Below is a re-post of a Facebook post by Navneet Gupta on Friday, June 22, 2012 at 5:49pm .
I agree with what he says. Since Trudeau we have had nothing but neoliberal corporate puppets, starting with Mulroney. The distinction between the Liberals and Conservatives disappeared because the Liberals went neoliberal, so conservatives went more right and we ended up birthing a neoconservative party and the disastrous afterbirth that is Harper.
Fortunately, the pull right has tugged the NDP out of the fringes into being the only real progressive party on the scene. If we can dig the progressives out of the Liberals' corporate carcass we may have a chance against Harper next election.
We must end the neoliberal madness that has put the world into the mess it is in, except here, where our socialist tendencies and the few regulations that politicians have allowed to work, have thus far shielded us.
Of course Harper is working hard to change that.
The biggest thing that I agree with here, is that Harper was put in place by those people who failed to vote at all. They were the true majority. They could have stopped him before he got the power he craved to undo all the progressive qualities embodied in Canada. Instead he embodies our lack of respect for the system and ourselves, and our greed for more economic growth, regardless the cost or how few it actually benefits.
He is the worst PM we've ever had, pulling together all the sins of his predecessors, right down to blaming the Natives, that our government intentionally abused for decades and then left in poverty, for causing their own misery and then accusing them of trying to cheat the government when the band-aid he put on didn't cover the wound, let alone stop the bleeding. He has no respect for anything except the sacredness of his neoliberal neoconservative ideology. He's using his long-sought majority to finally ram it down our throats until Canada chokes, just like the US did on Bush.
If you didn't vote against him, you voted for him. Silence is consent. Everything he's doing is as much your fault as those who actively follow him.
Remember that the next election.
Democracy Without Dissent (Canada)
Our conservative government is slashing funding, gutting regulations, and stifling dissent with regards to our natural environment. Instead investing in both the prison and military industrial complex. Stricter laws such as mandatory minimums have also shown to be a complete failure in the U.S. I hardly recognizes the country I knew i.e. peacekeeping. Canada is a Disgrace!!! & it cannot be blamed on one person or government. It is said, 'people get the government they deserve'. A majority either elected conservatives in Canada OR stood back and did nothing i.e. not even the simple act of voting. Can't just vote and then sit back and blame a scapegoat. Regardless, the dysfunction transcends any one political party.
"Politicians are like diapers, they both need to be changed often and for the same reason" - Mark Twain
*Please keep in mind, all of what transpired below was in the 90’s under the Liberal government*. There is a good reason the Liberals were wiped off the political map. Regardless, the left is divided in this country. They are all just scapegoats for the crimes perpetrated by these private interests. Blame everything on one scapegoat, and then shuffle the deck.
I worked in the waste management industry for some years. It took me a while to realize I was getting paid not to do my job, just paid to protect these private interests from ineffective government regulations. Information on landfills are 10-15 years out of date in Canada (ECO Report, 2006-2007). This makes it impossible to ‘monitor’ or ‘enforce’ waste regulations that only look good ‘on paper’. I can write something down on paper too, but it does not make it true out in the field. The U.S. takes our raw resources (i.e. Oil) and ship us their industrial by-products, that’s what they call free trade. We are importing highly industrial toxic waste from the states and then dump it on native lands since federal laws do not apply to native lands, These communities that are already marginalized (i.e. Hamilton, Brantford, Sarnia, Walpole Island). This has resulted in much higher incidences of disease (i.e. cancer, immune disorders) in these communities. We have a legislative framework in this country but little monitoring and enforcement when it comes to environmental regulations. For example, ONT. Waste Regulation 347 is not being enforced is many cases. All the government needs is a piece of paper (largely a paper shuffle), they never say “show me the waste”. Since this involves criminal empires which collude with our government, not much one can do.
In addition, most of the regulations only apply to public projects, not private ones (i.e. environmental assessments). I dealt with the MOE and Environment Canada for years and it is largely a paper shuffle. One more example: The DFO is responsible for protecting fish habitat wherever it is threatened, though they themselves admit they do not have the resources to enforce the law.
All we are doing is shuffling deck chairs on the Titanic. I have seen successive government's come and go with no significant action, both liberal and conservative for 20 years. Some of you probably longer. Even the Liberals (after 10 years of power in the 90’s) had deep ties to organized crime. Canada is simply a resource hinterland where we export our natural wealth (i.e. oil), and import industrial waste which is then dumped on native lands, as federal laws do not apply to native lands. In 1994 geologist at my university would openly talk about how our provincial leaders our being influenced & infiltrated by corporate raiders (which we still subsidize despite record profits) and foreign governments (i.e. the tar sands). Why Provincial? "Provinces shall have the right to manage their own industry and resources" (Constitution, 1867). Things have changed since 1867. Unfortunately, they are discounting and squandering our resources while corporate raiders & foreign governments manage and own them!
Need to prioritize the long-term health of people and the planet over the short-term interests of profits, politics, and power. (I.e. a descent life for future generations, social, economic, and ecological). We should nationalize our resource base and re-invest into a more sustainable economy with green jobs.
P.S. Canada cannot ‘reduce CO2 emissions’ while at the same time trying to maximize output from the Tar Sands. It defies all reason.
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