Part 4 - Ending the War on Pot

Changing the laws that make growing and using pot (marijuana, weed, whatever) may seem like focusing on a trivial matter, especially when considered against other weighty matters of state, but, believe me, it's not.  Not trivial at all, and there are historical precedents.

For decades now, pot has been illegal to grow and to use.  Substantial police resources over the years have been devoted to enforcing this ban.  Many have ended up in jail.  And although sentences and police attention have both been reduced in recent years, pot still isn't legal, it's not regulated and it's not taxed.  But I'm getting ahead of myself.

When I was a university student, it was apparently easier (and legally much safer) to get gallon jugs of pure ethanol from the chemistry lab to fuel parties than to score pot.  (I led a sheltered life and so only pass this information in the belief that it's true).  However, I do recall quite clearly a situation that happened where I was working for the summer back in the late 1960s.  More or less unbeknownst to most of us, one of the student engineers was selling pot from the bunkhouse.  He was caught, arrested and left his job.  I don't know what the outcome was, but it probably didn't end well for him (criminal record, unable to join certain professions because of that, and so on).  So most of us stuck to booze.  Even though we were mostly all younger than the legal drinking age of 21 at the time, it was far, far safer.  Any legal consequences were trivial.  And in Nova Scotia at the time, you could buy beer in cases of quart bottles.  Life was good.

Canada never had Prohibition as they did in the USA.  South of the 49th, the 18th Amendment came into effect January 17, 1920.  America went dry.  It lasted until 1933, when Congress passed the 21st Amendment, which repealed the 18th.  There were several reasons for this reversal.  First, Prohibition really wasn't working.  It did reduce alcohol consumption, but it spawned a huge underground criminal market for the stuff, organized crime flourished, there were more "speakeasies" in central NYC (about 2500) than there are bars there now.  About 75% of the government's tax revenue disappeared (only partly replaced by the 16th Amendment - income tax - in 1913).  And a future president, FDR, seemed to like moonshine and supposedly bought it (or just drank what was given to him - stories vary), thus violating that part of the Constitution.  And therein lies the story.  NPR's Planet Money ran a story about this called The Moonshine Stimulus.  You can download it as a podcast or listen on-line.

That explains the following image of a float in an anti-Prohibition parade in 1925.  Note the slogans: "Give Us Beer", "Balance the Budget", "Beer for Prosperity" and "Very Few Working"

Once Prohibition was repealed, the beer industry boomed with thousands employed, breweries constructed and, significantly for this post, vast increases in tax revenue.

The real story for Canada has, however, to do with pot.  The former Conservative administration adamantly refused to even consider de-criminalization of the pot laws or especially legalization.  

Despite the drug antics of one of Harper's supporters, despite the evidence....  Although most courts in the country have been handing out lighter sentences in recent years, pot's illegal status hasn't changed.  

Despite the USA's "War on Drugs" (a war that has failed spectacularly) and recent moves by a few states (Colorado, Washington, etc) to legalize pot, Canada has remained firmly in the pot prohibition camp.  

Until now, however.

The current Liberal administration has vowed to change the laws on pot.  It's unclear when or how, exactly, but the idea is, at the very least, to regulate and tax the stuff, taking a page from the way governments have treated, and profited, from booze.

Save Your Prayers

In the aftermath of yet another mass shooting in America, more meaningless words, more expressions of sadness, the offering of prayers.... but, once again, no action.

The Senator from Sandy Hook made his feelings about such meaningless tripe quite clear in comments made following the San Bernardino shootings on December 2nd.  

Your "thoughts" should be about steps to take to stop this carnage. Your "prayers" should be for forgiveness if you do nothing - again.

The Guardian ran a lengthy article that showed, in graphic form, all the mass shootings that have occurred in the USA over the past 3 years. The article was titled: "1052 Mass Shootings in 1066 Days. This is What America's Gun Crisis Looks Like".

America obviously has a gun crisis, as the graph above clearly shows. Mass shootings are only one part of the problem. The Gun Violence Archive has much of the data, but the yearly numbers tell as much of the story as is needed. In 2015 (so far) there have been 12,282 gun-related deaths. In 2014, there were 12,469 deaths. Each day, in 2013, there were about 30 deaths.

A report by NBC laid out the shocking statistics this way.

And of course, these are only the deaths.  Each year, over 100,000 people are shot.

These are figures that would be "normal" in a Third World Country, or perhaps a war zone.  Not in a so-called First World Country like the USA.  

It boggles the mind that, faced with this crisis, that there hasn't been an enraged public driving American legislators to do something.  But that hasn't happened.  Even the President seems to be resigned to the sorry situation.  Perhaps the main reason why inaction has been the policy is illustrated by this image:

One source has listed all the members of Congress who have basically been bought off by the NRA.  The gun lobby bleats on about 2nd Amendment Rights, or "God Given Rights", or that "guns don't kill people.  People kill people."  Obviously following this flawed logic, the Senate just recently defeated a bill that would have tightened up background checks and made it more difficult for individuals on "terrorist watch lists" to obtain guns.

