Lessons not learned.

With the Harper regime having been turfed from power at least in part for their blatant misuse of public advertising dollars for partisan purposes and for their secrecy and failure to disclose anything that could be considered negative towards their rule, and with the senate expense scandal still ongoing, I wonder if ANY of our politicians have learned anything.


We have the Ontario Liberals filling the airways with advertising promoting their Ontario Registered Pension Plan which will not be implemented until 2017 and will not pay out to anyone until 2020.


The ORPP will be introduced in 2017 and, by 2020, subject to legislative and Canada Revenue Agency approval, every employee in Ontario would be part of either the ORPP or a comparable workplace pension plan. Employees and employers would contribute an equal amount, capped at 1.9% each (3.8% combined) on an employee’s annual earnings up to $90,000.
That’s if in fact it is ever implemented given that the jury is still out if it will morf into an “enhanced” Canada Pension Plan. Strike one!


Then we have the quiet, behind closed door, vote of the secretive Federal Board of Internal Economy in December to give themselves and all MP's a 20% raise in office budgets to take effect in April.


The 20 per cent increase to MPs' office budgets means each MP will be able to spend an additional $57,690 on top of the current budget of $288,450. Multiply that by the 338 MPs that make up the House of Commons, and MPs' budgets alone jump by nearly $20 million to a new total of almost $117 million a year.
Others are getting a boost to their office budgets as well. The Speaker of the House of Commons, House officers such as the deputy speakers and the offices of the party leaders, whips and caucus chairs are also in line for the increase.

• The Speaker will get an additional $193,029 for a new office budget total of $1,158,117.
  
• The Opposition leader's office gets an additional $725,581 for a new total of $4,353,487.
  
• The NDP will get an additional $337,487 for a new total of $2,024,870.
  

It seems to me that just like the rest of us they need to tighten their belts and make do with less and “find efficiencies” at a time when the country is barely out a recession and running a deficit in order to try and get a few more folks back to work and have food on the table. Strike two!

deficit

That’s but two small examples of the ongoing disrespect of governments for those that they govern, I am quite sure that folks across the country can come up with many more. We have a long way to go to achieve that “Open and Accountable” plateau so often promised,. I do believe that the current federal government is trying to improve things in this regard but it remains to be seen how long it will be before tonce again things deteriorates. That decision by the Board of Internal Economy was not a good start!

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Goodby Harper, Hello Canada

I am going to be taking a short break from my weekly blogging over the holidays but before I do I wanted to write a little of my personal thoughts as to what I hope the new year will bring. I will admit to being very optimistic, perhaps too much so, for a return to a kinder, more inclusive, caring Canada as detailed by our new governments many proposed changes to things that were ignored, closed, silenced or abused by the previous regime. Just the tone of the PM and his various ministers gives me a renewed sense of hope for the future, a positive outlook and the reinvesting in people, the openness in listening to, and inviting such dialogue from, the provinces, the scientific community, our environmental groups and our native peoples is so refreshing.
I am not so naive as to believe that all the promises will be achieved in the next year or more, or even ever, but the fact that they are trying thus far for that “open and accountable” government promised to us so many times before is to be supported and encouraged. The reinstatement of the census, the unmuzzleing of our scientists and diplomats, the freedom of our charities to express an opinion without fear, the invitation to all Partys and Provinces to join the delegation at the climate change talks all show a real desire to actually fulfil such promises.
Its not going to be all plain sailing, the very practical proposals for appointing Senators (something that must be done if we are going to have a functional parliamentary system) is already being criticized by some of the very people who would have an increased say in such appointments, namely the Provinces. In trying to ensure a non partisan Senate but still be able to introduce government bills to that chamber previous procedures will need to be changed and some Senators are trying to do just that but some outside the chamber are going to do everything they can to block any efforts to make such changes. The new opposition, who are now in the same position as the Liberals were just a few brief weeks ago, are naturally against almost any move to undo legislation or decisions forced through whist they were in power. I hope they will learn to be a little less partisan with their rhetoric and debate future bills upon their merit, but I doubt that will happen. Just trying to form parliamentary committees has already turned into a squabble as to who can serve on or attend meetings.


So here is my message for 2016. Let us support and encourage the positive change that the new government is proposing, let us ensure that they keep their promises of consulting with the Provinces on shared issues, let us make sure that that open and accountable thing does not drop from sight again and, yes, let us hope for more 'Sunny Days' ahead for Canada.


I will be back in January with some thoughts upon the choices to be made in bringing in Electoral Reform. As Peter Lowry says “What we really need in considering these questions is people with open minds. You simply cannot consider solutions to the voting system until you have a clear idea of why you want to change it and what really are the options available. This is not as simple as people think.”

Meanwhile I wish all my readers Happy Holidays and a productive and prosperous 2016


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Promises – Openness, Transparency and Service.

Continuing our review of the Liberal Partys promises we turn to:=
Openness and Transparency.
Amending the Access to Information Act so that all government data and information is made open by default in machine-readable, digital formats.
Accelerating and expanding open data initiatives and continually look for additional opportunities to do so.
Creating a central, no-fee portal for personal information requests.

All of the above, except the access to information item, has been underway for some time however it appears that some of the restrictions put upon those trying to initiate this within government by the previous regime have slowed and hampered the efforts and in fact deliberately ignored / abused the existing system . We hope that a less restrictive environment will speed up and expand these efforts.

The promise to “Create a single window for all government services, and work with the provinces and territories on ways to combine online access efforts.” would seem to part of this effort. There is already a “ individualized, secure accounts for Canadians who want to access all of their government benefits” and this can no doubt be expanded and be made more accessible.
It would seem to make sense to eliminate duplication of access to services with the provinces both on and off line and here I am going to suggest it may be the time to consider a proposal contained in a 2008 senate report largely ignored by the previous regime that being:-
RECOMMENDATION 2-3: The committee recommends that the federal government work with provincial, territorial and municipal governments to identify ways in which a range of existing and new services might be delivered through existing rural infrastructure points such as rural post offices.
Many folks, particularly in rural areas do not have access to reliable, affordable, unlimited internet and the provision of some services at your local post office would help keep our postal service alive and make services more accessible for many citizens.

