One Angry Canadian

Look. In the past few weeks I've seen more crap than I ever thought possible. On Facebook, if you can believe it. Or perhaps that explains it. I'm not sure.

Whatever, I've decided is that in this Information Age, far too many people are completely and perhaps willfully uninformed. Also gullible. Not to mention prejudiced. Maybe bigoted.

I've seen doctored Ontario drivers licenses with a burka-covered person pictured. 

A minute or so wandering around the Interweb revealed the original image on the Ontario Government's website - a John Doe, it seems. Have people never heard of Photoshop?

I've seen claims that refugees are getting tons of cash.

A FederalGovernment website actually mentions those claims and shows exactly what refugees DO get.  An article in The Tyee also covers the "issue".

Some people seem to think that anyone in a niqab can walk into a passport office (drivers licensing office, etc) and get an ID photo taken just the way they are. Every province (I checked 3, just to be sure) has clear requirements about what is acceptable in these photos. And no, you can't wear your ski mask, niqab, goggles, glasses, face scarf.... Honestly. How dumb can some people be?

How many people just believe any crap they see or hear? What happened to skepticism? I mean, 97% of climate scientists say that humans are the main cause of climate change and immediately we have all sorts of doubting Thomases popping up saying: “Nah, they can't be right. They're making it up. I'm just not convinced.” Some of them are actually running as Conservative candidates in this election (Okanagan NorthShuswap).

But you show them a picture of a drivers license with someone wearing a niqab and they're outraged. HOW COULD THIS HAPPEN IN CANADA, they say? It's against our traditions and values.

Someone needs to teach these clods about Google.

Canada actually doesn't have a really good record on things like this, you know. We refused entry to Jews fleeing Nazi Germany (one immigration official was quoted as saying “none is too many”). We turned away Sikhs fleeing the Indian sub-continent (the people some a$$holes call “ragheads”). The Conservative government of the day AND the National Citizen's Coalition (an organization Mr Harper belonged to at the time) fought the introduction of the turban in the RCMP a couple of decades ago. They lost that legal battle, just like they're losing now, and yet the sky hasn't fallen and I'll bet none of you have been pulled over by an RCMP member wearing a turban. And so what if you were?

So, that's where we are in 2015. All the important things that we could be discussing like adults. Things that really matter to this country and it's citizens.  Health care, the economy, prisons, Senate reform, electoral change, education, our military, our veterans, child poverty, homelessness.....

And what we're spending our time doing is listening to a vocal number bleat on about “Canadian values and traditions”, the niqab, how they're "fighting against misogyny” blah, blah, blah.

Maybe Canada doesn't really deserve a Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Maybe we don’t deserve to live in a pseudo-democracy. Let's see if I'm right on October 19^th.

[This rant approved by one really annoyed Canadian who is really tired of all this Bullsh*t]

When a Government is Past it's Sell-By Date

Just pulled this quote/rant from Facebook.  I claim no ownership/authorship.  Does make a point though.  A very definite point....

"I just saw someone tell a distant relative to avoid social issue debates when choosing a party, and that they're voting Conservative to, "Preserve our economy, their family and their bank account. "  wink emotic

Our dollar is shit and our economy is terrible. There's nothing to preserve. We're the only G7 country in a recession and the IMF just downgraded our growth outlook yesterday.

Although we did have a 'balanced budget' after they sold our GM shares (at a loss of 3.5 billion dollars. It also removed the incentive for GM to continue manufacturing in Canada, which lead to a cut of 1000 jobs in Oshawa alone within 3 weeks of the sale), cut 2 billion dollars from our contingency fund, stole 1.8 billion dollars from EI (which we all pay into), and took 900 million dollars from sick leave benefits for public service employees.

All of our money and resources were put into the oil industry. In addition to the negative environmental impact and the further strain on our relationship with many First Nations communities, that turned out to be a terrible financial decision as oil prices continue to drop. A few years ago, I knew at least a dozen men working on oil rigs. Now I don't know any, because they've all either been laid off, or injured on the job.

