Here's the real deal about PM

This letter was published in the Lethbridge Herald on June 26th, 2010, although not published in their online edition.  It was submitted on June 3rd, but a mix-up delayed its publication.

Editor:

The unqualified praise contained in the editorial you reprinted from the Red Deer Advocate on Monday, May 31st ("Perhaps PM is the real deal") almost made me choke on my porridge. Here are some of the reasons:

To me one of the most disturbing aspects of Harper is that he does not accept even the principles of democracy. It starts with his contempt for Parliament.

1. Remember the handbook for disrupting the work of committees? (a 200 page manual the Harper Conservatives had issued committee chairpersons. It suggested debate-obstructing delays and, if necessary, it told chair persons to storm out of meetings to grind business to a halt).

2. There’s the silencing of watchdogs that Parliament put into place to serve the interests of all Canadians: (a) the head of the Canadian Nuclear Regulatory Agency, Linda Keen. Fired. (b) Parliamentary Budget Officer, Kevin Page. Harper has tried to muzzle him by cutting his funding unless he keeps his mouth shut. (c) Paul Kennedy, head of the RCMP Public Complaints Commission. He was a bit too critical of the RCMP. Kennedy's four-year mandate was not renewed last November. (d) The Military Police Complaints Commission, one of two committees investigating allegations of torture of Afghanistan prisoners. Conflict between Peter Tinsley, the commission's chair, and the government came to a head in Oct. 2007, when Tinsley suspended the hearings in the face of three government motions seeking an adjournment. Tinsley’s position was not renewed.

3. Let's not forget the two prorogations to avoid a sticky situation in parliament.

Harper uses executive spending powers to eliminate things he does not like, with no reference to the House of Commons and no public debate:

1. A continuous assault on women's rights;

2. Diminishing the role of science in the economy;

3. Attacks on the cultural sector;

4. Eliminating the funding for advocacy organizations which criticize the government: e.g., Kairos and, this week, the Canadian Council for International Cooperation.

The Omnibus Budget Bill represents another order of abuse, one copied directly from the corrupted legislative system in the U.S. The Omnibus Budget Bill would allow Harper and his cabinet to change pension rules, waive environmental assessment of projects such as tar sands expansion and oil pipelines, and privatize parts of Canada Post.

Harper is "some kind of real deal" but not one most thinking Canadians want.

Mark Sandilands