Of course, there has been plenty of talk about terrorists.  Especially Muslim terrorists.  Especially those supposedly hiding among masses of Syrian refugees.  

It is a sorry state of affairs when the images above really, truly, represent the reality in America today.

Don't keep telling us that gun controls don't work.  They obviously do work.  Just take a look at Japan, at Australia .... so many examples.

What gives America?  Are your citizens worth so little?

NOTE:  There have been many stories about gun violence in the USA.  Some recent ones include this one from the CBC, and this personal account from a CBC journalist. 

Fixing Harper - Part 3 - The Freeing of Science

One of the most insidious of Harper's attacks on information was how scientists were muzzled.  The story is well explained here, in this article from the Globe and Mail.

Other academic publications, such as this one also weighed in during recent years, providing a well-referenced expose of how science was treated under the Harper regime.

The new government has lost no time in starting to reverse this, as announced recently by the new Prime Minister.

Of course, there could be some down-sides to this, as explained by The Beaverton.... Sometimes you need to be careful what you wish for. 

 

More Astonishing Conservative Rationalizing

A recent article in Maclean's trotted out the usual Conservative talking points, referencing the strong, stable, competent fiscal leadership and the principled stands on international issues.  Anyone who was actually paying attention would have a very hard time reading the whole article without gagging.  As a rationalization for why the Conservatives lost on October 19th, it only shows why they may take some time to learn much from the loss.

One FB commentator, a "CM Nancy", wrote the following in response, and I quote below:

Actually the writing is what I consider a piece of dangerous writing that will plant the seeds to brainwash Canadians that Harper and Company were the best economic managers and "Prime Minister Harper’s record is one of competent, effective, and conservative governance. " 

Could not be further from the truth, but the article really wants Canadians to think it is all about the manipulation of Canadians by the political parties as to who had the better story while reinforcing the Harper government's narrative of competent, effective and conservative governance. But more importantly reinforcing the neoliberalism principles of low taxes, no deficits, balanced budgets while cutting government funding and services to facilitate sustained economic growth, job creation, and wage increases. 

Take note, the audience must have no knowledge of the past. Such as Sean Speer and Ken Boessenkool bending history to make the Liberal government of the 1990s appeared to be the same kind that Harper and Government ran. "The political outcome was a durable consensus in favour of balanced budgets. The federal government ran eleven consecutive fiscal surpluses until the 2008-09 recession. Provincial governments, by and large, did the same."

If anyone follows the international news, Speer and Boessenkool are playing the same games as their counterparts across the world are playing. The politically far-right neoliberalist conservatives are waging a war against the politically left-leaning parties across the world. Bernie Sanders in the US. And Jeremy Corbyn in the UK. "“At a time of mass income and wealth inequality throughout the world, I am delighted to see that the British Labour Party has elected Jeremy Corbyn as its new leader,” U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders told the Huffington Post. “We need leadership in every country in the world which tells the billionaire class that they cannot have it all.”  http://news.nationalpost.com/.../the-rise-of-jeremy...

Speer and Boessenkool - "Mr. Trudeau’s calls for “investment” seemed more compelling than our musings about “being in the black.” We were unable to persuasively argue for the concrete, real-life utility of not spending more than the government collects. A return to deficit spending, the anti-consensus, won the day."

Sure unable to bullshit Canadians in another round of austerity in the form of government social funding cuts and services. And for what? All in the name of balancing the budget? The veterans paid a steep price of not having services and donated to the cause of balancing the budget of 1.2 billion dollars. It is why the rising of the left is occurring across the world and for very good reason. The inequality - http://video.cnbc.com/gallery/?video=3000408202 

To which this is total bullshit on Speer and Boessenkool - "The result has more to do with conservatives’s inability, or perhaps unreadiness, to communicate the case for balanced budgets and fiscal probity. We took for granted that we won this intellectual conflict. We assumed that Canadians instinctively understood the importance of fiscal plans that reconciled." 100 % bullshit.

To which the next paragraph can only be delusional - "We must explain how a limited, less activist government promotes individual choice and creates the space for community and civil action. And we must argue that going backwards to failed ideas of the past would undermine the economic and fiscal gains that we have made. In short, it means following Samuel Johnson’s adage about how “men more frequently require to be reminded than informed.”

Hoping that the readers have no concept of what reality is and buys into the Con bait while ignoring the fact that the Harper government had the worst economic record since the 1930s. 

Over at the Tyee - Let's Help Canada's Newspapers Stop Embarrassing Themselves In this post-Harper era, our democratic institutions must be fixed. Start with media.  http://thetyee.ca/Opinion/2015/10/30/Newspapers-Election/

"It should come as no surprise that the National Post and the Globe should rank the Harper government as having a "solid" economic record. They don't mention in their assessment the many aspects of the economy that are not solid -- aspects that affect ordinary people: unemployment, growth, job creation, youth employment, job quality, real personal incomes, inequality, or personal debt.