Then there are the jobs lost from the massive cuts to healthcare and the arts. For the first time in 2 decades, the number of nurses working in Canada declined. My doctor is paying out of pocket for his patients to have pap tests, because the government no longer covers the costs, and he doesn't want women to put off having them. And I don't know a single person who works in arts or the media in Canada who hasn't at the very least seen a pay cut while their coworkers were laid off. A lot of companies just fired all of their employees then hired them back as freelancers at much lower rates and without benefits. As a disabled person who works in the arts, the cuts to both sectors has been nothing short of devastating.

There's also a promised 12 billion dollar increase on military spending (serious question: why?) while making massive cuts to Veterans Affairs. They cut lifetime pensions for injured veterans, shut down 9 offices (resulting in 89 jobs lost, leaving 8 employees to handle 17 000 veterans) and cut over 900 jobs from Veterans Affairs (mostly from the disability awards branch). Despite the massive increase in veterans in need of mental health treatment, there's an average of an 8 month wait for veterans seeking mental help, and a 24% refusal rate for veterans seeking mental health help through their disability benefits. While this was happening, the government gave $500 000 in bonuses to management for cutting budgets (which they did really well, apparently, since they returned 1.13 billion dollars allocated for veterans services to the general revenue). The Conservative government then spent another $750 000 dragging out a class action lawsuit by veterans trying to get their pensions back.

Then there are even more court costs from the senate scandal, in which everyone involved in both the acts and the cover-up, with the exception of Mac Harb, was appointed by Harper. The court costs are on top of the cost of the RCMP investigation and the million dollars of fraudulent expenses.

Speaking of immeasurably stupid court costs: we've yet to hear how much we've spent trying to prevent one solitary woman from wearing a niqab during her citizenship ceremony, despite the fact that she was only the second woman in history to even request it. Those costs will continue to rise, by the way, because they've stated that they plan to appeal and take it to the supreme court.

In keeping with the string of really, really awful money decisions, we just engaged in a secret arms trade deal (literally, keeping it a secret was a part of the deal) with Saudi Arabia, a country that is schedule to crucify one 17 year old and behead another for taking part in a protest. They also just threatened all of their citizens with execution if they post anything negative about the government on the internet. We sold that country military equipment and promised to keep it a secret. That's goddamn batshit cowsuit crazy, and gives a lot of insight into why our government continues to refuse to sign the UN's Arms Trade Treaty (we're the only NATO country not to do so, despite pressure from all of our allies). Had we signed the treaty, we would have had to report the deal to the UN, at which point it would have been rejected because of the aforementioned human rights violations.

And all of that is without getting into issues like missing and murdered Indigenous women, cuts to Canada Post, bill C-51, the complete inaction re: Syrian refugees, the lack of safe drinking water on reserves, the terrifying food deserts in Canada's North, the inaction on the Truth and Reconciliation report, our rapidly deteriorating international reputation, the admitted lip service to environmental concerns so Europe won't call us out about the oil industry, the mass deportation of Roma refugees, the cuts to healthcare for the non-Roma refugees, the cuts to international aid, the cuts to CBC, the cuts to women's health funding, the blatant Islamophobia, the baldfaced lying about marijuana, and Harper's refusal to not have Lego hair.

We're currently living in the worst possible Bush-era SNL sketch. We're past the point of parody. We're doing everything we've historically made fun of Americans for doing, only somehow worse because of our unearned, smug self-righteousness from decades of self-identifying as the world's peacekeepers. It's gross. It's so gross."

Dear Mr Harper

Open letter to Steven Harper. Please share.

Dear Mr. Harper.

It’s the last straw.

You, the Prime Minister of Canada, are teaching Canadians to hate. You are saying it’s perfectly O.K., in fact it’s a good thing for a white, Christian Canadian to hate another Canadian who isn’t. It’s fine to deny them freedom of choice and to snitch on them.

Well, hate is not an emotion I have much experience with. But you have indeed taught me to hate, Mr. Harper. I hate you. I have a long list of reasons. They all add up to the dismantling of the country I love. I invite my fellow Canadians, whatever colour they are, whatever language they speak, and whatever they wear, to add to it.

