Wednesday, June 20, 2012

The World Is Watching



Philip Jennings has Stephen Harper's number. Jennings, the General Secretary of the Switzerland based UNI Global Union, recently told the Huffington Post that:

Stephen Harper is a male version of Margaret Thatcher. This man has an employer’s agenda, which has nothing to do with the welfare of the Canadian people, and he’s using this opportunity to dismantle the social safety net of the nation.

Just look south at what has happened when collective bargaining disappears in the private sector and the public sector: levels of inequality that we have never seen; wages that have stood still for a quarter of a century; and the overall economic health of the world's leading economy has suffered.

Jennings isn't the only person who has noticed rising Canadian inequality. The United Nations has begun to make the case that Canada is no longer one of the best countries to live in:

In recent weeks the United Nations Children’s Fund has told Ottawa it trails most of its peers in fighting child poverty.

The UN special rapporteur on food was given the bum’s rush when he said Ottawa is not living up to its human rights obligations by ignoring hunger in this country.

Earlier this year, the UN Committee Against Torture reported that the Canadian government

was “complicit’ in human rights violations against three Arab-Canadian men held in Syria after Sept. 11, 2001, and contributed to the mistreatment of Omar Khadr at Guantanamo Bay.

And, this week, the UN's High Commissioner for Human Rights warned that the Charest government's Bill 78 was a cause for alarm.

Canada is changing under Stephen Harper -- and the world is not impressed. That does not appear to bother Mr. Harper. But it should bother all Canadians.

9 comments:

karen said...

Well it certainly bothers me. I read a book by Andrew Cohen called "While Canada Slept-How We Lost Our Place in the World" some years ago. It talked about the beginnings of what is happening now. I think I'll read it again.

How do we wake this country up Owen?

Owen Gray said...

A good question, Karen. I truly don't have a good answer. I would have thought that the country would have awakened a long time ago.

Alex Himmelfarb says in his latest blogpost that the more government cuts back on services, the less citizens expect of government.

And so you get a downward spiral. The less citizens expect of government, the less they care about it.

It's only when a disaster hits -- like Hurricane Katrina-- that they begin to understand what they've lost.

the salamander said...

This is not my grandfather's Canada, my father's Canada, or my Canada.. its my son's Canada.. and its the Canada of all who hold citizenship here.. and any who are our guests & visitors.. and should return to being the Canada of all who envy us.

We have broken electoral rules, practices, ideals & American electoral advisors servicing our political parties, and especially the elected Harper government.

We have foreign ownership and corporate interests driving federal & provincial policy and influencing legislation not supported by the electorate.. or even presented to the electorate.

Wake your neighbor up.. and don't be overwhelmed by the Shock & Awe tactics of a runaway petro/evangelist government of unemployed economists, jaded TV broadcasters, car salesmen, Bay Street stock brokers, career hacks and bigots

Remember.. there's less than two hundred of them and maybe a rabid lout pack of about 800 more.. I figure we number approx 34 million .. When the beavers turn on them, it won't be pretty.

Hall of Shame bound ? Mr. Harper, Mr Joe Oliver, Mr
Peter Kent, Mr John Baird, Mr Jason Kenney, Mr Flaherty, Mr Fantino, Mr Ashfield, Mr Del Mastro, Mr Poiliviere .. The list does drone on... Mr Mackay.. Mr Clement .. Mr Anders, Ms Oda, Mrs Finley, Mr Scheer ... Peter Van Loan .. its plain ugly

They are taking turns playing the absolute fool and defending each other. To suggest they are not piling up proof of their ignorance and moral corruption is laughable..

If 17 million of us talk to our neighbors.. that's a conversation of 34 million .. If we didn't ask for environmental assaults, F-35's, secretive government, pension plan reform, or parliament to be pro-rogued than why would we remain silent about it all ?

34 million bullied by 1000 absolute A-holes ? Really !!!

Owen Gray said...

We definitely have them outnumbered, salamander. And we are familiar with their tactics.

But they still have to be voted
out. That will take a motivated electorate who refuse to suffer fools.

Anonymous said...

What do you do, when politicians lie cheat to win?

In BC. Ex BC Liberal Premier Gordon Campbell, twice lied to be re-elected, for two different elections. Rather than work for the people of BC, he worked for Harper, and still does. Then Harper's henchman Boessenkool, was placed in with the BC Liberals too. He even lobbied for Enbridge. A bit of conflict of interest, I would say. The Christy Clark BC Liberals, also work for Harper.

What about the robo-call election cheat fraud? Harper is trying to quash the investigation. Is that fine too? Over half of Canadians did not want Harper as P.M. he damn well knew it, so I firmly believe he cheated. Now over 2/3 of Canadians and counting, want Harper gone.

How can any normal, sane person with ethics and morals, support a monster, such as Harper?. He is the most totally evil P.M. I can ever remember in all of my many years. His ranting, raving henchmen are a total disgrace. They all have to be disgraceful to support Harper. He should be tried for treason, and flung in prison for life.

Good for Europe for telling Harper, to go to hell. Good for Quebec for telling him to go to hell, on his asinine crime bill.

Politicians and provinces, don't have to obey Harper's treason against our country. Merging Canada in with Communist China. Redistributing China's infected electronic components, to the U.S. Hopefully the U.S. will do something about that.

The Nuremberg defense, won't work for his ministers either.

The stench of corruption in this country, must reek clear up to the Muir Space Station.

Owen Gray said...

It should be pretty obvious that much is rotten in Stephen Harper's government, Anon.

The problem is that too many Canadians simply don't care.

Anonymous said...

Owen,

These posts have me ROFL and from the blogs I follow it seems as if Canadians have finally had enough! Recall elections?

Anonymous said...

Salamander,

Might I add to your list my very spineless wimp coward mp david wilkes? Heck why not all of the 165?

Owen Gray said...

Believe me, Mogs, I hope you're right.