Harper History, Part 9 – Omnibus budget, Anti-terrorist bill, Election call.

Summer 2014 – Aug 2nd 2015

In 2014 Green Party leader and Saanich-Gulf Islands MP Elizabeth May described the dictatorship-style Harper PMO as a “$10-million-a-year partisan operation filled with ruthless, cutthroat psychopaths.” She added that the office was manned by people “employed for the purpose of harassing scientists, bullying MPs, and muzzling civil servants.”
It should be hard for anyone who has read through this series to disagree with that assessment for as she says “The staff at the PMO have no allegiance to anything other than getting the Conservative Party re-elected, it completely offends the principles of parliamentary democracy.”
In this the last part of the Harper History series we see little change in their suppression of parliamentary debate except perhaps to be even more controlling and secretive. In advance of the Oct 2015 election we see an ever increasing expenditure of taxpayers dollars promoting various measure proposed in yet another omnibus budget and continuous party ads degenerating opposition leader Trudeau. With the budget supposedly “balanced” though a series of bookkeeping fiddles the purse strings are suddenly opened just a few days ahead of the early election call. Throughout this entire time the senate spending scandal and the attempted cover up by Harper and the PMO was constantly in the news but no attempt will be made here to cover that fiasco.

July 2014

With the Harper Regime loosing a series of rulings in the Supreme Court of Canada from their plans for the senate to prostitution laws to his nomination to the court it should be no surprise that as well as Harpers direct attack upon Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin he now has set his minions out to attack the Supreme Court in general. It would seem that the Court making rulings that follow the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms is now a “problem” and that groups using the Charter to defend their rights when a new attack upon our democracy issues from the Con Oligarchy is somehow antidemocratic.

In an outburst that revealed the Conservatives true colours MP Larry Miller told the Post’s John Ivison of his growing dismay that the “courts are making laws.” “I’m all for rights and freedoms,” he said, “but the Charter complicates things.” The problem, as far as rights and freedoms are concerned, is that we have “complicated” them by writing them into law..............
“Pierre Trudeau,” he said, “did this willfully and deliberately, taking rights away from the majority to protect the minority.” “Why elect people and pay them to do something the courts are doing,” Miller grumbles.

Just to make it clear that this is not just Larry Miller spouting off but a directive from above, we have another report of the same talking points being floated from the other side of the country......

Also in July PEN Canada who represents more than 1,000 writers and supporters, including Canadian literary luminaries Margaret Atwood and Yann Martel, and presses for freedom of expression at home and abroad faced an audit. We keep being told that it’s just a bureaucratic coincidence to see so many critics of the government facing audits and revocation of their charitable status since these audits started in 2012 — from Amnesty International to Kitchener birdwatchers to the David Suzuki Foundation. But PEN Canada — an organization devoted to free expression, for heaven’s sake — the whole exercise became officially creepy.



On October the 22ns 2014 a lone gunman with no apparent ties to any terrorist organization entered the halls of parliament with malicious intent and was killed by the parliamentary security forces. This was quickly turned into a “terrorist attack” upon Canada by the Harper regime even before the gunman was fully identified.
"The objective of these attacks was to instil fear and panic in our country, as I said yesterday, Canadians will not be intimidated. Here we are, in our seats, in our chamber, in the very heart of our democracy." Stephen Harper in the House of Commons Thursday October 23^rd. This from the king of democratic destruction.
Also in October the Harper government introduced another omnibus budget bill. It brought forward the 458-page C-43 bill and said it intends to pass the legislation before the December break. It included substantial reductions in health transfers for provinces and measures to deny refugees heath care, although spending was announced for things like infrastructure or national defence it was all deferred in order to be able to announce a balanced budget before the election at which time suddenly the purse strings were loosened.


In November it was revealed that, even as various government departments reduced services and staffing levels, Public Accounts documents showed the Conservatives have held onto more than $7 billion in approved spending across a spectrum of departments. Since 2007-2008, the average amount that the government has underspent is 23 per cent of the allocated funds. Over the last three decades, the average was 2 per cent.


