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Recovering backpacker, Cornwallite at heart, political enthusiast, catalyst, writer, husband, father, community volunteer, unabashedly proud Canadian. Every hyperlink connects to something related directly or thematically to that which is highlighted.

Thursday 7 June 2012

Canada Watches Its Democracy Erode


Those aren't my words - I took that headline from The Australian.  A paper on the far side of the world that is watching what's happening here with sadness.

What made me think of this today?  I read the article below by Lorrie Goldstien and wondered, where does education fit into this?  If we're spending all of our resources on the back end, we're not solving anything, structurally - just throwing the starfish back in the sea, one at a time.  Or trying to cure lead poisoning might be a better analogy.

This one quote stood out:


 - because it reminded me of the article I read previously, which focused on Harper's piling up of democratic infractions:


Make no mistake it, Stephen Harper is dismantling Canadian democracy - our system has become more opaque, less informed, more cynical - more empire than the federation we signed up for.  The reason for this, to me, is pretty clear - Harper doesn't trust, has contempt for and ultimately fears what the Opposition (both on the Hill and any group that opposes him) could do to him.  Err, the country. 

With each offence he commits and gets away with, Harper is emboldened to break the rules a bit further.  What's more, this is the Prime Minister - supposedly, the most accountable man in Canada.  If he can get away with rule-breaking, what message does it send to others? 

We're left with two questions to be answered:

Do Canadians care enough about our democratic process?

For those that are fully behind Harper's dismantling of transparency and accountability - have you thought what will happen when he's gone?




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