Introduction - The
next 5 weeks
Given the pre election
attack ad's put out by the Harper regime we must assume that Mr
Harper believes that the past actions of a political leader dictate
the future actions of both the leader and the party. With that in
mind it only seems prudent to examine in detail the past actions of
Mr Harper and his regime prior to, and since, taking power. Over the
next few weeks it is my intention to do so. As always I will focus
upon statements and actions impacting upon our democratic
institutions, the availability of accurate information necessary for
parliamentarians and the voting public to make informed decisions,
and other such actions and statements that show how this regime has
show total disdain for democratic processes.
Over the next few weeks
rational debate and factual information will no doubt be in short
supply and what little may be found will be lost in a cacophony of
lies, spin, untruths and selective or revisionist history. I hope for
the most part to avoid such political traps but make no mistake I
will be seeking and discussing items that specifically show what
damage the Harper regime has done to our parliamentary democracy for
I truly believe that to continue down this path will lead us to a
situation where 'we the people' will have even less say in our
destiny than is now the case. I note that in the opening hours of the
salvo the Mr Harper is already lying (as he did in 2008) by saying
that they never considered a coalition in 2004, to quote Mr Duceppe:
"Mr. Harper called us to a hotel.....We changed the rules that
day....Mr. Harper lied this morning. He
was going to form a coalition in 2004 with the Bloc."
and despite Mr Ignatieff's commitment to not form a coalition it must
be remembered that this is a perfectly legitimate form of government
which Mr Layton has not ruled out.
I hope to cover the
following periods of Harper's 'rise to power' and will attempt to
provide links to reliable sources giving the details of the various
statements and actions so that readers may satisfy themselves that
those things listed did indeed take place and may read more about
them if desired.
I am aware of a number
of 'lists' giving an outline of such actions created over the last
few years, and have in fact created some of my own since Harpers
disdain for parliamentary convention became apparent, if you know of
any such compendiums fell free to post a link to them in my comments
section or drop me an email. I suspect however that I will have no
difficulty in filling pages with instances of this regimes
anti-democratic actions, but may have difficulty in keeping my posts
to a reasonable length.
Here then are my
tentative sub titles and periods to be covered over the next few
weeks:-
The Rise to
Power, In Opposition and Before 2004 – 2006
The First Try,
Early Election 2006 – 2008
The Second Try,
Parliament Suspended - Twice
The Current Mess,
No Respect -2010 -2011
Conclusion,
Choices & Results
I expect to show that
the legacy that the Harper regime leaves is that of the most
dictatorial and secretive anti-democratic government in Canadian
history. That in waning hours of this session Conservative house
leader John Baird used the phrase “Tyranny of the
Majority” and said
"We find ourselves
here today faced with the most partisan of attacks from an opposition
coalition bent on defeating this government at all costs." to
describe the actions of the majority of our duly elected
representatives is but the latest indication off how little they care
about democracy.
I hope readers will
follow along as I review the rise of this destructive regime and
carefully consider if continuing on this path is constructive for our
democracy and the future of our parliamentary system of governance.
It is increasingly looking like this election is going to be, at
least in part, about the abuse of democracy by the Harper regime, but
let us all keep ALL the partys feet to the fire and get some
commitments for parliamentary and electoral reform whilst we have the
candidates attention.
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