Those who run the country's daily newspapers reveal themselves as concerned only about "the economy" in the narrowest sense, using it as a code word for the corporate elite, the one per cent -- not the economy of ordinary wage and salary earners. They throw their support behind a government that simply facilitates economic growth by getting out of the way of business, by signing "trade" deals, gutting corporate and wealth taxes, and driving down wages." 

Why the political left is rising across Canada and the indeed the world.

Letters to the Editor - The Conservatives Deserved to Lose

I came across this today, presenting the reasons why the Conservatives deserved to lose.  Reasons the Conservatives seem to be avoiding.  The original story appeared in the Star Phoenix on October 27th, 2015.  I post it here in its entirety.

On election night, Conservative MP Brad Trost said he didn't know why his party lost; Canadians just wanted change for change's sake, he guessed. Could anyone be that clueless?

Stephen Harper's government was consistently self-serving, hard-hearted and mean-spirited. It was anti-democracy (omnibus bill, prorogation, spin - repeat), anti-transparency, anti-accountability, antipress, anti-immigrant, antidiplomacy, anti-knowledge (goodbye long-form census), anti-scientist (hello muzzling), anti-environment (only tree huggers hate C-38), anti-conservation, anti-CBC, anti-culture, antifreedom (only terrorists hate C-51), anti-oversight, anti-Obama, anti-UN, anti-Palestinian, anti-gay, and anti-aboriginal.

It was pro-gun, prowar, pro-business, pro-oil, and pro-Israel (one-sided support, regardless of the diverse views of Jews and Israelis, let alone the world). 

Alternative opinions, dissenting views, and provincial premiers were ignored or ridiculed. Harper's MPs were minions who read from scripts. 

For Harper, business trumped science, nature and compassion; photo ops trumped action; punishment trumped rehabilitation, authority trumped dissent, and lies trumped truth especially during election campaigns (the brothels are coming). Throw in Harperappointed corruption-prone senators, self-benefiting electoral changes, voter suppression, financial hits to retirees, cynically targeted tax breaks, millions wasted on self-promoting condescending government advertising. 

Those were just a few items in their well-stocked shop of horrors. 

It was the most polarizing, fearmongering, partisan and hypocritical government ever. The Conservatives were looking out for themselves, not Canadians. Any means justified their ends. 

Harper's style was cruel and vindictive. The Harper years have done irreparable damage to Canada. Why were the Conservatives booted out? The real question is why it didn't happen sooner. 

W.G. Potter 

Saskatoon 

© Copyright (c) The StarPhoenix

Fixing Harper - Part 2 - Electoral Reform

The first thing the new government can do along this line is scrap the Harper Conservatives' "Fair Elections Act".  There was nothing fair about it.  In fact, it deliberately attempted to disenfranchise as many people as possible and removed investigative powers from Elections Canada.  If we want fair elections, a good first step would be to move in exactly the opposite direction.

The second step would be to bring in a new system of voting in federal elections.  Let's start with this:

The main thrust of many groups is towards some form of Proportional Representation.  Some of those groups are:

• Proportional Representation Canada Discussion Group
• 
  
• Fair Vote Canada

Talk of a new system has already started.  

• The National Post weighs in here.  
• DeSmog Canada talks about the various systems here
•  The Tyee discusses the various options in this article
• And this article very clearly wants FPTP to be killed forever. 

So what are some of the differences between the various options?

Mixed Member Proportional (MMP)

This system can be easily understood by watching this short video

Dual Member Mixed Proportional (DMP or DMMP)

This is another variant of proportional representation that was developed from a political scientist from Alberta.  It claims to avoid some of the concerns with the other forms of PR.

A good, short explanation can be seen here.  Note that the example is based on an election in PEI, but the same strategy could be used nationally.

Single Transferable Vote (STV)

This was the system recommended in British Columbia a few years ago and which was actually voted on in a referendum.  In fact, it's often referred to as BC-STV.

An explanation can be found in Wikipedia about the system.

This short animation helps to explain how it works.

The Citizens Assembly on Electoral Reform in BC still has much information on it's website and a good animation to explain how the system is supposed to work.

The P3 System

A good YouTube video explains how this system would work.

There have been quite a few articles in the media about electoral reform.

General articles such as this one in the G&M about reform in principle.

Articles about whether a referendum should be held, or not, ,such as this one in The Tyee.

Rural Urban Proportional

Fair Vote Canada has come out with a "hybrid" system which could deal with the rural-urban divide that we have in Canada.  It's called Rural-Urban Proportional (or STV+).  It combines aspects of MMP and STV.

Fixing Harper - Part 1 - The Long-Form Census

With the defeat of the Harper Conservatives on October 19th, the rebuilding of Canada can begin.  Here begins a series of posts that will look at what could, should or might be done to reverse the worst of the decisions made during the past 10 years.