Under the heading of Better Service for Canadians we see this which closely mirrors the above:-
Introduce a significant overhaul of the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) operating practices to proactively contact Canadians when they are entitled to, but are not, receiving tax benefits; offering to create returns for clients, particularly lower income Canadians.

This one has bugged the hell out of me and many other citizens, particularly senior citizens, for years. Having to 'apply' for certain benefits year after year by filling out a form which mirrors the information already provided in your tax return (and which is then checked against that information upon receipt) is ridiculous and just wastes government resources. Similarly not informing folks (youth, seniors, physically and mentally challenged individuals etc etc) of support services, both financial and physical, to which they may be entitled may reduce the use of same but is wrong on so many levels. There is no doubt that there is room for improvement on this file.


A couple more promises include:-

Create a common, quarterly, and more detailed parliamentary expense report, make the Board of Internal Economy open by default.
A more open government is always a good thing in my view we just hope that such practices become the norm within Canada. Let us have both MP and Senators individual and office expenditures reported (and publicly available) on a timely basis, That is not annually some months after the year end but quarterly within 30 to 60 days.


Combat international tax evasion; and ending the CRA political harassment of charities, as well as clarifying rules to affirm the important role that charities play in developing and advocating for public policy in Canada.
Genuine charities that do “good work” or otherwise enhance society should continue to be free to publish their points of view without being hassled by the CRA, however there are those that are in fact political in their entire reason for existence who were not audited during Harpers attack on charities. Lets set reasonable rules across the board and ensure that the CRA follows them without bias.


Make Statistics Canada fully independent with a mandate to collect data needed by the private sector, other orders of government etc, etc. Strengthened Statistics Canada to make available more detailed labour market information, child development data,
and statistics on natural capital.
Having already restored the long form census I suspect that this will be instituted in short order. Labour market details are essential for establishing who and where need attention in regards to employment, more detailed LOCAL reports are desperately needed to cover specific areas and needs.


Finally they say they will:-
Create a Prime Minister’s Youth Advisory Council, of young Canadians and Mobilize the experience and knowledge of Canadians using evolving technologies.....
I am not quite sure how this is going to work, does this mean that they are going to take notice of chatter on 'social media', I sure as hell hope that the 'input' will be more substantive than that, its a good thing to listen to Canadians but how to separate the partisan rhetoric from the substantive suggestions will be almost impossible!


Next week Electoral Reform, advertising and debates.
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A cabinet that looks like Canada, why .... “Because its 2015”

Given the large number of Liberal MPs elected that was one of the easier promises to keep but never the less a damn fine start. Now comes the more difficult stuff so let briefly review the platform promises in regard to our democratic institutions and how “Fair and Open” this government intends to be. We all know we have heard similar phrases before and the outcome was nothing like the promise! With this in mind over the next few weeks I will take a closer look at some of the promises and some of the difficulties that may arise in keeping them, but in the meanwhile here is a quickie primer on those promises.


Restoring a sense of trust in our democracy and greater openness and transparency.
Amending the Access to Information Act so that all government data and information is made open by default in machine-readable, digital formats.
Accelerating and expanding open data initiatives and continually look for additional opportunities to do so.
Creating a central, no-fee portal for personal information requests.
Create a common, quarterly, and more detailed parliamentary expense report, make the Board of Internal Economy open by default.


Restoring democracy and accountability to Parliament.
Strengthen the role of parliamentary committee chairs, including elections by secret ballot. Ensure a more robust system of oversight and review for legislation.
Liberal Caucus members will only be required to vote with the Cabinet on those matters that implement the Liberal electoral platform or traditional confidence matters such as the Speech from the Throne and significant budgetary measures.
Create a new, nonpartisan, merit-based, broad, and diverse process to advise the Prime Minister on Senate appointments.
Work with all parties in the House of Commons to ensure an inclusive, representative, transparent, and accountable process to advise on appointments to the Supreme Court.
Introduce a Prime Minister’s Question Period, empower the Speaker to challenge and sanction Members during Question Period.
Change parliamentary financial processes, ensuring accounting consistency among
the Estimates and the Public Accounts, providing costing analysis for each
government bill and restoring the requirement that the government’s borrowing plans
receive Parliament’s pre-approval.
Ensure that all of the Officers of Parliament – the Chief Electoral Officer, the Access to Information Commissioner, the Auditor General, the Parliamentary Budget Officer etc, etc, are all properly funded and respected for doing their important work to help Canadians.
Not use prorogation to avoid difficult political circumstances, change the House of Commons Standing Orders to end the practice of using omnibus bills to reduce scrutiny of legislative measures.


Electoral Reform, advertising and debates.
Form an all-party parliamentary committee to bring recommendations to Parliament on the way forward, to allow for action before the succeeding federal election. Ensure that electoral reform measures – such as ranked ballots, proportional representation, mandatory voting, and online voting – are fully and fairly studied and considered. Within 18 months bring forward legislation to enact electoral reform
Repeal the anti-democratic elements in the Fair Elections Act and scrap the Citizen Voting Act, restore the voter identification card as an acceptable form of identification.
Provide Elections Canada with the resources it needs to investigate matters that threaten the integrity of our electoral process. Ensure that the Chief Electoral Officer and Elections Canada have the tools and mandate to encourage more Canadians to vote. Restore the independence of the Commissioner of Canada Elections so that they are freely able to prosecute electoral violations.
Appoint an Advertising Commissioner to assist the Auditor General in providing oversight on government advertising. Proposed messages will be reviewed by the Advertising Commissioner to ensure they are non-partisan and related to actual government requirements.
Review electoral spending limits, and also ensure that political party spending between elections is subject to limits.
Create a more inclusive, independent commission that will organize leaders’ debates during election campaigns, with a mandate to increase Canadians engagement and knowledge of the issues.
Work with provinces and territories, and support Elections Canada, to register young Canadians as a part of their high school curriculum. Support voter registration as part of a civic ceremony in high schools, support Elections Canada in proactively registering Canadians from groups that historically have lower voter turnout.


