Harper government wimps out in free speech fight

[Maikeru]

Canadians have rewarded strong opinionated leaders who do it their way with large majorities. Chretien, Diefenbaker and Trudeau come to mind.

You missed Mulroney in that list - as big a bull-in-the-China-shop as the rest.
<a href=http://www.amusingquotes.com/h/o/P._J._ORourke_1.htm><b> P. J. ORourke</b></a> once commented that:
   "Giving money and power to government is like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys."

All of Canada's 'strongly opinionated' PMs, when given their lead, have led Canada to become an over-regulated, over-taxed, culturally-fractured nanny state.
Deifenbaker sent our budding aero-space industry south, Trudeau crafted our social programs on the Cuban model, Mulroney 'disappeared' conservatism into a dark hole somewhere in central Canada, and Chretien did a passable imitation of Raoul Castro.

Canadians have demonstrated that they prefer the bull in the china shop to Mr. Tiptoes.

Oh bull ! Quebec has had hold of the ring in Canada's nose since that fateful day when folks across the country were placed under Martial Law due the actions of the FLQ, a pathetic band of Quebecois miscreants.

It's not that 'Canadians' adore being whiplashed by successive 'strong men' in Ottawa, it's more that the pioneering spirit that used to be Canada's strong point has been displaced by a 'strata-title council meeting' mentality.

I keep hoping he will show some courage but so far he has not.

PM Stephen Harper has shown himself to be the most capable minority leader in modern times, not that there's been much competiton.

Lester Pearson, the grand minority master before Harper, adopted essential NDP policy to retain their support until the Liberals could launch Trudeaumania on a Canadian society primed by Beatlemania, Kennedymania, the pill, Quebec's 'Quiet Revolution' and rank political boredom.

He is leaving those of us who believe in responsible government no choice but to go to an independent candidate. There is no hope in voting either Liberal or CPC. At least we can protest at the ballot box.

I'll stick with PM Harper, thanks. When one talks about 'strong leaders' in Canada, Harper was able to rise above all the conservative in-fighting and emerge as PM despite the full-on fear-mongering that passed for Liberal campaigning in lieu of pointing to their own 'achievements'.

[Faramir]

For those that missed it, No apologies has shed some doubt on the Gag Memo - it looks like it was not vetted by the PMO.

The problem is the silence on the Steyn/Ezrea/Keith Martin news from Harper and the CPC. It leaves us with the temptation to fill in the blanks. Do they consider free speech less important than Afghanistan or the crime bill?

I do see SOME validity in incrementalism. That being 10 years of a CPC government will get us control back of the senate and no more nonsense like we had over the crime bill. But still, I would like to see the CPC take up Keith Martin's motion and start one of their own that has a chance of passing. Make it an election issue. A much better issue to make the government fall upon than some big spending budget or dubious role in Afghanistan.

[EdS]

I am sending an email to Harper. The response I get will determine my continued support of the CPC. Depending on the response, I may resign from the EDA BoD and the Party.

Here is the response I have received:<blockquote> -----Original Message-----
From: Prime Minister/Premier ministre [mailto:pm@pm.gc.ca]
Sent: February 20, 2008 11:47 AM
To: EdS
Cc: Robert Nicholson, P.C., M.P.
Subject: Office of the Prime Minister / Cabinet du Premier ministre


Dear Mr. S:

On behalf of the Right Honourable Stephen Harper, I would like to acknowledge receipt of your e-mail regarding the Canadian Human Rights Commission.

Please be assured that your comments have been carefully reviewed. In view of his interest in this matter, I have taken the liberty of forwarding your e-mail to the Honourable Robert Nicholson, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, for his information and review. I am certain that he will appreciate being made aware of your continuing interest in this matter.

Thank you for writing to the Prime Minister.

S. Russell
Executive Correspondence Officer
Agent de correspondance
de la haute direction

>>> From : EdS
Received : 12 Feb 2008 11:23:18 AM >>>

Dear Mr. Harper,

It's just not good enough, Mr. Harper, not good enough.

On February 8, 2008, I received a robotic form response from your
'Executive Correspondence Officer', S. Russell merely acknowledging receipt
of my email.

