Monday, December 10, 2012

Things Fall Apart



Not all Conservative MP's agreed with Stephen Harper on the Nexan Energy deal. James Bazan wrote to one of his constituents in Manitoba:

“I would like to note that I am strongly opposed to this deal, and I have raised my concerns directly with cabinet as well as with the prime minister. As I have stated to my colleagues in cabinet, due to China’s dismal record on human rights and freedoms, I take particular exception to allowing a state-owned company from China to purchase a Canadian company. The Communist Chinese government continues to fail to grant even the most basic of human freedoms to its citizens, as they strip away their national wealth to invest around the world. CNOOC’s past possible human rights abuses and failure to report oil spills is something I am also very concerned about …

“As a Conservative, I am in favour of keeping markets open in Canada, however I do not support allowing state-owned and state-controlled enterprises to take over publicly traded Canadian companies, as these state-owned and controlled business (sic) are not on the same level playing field as other free-enterprising corporate entities. Markets should operate in a manner that allow (sic) for fair and proper investment. State control, through financial manipulation and investment, do (sic) not allow for openness or fairness to the average investor. Large amounts of state investment distort markets for all other participants, while limiting other opportunities.”

Obviously, Mr. Bazan's objections didn't carry much weight with Stephen Harper -- but, then, neither did Bill Casey's, Garth Turner's or Chuck Cadman's. Michael Harris writes that Mr. Harper -- an apostle of free markets and a soldier in the war against tyranny -- is willing to overlook a lot about China:

Isn’t China the country where there is no independent judiciary, where religious repression is routine, where arbitrary detention and extra-judicial killings are commonplace, where torture is a normal state tool, where Liu Xiaobo is looking at 15 years in prison for circulating a pro-democracy pamphlet, where websites are censored and blocked, and where they slaughtered their own students in Tiananmen Square?

Harris observes that things are beginning to fall apart for the Harper government. Eventually voters tire of the hypocrisy.

 This emperor has no clothes.

4 comments:

Lorne said...

An interesting side-note to Mr. Bazan's intrepid letter is that he later recanted and was, in fact, implicated in the firing of the Selkirk-Record reporter Jill Winzoski for her pursuit of this file:
http://www.ipolitics.ca/2012/11/05/conservative-mp-insists-he-didnt-want-reporter-fired/

Owen Gray said...

It would appear, Lorne, that -- unlike Bill Casey, Garth Turner and Chuck Cadman -- Mr. Bazan is no profile in courage.

Anonymous said...

Every country China intrudes on, are cheated.

In Ghana they have detained Chinese miners. China was caught mining illegally. Communist China does not respect other country's mine claims. Chinese have weapons to back themselves up.

In South Africa, their people are being cheated out of their wages, by Communist China.

In Murray River, they are going to court, to have Chinese miners removed.

Communist China has hacked into other country's secret files. They have sold infected electronic components. U.S. missiles and other weapons, have infected components, purchased from China.

Communist China is showing their aggression around the globe. Other country's are chasing China out of their lands. Harper brings that horrible country, right onto our Canadian soil.

Harper's sellout to China, began long ago. Ex BC Liberal Premier Gordon Campbell is Harper's favorite henchman. Campbell gave BC's resources and resource jobs, to Red China too. Campbell and Harper signed a sneak deal behind our backs. The deal permits Harper to force the Enbridge into BC. Harper and Campbell forced the BC HST onto the people too. Harper rewarded Campbell the post of, High Commissioner to England post, for doing his dirty work for him.

People just don't seem to remember. CSIS warned of Communist China's intrusions into Canada, BC was specifically mentioned. Campbell had China send their people to school, to learn 100 English words, so they could take the BC mining jobs. Any BC person wanting mine jobs?? They have to speak, Chinese Mandarin to get a mine job, in their own damned English speaking province.

Harper and Gordon Campbell's sellout to Communist China, began long, long ago. No-one would listen to the people of BC.

Now, we must be stupid enough, to keep Canada intact....So we can be given to Red China, in one huge wealthy package.

Canadians will sit and do, what they do best?? We will sit and bitch about our folly, until that happens.

Owen Gray said...

My sense is that Canadians are beginning to think that Mr. Harper does more harm than good, Anon.

Perhaps I'm overly optimistic. But I'm betting that most Canadians agree with you.