The website heaveharper.ca is still active and outlines what it sees as the damage done to Canada and it's institutions.

The Facebook page called 78 Days, 78 Reasons lists the long-form census as Reason # 6 for dumping the Harper Conservatives.

One of the oft-mentioned dumb things that the Harper Conservatives did, announced in 2010, was to end of the mandatory long-form census.  A  bit of history about the census in general can be found here.  This was, according to the Conservatives, to put an end to the terrible intrusion into people's private lives, despite the clearly evident fact that there had been very, very few complaints about the survey and, so far as I know, no prosecutions for non-compliance.

The Liberals even set up an on-line petition to ask the government of the day to bring it back.  In the end, it seemed easier to just defeat the Conservatives and get on with the job.

Back in February of 2015, Macleans published an article that disagreed with the Chief Statistician's assertion that the voluntary survey was just fine.

The voices against this clearly ideological move were many and varied.  Examples here, and here.... among many, many others.

The elimination of the census, of course, was only part of the damage done, which extended to budget cuts and other dismantling of information sources that government and industry used.

Despite the nay-sayers, there is plenty of enthusiasm for the return of the long-form census.

In response to these nay-sayers, someone posted the following comment:

"Just amazing how so many people seem to think the census is intolerably intrusive but are OK with Harper's far more intrusive bill C-51, which grants unprecedented and excessive powers to government departments and agencies, opening the door to collecting, analyzing and potentially keeping forever the personal information of all Canadians, including every instant of a person’s tax information and details about a person’s business and vacation travel. All with no oversight from Parliament so CSIS or the PMO can use the info any way they want. 
You like the idea of CSIS or Justin Trudeau having a gander at your tax info, your travel, your internet browsing history? If so, you can thank Stephen Harper."

It appears that the long form census will be coming back, hopefully in time for the 2016 census.  A good early step.

Analyzing the Harper Defeat

Since the defeat of the Harper Conservatives on October 19th, there has been plenty of "analysis" floating around to explain exactly what went wrong.

ThinkPol just today posted an article discussing why Lynton Crosby's wedge issue "dog-whistle politics" didn't seem to work here in Canada.  Their main conclusion?

  "On October 19, the good people of Canada did something to prevent evil from triumphing. They voted."

Then, of course there were the expected comments from some of the very same journalists who, mere days before, were endorsing either the Conservatives without Harper, or with him, or a hope that he might leave if we voted for him, or who knows.  Their comments can be summarized like this: 

Andrew Coyne opined that everything Harper were not outgrowths of conservatism.  Dawg's Blog begged to differ.

Was it, as this article suggests, because Harper surrounded himself with people who wouldn't stand up to him.  Interestingly, I understand this article was originally posted, then removed and is now available only from an archive copy.  Who knows?

The election seems to have exposed a less tolerant underbelly of Canadian attitudes, as this article from HufPo suggests.  The niqab issue would seem to highlight that point, as did some people's response to the Syrian refugee crisis.  The Tyee also weighed in on this unhappy side of some of us.

It could be something in the Canadian psyche that caused us to respond to Harper's "fear and loathing" campaign tactics the way we did, as discussed here.

The NDP lost in a big way.  This could be explained by voters swarming to the Liberals, seeing them as the best bet to defeat the Conservatives, or it could be the change in direction of the NDP that people disliked.  The NDP, then, also has some self-analysis to go through, as discussed here.

These were at least some of the things that could explain what happened on October 19th.  No doubt some of them are closer to the truth than others.  I may post a few more in the coming days, but the reality is that, as a bumper sticker I saw some years ago put it: "End of an Error".  It's over and it's time to move on.  That's what coming posts will address.

Importing Harper's Tactics in BC

The news here in BC over the past week has been all a-twitter over how the Clark government (Liberal in name but Conservative in policy and actions) has been "managing" government e-mails.  The law says that they are supposed to save these things, as part of the record of how governments make decisions.  In some cases, assistants have been "triple deleting" e-mails, all of them, so that NO records remain.

The CBC has this story about "delete, delete, delete".  Accountability?  Not so much.

One government worker is being investigated after the Information Commissioner discovered him lying repeatedly under oath.

The full report Access Denied: Record Retention and Disposal Practices of the Government of BC can be read here.

Obviously getting rid of the Harper Conservatives was only the first step of the process....

A Weight Lifted

So, here we are.  A week after Election Day.  Pollsters and other prognosticators were predicting a close race.  It wasn't.  Starting with a clean sweep of all 32 Atlantic Canada seats, Liberals went on to win 184 seats, sealing their majority government for the next 4+ years.

The electoral map changed quite markedly, as shown in a useful graphic from the following article in the Huffington Post.

The post-election analysis has been in full swing and I'll talk about some of that in a later post.

