Let me ask you this: Are you more proud of your country than when Stephen Harper first became prime minister 10 years ago?
Before you answer here are a few things to consider.
If you are environmentalist, you will likely know that early on Harper cancelled Canada’s commitment to the Kyoto protocol. At the same time he muzzled all government scientists who might have a more enlightened view on climate change.
And while he was at it, in his plan to dumb down the rest of us, as well as a whole array of institutions that try to figure out what’s going on in the country so they can set policy, he eliminated the Statistics Canada long-form census.
That’s not all.
If you are a feminist, you will appreciate his attack on women wearing the niqab all in the name of liberating women from an ancient and “barbaric cultural practice” is nothing more than thinly veiled vote-getting strategy. It caters to the racist tendencies of Quebecers to say nothing of those lurking across Canada.
If you really want to know about Harper and feminism, consider the foreign policy he boasts about, supporting impoverished women and families. Not a nickel can aid any programs that support family planning and a woman’s right to choose.
But I digress. Many progressive Muslims like Calgary’s Mayor Naheed Nenshi clearly state they don’t like the niqab and what it represents; but what Nenshi also says is that Harper is playing a “dangerous” game using this as a wedge issue and whipping up anti-immigrant sentiments.
If we are to be wary of immigrants, it is not enough to be able to call 911 to report crimes. Harper will set up a 1-800 number specifically so you can report suspicious foreigners.
And consider his pathetic response to the Syrian refugee crisis. In his view, those people, mostly women and children, are as much to be feared as comforted. They are coming from a part of the world, he explains, where there are terrorist regimes whose members could easily slip into a refugee lineup and be a threat to Canada.
Nenshi, by the way, is also among those opposed to Harper passing Bill C-24 that creates a “two-tiered” Canadian citizenship. While Nenshi was born in Toronto, because his parents were born abroad, he is considered a dual citizen. He says if he is found guilty of a serious crime, the bill allows Harper to strip him of his Canadian citizenship and send him off to his parents’ homeland.
In fact, the Tories are doing just that to a Canadian born man who was found guilty of planning an act of terrorism. Now, nobody is saying this fellow doesn’t belong in the slammer. But he belongs in a Canadian slammer. As one American Jurist famously said, citizenship does not have an expiry date.
If the country has changed at all under Harper it is that we have become more prone to conflict than peace. In Winston Churchill’s words we engage more in “war, war, war” and less in “jaw, jaw, jaw.”
We have also become less positive and far more fearful.
I was struck by a comment by Canada’s former head of the Parliamentary Budget officer Kevin Page in his book Unaccountable: Truth and Lies on Parliament Hill. Harper slashed his budget after Page found evidence he didn’t like about the economy and spending on foreign wars.
Page said, “I believe that as a nation all of us have increasingly become prisoners of a kind of politics of fear.”
That certainly is the overwhelmingly obvious message Harper has been delivering not just during the election campaign, but with recently passed legislation; Bill C51 is designed as anti-terrorism legislation that increases the powers of police and the Canadian Security Intelligence Service. Among other things it allows for arrests without warrant.
None of this is lost on Harper’s opponents in the current election campaign — or you I suspect.
This week Liberal leader Justin Trudeau addressed a large rally of folks in Brampton, Ont., one of Canada’s most culturally diverse cities.
He referred to American president Franklin Roosevelt’s comment during the Depression that, “we have nothing to fear but fear itself.”
Trudeau added: “Stephen Harper has nothing to offer but fear itself.”
Still feeling proud?
agarr@vancourier.com
@allengarr