Evidence-based decision-making.
Allow government scientists to speak freely about their work, with only limited and publicly stated exceptions. Consolidate government science so that it is easily available to the public at-large through a central portal. Gag was removed Friday
Make Statistics Canada fully independent with a mandate to collect data needed by the private sector, other orders of government etc, etc. Strengthened Statistics Canada to make available more detailed labour market information, child development data,
and statistics on natural capital.
Immediately restore the mandatory long-form census. This was done within 24 hours of being sworn in, details to follow!


Better Service for Canadians.
Introduce a significant overhaul of the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) operating practices to proactively contact Canadians when they are entitled to, but are not, receiving tax benefits; offering to create returns for clients, particularly lower income Canadians.
Combat international tax evasion; and ending the CRA political harassment of charities, as well as clarifying rules to affirm the important role that charities play in developing and advocating for public policy in Canada.
Create a Prime Minister’s Youth Advisory Council, consisting of young Canadians aged 16-24, to provide non-partisan advice to the Prime Minister on issues the country
is facing
Create a single window for all government services, and work with the provinces and territories on ways to combine online access efforts. Create individualized, secure accounts for Canadians who want to access all of their government benefits and other services.
Mobilize the experience and knowledge of Canadians using evolving technologies and incorporate their input into our decisions.


Security and oversight.
Create an all-party national security oversight committee to monitor and oversee the operations of every government department and agency with national security responsibilities.

The above is a very shortened summary of the Liberal document “A Fair and Open Government” which see for more details. 
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Do Not Be Muzzled.

Do not be muzzled Oct 19th, get out and have your say on who you wish to represent you in parliament, bearing in mind that many of the promises are just that and may either be a long time coming or reduced or eliminated once in power. Particularly should the winning party get a majority!


I believe that the best indication of future behaviour is past behaviour hence my listing of the Conservatives attacks upon our democracy over the past 10 years. Another indication is more subtle and that is how open and accountable (remember that phrase) those vieing for power have been. In that regard here are a few recent indications of how the Conservatives deal with requests for information fundamental to our evaluating their performance.


The Canadian Press filed the access to information request (regarding the Duffy affair) to the Privy Council Office (PCO), the secretariat of the federal cabinet, which is headed by Harper, in August, 2013. But the PCO withheld almost all of the records requested.
“The PCO identified 28 pages of responsive records, but withheld 27 of those pages, releasing just two emails in which its staff discussed similar access-to-information requests,” The Canadian Press reported Tuesday (September 15, 2015) . “PCO claimed every single word on every single one of those 27 pages might jeopardize solicitor-client privilege, or reveal personal information, or third-party information, or details on secret deliberations.”
The Canadian Press lodged a complaint with the information commissioner’s office. The Commissioner investigated and concluded that the PCO was unjustified in withholding the records. The Commissioner recommended that Harper fully comply with The Canadian Press‘ request and the PCO, “on behalf of the Prime Minister, declined to implement the recommendation.”


A potentially explosive parliamentary investigation into the Harper government's so-called "muzzling" of government scientists shows no signs of being released before the federal election on Oct.19, despite Canada's Information Commissioner digging into it for more than two and a half years.
“Voters need to know what the result of that investigation has been,” said law professor Calvin Sandborn, with the University of Victoria's Environmental Law Centre. “I think the public needs to know the extent of the muzzling… Our submission is that it runs very deep in government."
In February 2013, the university law group, together with Democracy Watch, filed a formal complaint to Information Commissioner Suzanne Legault, alleging federally employed scientists, with expertise from fisheries to fracking, are under a gag order from sharing their taxpayer-paid expertise and scientific findings with the press or public. Two months later, in April 2013, Legault agreed to investigate the Harper government information restrictions as possible violations of Access to Information laws. She pledged to look into complaints at seven different government insitutions:
National Observer has been writing the Office of the Information Commissioner of Canada for months, asking: 'Will this report come out before the election? Why has it taken more than two and a half years? Is the office understaffed? Is the report itself being muzzled by the Conservative government?'



And then there is our recent hero, Harperman’s composer, Tony Turner, was told to stay at home from his job at Environment Canada in July after his employers told him they were investigating whether he had breached the public service’s code of ethics. Now, in his first interview since he was sidelined by Environment Canada eight weeks ago, Turner has said he will end his seclusion and take his protest song on the campaign trail ahead of the country’s general election on 19 October.


Turner officially quit his job on Thursday evening, after his employers said the song breached protocol calling on public servants to remain impartial. Turner and his union vigorously dispute the finding. The songwriting public servant had been scheduled to retire in November.


Can we believe anything that those who would hide, suppress information in this way, say? Can we trust, and vote for, those who attempt to intimidate citizens who criticize their actions past and present? I think not!


Finally we have the much touted TPP 'agreement which we are told is 'good for Canada' but whose detailed script we will not see till after the election.....
“Conservative Leader Stephen Harper promised long-term funding to help the auto industry adjust to the newly-signed Pacific Rim trade deal and said automakers would have been worse off if Canada had not signed the 12-nation pact. ......... If re-elected, the Conservatives would provide $1 billion over 10 years beginning in 2018, when a current Automotive Innovation Fund expires, to help the auto industry deal with the reduction of protective tariffs under the TPP.”



If its such a good deal how is it that Harper has promised millions to help the auto industry and dairy farmers deal with the fall out from it, before the ink on it is barely dry never mind available for public scrutiny .... and how many other areas of our economy will need “helping”, what other things that effect our sovereignty have been agreed to?


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The Silence is Becoming Deafening.

A few weeks ago I reported that my local Conservative MP “will be declining to participate in any all-candidates meeting that follows the traditional format, one he says simply does not work. He says he would prefer a format where each candidate is given a few minutes for opening statements and then they go to a corner and take questions directly from voters.” This follows closely the mantra coming out of Con mouthpieces during the 2011 election where there was a very long list of Con candidates who refused to partake in all candidates meetings.
Here's what spokesman Ryan Sparrow wrote  in 2011 about the direction given to local candidates when it comes to all-candidates' forums:

We provide support for candidates to participate in candidates debates, but we don't instruct them not to attend debates. Most candidates would prefer to meet with voters one on one though instead of debating their opponents in crowds of committed supporters of the different parties. (I would have thought that the whole point of attending an all candidates meeting would be that you were NOT committed and wanted to hear alternative ideas and plans).

This time however it seems they are being instructed to avoid not only any public debate but also any interviews where their words may be quoted..............