For now, though, I'm just happy, as many, many Canadians are, that this decade is over.  Repairing the damage to Canada's international image, it's democratic institutions, scientific research facilities, environmental awareness, electoral fairness and many other things on a very long list will take time.  Perhaps this would be a fast-track solution:

The Harper Record - One (More) Blogger's Compilation

These are from a post by Andrew Aulenback that I came across the other day.

I have been asked recently by some of my Conservative-Party-Loyal friends why I would ever support someone other than Stephen Harper as Prime Minister. "What has he done that every other politician hasn't?" I am asked. Well, in the interest of keeping my promise, here is a short list. I apologize for the obviously partisan [well, not party-loyal to any party, but the focused on what Stephen Harper has done to dissuade me from his consideration] nature of the post:

* Stephen Harper Found in Contempt of Parliament

For refusing to disclose information on the costing of programs to Parliament, which Parliament was entitled to receive, the Harper government became the first in Canadian history to be found in contempt of Parliament. This alone is a big deal. Even the Speaker of the House found it indefensible.

* Against Court Order, Refusal to Share Budget Info

Even though it lost a court case and was ordered to comply, the Harper government nevertheless still refused to share 170 times reasons and impacts for cuts with Canada's independent budget watchdog, mocking Parliament's right to control the public purse.

* Conservative Cabinet Staffers Granted Immunity from Testimony

A PMO edict absolved, or claimed to absolve, political staffers from ever having to testify before parliamentary committees.

* Conservatives Falsify Reports and Documents

Among documents deliberately altered in the writing or the quoting by the government: CIDA document by Bev Oda's office on Kairos; the Senate Committee Report on the Duffy affair; a report by former auditor general Sheila Fraser on financial management.

* Repeated Duplicity in Afghan Detainees Controversy

Among the abuses: Parliament was misled and denied documents. An inquiry was shut down. CPC MPs attempted to discredit diplomat Richard Colvin whose testimony diverted from the government's line of denial.

* Repeated Duplicity on Costing of F-35 Fighter Jets

An auditor general's report revealed serial deceptive practices used by the Conservatives in misleading both the public and especially Parliament on the projected cost of the fighter jets. Additionally, after the government agreed to review the purchase, perhaps even open it up to competitive bidding, the committee chosen by the Harper Government reported (18 months later) that the review will recommend buying the same plane, on the same terms — without competition.

* CPC Minister Lies, Blames Statistics Canada for Killing Long Form Census

Under fire for Conservatives killing the long form census, Industry Minister Tony Clement falsely stated that StatsCan backed the idea and assured the voluntary substitute would yield valid statistical data. Neither was true, outraged StatsCan sources confirmed, such that the head of StatsCan publicly refuted the lies about his statements and support, stepping down in protest as well.

* Conservative MP Lies to Parliament, Later Admits He Lied to Parliament

As opposition members claimed the Harper government was out to rig election rules in its favour, Conservative MP Brad Butt rose in the House of Commons to say why the bill was needed -- all the voter fraud he had personally witnessed in Nova Scotia. Weeks later he rose again to say his statements had been entirely false. Delivering his strained apology, he failed to explain why he lied in the first place.

* Conservative House Leader Admits to Mockery of Question Period

Criticized far and wide for farcical answers in question period, Paul Calandra, parliamentary secretary to Harper, made a tearful apology for abuse of the democratic process, in this case for having pretended to repeatedly hear "Iraq" as "Israel." He continued to fail to answer questions by instead giving spurious and "comedic" answers, however, as time went on.

* Harper Maligns the Supreme Court Chief Justice

The Prime Minister took the unprecedented step of alleging inappropriate conduct by Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin. Facts undermined the credibility of the PM's position.

* Conservatives Engage in Abuse of Process with Omnibus Bills

Harper's party pushed legislation through Parliament via omnibus bills, the scale of which Parliament had never seen. Such bills are widely condemned as an abuse of the democratic process, because they blend and bury so many controversial laws within one dense package. Harper himself once railed against them, and his born again love for them made his own MPs queasy. Referencing such bills, former auditor general Sheila Fraser said that "Parliament has become so undermined that it is almost unable to do the job that people expect of it."

* Harperites Deliberately Sabotage, Stymie Committee System

Conservatives used tactics such as barring witnesses, closure, time limitations, and in camera sessions to an extent rarely, if ever, witnessed in Canada. In their early days in power, top Conservatives prepared a handbook instructing committee chairpersons how to obstruct proceedings.

* Harper's Own CPC MPs Protest Muzzling

In a caucus known for his tight discipline, in 2014 some members finally rose up to contest being censored at question period by the Prime Minister's Office. Former Conservative backbencher Brent Rathgeber turned independent and published a book, Irresponsible Government, decrying anti-democratic practices.

* Conservative Bill Back-Dates Bill To Before Bill Was Enacted to Protect Mounties from Potential Criminal Charges Against Access To Information Violation

To protect the RCMP's acceding to demands from the PMO to illegally destroy records early, the government made an old bill come retroactively into force before it had actually been passed by Parliament.