Here’s my list. It’s in no particular order. I’ve already mentioned hate-mongering. (Hmm, didn’t Keegstra go to jail for that?)

1. Bill C-51. Being spied on doesn’t make me feel any safer.

2. Lousy fiscal management. Saying that you and your party are good fiscal managers over and over again doesn’t make it true. One balanced budget out of ten?! Looks like you can’t do even simple math cause you just got 10% on your exam. And squandering Paul Martin’s surplus and reducing taxes so that you can justify cutting programs that benefit disadvantaged Canadians doesn’t seem like good fiscal management to me. Rich Canadians are richer because of you. Poor Canadians are poorer.

3. Abdul Abdulrazik, Maher Arrar, Omar Khadr and Mohammad Fahmy are Canadians. You did not lift so much as your pinky on their behalf. It was in your power to do so.

4. Palestinians as well as Israelis deserve self-determination, peace and a good quality of life. Believing that does not make a Canadian anti Semitic. You can deplore Israeli policies and still think Jewish people are perfectly nice. Understand?

5. How many scandals? I’ve lost count. And nobody believes that paying off Duffy wasn’t your idea all along. There’s nothing that goes on in the STASI head office (sorry, that slipped out, I meant to say PMO) that you don’t know about. And wasn’t it your idea for Duffy to fraudulently state his residence as P.E.I in the first place?

6. Cutting funding to all womens programs. And denying the need for an inquiry into murder and disappearance of First Nations women.

7. Gagging the scientists.

8. Gagging your MPs.

Now, don’t even talk about democracy. I cringe when I hear that word come out of you mouth.

9. Suppressing open and free parliamentary debate about what concerns Canadian citizens.

10. Suppressing free speech. I have friends, now, after the “Harperman” song, who won’t even click on Facebook items for fear of losing their federal jobs. Big Brother is watching (see “Bill C-51”). People are afraid to speak out against you for fear of recrimination, and sadly, that fear appears to be justified. Hearing you talk of freedom of speech makes me retch.

11. Election Fraud – overspending scandals

12. Election Fraud - robocalls

13. Did I mention Election Fraud?

14. Proroguing parliament three times? Four? Every time only in order save your sorry ass.

15. Your 200 page instruction manual which taught your MPs how to subvert and obstruct Parliamentary committees.

16. Making it legal for your government to rescind citizenship.

17. Handing over Afghan detainees to be tortured.

18. Selling off the CBC.

19. Starving health care.

20. Refusing to engage with all Canadians - only admitting card-carrying Conservatives to your rallies.

21. Not taking any questions from the media that aren’t vetted beforehand.

22. Your foreign policy. You have destroyed our cherished reputation for being a peace-loving, peace-keeping people. I used to be so proud of that – Canadians were committed to doing good in the world. Bombing people over in the Middle East doesn’t make us safer over here. Quite the reverse, actually.

23. Omnibus bills.

24. Shutting fisheries and agricultural libraries and destroying the contents.

25. Harpering on “the economy” (read: oil, gas, and pipelines. Can you even talk about anything else? Ever? The weather, even?) Look, it’s not about the economy, stupid. It’s about survival. Survival of a great many species, humans included. Unless you believe it’s a moot point because you and your Christian Missionary Alliance Pre-Millennialist cohorts will be raptured up from Jerusalem, leaving the rest of us to burn to a crisp, get swept away in floods or die of thirst.

26. (Ironically) lack of transparency. Funny isn’t that what you pilloried the Liberals over?

27. Halting the immigration of Syrian refugees so that the PMO can vet them before Immigration Canada is permitted to admit them.

We can only hope you’ll have your epiphany eventually. When you actually wake up on the road to Damascus and see what you have done to what used to be the best country on the planet, you won’t need to die to be in hell. Our problem is, you’ve brought us along with you.

Christina Smith

Tough on Crime. Never Mind the Facts.