Conservatives running in the federal election have been advised not to attend all-candidates’ meetings or speak to reporters during the campaign, a party source says.
A Conservative insider said Wednesday that most of Stephen Harper’s flag-bearers have “been told no debates and no media.”
The informal edict appears to affect Tory candidates across the country, which explains why so many press interviews are being rebuffed.
“They’re getting pulled out of everything,” the source said, noting even some experienced cabinet ministers are being instructed to avoid candidates’ forums before the Oct. 19 election.

Andrew MacDougall, Harper’s director of communications from 2012 to 2013, said “The number one job of a candidate is to meet voters and identify votes,” Apparently forums where the party line can be challenged by knowledgeable opponents and where opinions and platforms can be shared with a wider audience is verboten but meeting individuals at the door where it is much easier to bury them in party line bullshit is OK.
During the time I have lived in this rural riding (through two previous federal elections and several provincial elections) I have not once seen ANY candidate at my door, without public debates, the reporting thereof, and press interviews of the candidates, I may as well pull a name out of my hat. No candidate can personally visit every household in his riding and to suggest that this should be the ONLY way for a candidate to make his views known to the voters is patently ridiculous. There is only one reason for this edict and that is the Conservative record of destroying our democratic institutions, massive cutbacks to social programs, science, environmental protections etc etc simply cannot be defended and the pre-programmed lines dictated from above start to sound as meaningless as they actually are when repeated in the press time and time again.
The only real question is why these supposedly intelligent Con candidates obey the word of their master, have they all been lobotomized?



Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt.

Abraham Lincoln

And if you want to see how vindictive and petty the HarperCons can be see this https://youtu.be/Ei50lM6ab1c then this Cons suspend writer of Harperman song







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Harper History, Part 7 – Suppressed Information – Advertising Overload

In reviewing the events for this period I was struck by how important is is to look back at the undemocratic and secretive actions of the Harper regime, even I, who has written frequently and consistently on this subject had forgotten so many of the things done to diminish our governance. This just 2 or 3 years ago, and remember what they do is a much better measure of their ideology than what they say!.

The amount of effort being put into suppressing information and controlling the message continued to increase substantially as the Harper regime consolidated their centralization of power within the PMO to the point where even some of their own MPs complained about not being permitted to speak in the House! The independent PBO position was eventually rolled into the mandate of the Parliamentary Library, the Inspector Generals position was eliminated, the environmental commissioner resigned early in frustration, and the RCMP were told they could not speak to our MPs without permission!


Here then are a FEW of the hits democracy took in 2012 / 13 under the Harper Regime........


2012
Rights and Democracy, chartered by Parliament in 1988 to promote human rights and democratic development worldwide, was eliminated in 2012 In a statement in April, Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird indicated the ailing group was among the casualties of government efforts to “find efficiencies and savings.” Legislation, he said, would be introduced in the “near future” to disband the organization and its functions would be absorbed by his department.

In July 2012 an estimated 2000 scientists gathered on Parliment hill to protest their indignation over the ongoing severe and targeted cutbacks on government research programs and new rules limiting the ability of government scientists to talk to journalists.
As part of their ongoing advertising blitz under the banner of Canada's Economic Action Plan was the Harper government's Canada Job Grant program which at the time did not exist and had not passed in the legislature. About $2.5 million was spent to do so on hockey night in Canada for a total of over $14 million on this false advertising.
Arising from the April budget the Inspector Generals Office wae eliminated officials noted that, despite its anemic resources — a paltry $1 million budget and a staff of eight — the IG’s office played a key role in making sure the government didn’t get blindsided by CSIS. The inspector general's key function was to produce an annual certificate stating whether CSIS had strayed outside the law, contravened ministerial direction or exercised its powers unreasonably. In her final certificate, Plunkett found CSIS continued to flout policy and made a serious number of reporting errors.


By October the Harper regime had signed the 'trade agreement' with China without ANY consultation with, or indeed information being revealed to, either parliament or the Canadian Citizens. “... it will operate the same way Chapter 11 of NAFTA works (which will) allow corporations to claim damages against Canada if any level of Canadian government (municipal, provincial or federal) causes them to experience less profit than had been anticipated.“
While Finance officials refused to disclose the budget for the current “action plan” a Treasury Board document shows that cabinet approved $16 million in “economic action plan” advertising in the first quarter of this year alone. A further $18 million was approved for other misleading advertising as well as $4.5 million for War of 1812 advertising. In all, the federal cabinet had already approved more than $64 million in ad spending for 2012-13


They then tabled yet another omnibus budget implementation bill. This one tipped the scales at 443 pages and contained a number of measures not included in the budget document presented in the spring including gutting protections contained in the Navigable Waters Protection Act and weakening the Canada Labour Code. Despite protracted objections from Canadians and the opposition the bill passed with few if any amendments and modified or abolished over 70 desperate pieces of legislation


As part of the Harper Regimes series of initiatives to cut support to charities and voluntary organizations programs were eliminated, funding was reduced or delayed and third-party research support was eradicated. The 2012 budget gave the Canada Revenue Agency $8 million, later topped up to $13.4 million, to conduct 60 political activity audits of charities, these audits appeared to target those charities that who may have been critical of the regimes policies.

December 2012: After Auditor General Michael Ferguson found “inadequate documentation” of senators expense claims questions are raised about Conservative Sen. Mike Duffy declared primary residence in P.E.I., since he is claiming living expenses for staying in his longtime Ottawa-area home and Nigel Wright, the prime minister's chief of staff, apparently saying it appeared that Duffy's residence expenses complied with the rules. Three years later this issue is before the courts with Duffy and several other Senators suspended.
Jan 2013
The Department of Justice was laid bare in open court when senior lawyer Edgar Schmidt said he and his colleagues have been receiving “illegal” instructions regarding conflict of legislation with the Charter, with government lawyers being told to not raise concerns with the minister .… even if the probability of inconsistency is 95 per cent or more..........


The Liberals elected Justin Trudeau as their leader in late January and the Conservatives promptly launched a series of personal attack TV ads which then continued almost unabated over the ensuing 2 years till the election. Millions have been spent assassinating the leader whilst saying little about policy.