* Harper Minister Caught in Advertising Scam with Public Funds

The Globe and Mail revealed that Harper's chosen Minister for Democratic Reform Pierre Poilievre commissioned a team of public servants for overtime work on a Sunday to film him glad-handing constituents. The vanity video on the taxpayer dime was to promote the government's benefits for families.

* Access to Information System Impeded

Many new roadblocks have been put up by the Harper Conservatives. Former Information Commissioner Robert Marleau concluded that having obtained absolute power, the prime minister "has absolutely abused that power to the maximum."

* The Silencing of the Public Service

The PMO took an unprecedented step in instituting a system wherein the bureaucracy has all its communications vetted by the political nerve centre. The policy contribution role of the public service is significantly reduced. Complaints from insiders allege that the Privy Council office has become increasingly politicized. In particular, science and scientists have been controlled and impeded in their communications, especially but not exclusively in preventing information on climate change.

* Loyalty Oaths Imposed on Public Servants

Archivists and librarians were made to swear strict oaths of allegiance and were hit with restrictions on freedom of speech that editorialists of the right and left described as chilling, as they are not being applied to the crown or the nation, but to the party and politicians in power, and are expected to apply 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

* Harper Government Sued by Justice Department Whistleblower

Time and again the Harper government propose bills that end up being shot down by the courts, prompting critics to say such legislation is more about making political statements than lasting policy. The wasted efforts bothered senior justice department lawyer Edgar Schmidt so much he finally sued the government for breaking the law by inadequately evaluating whether proposed bills violate the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. He was promptly suspended without pay.

* Conservatives Block Accreditation for Opposition MPs

In another example of partisanship taken to new heights, the PMO blocked opposition members from being accredited for international environment conferences and from visiting military bases.

* Clampdown on Freedom of Speech of Diplomatic Corps

Ottawa's diplomats must get all communications approved from Conservative political operatives. Under Harper, the country's ambassadors are hardly heard from any more. In a recent speech, former United Nations ambassador Stephen Lewis said our political culture under the Conservatives has descended into "a nadir of indignity."

* Marine Science Libraries Decimated

The Harper government's downsizing of federal libraries included sudden closing of seven world famous Department of Fisheries and Oceans archives. A leaked memo revealed the destruction and consolidation would save less than half a million dollars. Scientist patrons of the libraries, who witnessed chaotic chucking of rare literature, called it a "book burning" with no logical purpose other than to restrict environmental information. The Harper government claimed vital works would be digitally preserved, but never provided a plan or cost for doing so, nor any proof it had happened. No scientists interviewed by The Tyee believed digitizing would or could replace what was lost.

* Harper Government Denies Khadr Basic Rights

Defying court rulings, the Conservative government refused to accord Omar Khadr basic rights such as access to media. Editorialists of right and left persuasion described the move as unbefitting a democratic government.

* Illegitimate Prorogation of Parliament, Twice

Prorogations are a legitimate procedure that can be abused depending on motivations. The Harper government provoked 60 protests across Canada and beyond its borders in 2010 after shutting the legislature's doors to escape condemnation on the Afghan detainees' file. It was the second prorogation in a year's period.

* Undue Interference with Independent Agencies

Command and control system was extended to meddling in bodies like National Energy Board and CRTC whose arms-length autonomy is significantly reduced. A special target was the Parliamentary Budget Office, which was hit with condemnations and budget cuts for its critical reports.

* Billions Borrowed without Parliament's Permission

The auditor general sounded alarms about the "prodigious" growth and size of federal borrowing. Those billions in "non-budgetary" spending used to get Parliament's oversight, but no more. The finance minister can borrow what he wants without Parliament's permission. Why? A loophole buried in a 2007 Harper omnibus bill.

* Lapdogs Appointed as Watchdogs

The most controversial was the case of former Integrity Commissioner Christiane Ouimet. Her office reviewed more than 200 whistleblowing cases. Disciplinary action followed on none of them. Ouimet's own angry staffers blew the whistle on their boss. The auditor general foundOuimet intimidated her employees, took "retaliatory action" against them and may have breached their privacy, all part of the Harper appointee's "gross mismanagement." Ouimet was paid more than $500,000 to leave her post.

* The 'Harper Government' Labelling Deception

Public servants were told to use "Harper Government" instead of "Government of Canada" in publicity releases. The Conservatives denied it was happening -- until internal memos revealed by the Canadian Press revealed the denial to be without basis.

* Conservatives Place Party Logos on Government of Canada Cheques

Once "caught red-handed," they backed off. The federal ethics commissioner, adopting the exasperated tone of an adult lecturing a child, noted: "Public spending announcements are government activities, not partisan political activities, and it is not appropriate to brand them with partisan or personal identifiers."

* Record Amounts of Partisan Political Advertising, on the Public Purse

Several media reports told how the Conservatives used taxpayer money for partisan political advertising in record quantity, costing the public treasury $750 million since Harper became PM. In one instance, the Tories spent lavishly on ads for the promotion of a jobs grant program that had yet to be made public or presented to parliament or the provinces. Even more nakedly partisan, a mailed blast, charged to the taxpayers, targeting Justin Trudeau.