In December
“Stephen Harper's government is being called out for spending what the Liberals say is $548 million of taxpayers' money for partisan advertising - just prior to the 2015 election. A long ad campaign about a jobs plan that doesn't exist; feel-good ads about Canada's 150th anniversary - still two full years away; a two-month ad campaign ending this month, showcasing tax breaks that can't be accessed until March or April; and $9 million for ads denouncing Canada's wireless cellphone companies. “


In a scathing article former Conservative MP Mr Rathgeber points out that the Harper Regime continues to boast of programs that have not passed through the legislative process are are not in fact in place and does so with half truths and outright lies.

“It is shameful how a supposedly conservative government wastes tax dollars on blatant, self- serving, political advertising. These recent transgressions are in addition to the $5 Million Veterans Affairs is using to promote the laughable concept of how well Canada treats its veterans. Parliament amazingly voted an additional $21,400,000 Wednesday night for additional government advertising;” (Read the majority Con Regime voted themselves increased advertising budget)


In January The Harper regime introduced Bill C-51, the new Anti-Terrorism Act which was quickly denounced as creating a 'police state' and reducing oversight upon CISIS and doing little to actually combat domestic terrorism.
At a press briefing to introduce the bill reporters in Ottawa became surly quickly when it was discovered the government lock-up they attended on the proposed anti-terror legislation was light on information and heavy on restrictions.
A hint of how the government might handle some of its Bill C-51 critics at committee first came from Public Safety Minister Steven Blaney Tuesday. Leading testimony before the committee, he spoke out against members of the opposition and “so-called experts” who oppose the bill.
The “so-called” experts to which he referred include: former prime ministers, retired Supreme Court justices, eminent former politicians, national security legal academics and constitutional scholars and others.
Public Safety Minister Steven Blaney told CTV’s Question Period that any oversight efforts beyond the Security Intelligence Review Committee (SIRC), which reports to Parliament on the operations of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), would be redundant.
With a few minor amendments, and having rejected 60 amendments from the Greens and dozens more for the other parties, the bill passed third reading on May 6 with the support of the Liberals with a final vote of 183-96. It later passed in the Senate on June 9 following a vote of 44-28 in favour.

Early in February 2015 Baird became the 21st senior Conservative MP to announce that they will not be seeking re-election during the 2015 federal election, scheduled for October 19. “Add in previous resignations, lost nomination bids and a death, and more than 30 Conservatives elected in Harper’s historic 2011 majority of 166 MPs are leaving or have left.”
Baird's departure from cabinet, along with the resignation of Jim Flaherty a month before his death last year, mean two of Harper's most powerful ministers will have left the prime minister's inner circle in less than a year. The election of a replacement MP was delayed until the October general election.


Also in Feb 2015 Parliamentary Budget Officer Jean-Denis Fréchette accused the Conservative government of breaching its legal obligations to hand over information about the cost of Canada’s military mission in Iraq.
A PBO report said the Department of National Defence refused all requests for specific data on Operation Impact, the mission against Islamic State militants. “Several of these refusals appear to breach DND’s legal obligations under the Parliament of Canada Act,” the report states.......
The report also notes that the government has a history of reporting incremental costs of military missions that are significantly lower than the full costs. For instance, the report states that Operation Mobile, Canada’s most recent overseas mission in Libya, had full costs that were almost six times the reported incremental costs.



In March the rush to pass the Security bill continued with debate being restricted in both the House and in Committee despite the ever increasing objections to it from both the general public and legal and constitutional experts. The hearings clearly demonstrated how dysfunctional the committee process had become under the Harper Regime.
The Canadian Bar Association objects to the planned transformation of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) into an agency that could actively disrupt terror plots. It argues the bill’s “vague and overly broad language” would capture legitimate activity, including environmental and aboriginal protests — and possibly put a chill on expressions of dissent. The SIRC committee's executive director, Michael Doucet, complained in this year's annual report that his staff had trouble getting relevant information from CSIS with it, on average, taking three years to investigate complaints against CSIS.
Late in February it was revealed that over a five-year period, Canada's national police force Mounties withheld some $10 million in funds earmarked for its National Child Exploitation Co-ordination Centre and related projects. It was later revealed that they also did not spend $97 million in 2013-14 that had earmarked for a series of key social programs, including one to fight youth unemployment and another to help the disabled. The shortfall amounted to more than five per cent of the budget for programs at Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC),
In March we found out that Minister of Public Works and Government Services Diane Finley decided to give $1 million to the Markham Centre for Skills and Independence under the Enabling Accessibility Fund  despite the fact the project failed funding criteria and included a “number of deficiencies.” Ethics Commissioner Mary Dawson noted that “there were a number of interventions in relation to the proposal by the Prime Minister’s Office, two ministers, staff in Ms. Finley’s office and senior departmental officials.” The unethical interference reached the highest levels of the PMO, with Harper’s then-chief of staff Nigel Wright involved in discussions that at one point also included Harper, who told Wright to “sort it out,” according to the report.


In April instead of announcing the budget in the House of Commons, Oliver's office summoned media to the Canada Goose's factory in Toronto to announce his budget. In order to predict a balanced budget for 2015-16 they reduced government contingency funds by $2 billion and included the recent sale of the government’s remaining shares in General Motors, for another $1 billion.


Also in April having totally failed to address climate change federally The environment minister Leona Aglukkaq sent a letter just before a premiers meeting on climate change in Quebec City about their climate change efforts. Many provinces didn't react favourably to the letter, calling on the federal government to focus more on its own efforts to cut greenhouse gas emissions.



The Harper regime then booked $13.5 million for an all-out blitz in April and May to advertise its 2015 pre-election budget. The Canada Revenue Agency is spending $6 million on a concentrated TV bulk buy this month that includes pricey NHL playoff spots in what internal government documents describe as a continuation of an existing campaign that's been running all winter. The tax agency's $6 million in TV advertising is augmented by a $7.5 million campaign by the Finance department, all designed to promote previously announced and new targeted tax breaks. The spring ad blitz comes amid increasingly vocal opposition to the Harper government's use of taxpayer-funded advertising for clearly partisan reasons.



On June 3 2015 Liberal Senate leader Grant Mitchell confirmed that the government will shut down all debate on Bill C-51 at the Senate Chamber tomorrow. This means all amendments and the legislation as a whole will be voted on tomorrow. It passed in the Senate on June 9
Also in June The Harper regime appoints five new board members all with strong Conservative connections to the National Capital Commission ahead of a key decision on the future of a very controversial memorial to the victims of communism. “The question is, are these new appointments there simply to make sure this project is rubber stamped?” asked Ottawa Centre NDP MP Paul Dewar.
Former Conservative MP Del Mastro was sentenced to one month in jail for overspending on his 2008 election campaign; breaking his own spending limit; then filing a false campaign report. He previously sat on the House of Commons ethics committee and regularly defended the Conservative Party in question period on allegations related to the illegal robocalls sent to voters in the 2011 election.
Tory MPs voted to pass a time allocation motion on Bill C-59, a 167-page, omnibus budget implementation bill, this was the hundredth time that the Harper Conservatives have restricted debate since the start of Canada’s 41st Parliament in 2011.
The Bill contains unprecedented amendments to retroactively rewrite access to information laws, exempting all records from the defunct long-gun registry, and also any “request, complaint, investigation, application, judicial review, appeal or other proceeding under the Access to Information Act or the Privacy Act,” related to those old records. It effectively alters history to make an old government bill come into force months before it was actually passed by Parliament.


On June the 19^th parliament rose for summer and the Harper regimes minions promptly spread out across the country announcing a myriad of grants and projects designed to persuade the voting public to vote for them in the upcoming election. In one week late in July over $4 BILIONS worth of promises were made.


We could be forgiven for thinking the only thing happening on Canadian military bases over the past two weeks has been photo ops. Recently the department has sent out more than a dozen press releases and held several press conferences where Conservative MPs have announced investments in infrastructure at local bases and military facilities.


The federal government has funnelled 83 per cent of the projects under its signature infrastructure fund to Conservative-held ridings, according to an analysis by The Globe and Mail of the announcements made to date. The New Building Canada Fund was first announced in the 2013 budget, but it has only been within the past few weeks – on the eve of the federal election campaign – that specific announcements have started to flow at a steady pace.


In July despite their balanced budget promises made back in April the parliamentary budget officer says the federal Conservatives will fail to accomplish their key promise of balancing Ottawa’s books this year, instead running a $1-billion budget deficit in 2015,.
Later it was announced that Canada was officially in a recession although the PM refused to acknowledge this fact. The Conservative-dominated parliamentary finance committee voted against calling on Finance Minister Joe Oliver to testify in public about the state of Canada's finances amid a troubled economy as requested by the opposition.


In an apparent effort to keep their “war on terror” talking points before the public Minister Nicholson directed all bureaucrats working in security-related divisions to provide the minister's communications team with "...three MINA (ministerial) statements to the media regarding security in the context of terrorism each week." Since there were no such incidences the bureaucrats were unable to comply.


Late in July Stephen Harper, having not filled any vacancies for two years, announced a moratorium on further Senate appointments, blaming the problems of his previously poor choices on the provinces and suggesting that it needs to be abolished. (something that is not only all but impossible under the constitution but would leave a majority government with no checks to their power)
“This has two advantages. The first and obvious advantage is that it saves costs. The second advantage is that I think it will force the provinces, over time … to either come up with a plan for comprehensive reform or to conclude that the only way to deal with the status quo is abolition.” said Harper.



One of the last things the Harper government did before it launched the federal election was to appoint Steven Kelly to the National Energy Board, who is a consultant for Kinder Morgan. This guy was paid to convince the government to approve the expansion of the Kinder Morgan pipeline. And now he’ll be part of the team that helps to decide if his own argument was convincing.


On Aug 2 2015 Stephen Harper called the election several weeks earlier than was required by law resulting in an extended campaign period. Upon emerging from seeing the Governor General he promptly said:-
“As it is my intention to begin campaign-related activities, as is also the case for the other party leaders, it is important that these campaigns be funded by the parties themselves rather than taxpayers..........”
Given that the taxpayer reimburses 50% to 60% of all legitimate expenses incurred during an election period by political parties and their candidates and that, entirely due to measures brought in by Harper and his (un) Fair Elections Act, the upper limits to said reimbursements increases in proportion with the length of the campaign this to total and utter nonsense.




This is the final article in this series but we will attempt to publish a conclusion and index to the series in the near future. Although how to summarize 10 year of abuse in a few paragraphs makes this just a difficult as wading through the detritus has been in assembling this review of the democratic destruction by the Harper Regime.

Please Note
Parts 1 to 5 and Parts 6 to 9 are now available as two long document (19 pages - 7900 words and 27 pages - 10,230 words respectively) in chronological order and may be viewed, shared and downloaded on Google Docs. Here & Here. Due to the large number of embedded links I recommend you import them 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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Letter From a Political Neophyte

A copy of this letter arrived in my inbox recently.......

Dear Stephen

About 6 months ago, a friend of mine told me that I need to learn more about Canadian politics, especially during an election. He was right, so I decided to start with learning about you and your government. I certainly don't have the extent of political knowledge that my friend has, but I now have a better understanding about you and what your party stands for. Next I will be studying about Justin Trudeau and the Liberals, then Thomas Mulcair and the NDP and then Elizabeth May and the Greens. I was planning on attending one of your campaign stops the next time you were in Toronto, hoping to shake your hand and ask you why I should vote for you, but I was told that was not possible, because Canadians can only attend your campaign stops if their given an invitation and there are various people, in your party who decide which Canadians get those invitations. All of that seemed confusing to me. As I've said, I am not that politically aware, but aren't you, in an election, supposed to be talking with everyone, especially seeing as you're the PM . I thought well maybe he's isolating himself because of the lingering fear he still feels, from when he hid in the closet, in the Conservative Caucus Room, while hiding from a gunman who went on a shooting rampage just outside of that room. I wouldn't go as far as many of my friends and call you a coward, but you must admit that the image of you hiding in a closet is not a good one. Even with your invitation only campaign though, I didn't want to just ignore you completely and talk only to the other 3 leaders, so I decided to write you this email letter and ask you, what I can't ask you in person, why should I vote for you? I know you're a man of few words, but I'm a woman of many words, so please bear with me.

I am a senior and recently my benefits have been reduced. I thought, well, maybe he needs the money, you know, to balance the budget that you talk so much about. My friend though, who is also a senior, was livid. I have another friend who is not yet 65, but who is also very angry, because she says with you in power, she will have to wait until she's 67 to get her pension. In one of the articles I read about you, it said you never really travelled outside of Canada until you became Prime Minister. You must have really loved Canada, if you never wanted to leave it. By the way Goerge W. Bush was the same way, he never left the U.S. until he was President. I guess you both have that in common. I myself have travelled a fair amount. When I was twenty, after travelling in Europe with a friend, I decided to stay and live in Amsterdam for a year. You wouldn't have liked it there though, because smoking grass and hash were and still are legal In Holland. I loved it. The Dutch were some of the nicest people I had ever met.

I understand your favourite era is the 50's. You probably like the television shows that played then, like Leave it to Beaver and Father knows Best. I grew up watching those shows, but my favorite era was the 60's There were such incredibly dynamic leaders then, like JFK, RFK, Malcolm X, Martin LutherJR, Lester Pearson, Pierre Elliot Trudeau, to name just a few. There was also so much upheaval . I remember the race riots in Detroit. Gordon Lightfoot wrote a song about them "Black Day in July", which was censored for awhile from being heard on the radio in Detroit. You probably know it , because I understand you really like the music from the 60's, especially the Beatles. I also read where you sing and play the piano and the first time you went to Israel you played the piano and sang for them. One journalist I read said watching and listening to you was "cringe worthy", but I never saw you, so I don't know. It must be something being the Prime Minister of Canada. Flying in your own plane. Having your own entourage front and back taking you where ever you want to go. You must feel pretty important. I remember Pierre Trudeau, most times, was either driven in the backseat of a single car or he drove himself in his Mercedes. If he were alive today, I wonder what he would think of your entourage? He never much liked them for himself. I also found out that , because of the Israeli 7 wk bombardment on the Palestinian people,there were severely injured ,Palestinian children, who Canadian doctors, together with Canadians and the Palestinian community wanted to bring to Canada, so the doctors could operate on the most severely wounded and hopefully in the process prevent some of these children from losing their limbs.Other countries like Germany and sweden were already doing these operations for a number of Palestinian children, but in Canada, you, Stephen, refused these children visas. When I read this I was really upset, but then I read that you were exploring other kinds of aid and I felt better. I knew that you wouldn't outright refuse these innocent children, some, needing life saving medical help, from coming to Canada, so I searched and searched and searched and couldn't find the programs for the other kinds of aid you said you would be offering to the wounded Palestinian children. Perhaps when you email me back, you can tell me what those programs are and where I can read about them and how your programs are helping these Palestinian children. Something else I've learned about you is that you really, really like the Queen, almost obsessively so. I'm not sure what authority she holds over Canada these days, but another friend of mine said that you want Canada to go back to being a British colony and also to be called The Dominion of Canada again and our anthem to be both "God Save The Queen" and "The Maple Leaf Forever." That's far too complicated for me to figure out. I think your obsession with the Queen is simply because you see her as a mother figure.

I'm not, like some of my friends, a deep thinker who can analyze and explain your policies and programs, but I know the people whom you call elites can. I was at a party the other night and one of the guests said you were a fascist tyrant whose flawed legislation put forth, was meant to eliminate The Charter of Rights and Freedom and place all of the power with the PM. That would be you. Another man called this guest horrible names and got so angry that his face turned purple, sort of like the man at one of your campaign stops, who yelled and screamed at the reporters who were just trying to ask their 5 allowed question. I understand also that he was one of the guests that you took with you, when you went to the Ukraine. I don't know for sure and I don't want to jump to judgement, but was that trip tax payer funded? I've decided that I'm going to judge who I am going to vote for on how they are on the humanitarian issues, because as I said my knowledge doesn't extend to policies, programs, trade deals and legislation. I'll leave that to people like my learned friends. Lately, I've been trying to learn as much as I can about Justin Trudeau, trying to figure out what kind of Prime Minister he would make. I know you hate his Dad and judging by the Conservative ads about him, that are continually played on TV, you don't much like him either. In closing I would just like to add that I think you are very hard to connect with. You don't attend many debates and you're not having any sit down TV interviews and of course your campaign by invitation only is not helping. Maybe you're just really shy, but you really need to make youself more available. I am really looking forward to your response to my letter and answer to my question, why I should vote for you. Right now though, I'm hurrying out the door to meet a friend. Justin Trudeau is doing a campaign stop in downtown Toronto and we are going to attend. I'll shake his hand, but more importantly , I have a few questions I want to ask him. I say this last comment only in jest, but wouldn't it be funny if Justin Trudeau,the son of the man you despise the most in the world won the election. Just saying.

Sincerely

Canadian Gal From T.O.

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A Study in Tyranny (Part 3)

2 Men & A Country : Harpers Nemesis

A guest post by Pamela Mac Neil
The laws you have are a direct result of the Government you have. Whether they remain laws or are struck down, depends on whether you have a democracy or not. Shortly after Harpers appointment of Judge Nadon for a Supreme Courts judge, a Toronto Constitutional lawyer Rocco Galati challenged this appointment in federal court. The first person to ever challenge a PM's appointment for a Supreme Court judge. Galati won. The Supreme Court ruled that Harpers latest appointee to that court, was not legally qualified for the job, they found Nadon's appointment unconstitutional. Harpers response to the Supreme Court decision, was to launch a smear campaign, by saying he refused to take a phone call from Supreme Court Chief Justice, Beverley McLachlin, implying that she tried to directly interfere in Nadon's appointment, while the matter was before the court, when that was patently false. In response to Harper's smear Galati said, "I am shocked by the depravity of the PM, in now making these ridiculous statements, with respect to the chief justice, who is a person of integrity and has every right to raise this issue" The issue being whether a supreme court appointee is legally qualified. Galati is also contesting a number of bills put forth by Harper and his CONs, including bill C-51. of which Galati says , " It chills, censors and criminalizes free speech, free association and constitutional rights of assembly and what it creates is a modern day gestapo. He goes on to say, "German and Italian versions of C-51, were passed in the 1930's. This is quite clearly a fascist and dictatorial piece of legislation and appeasment of it is unacceptable."

In another more far reaching case Galati is representing the Committee on Monetary and Economic Reform (COMER), two Canadians William Krehm and Ann Emmett along with COMER are challenging The Bank of Canada. A bit of background. The Bank of Canada was established during the great depression. The Bank was to be owned by the people of Canada, and responsible to parliament and was to promote the economic and financial welfare of Canada. One of it's functions was making loans to federal, provincial and municipal governments at no or very low interest rates, which then were returned to the people of Canada through the treasury. Galati filed a lawsuit on Dec 12th, 2011 in Federal Court to try to force a restoration of The Bank of Canada to its mandated purpose. The two Canadians and COMER want The Bank of Canada to provide free or low interest loans to the Federal, Provincial and Municipal Governments as provided for in The Bank of Canada Act. Until 1974 The federal government use to borrow no or low interest loans from The Bank of Canada. Now governments borrow all of the necessary money (apart from any bonds they may sell to the public) from private banks at the going rate of interest. "Canadians are economically burdened with the resultant debt-servicing charges because The Bank of Canada no longer makes use of its prerogative in the interest of the Canadian public." The Canadians and COMER plead for declarations that would restore the use of The Bank of Canada for the benefit of Canadians and remove it from the control of international private entities whose interests and directives are placed above the interest of Canadians and the primacy of the constitution of Canada. There has been minimal said about this case from the MSM, because according to Galati's sources Harper and the feds have sent word that the MSM is not to discuss or write about this. Being the good obedient servants that they are, with the exception of a few, they haven't.

Rocco Galati representing COMER is also challenging something other then how The Bank of Canada issues loans to Canadian governments and it is something more insidious and wide spread then in Canada. It actually is the global economic infrastructure of the US and Europe. It is Neoliberalism. It is a major part of American foreign policy, so Rocco Galati will have more then Harper and his CONs closely watching him, he'll have the US and Europe along with the Neoliberal institutions of The IMF, The WTO and the World Bank, keeping a close eye on him. Whether he is aware of this or not, I don't know, but if he does know, and my guess is that he does, he will proceed ahead, hopefully starting the dismantling of the Neoliberal doctrine in Canada. Harpers blue print for acquiring power, Neoliberalism, is being challenged at its most fundamental legal level, implicitly questioning, if Neoliberalism is constitutional. Harper who has no philosophy, only a Neoliberal doctrine combined with Evangelical fundamentalist beliefs is no intellectual match for Rocco Galati. So, yes, I'm sure, Harper is watching very, very closely. Galati is showing the power of the law and the constitution that supports that law in Democracy. So two of the things that Harper hates the most, the law and the Constitution are being used to pull the Neoliberal foundation out from under him and the man who is doing the pulling, Rocco Galati is now probably Harpers number one enemy.

"The Conservative Government is playing fast and loose with the law" and continues Galati, "the constitution doesn't belong to any government. It belongs to the citizens and it's there that we find our protection." " In Canada, the constitution, as well as federal, provincial and territorial laws, protect our human rights and fundamental freedoms." It was only with The Charter of rights and Freedoms that human rights in Canada were protected in the written constitution. "Harpers flawed bills are deliberately put forward to challenge the Supremacy of The Charter of Rights and Freedoms." Without a sound legal system a small group or even a single person can take control of an entire country. The rule of law defines democracy. It is the foundation on which our rights and freedoms rest. Never before have we had a PM like Harper who wants to destroy that foundation. If not the rule of law, then what? The rule of Harper?

Harper neither believes in the natural laws, that govern the universe, nor does he believe in the man/woman made laws, particularly constitutional law, that govern a democratic country, which is why he is not so much against science and democracy but rather against the thinking that gives rise to science and so too the thinking that gives rise to democracy. This is Harpers war on reason, on the very foundation of thought. Two men, Harper and Galati. One, Harper, the PM of Canada,who wants the power to govern, without the consent of those being governed. Harper knows that the Neoliberalism that he fully embraces, cannot be systematically implemented, without the collapse of the rule of law in Canada. Under Neoliberalism, it is the free markets that are the ultimate arbritator of right and wrong. No charter of Rights and Freedoms needed! "Under Harper, a tightly knit, smoothly operating Neoliberal propaganda system has been installed in Canada." And installed for the most part in secrecy. Harper is attempting to create a legal system that is not focused on justice, but on creating laws that will give him more power. It is only fitting then that the other man Rocco Galati, be a constitutional lawyer. The constitution says that the Charter takes priority over all other legislation in Canada, because it is part of the Supreme Law of Canada. It applies to all government action, so governments must take the Charter into account, in developing all laws and policies. So when Harper presents fascist legislation like bill C-51, now a law, Galati will show that this law violates the rights or fundamental freedoms guaranteed in the Charter. The Supreme Court will more then likely, declare the law invalid because it conflicts with the Charter. What's a dictator to do? Where and who has the real power here? The power is in the constitution and with the man, Galati who is using that constitution to stop Harper. That's real power, because it is grounded in reality. Rocco Galati is using the law the way it should be used, to fight corruption and injustice and isn't it interesting the person who Galati is doing legal battle with, whose actions are unjust and corrupt is our very own Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

Harper and his CONs have developed a life of their own, disassociated from Canadians. A criminal Cabal holding complete unaccountable power. From where I'm sitting, the only thing standing, between us and Harpers dictatorial agenda, if he gets 4 more years, is Rocco Galati and the few others like him. "Where the law ends tyranny begins"

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