"Where else would you go when you have an ax to grind?"

Thursday, August 30, 2007

CPC - Criminal Party of Canada

Remember how Harper and his gang of merry conservatards won the last election by running around calling the Liberals every variation on thief they could come up with over the sponsorship scandal and claiming they would restore integrity to government? The Liberals were justifiably chastised for using tax money to fund their own political campaigning, but apparently they weren't the only ones.

Like Lee Harvey Oswald, he was acting alone
An update to the story about the Conservatives appointing "local representatives" in ridings that had the temerity to elect opposition members of Parliament.
For those of you who haven't been following this, the chair of the CPC's BC caucus, the appropriately monickered Dick Harris, announced earlier in the month that residents of the riding of Skeena-Bulkley Valley, BC, having made the terrible mistake of returning the NDP's Nathan Cullen to Ottawa, were being given a second chance and that if they really wanted to get anything done by Kanada's Gnu Gummint they should go through their newly ordained representative/liason/go-to person Houston mayor and CPC candidate in the next election, Sharon "Northern Exposure" Stone Smith.
Naturally, some people disapproved of Dick's efforts to make government efficient and business-like. Especially, the elected member of parliament, Nathan Cullen, and apparently the CPC itself, which is backing water like a canoeist who hears the rumble of Niagara Falls around the bend in the river:

"He just kind of did that himself,'' government spokesman Ryan Sparrow said of Harris's move.
"(Smith) is the Conservative candidate in the next election. That's her only official capacity.''


Need we point out that this is not a government that has generally allowed its MPs to just kind do stuff by themselves? If there is one consistent thing about the CPC it has been that it is run from the top with an iron hand. MPs are not supposed to so much as comment on the weather or confirm that they think water is wet without checking with the PMO first. This was not just some backwater MP running his mouth, this was the head of the provincial caucus.

From the press release:


Harris said, “As Chairman of the BC Caucus of Conservative MPs, I am pleased that Sharon has accepted this role, and I know the constituents of Skeena-Bulkley Valley will derive a huge benefit from having direct contact with government, something that they have not had since 2004.
I and other BC Conservative MPs will work closely with Sharon Smith as she represents constituents of her riding to the government members. It will be a bonus for people of Skeena-Bulkley Valley to have direct representation to the government on so many issues,” continued Harris
Harris concluded, “Having an MP from the fourth party in the House just doesn’t cut it when it comes to actually getting things done for the folks in Skeena-Bulkley Valley . Sharon Smith with her direct government contact will ensure that things DO get done. The Terrace water infrastructure, Smithers Airport expansion, and Houston event center’s new “green” system are just a few examples of what can be accomplished when you have a direct link to government.


And it isn't the only time its happened from the looks of things either. There is reason to believe the same has been done in ridings in the Arctic and Vancouver Island North Riding.

If Dick Harris has "just kind of did this himself" I'd like to know what the Prime Minister intends to do about it. If not, when will the Prime Minister apologize for trying to make an end run around democracy?

Update: Alison has found another one, this time a failed candidate in the Sea-to-Sky West Vancouver riding who acts like he was the one who was elected.

Go to blogs on this: A creative revolution, Dawg's Blawg, and most of the Canadian Blogroll.

Wednesday, August 29, 2007

Serious Ontario Politcs blogging
Brent speak - you listen! Commentary on the upcoming Ontario election from a Green perspective.

Sunday, August 26, 2007

How about now?
Eternal vigilance is the price of freedom they say, and also of blogging. I took a few days off blogging this week to deal with various minor ailments - kids with colds, my own case of trench foot/jungle rot - and Kanada's Gnu Gummint lets the mask slip. I didn't blog about, but my associates in the unofficial "coalition of the swilling" (a term coined by JJ at Unrepentant Old Hippie) have done more than merely take up the slack. Take your pick from the blogroll: RossK at The Gazetter has some outstanding stuff on the use of agent provocateurs by the police at the Montebello summit, as does Dr. Dawg and Canadian Cynic - don't just follow the links, look around all three blogs as they all have several excellent posts on the ongoing revelations of the secret work of Canada's police for political purposes.
Inkstained wretch-in-Chief Dave over at Galloping Beaver has a good piece on the Harper's governments announcement that democracy is inefficient and that it will henceforth simply appoint official liasons to the federal government instead of dealing with opposition MPs.
Will those in the political center and the mainstream opposition and mass media now take seriously our fear that Harper and his minions have no respect for democracy or freedom and are really facists at heart, or does public security minister Stockwell "Doris" Day have to declare martial law first.