* Government Muzzles Science Community

Top scientists came under such heavy monitoring by the Conservatives that they staged "Death of Evidence" protests for being denied freedom of speech. The Conservatives sent out chaperones or "media minders" to track Environment Canada scientists and report on them. Continued and repeated silencing of scientists and scientific dialogue continues.

* Like Never Before, Limits Placed on Media Access

Journalists have been hard-pressed to recall another time when controls put on them were so tight. At the Conservatives' 2013 Calgary convention, reporters wrote of being harassed and penned in at every turn by the PMO's command and control system. In his book Killing The Messenger, journalist Mark Bourrie charts the many examples of new limits on freedom of speech introduced in the Harper era.

* Harper's Team Tries to Ban Journalist for Asking Question

Veteran TV cameraman Dave Ellis covered a Harper speech about oil to a business audience. Though media had been instructed no questions allowed, Ellis posed one about charges laid against a Conservative MP. The PMO tried to punish Ellis and his network by kicking him off covering Harper's trip to Malaysia. After media hue and cry, Harper backed down and Ellis went.

* Suppression of Research

In the gun registration debate, incriminating research and documents such as a Firearms Report were deliberately withheld from the public. While ramping up their prison building, Conservatives suppressed related research and studies contradicting their political priorities.

* Protesters Put under Blanket Surveillance

According to a leaked memo, as part of its command and control approach, the Conservatives have approved a system wherein all advocates, protesters and demonstrations can be monitoredby authorities. The Government Operations Centre has requested federal departments to assist it in compiling a comprehensive inventory of protesters. Security specialists have called it a breach of Canadians' Charter of Rights. Conservatives have moved to give CSIS even more powers than the spy agency wants.

* Rights and Democracy, Other Groups, Dismantled

In a show of brute force, the Montreal-based group Rights and Democracy was pole-axed for its alleged political leanings and eventually disbanded. Organizations like the church group Kairoswere de-budgeted or dismantled for political leanings. Nuclear Safety Commission head Linda Keen was dumped. Among the complaints cited by the PM was that in her distant past, she had some Liberal ties.

* Harper Government Spied on Aboriginal Critic, 'Retaliated'

Aboriginal child welfare advocate Cindy Blackstock was spied on by the Harper government, and when she arrived for a meeting with other First Nations leaders at the Ministry of Aboriginal Affairs only she was barred entry. Finding Blackstock had been "retaliated" against by a ministry official, the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal awarded her $20,000 for pain and suffering.

* Revenue Canada Targeted to Attack Charities

Not all charities, just the ones that don't seem adequately aligned with the Harper brand. Enough to include many environmental, aid, human rights and free speech charities that banded together to push back against what looks like a politically motivated witch hunt. When an investigation into whether there was PMO coercion became possible, Revenue Canada instructed all staff to destroy all text message records, against standard procedures.

* Conservatives Use Unheard of Tactic to Force through Anti-Union Bill

Conservative senators went to the unprecedented extent of overruling their own Speaker. What could be so important to break Senate rules? A bill pushed by Harper that is almost certainly unconstitutional for its privacy invading measures forced onto unions, unlike other groups. Latest in a steady stream of Conservative attacks on organized labour in Canada.

* Harper Smears Liberal Sikh MP, Insinuating Tie to Terrorism

When Liberals opposed a 2007 Conservative plan to extend anti-terror legislation, Stephen Harper singled out Grit MP Navdeep Bains, seeming to suggest that Bains' party was motivated by a desire to protect Bains' father-in-law, Darshan Singh Saini. A recent news story had claimed Singh Saini was on a list of witnesses sought by the RCMP for its Air India investigation, but provided no proof he was involved. In the House, Liberals erupted with outrage and Bains asked, in vain, that Harper apologize.

* Veterans' Advocates Smeared

Medical files of Sean Bruyea, a strong advocate for veterans' rights, were leaked in a case that privacy commissioner Jennifer Stoddart described as "alarming." Veterans Affairs Canada ombudsman Pat Stogran was dumped after criticizing the government.

* Conservative Convicted on Robocalls Scam

Tory operative Michael Sona was given jail time for his role in the robocalls scam. The judge indicated more than one person was likely involved. In another court judgment in a case brought by the Council of Canadians, the ruling said the robocalls operation was widespread, not just limited to the Guelph riding. Donald Segretti who did dirty tricks for the Nixon White House told a Canadian reporter his skullduggery didn't go so low as to run schemes sending voters to the wrong polling stations.

* Harper's Ex-Parliamentary Secretary Jailed for Breaking Election Law

Dean Del Maestro was one of Harper's favourites. As his parliamentary secretary, the PM frequently used him as an attack dog to allege misdeeds by opposition members. Del Maestro was given a jail sentence in June for his own election spending violations, which is to say, cheating.