One of the hallmarks of the Conservative philosophy, if I can use that term with the Conservatives, is that they believe themselves to be "tough on crime".

So, under the Harper Conservatives, we've had various pieces of legislation proposed and (some of them) passed.  Some examples:

"Life Means Life" legislation - continuing a theme of that party of imposing mandatory sentences, in this case, mandatory life sentences with NO chances of parole.  Ever.  Admittedly, this would apply to the most heinous of crimes, so perhaps sympathy isn't needed.

More recently, several American states decided to ignore Federal laws and legalized marajuana.  So far as I know, the current list includes Alaska, Oregon, Washington, District of Columbia and Colorado.  It's a civil misdemeanor in several other states.  The Harper Conservatives continue to flog pot as evil incarnate.  No vasillation on possible legalization or decriminalization.  Just harsher penalties and more rhetoric.  Not to suggest that any drugs are good for you, I'd just point out that pot probably isn't much worse for a person than alcohol or tobacco.  The main problem is a lack of good data, something the current prohibition makes hard to fix.  

A number of other Conservative pieces of legislation have met with unfavourable rulings from the Supreme Court of Canada.

In fact, if you can stand the partisan rhetoric and a whole page of Conservative talking points, it's all here on the Conservatives' website.

What this ignores is the verifiable fact that the crime rate peaked in 1991 and has been dropping since then.  The Conservative's policies are seen by some as a failure.

There are many consequences of this kind of mindset on the part of the government.  One is all the money that is spent on prisons.  In fact, Canada's prisons are claimed to be in chaos and our reputation as a just nation somewhat tarnished.  

Also keep in mind, every time the Conservatives trumpet their tiny budget surplus... the Feds can make the laws but it's often the provinces that have to enforce them.  That means that many of the direct costs have been downloaded on the provinces.  So everyone pays.  It just doesn't look like it's the Federal Government that's responsible for the costs.

The cynics (and who could believe there are Canadians cynical of this government) will point out the number of Harper aides who have fallen afoul of the law, whether in the Senate, the PMO or the various election campaigns (Del Maestro, Carson, Duffy, Penashue, Sona....).  In almost every one of these cases, the Prime Minister repeatedly confirmed his faith and confidence in the person involved (until they were ultimately found guilty and thrown under the bus), leaving the cynics to offer this thought:

In each election campaign, the Conservatives have been found guilty of some form of electoral fraud.  Once again, the cynics have been at work:

Of course when the government claims to be working hard to find and convict tax cheats, the cynics (again) remain skeptical.  And for possibly good reason, as indicated in this story from CBC Business News.

It leads one to wonder if the Conservatives are really "tough on crime" or if it's all just a political sham designed to make enough gullible voters believe they are being kept safe from the criminal hordes by only voting Conservative.

It's part of the Harper Conservatives' "government by fear" policy.  Just remember: Whenever any government tried to scare you, they're not doing it because they're trying to keep you safe.  They're doing it because they're trying to control you.

War. What is it Good For?

Everything seems to be a war these days.

There's the War on Terror.  This was classic Dubya, Harper's friend and idol in the White House.  The very guy, according to his brother Jeb, who "Kept America Safe".  Never mind that 9/11 happened during his watch.  Never mind that the Bush Era saw the greatest number of Americans killed as a result of terrorism and war since Vietnam...  That seemingly doesn't matter.  Pesky facts.

There's the War on Drugs.  This goes back to around 1971 during the term of Richard Nixon.  We all know how this has been working.  It's filled the prisons with pot smokers and such, but the drugs?  They're still as prevalent as ever.

And then there are the "real" wars.  Syria, Libya, Iraq....we're just waiting for someone to start a war with Iran, and language is getting tense with Russia.  After WWI, WWI, Korea, Vietnam, Iraq.... you would have thought we'd have learned something.  Huh.

Mr Harper seems to be an enthusiastic booster of all of these.  

What we also get in Canada is a "War on Science".  Discussed in more detail here.

I'm old enough to remember something called the "Peace Dividend".  Where did that go, eh?

