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Musing of the day:
It seems we are headed for another Federal election in Canada. This is mainly due to the pressure being put on the present Liberal government of Prime Minister Paul Martin over the "Sponsership Scandal". But will the new & improved conservative party under Stephen Harper be any better. I doubt it. Once the conservatives take power they will ensure that their friends & supporters are taken care of
which means they will siphon off money from the government's revenue to help them out. In other words the status quo will shift slightly from the left back to the right.
Those who support whatever political party expect something in return for their support if the party they are backing comes into power. This is the way it has always
worked & it is naive to believe it will change.
The problem is that there are other issues at stake. Harper will be pushing a right-wing agenda on matters which many Canadians believed had already been resolved. Like his counterparts in the US administration Harper will use certain issues just to gain power & will oversimplify such issues to appeal to the more extremist within his own part & the electorate at large. Thes include such issues which the Neo-conservatives & Religious Right portray as being in their view of greatest impotance for the preservation of our society. These include Gay Rights, Abortion & Free Choice, Censorship, the protection of property rights, the eventual dismantaling & privatization of the Medicare system & revamping the tax system to the greater advantage of the Upper Middle Class & the rich especially if they are conservative . They are also in favour of reversing federal statutes which they believe have become more lenient in regards to Criminal Justice & particularly on those regarding Marijuana . These also include issues surrounding laws regarding the Young Offenders Act & I would imagine they will want to open up a new debate on issues like Capital Punishment. They will also be in favour of even stricter laws regarding Immigration & allow for more rules to make it even more difficult for certain visible & religious minorities to enter the country.(ie Arab,Middle Eastern,Muslim & whomever else they dislike or distrust at the moment)
The Conservatives also want Canada to be more supportive of American foreign policy i.e. the War in Iraq & the so called War on Terrorism as if to say that Martin's government were pro-terrorism or was giving aid & comfort to terrorists. I believe there are those within the New Conservative party who will want to beef up our own internal security to mirror that of the United States i.e. HOMELAND SECURITY which in the US gives law enforcement agencies far greater powers than they need to spy upon its own citizens turning America bit by bit into a Police StAte. Is this the direction which Canadians want to go ???
More of this issue at another time.
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