McQUAIG: Harper's plan for Canada

[Oscar]

Stripping the national cupboard bare: Harper's plan for Canada

[ http://rabble.ca/columnists/2015/01/str ... lan-canada ]

January 8, 2015 | By Linda McQuaig

In addition to sabotaging our democracy, Harper has been restructuring our country in a fundamental way -- something that will be hard to reverse and, incidentally, very pleasing to Canada's elite.

The Harper government's anti-democratic actions have been so numerous, it's easy to lose track of them.

I almost forgot, for instance, about the way it clamped down on that little bird-watching group in southwestern Ontario, putting its charitable status under surveillance after the group raised concerns about government-approved chemicals damaging bee colonies. [ http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/revenue ... -1.2799546 ]

Harper's behaviour -- his attack on the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, his muzzling of government scientists and disdain for scientific evidence, his proroguing of Parliament to save his own skin, his use of omnibus bills to avoid Parliamentary scrutiny -- has been so at odds with democracy and the democratic process that he's even alienated many of his natural allies in Canada's elite.

Hence, he's come under fairly harsh attack from nothing less than the editorial board of the Globe and Mail, which could be said to be a mouthpiece (often an intelligent one) for Canada's establishment. [ http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-de ... e22212088/ ]

Indeed, the prime minister's apparent contempt for the democratic process has been so outrageous it's sucked all the political oxygen out of the room.

In our distraction, we've barely noticed something else important going on. In addition to sabotaging our democracy, Harper has been restructuring our country in a fundamental way -- something that will be hard to reverse and, incidentally, very pleasing to Canada's elite.

Which explains why the Globe editorial board and many prominent commentators berate Harper for his democratic shortcomings -- but conclude that, overall, his record is pretty good.

The essence of the Harper makeover of Canada has been the deep slashing of taxes, putting serious constraints on what government is able to provide in public programs and services.

Previous Liberal governments had started down this path already, but Harper has taken the aversion to taxes to new heights, turning it into something like a cult. "I don't believe any taxes are good taxes," he said -- which is an odd comment for a prime minister to make, given that taxes are the necessary building blocks for any national project.


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[ http://rabble.ca/columnists/2015/01/str ... lan-canada ]