Since there is no evidence that any of these wars have actually accomplished anything and have instead caused untold damage to lives and property, much as a rational person would have expected, perhaps it's time to get rid of politicians who insist on rattling the sabers and strutting belligerently around the world looking for trouble.

The Niqab - Suddenly Everyone's an Expert

One thing that the recent "dog-whistle" tactic of the Harper Conservatives has revealed is the number of Islamic scholars who live in Canada.  No sooner than the Federal Court ruled that the government couldn't ban the niqab at Canadian Citizenship ceremonies (in itself a topic that I'll bet almost NO Canadians have given much thought to in their entire lives), then Jason Kenney declared that the government would appeal the ruling to the Supreme Court and that the niqab "just wasn't consistent with "Canadian values" - whatever those are.

The woodwork erupted with posts and comments and articles from people who claimed to know that the niqab was part of sharia law, that it was cultural, not religious, that is was a religious requirement, that is was oppressive of women, that it was a sign of female liberation and freedom, that is was a security risk, that it wasn't a problem....  You pick a viewpoint, dozens could be found for each one.

Frankly, I've never met anyone who wore a niqab (or a hijab, for that matter) and will bet that most Canadians haven't either.  Why this becomes a problem is, therefore, a complete mystery.  Well, not really....  Anyone with 2 clues to rub together can see clearly that this is a desperate attempt on the part of the Harper Conservatives to pull in some more electoral support, especially since science, the environment, the economy, law and order, climate change, fighter jets, Canada's role at the UN, Canada's role in Syria, jobs, trade deals.... none of these issues were working in Harper's favour.

In other words, this has become an issue because Harper wants it to become an issue.  That is, Harper and his imported Dingo, Lynton Crosby.

I'm not really all that interested in knowing the intricacies of sharia law or the Muslim religion.  I feel the same way about pretty much any form of religion.  I only get exercised when people try to impose their religious beliefs on other people or me in particular.  So on matters of abortion, birth control, meat or fish on Fridays, whether liquor stores should be open on Sundays or not.... and none of these "issues" have had anything to do with Islam.  I just can't believe it.  These days, you'd think the Ayatollah was coming to impose his will on all of us north of the 49th.

So I had a very quick look.  Here are a few references for those of you who really DO want to know.  Take your pick and see if you learn anything.  They are probably more informed that anything you'll find in the Toronto Sun, but that's only my opinion....

From the Guardian - "The Niqab makes me feel liberated and no law will make me stop wearing it"

From the Toronto Star - Muslim Women in Canada Explain why they wear a niqab

Understanding the Face Veil

Rulings regarding Wearing Hijab and Niqab

Those are just a very few of the gazillions that I suppose are out there.  I really didn't try to find any that were significant or "the final answer" in any way at all.  Me?  I really, really don't care.  It's not a security issue (despite attempts to make it one), it's not a "values" thing (despite attempts to make it one) and it's not a matter of "never telling my daughter that she should wear a niqab" despite what Mr Harper might say.  

If a woman wants to wear a niqab because it's a religious thing, or a cultural thing or because she feels somehow protected from the gaze of sexist males... whatever, it matters naught to me.  I think I can deal with it and not feel like it's undermining my "Canadian values".  I still won't like hockey, I'll still drink beer, I'll still like CBC Radio and the Green Party of Canada, I won't feel less secure on an airplane and I probably won't start demanding that my "life partner" start wearing a niqab.   

You're being played Canada.  Wake up and smell the bigotry.

Dog-Whistle Politics

[Exposing "values" that Conservatives can really rally around.]

Not a term I was familiar with, "dog-whistle politics" has appeared in Canada late in the 2015 election campaign.

Obviously designed as a strategy by the Harper Conservatives' imported Dingo, the "esteemed" Lynton Crosby, the plan introduces wedge issues into the campaign.  In Canada, it's focus has been on something as innocuous as a small piece of cloth called the niqab.  One wouldn't think of this as representing an existential threat to Canada and whatever "values" we hold dear, but there you are.

