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Syed Hussan is an organizer and writer in Toronto working with undocumented and migrant people, in defense of Indigenous sovereignty, and against counter intuitive programs like war and capitalism. He enjoys apocalyptic sci-fi novels, low maintenance plants, not knowing how to drive and reading your comments.

Can Canada's self-congratulation please stop?

| June 23, 2012
Can Canada's self-congratulation please stop?

Imagine a country, a large resource rich country, say surrounded by three oceans.

Now imagine that this country is ruled by a right-wing government with well-known connections to xenophobia and ultra-nationalism. Say like the Golden Dawn or Shiv Sena or the Taliban.

Next imagine that the government is dissolved and the ruling party kicked out on charges of corruption and contempt.

In a closely fought election, the right-wing corrupt party, strangely comes back as a majority government.

Soon after it begins to pass laws that are decried by the vast majority of the people; that would jail many, are blatantly racist, and pave the way for corporations to steal resources and destroy the environment with impunity.

While this is happening -- it is revealed that the right-wing party -- now the government again, actually won the elections by running a massive, automated vote-grab scam. Its chief ethical officer is caught fudging his own campaign finance rules and the right wing party quietly pays a fine for the corruption.

Despite a few mass protests in larger cities, the official opposition, so-called progressives, continue to participate in parliamentary processes and a government agency is asked to investigate the vote-grab scandal.

More egregious laws continue to be passed.

Then suddenly, the head of the government agency investigating the vote-grab scheme resigns and a man well-known for his ties to the right-wing party and one of the architects of its all-encompassing lock-em-up "crime" bill is brought in to investigate the government crimes.

Here is what happens next: 

1) The Opposition refuses to participate in parliamentary democracy and calls mass-protests across the country which quickly escalates to riots. The police, with its extended powers, steps in carrying out extreme violence on protestors (like, say, in Egypt) but the protests continue. With the country sinking in to civil conflict (and being resource rich), a NATO-led force flies in and bombs the right-wing forces installing a people's government. 

2) Military officers and high-ranking police officers enraged at the lack of response from political forces carry out a coup disposing the corrupt party and installing a transition to democracy. All old political parties are outlawed and new grassroots forces are organized to participate in new electoral politics. 

3) Lawyers seeing inaction on the part of all others take a challenge to throw out the government into the country's highest courts. In a surprise ruling the court backs the lawyers and deems the right-wing ruling party in contempt of the constitution for passing multiple laws against it. The right-wing party refuses to adhere to the decision, causing mass protests on the streets, as well as online attacks by cyber-activist group Anonymous.

4) Trade Unionists join with the mainstream press and student groups and call an unlimited general strike until the right-wing party resigns. Striking students and environmentalists across the country join them. Mass police repression results in most of the population joining forces with the students and trade unionists and new political parties emerge. A protracted battle ensues in the streets.

5) With most social forces complacent (complicit?), young people begin to form ultra-left wing underground cells across the country working with others being targeted by the right-wing government. Various foreign governments begin to provide arms while these cells build mass public support for their cause. Eventually things come to a head as multiple attacks on the capital result in the ruling party falling and being replaced by a people's government.

6) Everyone in the country says that though they have some problems, theirs is the best country in the world and complains about the heat wave.

You decide. 

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Comments

Naw. It would never happen in Canada.

Not while the Feds and Provinces are splitting the middle class in two with half becoming more affluent than ever (and the rest, admittedly being pushed down into poverty and providing subsistence, near slave, labor for the rest), pushing corporate and "friend" relations, buying the immigrant vote and back patting between each other and the corporate sector with million and billion dollar deals.

Not to mention Corporate government and media confusing, scaring and instilling a sense of futility amongst the general population. Not so subtle mind control.

It is an affront to the average Canadian though, when work place rights, benefits and considerations, tenant and home owner rights, and building and safety codes are being whittled away in favor of business / corporate, and government profits.

Particularly with the the wide spread devastation of the federal Bill C-38 and the new Subjugation laws in Quebec - we should be asking for new government. Mid term, there should be a method of peacefully and democratically removing governments parties when they step so far out of line.

WTF?

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