Today, I read the following...
________________________
Harper government wimps out in free speech fight

'NoApologies.ca has obtained a copy of a document circulated to all
Conservative MP's from Justice Minister Rob Nicholson's office late last
week.

'The document is entitled 'Talking points re: CHRA & CHRC', and it
basically instructs MP's to keep a very low profile on any discussion
surrounding Section 13 of the Canadian Human Rights Act.
(...)
'The document also instructs MP's to essentially shift the focus away from
the Section 13 discussion by talking about the government's ongoing efforts
to repeal Section 67 of the Act. That section essentially exempts First
Nations from any and all provisions or enforcement of the Act in cases where
discrimination happens on native land.'

Read the whole thing.

You can send your polite concerns directly to the Prime Minister's Office
by clicking on the banner below.

You might want to ask why the Harper government is more committed to
building a $100 million Museum for Human Rights than to ensuring real, live
freedom of speech in the here and now.
http://www.fivefeetoffury.com/
_____________________________________

This just won't do, Mr. Harper! We will not be sloughed off like
bothersome children. Even David McGuinty, my very Liberal MP for Ottawa
South riding, has responded in a substantive way.

Again, I urge you to convince your caucus to delete this section of the
Act. (I consider the Canadian Human Rights Act, as presently constituted,
to be an outrage against democracy in Canada.) This issue is too
important to ignore or evade. The issue of freedom of speech is too
important and a hinge-point upon which all other rights turn.

The response I receive from you, will determine my continued support of the
CPC.. I have been an active conservative activist since 1979. I worked on
the Mulroney campaigns in 1984 and 1988 in the Mount Royal riding. I
became an active member of the Canadian Alliance in 2000, and have worked on
every CPC campaign since. Today, I am a Director of the CPC Ottawa South
EDA. Depending on your response, I may resign from the EDA BoD and the
Party.

Sincerely,

EdS
Ottawa, ON</blockquote>

[tothechase]

good for you Eds.

it is beyond me how they think this is not important AND a winning issue.

[CdnRepublican]

By not defending freedom of speech, he condones the opposite - gov't destruction thereof. He is therefore by definition part of the problem - just another fat happy white boy statist, who will 'care' for us, and provide lots of spending programs to blow our noses and ensure our safety and security.

Harper is a wimp and about as Conservative as Stephanie Dioxin.

[Old Jed]

here's a little satire on youtube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c5PUSDbnHfo

see it before it's pulled
(seriously, a similar satire was pulled just this morning)
Jed

[DrWright]

Harper is a wimp and about as Conservative as Stephanie Dioxin.

or as much as Brian Mulrooney



I hope to give him one majority to prove one way or the other.

[OmniCog]

[

quote="Frankie"]The conservative party point of view on this topic has become quite clear.

It seems anything controversial or damaging to their chance at a majority is taboo. Regardless of topic or importance to any interest group or cause.

quote]

Harper is morphing into Mr. Dithers, it must be something they catch in Ottawa. He is responding to focus groups and internal polling to make decisions. He should get rid of his political science professors and start using common sense.

Canadians have rewarded strong opinionated leaders who do it their way with large majorities. Chretien, Diefenbaker and Trudeau come to mind. Canadians have demonstrated that they prefer the bull in the china shop to Mr. Tiptoes.

I keep hoping he will show some courage but so far he has not.

He is leaving those of us who believe in responsible government no choice but to go to an independent candidate. There is no hope in voting either Liberal or CPC. At least we can protest at the ballot box.

He ain't Mr. dithers idiot. He is Mr. Psycho Schemer. He is Mr. Politician at times. But to put him on the same level as Martin is REALLY insulting. He Has out thought Out schemed the competition. I think we need his kind of intelligence sleeping next to the elephant.

[shiva]

I support Keith Martin in this one instance and on this particular issue, and I will even go as far as letting him know that I appreciate what he is doing and I myself will do what I can to spread the word but,

When I go to his website to get his contact info, I am reminded about why I would never vote for him or his party and certainly not on one issue. Go have a look for yourself at http://www.keithmartin.parl.gc.ca/resul ... e&type=iss. I challenge you to tell me if this is the kind of thinking overall that you want from your Canadian government.

Keith supports safe injection sites and believes that more taxpayer money is the solution to the homeless problem, and Keith also thinks we need to talk to the Taliban. Oh there's so much more. Whatever.