 Almost immediately, social media erupted with posts from people who managed to conflate all of the following: muslim = niqab = terrorist = security threat = bombs = WTC = hijackings = whatever.

Just to remind us.... this whole thing appeared because the Harper Conservatives decided that a woman wearing a niqab during the Canadian citizenship ceremonies went against these Canadian values.  The Conservatives' ban on the niqab was challenged in court and so far, has lost twice, with the Supreme Court being the only level of the judiciary remaining to be heard from.  

One longer piece that discussed the niqab had to say:

Views on the significance of the niqab differ, however, its emergence as an issue on the national political stage is in large measure due to the expert machinations of the Harper Conservatives who are highly skilled in distracting the electorate from a consideration of their social, political, economic, and environmental record. This is an illustration of the "dead cat" theory of political campaigning as espoused by the "dark arts" practitioner and so-called "Australian rottweiler," Lynton Crosby, recently recruited by Stephen Harper to salvage his electoral prospects.

The niqab is described as a classic "dead cat issue":

"If you're losing an argument, if you're in a weak position, throw a dead cat on the table. Everyone will shout 'Jeez, mate, there's a dead cat on the table!'; in other words they will be talking about the dead cat, the thing you want them to talk about, and they will not be talking about the issue that has been causing you so much grief."

The article ends with the following: 

 ...the personal choices of women in their attire should not be a subject of political discourse on the Canadian electoral stage in 2015. When climate change threatens the future of humanity, when economic inequality oppresses the vast majority of the planet's denizens, when electoral dysfunctionality cripples democratic expression, when scientists are muzzled, Parliament is hamstrung, aboriginal communities are suffering, our public infrastructure is crumbling, trade deals threaten every aspect of our sovereignty, and refugees are pleading for succor at our doors -- these issues urgently need to command our political attention -- and not how a woman chooses to dress herself.

Calgary's mayor, the awesome Naheed Nenshi, one of the few Canadian politicians willing to stand up and be counted on this issue, recently blasted the practices of the Harper Conservatives in an article appearing in the National Post.

Of course, there is no shortage of articles over the whole issue.  The one issue that seems to have overtaken every other issue of importance that needs to be discussed in this election.

Such dog-whistle dead-cat tactics divide us and demean us all all as an article from the Georgia Straight puts it.

A Citizenship and Immigration spokesperson basically described it all as a complete non-issue.  

Canadians all need to remember that we have a Constitution with a Charter of Rights and Freedoms.  These rights don't just apply to things that you, personally, agree with.  The courts ruled on this years ago - remember the turban "issue" in the RCMP?  Somehow we've managed to move beyond that one without the world collapsing around us.

Let's call this what it is.  It's hate speech.  It's dog-whistle politics. It's a dead-cat issue.  It's intended to be divisive and appeal to all the racists, bigots, fearmongers, haters and xenophobes in society  For that, we can lay the blame squarely at the door of Harper's Conservative Party.  They are not fit to govern.

While Canada certainly hasn't always had the best record on such things (Jewish refugees fleeing Germany during WWII, for example), we like to claim, and maybe even believe, that we're better than this.  Are we?

From the National Post - To Uncover or not to Uncover - Why the Niqab issue is ridiculous.

As part of an interview with Calgary's Naheed Nenshi - 

"...we’re playing with fire, without question. But you know what? Good for Mulcair and good for Trudeau for standing up and saying, you know, this is a ridiculous argument. Mulcair had a great line: weapons of mass distraction. Because that’s all this is. And Canadians know that. And you know, when I say to any Albertan who walks up to me and says women shouldn’t be able to cover themselves while being at the citizenship ceremony, and I say well, you know, I go to a million citizenship ceremonies. It’s actually my favourite thing to do as Mayor. And not only have I never seen a woman in a niqab attempting to do it, but you understand that the oath is just ceremonial. They have to unveil themselves and give ID and sign the forms and sign the oath, all of that, separately. And in fact, the woman in Mississauga even offered to wear a wireless mic so that people could hear that she was actually saying the oath."

From a Canadian now living in the UK, these parting words: