Conserving Memory

Harper’s Conservatives have distinguished themselves as the first government in Canadian history (and Commonwealth history) to be found in contempt of parliament. Actually there were two findings of contempt and almost a third. Considering all of the games the Conservatives have played with parliament over the last several years, and their repeated lack of cooperation with the rest of the democratically elected members, this is not surprising.

Other than the resulting election, it’s unclear how this finding can truly impact a change in our procedure for dealing with the Conservatives’ abuses. This finding ought to be a serious call on Canadians to remove this government from the power it has perpetually mishandled. read more…

Stephen Harper’s Conservative government failed to earn Canada a seat on the UN Security Council. This failure marked the first time since the council’s inception that Canada has not been elected to serve as a non-permanent member. This failure distinguishes Harper’s Conservative government from prior Canadian governments. read more…

CSIS told the public today that it suspects a few politicians are being inappropriately influenced by foreign powers. CSIS hasn’t said who these politicians are but on June 2nd it became public knowledge that the Conservatives were pushing certain legislation purely for the sake of satisfying the US. read more…

More news reveals Harper’s obsession with control. Message Event Proposals (MEPs) are special forms used to control speaking engagements and messages that officials engage in. These are troubling because they suggest partisan efforts are sneakily mixing with regular work, worse the PMO controls the content of MEPs. MEPs provide insight into the almost sublime extent of the propaganda machine the Conservatives have built. read more…

The G8/G20 meetings spark controversy for the distinct lack of substance Harper has cast upon them (setting the environment as a subservient sidenote to the economy, watering down any significant reform to banking systems, and leaving out critical aspects of maternal health issues CBC News¹ 4 June 2010). Now they’re also controversial for the incredible $1B + of taxpayer money that the Conservatives are spending to host the events. Sadly, that money looks increasingly like a massive marketing failure. read more…

Why is there both a New Democratic Party (NDP) and a Green Party? Examine them, really read their positions and philosophies. The two parties are essentially the same and where they’re not, they’re frequently complementary. In the following, I’ll present why I think the two parties must merge and what it might look like if they did. read more…

The Conservatives still appear to be steering Canada toward a DMCA-like future: one that enslaves our culture to a few controlling (mostly foreign) companies, stifles science and freedom of expression, and anchors Canada’s economy to the digital dark age rather than propelling it toward what could be an incredibly innovative and lucrative future on the world stage. I’ll recount some of the issues, then mention a few of the failings of DMCA-style legislation.

We’ve been hearing reports about the Conservatives secret negotiations on ACTA and CETA. While there is public outcry over the stipulations in these agreements (now that we’ve finally learned, for example, the complete ACTA text) the Conservative government acts unconcerned. In Canada, our laws don’t seem to line up in a way that easily enable regressive, old-economy thinking like “digital locks” and other copyright-oriented failures–and that’s a source of concern to certain special interests. read more…

As far as I understand there are three overarching things to consider with respect to the Afghan detainee issue. The first, is whether Canadian personnel may have breached the Geneva Convention. The second is how Harper’s Conservative government handled the issue. The third, is how Harper’s Conservative government operated in relation to the rest of parliament–and that’s really the focus of this post. read more…

Last year I proposed that the Conservatives’ budgeting method was designed to intentionally create a funding shortfall. After hearing about the budget announced today, I see more evidence for the likelihood of my suggestion being true.

In January the Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO), Kevin Page, explained that the deficit had become structural, meaning it’ll keep existing when our economy is back up to snuff (if it gets there). I’ll have more to say about the budget another time, but consider an element in what happened today, the decrease of corporate income taxes. read more…

The Globe and Mail reported¹ (4 March 2010) that the Conservatives have increased the amount the government is spending on advertising its Economic Action Plan (EAP).

“The government has increased its spending on the promotion of the January, 2009, Economic Action Plan by $5-million – on top of the initial allotment of $34-million – for a 15-per-cent increase.”

It’s problematic that the amount being spent on these ads is so massive. Surely there are a multitude of ways to spread this information that would not cost an outrageous $40 million of taxpayer money, which could otherwise be spent on the actual action. read more…

Jim Flaherty, representing the Conservatives’ Canada, said we would not support a Tobin Tax. I’ve seen commentary on other sites where people think this sort of tax applies to all their bank transactions, for example. It doesn’t. From what I understand, a Tobin Tax targets those who speculate on foreign exchange transactions. Many people don’t even engage in the sort of activity the tax addresses. Flaherty’s rationale seems to be that he doesn’t like taxes and wants to continue riding the Conservatives tax-reducing inertia. Good reasons? Let’s see. read more…

Stephen Harper has made it public that he’d like the Conservative government to put women’s health issues first, while hosting the G8. Nice, but unfortunately this is coming from someone who’s party has largely worked in the reverse direction. The Conservatives’ history has not only neglected women’s issues, but reveals programs originally designed to help, instead cut. read more…