February
The federal government officially closed a Vancouver coast guard base that's considered to be the busiest in Canada along with the shuttering of three other B.C. coast guard communication centres as part of the government’s deep budget cuts , the Kitsilano Canadian Coast Guard Station no longer offers search-and-rescue services. Meanwhile opening The Office of Religious Freedom seemed to be much more important!

......................

March
Having failed to seek a replacement for Kevin Page, the Parliamentary Budget Officer, whose contract the did not renew they then defeated an NDP to extend his mandateuntil a competent replacement is found. He was eventualy replaced as the by the Parliamentary Librarian 'temporarily' whilst a 'process' takes place to perhaps replace him. However in a continueing effort to control any real information getting out we learn that Librarian staff have been silenced.
“Federal librarians and archivists who set foot in classrooms, attend conferences or speak up at public meetings on their own time are engaging in “high risk” activities, according to the new code of conduct at Library and Archives Canada. Given the dangers, the code says the department’s staff must clear such “personal” activities with their managers in advance to ensure there are no conflicts or “other risks to LAC.”


The environmental commissioner resigned two years before the end of his mandate and just before leaving points out some major 'gaps' in in the environmental policies of the Conservative government.

A Conservative MP became the first MP in more than a decade to raise a point of privilege against his own government in questioning why he was denied an opportunity to speak by his own party whip during question period. The Government Whip Gordon O'Connor response that was the most revealing. He told House Speaker Andrew Scheer that such matters (deciding who may speak to the house) are the exclusive purview of the parties, and, as such, firmly outside the Speakers jurisdiction.


Canada's Minister of the Environment, Peter Kent, would not allow the public posting of a final report by the now-defunct National Roundtable on Energy and Environment (NRTEE), a 25-year old government funded project that brought together Canada's brightest minds to work on the convergence of environmental sustainability and economic prosperity. He also prevented NRTEE materials from being transferred to a University of Ottawa think-tank, Sustainable Prosperity, where they will be made publicly available.
Minister Kent wrote:

“…the National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy (NRTEE) will upload no further content to its external website, as of the date on which this direction is signed.”

In April 2013 upon leaving as PBO Kevin Page said:-


“ I took the job when it was agreed that a few amazing and fearless public servants would join — namely, Mostafa Askari and Sahir Khan. We signed in proverbial blood. We vowed to give Canada a true legislative budget office. Nothing less. I chose career suicide. It was a very small price to pay. After all, I had lost a son; I was “out of range.”

“Our institutions of accountability are in trouble. Parliament does not get the information and analysis it needs to hold the executive (the prime minister and cabinet) to account.”
“What’s in it for the government to have a strong legislative budget office? Not much. What’s in it for Parliament and Canadians to have a strong budget office? Maybe a great deal. If it matters to you, please tell your elected representatives.”


Members of the public wishing to comment to the NEB about the proposed East-West Pipeline are told they must first apply for permission to participate. Under the new rules, included in last springs omnibus budget any resident who wants to send in a letter about their concerns must first apply to the NEB for permission and fill out a 10-page form which asks for a resume and references.
Finally in this litany of information suppression we have the emails sent out to RCMP officials, telling them they need to get approval from the commissioner or the public safety minister’s office before talking to politicians. In response to a question in the House Candice Bergen (MP, Portage-Lisgar) said:-.
“If parliamentarians need to or want to meet with RCMP or other officials, the appropriate place for them to do that is in Parliamentary committees. If that member has a concern about any RCMP member, they can speak with myself or the minister of public safety,”


And in May, in a clear and bold statement, Judge Richard Mosley wrote of the robocall fiasco : "I find that electoral fraud occurred during the 41st General Election.". However no results were overturned and to date only one campaign worker has been charged in what was obviously a much wider scam.

Next up:- More spent of “Action Plan” advertising, Parliament Prorogued again and another Omnibus Budget.

Please Note
Parts 1 to 5 are now available as one long document (19 pages - 7900 words) in chronological order and may be viewed, shared and downloaded on Google Docs. Due to the large number of embedded links I recommend you import it as a Docx, ODF Doc or HTML so that you may follow the references if you wish for more information on a particular issue.
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Harper History, Part 6B – Budget Reintroduced - More Secrecy

May 2011 – summer 2012


The first few months of the Harper majority made it clear that the long forgotten “open and accountable” promise given when first coming to power is exactly the opposite of the regimes actual intentions. There are repeated attempts to put even the most innocuous committee deliberations behind closed doors, inaccurate or out right refusal to release financial information or estimates and massive pieces of legislation tabled covering a multitude of issues with no corrections or amendments permitted.


The Canadian federal budget for the 2011–2012 fiscal year was presented to the Canadian House of Commons by Finance Minister Jim Flaherty on March 22, 2011, then reintroduced basically unchanged on June 6 following the May 2 election (precipitated in part by said budget) and recall of the House on June 2nd.
On June 13, "the budget passed by a vote of 167 to 131, with four Bloc Québécois MPs voting in support and the other opposition parties voting against it". Parliament was then recessed for summer on June 24th
This budget included the elimination of the per vote subsidy which had been in effect since 2004, at $1.75 per vote The subsidy was reduced to $1.53 by the Harper government on April 1, 2012, and was reduced on each subsequent April 1, until its elimination in 2015.


Tony 'Gazebo' Clements who misused a $50-million government program that was sold to Parliament as an infrastructure fund to reduce border congestion but instead was used as a treasure chest to pretty up his riding with parks, walkways, gazebos, etc. was made Finance Minister.


Sept 28 2011
The majority of Conservative MPs on the Public Account Committee quashed MP Caron's motion to resurrect 14 studies left unfinished when Parliament fell, they also barred the public from that meeting despite there being nothing confidential being discussed. Seven of the 14 are complete and just need to be tabled in the House of Commons, they include studies into costs related to the renovation of Parliament's West Block, the helicopter procurement deal, and the regulation and supervision of large banks.


One of the main concerns was that the secrecy and difficulty in obtaining information about such items would increase. Given that this oversight committee is charged with studying issues of transparency, of accountability and public expenditures and that they would not table the seven reports already completed indicates that as always they are hiding something in those reports that reflects poorly upon their governance.

Also in September the debate on the 103 page omnibus crime bill was prematurely cut short. It holds nine separate bills, some of which will create major changes to the Canadian justice system and debate was limited to an average of less than six minutes per page!.
It was also revealed that The Harper regime was paying a high-powered management consultant firm almost $90,000 a day for advice on how to save money.

October 2011
The government introduced its 650 page fall budget implementation bill while the entire Finance Committee was still on tour doing pre-budget consultations around the bill up for debate the following day. The Harper Regime also unveiled the Ways and Means Motion and gave the MPs six whole hours to read over all 250 pages said motion before they had to vote on it.


Parliamentary Budget Officer Kevin Page reported that the just released costing for the 'tough on crime bill' was “total obfuscation.” The Conservatives say their massive new crime bill, which includes nine separate pieces of legislation, will cost $78.5 million over five years, part of bigger justice agenda the government says will cost $2.7 billion.
But Page, who has been asked by the Opposition parties to cost out the bill by mid-November, told The Canadian Press the government estimate includes no methodology, no supporting information and no provincial costs.
In November he reported that the federal government has been unable to spend nearly 90% of funding set aside for green infrastructure projects over the past two years!


In November The Star obtained a copy of a new communications protocol that requires the RCMP to flag anything that might “garner national media attention” to Public Safety Canada. Signed Sept. 20 and effective immediately, the policy says the Mounties must consult and get approval from Public Safety for communications regarding non-operational matters “PRIOR (emphasis in original) to public use” for almost everything.


It was also revealed that thanks to thanks to the The Canadian Press and their persistence if obtaining freedom of information documents we can now specifically say that when Dimitri Soudas, wrote to Canadian newspapers asserting "no directive" went out to civil servants to use the offending phrase “the H*%^&r Government” he was lieing and in fact they were forced to use this rather than the correct “Government of Canada” in their public documents.


The HillTimes: revealed that there are now an estimated 1,500 communications staffers working in ministers’ offices and departments, including 87 in the PMO and PCO. Unfortunately it is becoming increasingly clear that their job is to 'communicate' only that information approved by Harper and to deny or refute any information that may reflect badly upon the Harper Regime.
In December the government attempted to move committee business in camera across the board. That means that while witness hearings would still be public, any other committee discussions would be made secret, including any motions that the opposition might make.


In January Tides Canada CEO, Ross McMillan, was informed by the Prime Minister’s Office, that ForestEthics (a charitable project of Tides Canada), is considered an “Enemy of the Government of Canada,” and an “Enemy of the people of Canada.”. This was perceived as a threat by the Prime Minister’s Office to challenge its charitable work opposing oil sands expansion and construction of oils and tanker/pipeline routes in Canada. Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver called both Canadian citizens and environmentalists from outside of Canada concerned about the impacts of the proposed Northern Gateway Pipeline “Radicals” and said “They use funding from foreign special interest groups to undermine Canada’s national economic interest”.


February 2012
Just a few weeks into the new session two more committees considered motions to hold their meetings “in camera” this effectively bars the press and the public from any information as to the proceeding that take place in those meeting.
“It’s becoming increasingly evident that the Harper Conservatives dislike public accountability,” said Elizabeth May, MP for Saanich-Gulf Islands and Leader of the Green Party.  “They are already limiting debate in the House on a regular basis, and now they intend to make committee business secret.”


Mar 2011
Kevin Page the Parliament's budget watchdog reported that it will cost close to $30 billion to buy and maintain 65 F-35 fighter jets, billions more than 9 billion estimate given by the Conservative government.


On March 29^th 2012 the Harper Regieme tabled a 498 page budget document changing over 60 different statutes including major changes to environmental protection laws. Oil pipelines will be exempt from the navigable waters act and the environmental assessments that law has often triggered. Only three oceans, 97 lakes and 62 rivers will be covered by the new act — less than one per cent of Canada's waterways. Green Party leader Elizabeth May called it the Environment Devastation Act


This Omnibus bill remained the main focus of attention throughout the remainder of this sitting and several months into the next with the Harper Regime refusing to split it into manageable sections and rejecting all opposition amendments.

The 425-page omnibus budget implementation bill contained measures not even hinted at in the Conservatives’ 2011 election platform, such as gradually raising the age of eligibility for OAS to 67 from 65, remodelling EI, and reducing oversight at the domestic spy agency.
The sprawling Jobs, Growth and Long-Term Prosperity Act was widely criticized, even a Conservative Backbench MP David Wilks briefly said that parts of the Harper regime omnibus budget bill were wrong and should be thrown out, even at the risk of bringing down the government, before being brought back into line and suddenly saying that he supported the budget all along.
“Parliamentary Budget Officer Kevin Page released a legal opinion by a prominent constitutional lawyer that concluded Canada’s top bureaucrat and the deputy ministers of 64 departments are breaching the Parliament of Canada Act by refusing to release information on the proposed spending cuts, including their impact on jobs and service levels to Canadians.”

In June Mr. Scheer, the Speaker of the House, ruled that the 871 amendments proposed by the New Democrats, the Liberals and Green Party Leader Elizabeth May will be pared down and that those left standing will be grouped with others that are similar in nature. All such amendments were rejected by the Conservative majority.


Having previously muzzled our Federal Scientists and prevented them from reporting on such things as an “unprecedented” loss of ozone over the Arctic and other matters related to climate change and having shut down the Polar Environment Atmosphere Research Laboratory (PEARL) in Nunavut as well as several other research facilities they now continued with their attack on science. The Experimental Lakes Area, the Kenora-based research facility dedicated to the study of freshwater lake ecologies for 50 years, saw its funding slashed to nil in the outsized omnibus budget bill.


Parliament was recessed for the Summer on June 21 .... and then recalled a week later for a few hours to give royal assent to 9 outstanding government bills.
28^th In August when the premiers invited Stephen Harper to their next meeting on the economy in the fall, he rejected the invitation -- again.


Next up, the omnibus budget is passed with no substantial changes, the expenses of some Senators is questioned and the secrecy and disrespect for parliament and the Canadian people continues.

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Voices for Democracy

Voices-Voix is a non-partisan coalition of Canadians and Canadian organizations committed to defending our collective and individual rights to dissent, advocacy and democratic space. They have documented attacks against organizations, individuals and institutions that have raised their voices, to show the pattern of government silencing those who exercise their right to dissent.
They have a membership of over 200 organizations and “encourage Canadians to raise their voices so that governments meet their core responsibilities to respect the equality, transparency and diversity of voices that make a democracy thrive.''
They recently released a report (1 MB PDF) titled “Dismantling Democracy” which documents in great detail the actions of the Harper Regimes in silencing both those within government and outside of it who have been critical of this regimes policies.


In their opening statement they outline the failure of the Harper Regime to foster the Open and Accountable atmosphere promised when they were first elected that has now become the antitheses of their actions and policies.

Rather than consistently promoting a robust democracy,

Canadian governments have often deployed a range of

methods to limit dissent, public debate and democratic

participation in Canada. But since 2006 there has been

an unprecedented intensification of the use of these

silencing tactics, particularly by the federal government.

Deliberate funding cuts have affected the public and

charitable sectors; audits are targeting organizations

critical of the government; parliamentary processes

are being abused to undermine accountability, and

critics of the government are being harassed and

vilified. All aspects of Canadian democracy are being

targeted, including the institutions and processes

of parliamentary democracy; the development and

dissemination of knowledge; the voices of marginalized

communities, and respect for human rights.

An inclusive and robust democracy requires that

governments foster rights to free expression, free

association, peaceful assembly and equality. To thrive,

civil society must be adequately resourced, able to operate

free from interference, and free to engage meaningfully

with government. By failing to promote an enabling

environment or foster the human rights that are critical

to democracy, the government denies Canadians the

dynamic, innovative society they aspire to build.

The introduction to the Undermining Democracy section clearly spells out their concerns (and mine) with the many and ongoing actions by the Harper Regime that diminish and threaten to destroy our democracy.


“Dissenting and diverse voices within the public sector are being silenced. Parliamentary processes are being misused and abused. Omnibus budget bills are introducing sweeping changes to federal legislation, curtailing political debate. Parliamentarians and civil servants are being vilified or fired for publicly disagreeing with government policy.
Independent advice from the public service is being ignored or eliminated. Oversight
mechanisms are being undermined through government control and interference.

Compounding these failures in Canadian governance is the federal government’s attack on knowledge. Independent research institutions, government research programs, and libraries and archives have been systematically defunded. The brunt of these cuts are borne by departments, programs, or projects seen as inconsistent with government policy. Public sector scientists and researchers are being prevented from speaking publicly, and non-government organizations working to promote knowledge are seeing their funding cut and their records audited. Curtailing knowledge jeopardizes the government’s ability to consider options and alternatives and develop sound, evidence based policy that responds to the public’s various needs.

Marginalized communities have been especially penalized in the government’s zeal to
silence dissent. Funding for organizations working to protect and advance the rights
of all Canadians is increasingly under threat, and audits have been used to intimidate
and muzzle the charitable sector. This has affected organizations providing services for and conducting advocacy on behalf of women, Indigenous peoples, veterans, and the economically marginalized, making it harder for them to organize effectively, express their concerns, and hold government to account.

The federal government has invoked national security, foreign policy and ‘border
protection’ to silence accountability and limit transparency for its own human rights
infringements, eroding the ability of everyone to participate equally in democracy.
The impact of these tactics is devastating for debate, dissent, diversity and ultimately,
Canada’s democracy.”


23 case studies of instances of silencing the public sector where individuals or departments have been “Fired, forced removal or not re-appointed” or subject to “Funding cuts and restrictive internal policies “ are linked to in the report and are available on their web site. All information is fully supported with references to source material. There is far to much information contained in this report to even summarize here and it is a long read but I encourage all those who want to see a documented outline of what the Harper Regime has and continues to do to our democracy and in particular to those non profit and charitable organizations who speak out against such action to take the time to read it.


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Harper History, Part 5B - G20, Census Axed, Contempt.

June 2010 – Mar 2011

In this the second half of part 5 of the ongoing Harper History series intended to remind our citizens exactly how little respect the Harper Regime has for our Democracy we touch upon the G20 fiasco, the killing of the census and the inability of the PBO to get information as to how the 'stimulus' funds were spent. Parliament continued to be 'dysfunctional' with the opposition seeming unable to hold Harper to account despite his refusal to release the information necessary for them to make informed decisions for fear of precipitating an election they were not prepared for, whist Harper almost daily dared them to do so.

On 26-& 27 June 2010 Harper hosted the G20 Leaders Summit in Toronto and had been under fire for months for the avalanche of funding around the Muskoka region where the leader were to be accommodated. It was revealed that besides the $50 million in G8 summit funds, Ottawa had funnelled another $50 million into the riding held by Industry minister Tony Clements in the past few years.
With summits in London, England and Pittsburgh, USA costing $30 million and $12.2 million (US) respectively the bill for this summit held whilst Canada was still in deep recession was estimated at $1.1 BILLION. Extravagant expenditures included the construction of a 'fake lake' just meters from the real Lake Ontario and $274,850 for a bandshell and new public washrooms in Baysville, 31 kms from the summit site.

Thousands of people gathered in Toronto to protest the summit and when a handfull of 'anarchists' destroyed property and smashed windows on the first day whilst police stood by and watched hundreds of peaceful demonstrators were illegally arrested and detained on the second day. It has never been revealed who authorized these arrests and no senior officers have been held to account. It remains unclear exactly who was realty in control of the 'security operation. The area where the leaders actually met in downtown Toronto was declared a security zone and laws were quietly changed to make it illegal to approach the area.
For more on the security zone see On that controversial “regulation”

On July 12 2010 The Conservative government defeated changes the Liberals and three of the four independents wanted in the Budget by a vote of 48 to 44. Seven Liberal senators failed to show up to vote giving Harper's Conservatives the slight majority. The 800+ page budget sailed through unscathed thus avoiding (for now) a showdown in the House of Commons and a possible election call.
Also in July the Long form census eliminated and the Canadian Press learned that “Employees were told a little over a year ago that there would be less emphasis on analysis. A highly praised survey on immigrants to Canada, for example, has been axed. Other analytical jobs, in areas such as business and trade statistics, and the aging population, have been eliminated.”

In August Munir Sheikh, the head of Statistics Canada, announced his resignation over this issue saying "I want to take this opportunity to comment on a technical statistical issue which has become the subject of media discussion. This relates to the question of whether a voluntary survey can become a substitute for a mandatory census,"
"It cannot," he said. "Under the circumstances, I have tendered my resignation to the prime minister."For more on this please see Letter to the Prime-minister.
By this time numerous other key personnel had quit, been fired or been forced out of their government positions.
Also In August Parliamentary Budget Officer Kevin Page reported that he could not tell with any accuracy how or indeed if all the Economic Action Plan funds had been spent saying “it is impossible to draw authoritative conclusions about the program performance at this time. Parliamentary monitoring of program performance would be better served by a more consistent reporting regime, with appropriate incentives to ensure timely and accurate progress reporting.” For more on this see One to watch

On Oct 12 2010 , The Conservatives further demonstrated their contempt for Parliament by delivering their 'Economic Update' not in parliament but at a carefully staged and expensive special event in Mississauga this while parliament was recessed and the country was still deep in recession and they were preaching 'fiscal restraint'. This practice of making major announcements traditionally first revealed in parliament before their peers was to become the 'norm' for Harper who rarely if ever spoke publicly except in carefully controlled and stage managed events.

In November it was revealed that Conservative Senators were quietly using taxpayer-funded literature to target opposition ridings with a partisan crime message as the party gears up for the next election.

On November 16th In a late night surprise vote and without any debate the Conservatives used their clout in the Senate stacked by Prime Minister Stephen Harper to kill an NDP climate change bill that was passed by a majority of the House of Commons. The absence of more than 15 Liberals from the Senate for the surprise vote allowed the bill to be defeated. This was the first time in at least 70 years that the Senate has killed legislation from the Commons without a hearing, according to parliamentary experts.Harper then told the Commons that the bill which established greenhouse gas emissions targets for a period beyond that mandated by the Kyoto Protocol that it was “a completely irresponsible bill.” For more on this see Senate Shananikins.
During Oct & Nov 2010 the first official government announcements show up with titles proclaiming “The Harper Government” rather than the correct “The Government of Canada”. A few months later this was proclaimed by the regime to be the way all such documents should be titled. During this entire period thousands of dollars were spent bombarding us with those “Economic Action Plan” ads that told us nothing but promoted the Harper Regime on almost a daily basis.

In January 2011 and with the probability of an election in the near future and speculation about a coalition in the news Gov. Gen. David Johnston was busy brushing up on constitutional rules and said that “he sees nothing wrong or illegitimate with coalition governments and recognizes that “any governor general who has that role in a constitutional system like ours, from time to time will be confronted with questions where there is an element of discretion,”
However Liberal leader Micheal Ignatieff had been unequivocal in his rejection of a coalition and thus played right into Harper’s framing of a coalition as illegitimate and this may well have had some effect on the election to come.

In February Green Party Leader Elizabeth May clearly voiced the concerns that a number of noted historians and constitutional experts also said when she wrote:-
“I am no fan of hyperbole. The notion that democracy in a safe, successful, wealthy country like Canada, constitutionally dedicated to “peace, order, and good government,” could be “in peril” may strike some readers as over the top. Nevertheless, there is a power struggle in Ottawa that, in earlier days, could have been viewed as a constitutional crisis. ” Some constitutional experts were wondering out loud if our prime minister should be referred to as “King Stephen I of Canada.”.
Also in February PBO officer Kevin Page in his appearance before the Commons Finance Committee when he appeared before committee Tuesday said that in his 25 years in the public service, no government has used the umbrella of “cabinet confidence” to hide tax data or justice legislation costs, and reiterated that this lack of data means that Parliamentarians are losing their control over the finances of the nation.
“There is genuine concern that Parliament is losing control of its fiduciary responsibilities of approving financial authorities of public monies as afforded in the Constitution. In the recent past, Parliament was asked to approve changes to crime legislation without financial information or knowledge of monies set aside in the fiscal framework. “
For more on these two items and similar opinion please see Democracy in Peril?
On February 24, 2011, 4 senior Conservative Party members were charged in the In and Out Scandal under the Elections Canada Act with overspending over $1 million in the 2006 election including allegations that Conservative election expense documents submitted to Elections Canada were "false or misleading" and attempted to fraudulently gain almost $1 million in refunds from taxpayers. Over a year later the charges were dropped as part of a plea deal which saw the Conservative Party plead guilty over the 'In and Out' scandal, agreeing to repay $230,198.00 (or less than 25% of the moneys obtained by the fraud) for its role in the scheme.

On March 9th, 2011, the Harper administration was found to be in contempt of Canadian parliament for for its ongoing refusal to meet opposition requests for details of proposed bills and their cost estimates. This was the first time in the history of any commonwealth government that this had happened. Errol Mendes, a University of Ottawa professor and constitutional expert had said this before the committee requesting the documents:-
"The executive is really placing itself above Parliament. For the first time that I know in Canadian history, the executive is saying we are superior to Parliament,"
"This is nothing more than an open defiance of Parliament. Nothing more, nothing less," he said. "The refusal to release the uncensored documents is a violation of the Canadian Constitution. This is the equivalent to a defiance of a judicial subpoena,"
On March 25th, 2011, The Speaker of the House of Commons having ruled three times that "the Harper government" appeared to breach parliamentary privilege and the Harper administration being found to be in contempt of Canadian parliament for its refusal to share information that opposition members said they needed to properly assess legislation put before them a vote of non confidence was held which was supported by all opposition parties resulting in the government falling and an election being called..


Early Friday afternoon, 156 opposition MPs – all of the Liberals, New Democrats and Bloquistes present in the House of Commons – rose to support a motion of no-confidence.

It was also a motion that declared the government to be in contempt of Parliament for its refusal to share information that opposition members said they needed to properly assess legislation put before them.

This was not the first nor was it to be the last instance of the Harper Regime showing its utter contempt for our Parliamentary Democracy rules and conventions. We were about to see their contempt for election rules and for Elections Canada, the arms length body charged with ensuring that our election were untainted by illegal activities.

The 2011 election and the controversy around election fraud and robo-calls will be covered separately in the next article.




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