It's "The New Canadian Government," peon!

[Boom Boom]

The rise of Totalitarianism in Canada: A Time to Act
 
The author of this piece is the bishop of the Anglican diocese here, and we went to school together. He has a long history of activism both inside and outside the NDP.
 
 

[Toedancer]

Ha! Love it BB. 

[Toedancer]

Is this still a democracy?  http://www.ipolitics.ca/2012/04/27/lawrence-martin-is-this-still-a-democracy-you-be-the-judge/    RISE UP!


CSIS oversight gone. http://www.ipolitics.ca/2012/04/26/budget-bill-to-scrap-office-overseeing-csis/
Now this is an interesting one when coupled with the new eavesdropping bills, data mining of Canadians (guilt by association comes to mind as well as 'plausible deniability') We KNOW this current regime will conceal illegal acts (such as human rights violations) w/o oversight. Broadening CSIS powers is particularly worrisome now that we are involved with joint operations w/ the U.S.

From 2010 - Canada's spy service has failed to meet strict new accountability standards set by the Supreme Court, says a watchdog report obtained by The Canadian Press.

The latest annual review from the inspector general of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service says the spy agency hasn't lived up to a high-court ruling that requires it to retain all operational notes, electronic intercepts and other investigative material. http://www.news1130.com/news/national/article/229434--canada-s-spy-agency-misses-accountability-mark-set-by-supreme-court-says-report

For those interested here is the United Nations report from '09 re: Human Rights & Freedoms while Fighting Terrorism. I've read portions of it and it clearly states Oversight is needed.

When unlawful conduct by intelligence agencies occurs, it may have been condoned or

even secretly directed by government officials. In this context the Special Rapporteur looks into

best practices of different oversight bodies. In section C he emphasizes that domestic State

secrecy or public interest immunity clauses cannot discard their positive obligations under

human rights law to conduct independent investigations into severe human rights violations and

provide the victims of these violations with an effective remedy.

The concluding section makes recommendations to different key actors (intelligence

agencies, domestic legislative assemblies, domestic executive powers and the United Nations) in

order to improve the accountability of intelligence agencies in the fight against terrorism.

http://faisalkutty.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/un-a-hrc-10-3-special-rapporteur-report-on-the-promotio-and-protection-of-hr-info-sharing.pdf

[Boom Boom]

Is this still a democracy?  http://www.ipolitics.ca/2012/04/27/lawrence-martin-is-this-still-a-democracy-you-be-the-judge/    RISE UP!

Good stuff. 

[Boom Boom]

James Moore: "It is my pleasure to introduce to you a man who has a great passion for Canada... Stephen Harper". 
 
What a bunch of bullshit. Harper is single-handedly tearing this country apart. He's a greedy bastard with no love for anything but power.
 
Damn. I hope the NDP wins in 2015 so we don't have to see an asshole like Harper celebrate our 150th in 2017.

[Boom Boom]

  Tories trying to add 'loopholes' to arms trade treaty, NDP charges
 
excerpt:
 
The Harper government is trying to fudge efforts to craft an effective international treaty to govern the global arms trade by adding oversight "loopholes" into the agreement, the NDP says.
 
NDP trade critic Don Davies says the Tories are trying to water down the global push for a United Nations arms trade treaty to score domestic political points with red-meat conservatives.
 
He and other treaty supporters point to the Harper government's desire not to include the mandatory tracking of ammunition, or detailed reporting on high-volume trades. They say another example of Canada's attempts to gum up the treaty is Canada's suggestion that no new money go to the UN to police the agreement's implementation.
 
The government says the treaty should recognize the legitimacy of legal and responsible trade in what it calls conventional weapons, and private citizens' lawful ownership of guns for personal and recreational use.
 
Mr. Davies attended the first week of negotiations in New York, and said foreign delegations frequently asked him why Canada was trying to weaken the treaty by pushing for ammunition and other items to be exempt.