Novocastrian

I posted this the day after Harper got his majority...

In 4 years there will be no public funding of election campaigns. (done)

The CBC will be privatized and sold to Rupert Murdoch at a knock down price. (not yet, there's time)

Unions will have their collective bargaining rights removed or curtailed. (working on it)

Health care transfers will be decimated and hospitals will be privatized. (in the pipeline after yesterday)

Canada will be an international pariah on environmental issues and foreign affairs. (done and dusted)

The Canada Pension Plan will be privatized. (not quite yet, but the seeds are sown).


Reflect and weep.

Atlantic Xpat

Democracy is a bitch isnt it?!

(Not all of the things on your list are to be feared...)

Novocastrian

Feared? No. Disapproved of? Yes.

I'm guessing, given your corporate lackey role, you'd go for the collective bargaining rights first?

Lord Vader

Some good good moves there, but "Health care transfer will be decimated?" and "the Canada pension plan will be privatized?" and environmental pariah? WTF are you talking about?

Novocastrian

That Flattery announced by fiat a health transfer payment scenario, without any consultation with the Provinces, which basically said that the feds are getting out of enforcing the Canada Health Act.

Then there was the voluntary Provincial pension schemes which won't work but will divert funding from the CPP.

"Environmental pariah"? I can't believe you're stupid enough to ask about that.

Lord Vader

A) they are talking about a reduction in the percentage of increases to the existing health care transfers, still funding, still increasing, just not as fast.

B) Voluntary you say? Can't have that now can we. Who do the cons think they are? But they won't work?

C) I can't believe you are stupid enough to call me stupid when my stance is based on logic and yours on emotion. The liberals sign something and do nothing about it (except name their pets) for a decade and then the cons get the blame as the targets will not be met? I bet the cons will met their commitment of actually lowering the C02 emissions by 17% of 2005 levels (they took office in Jan 2006) by 2020. They could have stayed with Kyoto and sent away money and still missed targets, but that would have been stupid, something the left would have done.

dbd33

Pariah status is about what people think of a country. Harper has made Canada seem like a nation that disregards the environment for the sake of the profits of foreign (to Canada) oil companies. Apart from announcing a renewed seal clubbing effort or appearing naked in public it's hard to see how he could have more effectively damaged Canada's reputation.

Atlantic Xpat

Certainly. But primarily for public employees rather than those employed by the rapacious corporate monoliths.


And there's the rub. The former govt may have done phuq all to achieve their Kyoto targets but withdrawing completely just sends out the wrong kind of message. Environmental leadership is not on the Canadian govt agenda. And that's a missed opportunity.

Anyway, I love all this ranting about what a dreadful govt we have. Democracy worked. A party was elected in majority. If you want to blame someone for that, blame the Liberal party for self destructing and Saint Jack of Layton for splitting the leftwing vote but not gaining enough to be useful in any way. Give it some time and the pendulum will swing the other way & the right wing equivalent of Novo (The Sith Lord perhaps...) will be lamenting the idiocy of Canadians for a Liberal Govt. Plus ca change.

Still, At least I can vote now. That'll be a force for political change in the country. Not.

dbd33

Well quite. I'm not arguing policy here, just suggesting that Harper is a public relations disaster. Novo is substantially correct in his pariah claim and this may be thought a harsher criticism of Harper if we accept that he hasn't really done anything on this front yet still managed to get the country despised. It might be a diplomatic own goal, if that's what it's called in iced hockey.

Lord Vader

who despises the country now that didn't already? Would we have stayed loved if we sent someone a bunch of money? Money can't buy you love.

Miss Clinique

Are you psychic?

Editha

Lord Vader said:


What odds are you giving? Current measures put in place will only achieve 25% of the target reduction (see here)

Novocastrian

Pretty much everybody. I know you'd prefer to forget / ignore this, but ....

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/...rticle1753222/

...and that was after Canada's atrocious behaviour in Copenhagen. You can add
Durban and the contemptuous withdrawal from the Kyoto Treaty to the list.

(Not to mention the Oil Sands).

London Mike

Most agree with, but why 'foreign affairs' generally? Environmental issues, done and dusted - I completely agree. A PR disaster for Canada. However, I struggle to see where Canada scores lower than any other Western nation on foreign affairs in a more general sense.

Alan2005

Pulling out of Kyoto did damage Canada's reputation. The international press coverage was generally negative and I expect a few diplomats will have expressed their disappointment.

There will be no tangible consequences to this though; disappointment isn't going to translate into action.