I believe the CPC is doing what they need to do on this issue in a minority government position and as the one party that would be accused of having ulterior motives if they came out strongly on this issue without clear support from the public, and what we need to do now is work as hard as we can individually or through advocacy work to bring this attention to the uninformed public's attention so that we can give the CPC the mandate to go there. It's really that simple. The idea that I would vote for a lone Liberal MP on one issue is so far and away from something I would ever do in a sane moment, that I can't even begin to imagine it.

If anyone here truly believes that the majority of CPC MP's and conservative minded people in general aren't on the right side of this issue, I really don't know what to say. But, I applaud anyone here who is doing more than just talking about this issue and complaining about Conservative MP's and Stephen Harper. Go nuts and do what you feel you have to. Hopefully though, you will consider a few other issues in your final assessment on voting day.

[Hailey]

I am sending an email to Harper. The response I get will determine my continued support of the CPC. Depending on the response, I may resign from the EDA BoD and the Party.

Here is the response I have received:<blockquote> -----Original Message-----
From: Prime Minister/Premier ministre [mailto:pm@pm.gc.ca]
Sent: February 20, 2008 11:47 AM
To: EdS
Cc: Robert Nicholson, P.C., M.P.
Subject: Office of the Prime Minister / Cabinet du Premier ministre


Dear Mr. S:

On behalf of the Right Honourable Stephen Harper, I would like to acknowledge receipt of your e-mail regarding the Canadian Human Rights Commission.

Please be assured that your comments have been carefully reviewed. In view of his interest in this matter, I have taken the liberty of forwarding your e-mail to the Honourable Robert Nicholson, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, for his information and review. I am certain that he will appreciate being made aware of your continuing interest in this matter.

Thank you for writing to the Prime Minister.

S. Russell
Executive Correspondence Officer
Agent de correspondance
de la haute direction

>>> From : EdS
Received : 12 Feb 2008 11:23:18 AM >>>

Dear Mr. Harper,

It's just not good enough, Mr. Harper, not good enough.

On February 8, 2008, I received a robotic form response from your
'Executive Correspondence Officer', S. Russell merely acknowledging receipt
of my email.

Today, I read the following...
________________________
Harper government wimps out in free speech fight

'NoApologies.ca has obtained a copy of a document circulated to all
Conservative MP's from Justice Minister Rob Nicholson's office late last
week.

'The document is entitled 'Talking points re: CHRA & CHRC', and it
basically instructs MP's to keep a very low profile on any discussion
surrounding Section 13 of the Canadian Human Rights Act.
(...)
'The document also instructs MP's to essentially shift the focus away from
the Section 13 discussion by talking about the government's ongoing efforts
to repeal Section 67 of the Act. That section essentially exempts First
Nations from any and all provisions or enforcement of the Act in cases where
discrimination happens on native land.'

Read the whole thing.

You can send your polite concerns directly to the Prime Minister's Office
by clicking on the banner below.

You might want to ask why the Harper government is more committed to
building a $100 million Museum for Human Rights than to ensuring real, live
freedom of speech in the here and now.
http://www.fivefeetoffury.com/
_____________________________________

This just won't do, Mr. Harper! We will not be sloughed off like
bothersome children. Even David McGuinty, my very Liberal MP for Ottawa
South riding, has responded in a substantive way.

Again, I urge you to convince your caucus to delete this section of the
Act. (I consider the Canadian Human Rights Act, as presently constituted,
to be an outrage against democracy in Canada.) This issue is too
important to ignore or evade. The issue of freedom of speech is too
important and a hinge-point upon which all other rights turn.

The response I receive from you, will determine my continued support of the
CPC.. I have been an active conservative activist since 1979. I worked on
the Mulroney campaigns in 1984 and 1988 in the Mount Royal riding. I
became an active member of the Canadian Alliance in 2000, and have worked on
every CPC campaign since. Today, I am a Director of the CPC Ottawa South
EDA. Depending on your response, I may resign from the EDA BoD and the
Party.

Sincerely,

EdS
Ottawa, ON</blockquote>

You have belittled so many people Ed who have criticized people who were against Mr. Harper on "just one issue" it is incredulous to me that you are taking this position.

