Wednesday, March 7, 2012

How Many Insults Will Canadians Take?

Any Tory that is still holding on to the pathological fantasy that the Harper government is in any way interested in accountability and democracy should be deeply shaken this week by one development after another which demonstrates just how secretive and corrupt their hero is.

The worst development is, of course, this story of corruption. Harper's Tories (through the Procedures and House Affairs Committee) put paid to any notion that they want to be accountable by rejecting a request by Elections Canada that federal parties should be compelled to demonstrate the real nature of their spending with details and receipts. Our chief electoral officer, Marc Mayrand, simply wants federal parties to ensure that "they are complying with the provisions of the Act relating to election expenses." However, the Tories have once again demonstrated that they are corrupt and have something to hide by preventing any such accountability to go forward.

The second insult to accountability offered to Canadians by the Harpercons this week was their amazing refusal to release their phone records after they demanded that the Liberals release theirs. This is surely the most blatant example of complete public refusal to be accountable in the midst of a historically significant scandal that goes to the heart of government and democracy. I must say that the gall of them even surprised me. Imagine a government that indignantly demands that an opposition party reveal everything about its functioning and then refuses with derision the same demands put upon them? 

I dare every Conservative supporter to demand that their party embrace accountability, release their phone records and institute a genuine policy of electoral accountability. They won't of course, because Conservatives have shown that they have no interest in accountability unless it is another party that is being accountable.

3 comments:

Owen Gray said...

Excellent post, Kirby. Enough said.

sunsin said...

Now, all we need is this.

Justin Trudeau, perhaps? Whoever wins the NDP leadership race? Margaret Atwood? I'd settle for any of them.

Anonymous said...

We Canadians are supposed to take threats and insults, and say nothing. Toews out and out called Canadians pedophiles, because we object to internet snooping. Now, the Speaker of the House has said, Toews has been threatened. No-one knows, just what threats they are supposed to be, or who made them. I guess we all stand accused, because we don't have any idea, whodunit.

Even Harper threatens to maintain control. Harper said, if T.I.D.E. said on word against the tar sands, their budget would be slashed to the bone.

Harper slashed Environment Canada's budget to the bones. Scientists have been muzzled. They are not permitted to publish their papers, everything must go through Harper first. No bad reviews of the tar sands, must escape to the world.

Even Guelph University was stormed, to stop students from voting. They even tried to steal the ballot boxes. Harper complained, but was overruled.

Harper is a Reformer, from his Northern Foundation Party, of 1989. That explains a lot of Harper, being a paranoid dictator. Trying to grab control of absolutely everything. Also explains Harper's, gross disrespect for our Veterans. These kids in the military if maimed for life, they get a payout and then they can go to hell. They are no longer useful to Harper.