the regina mom is currently on retreat at her favourite Catholic monastery in rural Saskatchewan. Try as she might, she is unable to fully concentrate on the poetry while the current attack on Canadian democracy is underway.
It’s become pretty clear that the Harper regime will stop at no end to promote the greed of the corporations, particularly those into resource extraction. The environment and environmental groups, science and scientists and scientific libraries — all are game, fair or otherwise, for him. As are the people of our First Nations, women, veterans, unionized workers and anything else that gets in his way — including the Canada Elections Act.
Last week, his government introduced what they mistakenly called the Fair Elections Act, about which political columnist, Andrew Coyne, says,
It’s a bizarre bill. But the government is plainly proud of it: so proud that it refused to consult with the chief electoral officer on its contents; so proud that it is now being rushed through Parliament with a bare minimum of debate, using the government’s power of time allocation. And what problem was that intended to solve?
trm is not sure she agrees on the pride angle, thinking perhaps it’s more like arrogance, a “nyah-nyah” to the forces of democracy in Canada, the thousands and thousands of activists who have been tireless in their campaigns to raise awareness about the attacks on our freedoms and our long-standing traditions.
Marc Mayrand, Canada’s Chief Electoral Officer, expressed deep concern about the new Bill in this interview on CBC Radio’s, The House, which everyone should listen to.
He is right to be concerned. After Vic Toews’ nasty letter calling out environmentalists as terrorists, trm took a look at Naomi Wolf’s blueprint for how open societies become closed societies. trm examined Canada in that light and found it frightening then. That was two years ago! Much more has happened since, and only some of it referenced in the links above. The window is closing, and closing quickly.
Hold the window open, Canada! Sign the Council of Canadians petition which will be presented in the House of Commons tomorrow. Also consider participating in the Hold the Phone: Call for Democracy campaign tomorrow, Monday, February 10. There are, apparently, some Conservative backbenchers who aren’t strongly supportive of this recent attack on democracy. The calls may sway them enough to make a difference to our future as a democratic state.
–Jack Layton
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