Not that I want to do anything to interfere with people leaving the CPC or turning their back on Mr. Harper but it's rather hypocritical of you given your long history of mocking other people who have done the same on other issues. You berated them that it was just one issue and asked them to look at the comparisons.

[styky]

Hailey why are you making this a personal attack against Eds?

Freedom of speech is as much his as it is yours or is only your opinion and those that agree with it valid.

[Hailey]

Hailey why are you making this a personal attack against Eds?

Freedom of speech is as much his as it is yours or is only your opinion and those that agree with it valid.

It's not my intention to attack him but obviously it was a personal comment. I believe that he has made comparable comments to me when I have brought up single issues and he did so without being admonished. Ed has gone so far as to call me a slut without admonishment but if you'd like me to apologize to Ed....I will clarify that it wasn't intended as a personal attack. Beyond that, no..I won't.

I am pointing out what I believe is an act of hypocrisy on his part to have had such history as dismissing complaints as "single issue" and then doing this.

[WestViking]

You have belittled so many people Ed who have criticized people who were against Mr. Harper on "just one issue" it is incredulous to me that you are taking this position.

Not that I want to do anything to interfere with people leaving the CPC or turning their back on Mr. Harper but it's rather hypocritical of you given your long history of mocking other people who have done the same on other issues. You berated them that it was just one issue and asked them to look at the comparisons.

You will have to show me proof that EdS has belittled anyone. It is not his style.

EdS has set out his position on an issue important to many FD members and to many other Canadians of all political stripes - without trashing Harper.

Taking a strong position on an issue and using that as a criteria for whether you will or will not continue political support does not require you to call the party leader names or trash him. No one can win converts to their cause by disrespecting the people they hope to convince.

[Faramir]

I support Keith Martin in this one instance and on this particular issue, and I will even go as far as letting him know that I appreciate what he is doing and I myself will do what I can to spread the word but,

When I go to his website to get his contact info, I am reminded about why I would never vote for him or his party and certainly not on one issue. Go have a look for yourself at http://www.keithmartin.parl.gc.ca/resul ... e&type=iss. I challenge you to tell me if this is the kind of thinking overall that you want from your Canadian government.

Keith supports safe injection sites and believes that more taxpayer money is the solution to the homeless problem, and Keith also thinks we need to talk to the Taliban. Oh there's so much more. Whatever.

I believe the CPC is doing what they need to do on this issue in a minority government position and as the one party that would be accused of having ulterior motives if they came out strongly on this issue without clear support from the public, and what we need to do now is work as hard as we can individually or through advocacy work to bring this attention to the uninformed public's attention so that we can give the CPC the mandate to go there. It's really that simple. The idea that I would vote for a lone Liberal MP on one issue is so far and away from something I would ever do in a sane moment, that I can't even begin to imagine it.

If anyone here truly believes that the majority of CPC MP's and conservative minded people in general aren't on the right side of this issue, I really don't know what to say. But, I applaud anyone here who is doing more than just talking about this issue and complaining about Conservative MP's and Stephen Harper. Go nuts and do what you feel you have to. Hopefully though, you will consider a few other issues in your final assessment on voting day.

Keith Martin is in my riding - a man I seriously despise, but because this is issue is so important, I will likely vote for him when the election is called. And us Reform minded voters will punish the CPC.

[Ted Hewlett]

What alternatives do Canadian Social Conservatives Have? It is understandable that many (both individuals and parties) should think that in Canada social conservatives have no alternatives. After all, the only political party which has any possibilities for us and that seems likely to elect any members, it may be thought, is the Conservative Party of Canada. What happens if Conservative Party fails to move forward with socially conservative measures?

For some, the answer is to vote for the Christian Heritage Party, which, though it has not elected any members, stands for the basic socially conservative principles. Others feel that a protest vote for the CHP is not the answer; that they must support a party which has a chance of electing members and is a viable possibility for governing the country. Such Canadians are not without alternatives. It is possible to respond to appeals from the national party headquarters by giving nothing and directing all party giving to the local constituency association. Such giving is fully deductible. (It's a good idea to tell national party headquarters why you are denying them a donation.) Furthermore, if the local candidate is not supporting socially conservative principles it is possible to give to a constituency association other than the one established for one's own area. Such a donation is still deductibe for tax purposes.
www.socialconservatives.ca