It was already happening in 2008.  The stories were leaking out, slowly, but steadily.  This letter’s author, Naomi, has courage to come out with this letter and I hope people take the time to read it. 

It’s more than the environment, it’s Canada’s culture, history, education, immigration, the very fabric of what has come to define Canadian values - those things that made this country a beacon for so many for so long.  But let’s face it, when people think about Canada, it’s our environment and our environment-related activities that come to mind, from our resources, to our parks, to our sports.  When I think of Canada, the Tar Sands are not what I want to picture, but are becoming an embarrassment on a global level.  Arctic sea ice depletion might make international shipping easier, but it spells disaster on a massive environmental scale.  Oil pipelines running through extremely sensitive ecosystems to feed the needs of other countries at the expense of ours is short sighted.  Repealing controls on resource gathering and manufacturing industries leaves me nervous.  And it should make you nervous, too. 

Sometimes the “bottom line” isn’t the best interest and sometimes investment and profit aren’t about money.

Excerpted from Naomi’s letter:

During one of my contracts, I was manager of a large, public database set. Contact information for all database managers was available for anyone. I knew what was going on with the information and could answer questions immediately and personally. During this time, I noticed that the media team  started asking me “What would I say” to certain questions. I answered unwittingly. After a certain period of time, I noticed that all contact information had been removed from the internet –eliminating the opportunity for a citizen to inquire directly about these public data sets without contacting the media team. The Conservatives effectively removed another board from the bridge between science and the public, and I had inadvertently helped.

Since then, the Conservative government has been laying off thousands and thousands of full-fledged scientific employees that have been performing research for decades at Environment Canada, Department of Fisheries and Oceans, and Parks Canada (e.g. http://tinyurl.com/8xtkaro , http://tinyurl.com/7gvzc7r, http://tinyurl.com/clgn97u ), shutting down entire divisions and radically decimating environmental protection and stewardship in a matter of a couple years.

“You won’t recognise Canada when I get through with it.” 

When Harper said this to an American conservative, I knew he wasn’t just blowing smoke, but I didn’t anticipate the sacking and burning that he would inflict on so many of the moderate policies, progressive projects, and human and environmental resources of this country.

Ya, I’m not just talking about libraries and archives, here, although that is what has me fired up today, but the whole of Stephen Harper’s not so secret, but very subtly enacted, agenda.  I often cite CBC news articles, but conservatives believe that the CBC is the agent of the leftist devil, but you can find articles from reputable conservative news sources, too, which show some concern about the direction the wind is blowing.  In no particular order, here are a number of things the conservative government has done which not only have short-term negative effects on Canadians and the services they rely on, but also the potential for devastating, long-term effects on health, education, environment, employment, and general future livability of the towns and cities of this country.

• Contempt of parliament
• Questionable elections practices (under investigation)
• Killing parliamentary discussion and using stalling tactics to prevent debate in the House of Commons
• Lack of transparency and consistency (such as that around the F-35 fighter jets, or changes to immigration, etc.)
• MP Scandals (misuse of government and military services, spending for personal use)
• Killing social programs and phasing out rehabilitation services (prison farms, for instance)
• Blocking of unions in favour of management (Air Canada back-to-work legislation, keeping unions in the dark about employee and funding cuts)
• Repealing, rolling back, or doing away with policy (such as the proposed replacement of the entire Environmental Assessment Act, giving the Cabinet a virtual override in approving major oil and gas pipelines)
• Eliminating watch-dog agencies who make sure orgs like CSIS are behaving themselves
• Eliminating research institutes and academic supports (like the Arctic environmental research agency - the name is escaping me at the moment, the elimination of archives funding)
• Failing the people most at need by cutting services meant to assist them (living/housing, drug rehabilitation and injection sites, Aboriginal Health Network cuts, and so on)
• Forging ahead with the mega-prisons, based on the deeply flawed American model, even though crime rates in Canada have been steadily dropping for years

All the while limiting debate, discussion and disclosure to Parliament, the media, and Canadians. 

I am not articulate when I write about politics or governance.  I am not pretending I’m unbiased.  I am very biased and I am very liberal.  There’s nothing dirty about being liberal.  It just means (in my opinion) I have a more pragmatic, flexible, open view of how things can and should be done, with a belief in the benefits of a social safety net and with the understanding that healthcare, environmental protection, and education should be protected and promoted as human rights, because they affect our lives so fundamentally. 

This government does not have the interests of the Canadian majority in mind.  Its short-sighted, reactionary, bullying tactics are offensive and undemocratic.  And it shows a complete lack of respect for the people of Canada.