* 'Reprehensible' Dirty Tricks Campaign against Irwin Cotler

Conservative Commons Speaker Andrew Scheer ruled his party's own tactics in running a surreptitious misinformation campaign in the riding of the highly respected MP were "reprehensible.

* Election Violations Prompt Resignation of Cabinet Member

Peter Penashue, another Harper Conservative was compelled to step down over election spending violations.

* Harper's Office Deploys Interns for Dirty Tricks

In one instance that brought on allegations of Nixonian tactics, junior PMO staffers in the guise of normal citizens were sent out to disrupt a Justin Trudeau speech.

* Citizens Ejected from Conservative Rallies

Tory operatives hauled out citizens from a Harper rally in the 2011 campaign because they had marginal ties to other parties. A spokesperson for the PM was compelled to apologize. Problem fixed this time around: Only fully vetted Harper supporters will be allowed, by invite only, to attend the PM's campaign stops. If they have a ticket.

* Conservatives Make Campaign Event Attendees Sign Gag Order

Not only have Harper's campaign handlers made his campaign events by invite only, they are forcing anyone let in to sign an agreement not to transmit any description of the event or any images from it.

* Conservatives Unfix Their Own Fixed Date Election Law

In 2008, Harper pulled the plug on his own government, violating his own new law, which stipulated elections every four years

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* Guilty Plea on In and Out Affair

The Conservative Party and its fundraising arm pled guilty to some Elections Act charges stemming from their exceeding spending limits in the 2006 campaign. The investigation cost taxpayers over $2 million.

* CPC Elections Bill Strips Power from Elections Canada

The Fair Elections Act also makes it harder for Canadians to vote as more ID is required. Nationwide protests in which more than 400 academics took part forced Pierre Poilievre to withdraw some measures in the bill because of their alleged anti-democratic bent.

* Harper Minister Smears Head of Elections Canada

In a bid to impugn his integrity, Democratic Reform Minister Pierre Poilievre accused the Elections Canada CEO Marc Mayrand of being a power monger and wearing a team jersey.

* Copyright Grab for Attack Ads

CTV News found out Conservatives aimed to rewrite copyright law to let political parties grab any media content and use it for free in their ads. The impact, warned CTV's Don Martin, "will be to cast a chill on every broadcast appearance" by MPs, commentators and reporters, who "must now be aware their views could end up featured in a political attack ad." By asserting "unlimited access to the airwaves for propaganda purposes," Martin said, the Harper government "could be seen as flirting with fascism."

* Conservatives Use Terrorists' Propaganda in Attack Ad Immediately After Making That Illegal

Harper's party created a political ad incorporating music and horrifying images of doomed captives pulled straight from the Islamic State's own promotional video. The target: Justin Trudeau, whose views on the risks and rewards of bombing ISIS differ from Harper's. This immediately after making it illegal to spread terrorists' propaganda even incidentally or accidentally.

* Canada Is The Only UN Member To Reject Landmark Indigenous Rights Document

CPC aboriginal affairs deputy minister Colleen Swords represented Ottawa at the United Nations assembly in New York, where Canada was the only nation to object to a non-legally binding UN outcome document which promotes indigenous peoples' legal and political standing and participation in their various home countries. This after UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples found in the UN's 2014 report that Canada's relationship as a nation with its indigenous peoples continues to be an antagonistic rather than cooperative one.

* Prime Minister's Office Charged in Court By Information Commissioner

Canadian Press submitted Access to Information request identified 28 pages of documents available, according to the Privy Council Office, but the PMO refused to allow access to 27 of the 28 pages, despite being legally obliged. The case has gone to federal court.

* Conservative Party's Lawyers Declare No Responsibility Between Government And Combat Veterans.

In response to a lawsuit by Canadian combat veterans over the new Veterns Charter, wherein the veterans stated "The social covenant is this promise that our country, Canada, has promised service people they will be protected when they get maimed and their families will be looked after if they are killed," the federal government responded that "At no time in Canada's history has any alleged 'social contract' or 'social covenant' having the attributes pleaded by the plaintiffs been given effect in any statute, regulation or as a constitutional principle written or unwritten." That the government has no obligation to care for wounded combat veterans. The lawsuit has been put on pause during the election, and will resume afterward.

* Department of Foreign Affairs Instructed To Meet Quota Of Terror

The Prime Minister's Office instructed the Department of Foreign Affairs in April of 2015, with an election looming, to ensure a minimum of three Terrorism Warning media releases each week. The bureaucrats of the Department declined to meet the "odd" demand for a quota,

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These are a number of things which help Stephen Harper and, through the "Harper" brand, the Conservative Party of Canada, stand out from other politicians and other parties current and historic.

David Beers has a more extensive listing of this list and more, over at The Tyee. His version of this list breaks 70 items. I am evidently more conservative than that, and consider mis-spending and pork-barrel scandals to be similar enough to previous governments to not be worth listing.