The Martlet

Stephen Harper’s Conservatives were elected with less than 40 per cent of Canadians’ support. Yet, amazingly and alarmingly, they hold a majority government and are currently flaunting it by passing ludicrous bills and making ridiculous statements. Below, we outline some of the many reasons that Harper sucks.

Harper’s government is still trying to push through Bill C-52. The bill concerns privacy watchdogs because it would allow police to obtain personal information such as addresses, phone numbers and IP addresses without a warrant through Internet Service Providers (ISPs). If it passes, ISPs would have six months to get the technology to gather this information.

Harper is using the National Energy Board (NEB) hearings as the main tool for consultations with First Nations in the Enbridge Northern Gateway pipeline project. The government has a constitutional obligation to consult with First Nations on the project, especially since the pipeline will be crossing unceded First Nations land. Many are concerned that the NEB hearings aren’t a sufficient tool of consultation.

A document released by Greenpeace Canada last week shows that the Harper government has actively tried to shape the way the media and international interests view the Alberta oil sands. In the document, environmental groups and First Nations groups are described as “adversaries.” The NEB, which is supposed to be a neutral party in the hearings, is listed as an “ally,” along with oil companies and industry associations. Harper and his Conservatives have spoken out in favour of the pipeline project, repeatedly saying it’s a “national priority,” even though they are supposed to be assuming a neutral position to ensure an impartial process. They’ve also labelled some environmental groups as “radicals” and “foreign special interests.”

Harper chose the venue of the World Economic Forum in Switzerland to announce changes to Canada’s Old Age Security program that could see seniors working for an extra two years. The Opposition has accused him of putting prisons and fighter jets before seniors. And no wonder it doesn’t matter to him too much; Harper will be enjoying a fat government pension in his old age.

And while Harper is swift to deal blows to Canadian seniors, he refuses to move with any alacrity when it comes to abolishing the Indian Act. At a Crown-First Nations gathering on Jan. 24, Shawn Atleo, national chief of the Assembly of First Nations, called the Indian Act “disgraceful,” saying it was built on the “premise of our inferiority, aimed at assimilation and the destruction of our cultures.” Harper countered by saying his government has “no grand scheme to repeal or unilaterally rewrite the Indian Act.” He added that the “treaty has deep roots” and claimed oh-so-metaphorically that “blowing up the stump would just leave a big hole.” The only big hole in question seems to be the one in Harper’s head — oh, and the one he put in the schedule with the assembled First Nations leaders. Harper left the Crown-First Nations gathering a day early to go to — you guessed it — the World Economic Forum.

Don’t assume Canadians have forgotten Harper’s disregard for our creative culture either. Late NDP Leader Jack Layton long ago predicted Harper would cut funding for the CBC and the arts if his Conservatives won a majority. Harper went further, attacking the very ideologies of Canadian arts culture by suggesting it was something for the rich, and doesn’t resonate with ordinary people. That statement doesn’t add up when we look at the average annual income of Canadian artists, which sits a little over $20 000. But hey, without the CBC informing our collective identity, maybe we will forget.