Archive for Canada politics

Today in history: Markets collapse

October 29, 2006 at 11:48 am · Filed under Canada politics, Human / civil rights, International politics

It was October 29, 1929, that ushered in the great stock market collapse that in turn led to the great depression of the 1930s. The depression was probably the lowest point for market ideologues. There were times when it looked as if capitalism wouldn’t survive.

The growth of statism in the Soviet Union and elsewhere, and the rise of facism in Germany and elsewhere, challenged liberal democracy with its dependence on private markets.

Democratic socialism (including the election of Tommy Douglas and the Co-oeprative Commonwealth Federation, the first elected socialist government in North America, in 1944) also grew as the failures of markets were laid bare.

Of course, as we now know, market ideology began to assert itself during the second world war and kept growing. The growth of private markets were aided by liberal democratic parties – such as the Liberals in Canada and the Democrats in the United States – who campaign on socialist values but govern with a ruthless devotion to private markets.

The international neo-liberal agenda – called “globalization” – has been imposed on governments and economies around the world through economic and sometimes military force. But is the pendulum swinging away from market ideology and neo-liberalism.

Historian Eric Hobsbawm sees signs of the retreat of market ideology (though not as dramatic as the collapse of 1929). John Ralston Saul, in his 2005 book The Collapse of Globalism, is direct in his analysis.

One thing is certain. Human history is the story of change. Usually, that change is brought by an interplay of powerful forces. Sometimes, change bubbles up from people and human values.

Another thing is certain. Despite its elaborate mythology, market ideology has profoundly failed to meet basic human needs here in Canada, and around the world. Far from being the efficient distributor of resources claimed by its adherents, markets reward the powerful and punish the powerless.

- Michael Shapcott

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Failed former New Democrat wows Liberals

October 21, 2006 at 9:02 am · Filed under Canada politics

Question:

Why is it that a failed, former New Democrat (Bob Rae) is wowing some Liberal delegates, when they could have an honest-to-goodness, effective and current New Democrat (Jack Layton)?

Answer:

Bob Rae delivers what the Liberals want, the appearance of something good, without the substance.

- Michael

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Garth Turner as a Green???

October 20, 2006 at 8:46 am · Filed under Canada politics

The rumours are swirling that the right-wing Member of Parliament Garth Turner, who has been kicked out of the Conservative caucus, is being courted by the Green Party.

There is an honourable and appropriate course of action for Turner and the Greens. He should resign his seat, then stand in a by-election as a Green candidate. Let the voters decide. That’s the democratic way.

Instead of that, the Green Party are so anxious to get a toe-hold in Parliament and they know that they can’t get it through the traditional means – ie. have a candidate win in a riding – that they are prepared to embrace the cantankerous and far-right Turner.

This speaks volumes about the Greens. They claim to be a party of the “centre” (who doesn’t, these days), but they are lusting after the extreme fringes of Parliament.

It also speaks volumes about Turner.

- Michael

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Bell snags free ride, the rest of us pay

October 13, 2006 at 8:52 am · Filed under Canada politics, Human / civil rights

As I was jammed into the TTC subway car this morning, barely able to breath for the crowd, I was pondering the decision of Bell Canada to convert to an income trust – and dodge an estimated $800 million in taxes in 2008.

Bell is not just gouging the public treasury – and the rest of us taxpayers. All those who use Bell services will also pay, because they shouldn’t expect that a penny of that $800 million taken from their payments will result in better service or lower costs.

Bell users are paying the bills, but it’s the anonymous investors who will make the big gains. No doubt the bulk of them will get good “tax advice” – ie. a group of sharp lawyers and accountants who will help them to dodge their tax obligations.

So, it’s lose and lose all around.

Taxpayers will see valuable revenue lost as yet another big corporation evades its tax duties.

Bell users will see valuable revenue lost as their payments are drained from the company to feed investors.

This is no way to run a country, and no way to run a company.

Bell is not alone. It’s just the latest in a series of corporations that are taking advantage of clever advice to dodge their taxes.

Bell is voiding the basic contract that forms the basis of incorporation. Corporations are fictional legal entities, created by legislation. The shareholders who create a corporate do so to avoid individual liability and to achieve all the rights of “natural persons”.

The deal is that corporations, in exchange for these privileges and rights, have some basic obligations that all other “natural persons” also have. Including the obligation to pay their fair share of the tax bill.

After all, corporations enjoy all the benefits of our fax-funded public services: They get to use the roads (and transit); they get to hire workers who receive a public education; they get to use the public health system; they benefit from the “peace, order and good government” offered through our constitution.

Bell Canada, like a growing number of other corporations, wants all these advantages, but they want someone else to pay.

It’s time to re-examine the basic corporate pact. If they are not prepared to pay their fair share, then perhaps they should be denied the rights of citizenship.

If corporations like Bell Canada don’t want to pay taxes, then let’s establish a fair system of user fees to charge them the cost of the public services that they are enjoying.

- Michael Shapcott

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In the name of religion, a free ride???

October 8, 2006 at 11:38 am · Filed under Canada politics, Human / civil rights, International politics

In recent days, there has been a flurry of attention to plans reportedly being considered by the federal government that would allow civil servants to refuse to license same-sex marriages if they object on religious grounds. Predictably, Prime Minister Stephen Harper has denied any such plans, but his pleas lack a quality of sincerity.

So, how far would Harper go to allow people to use their religious beliefs to override civil rights, human rights or even the basic protections in law.

An analysis by The New York Times of more than 200 exemptions for religious groups in the United States since 1989 paint a shocking trend: Religious institutions exempted from basic health and safety requirements that govern the operation of chld care centres; religious institutions exempted from workplace discrimination and equity requirements; religious institutions exempted from tax laws.

Is that the Harper plan for Canada?

Allow anyone to wave the religion wand to gain a pass from the most important, and most fundamental, equality and safety laws that protect us all…

- Michael Shapcott

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Dear George… a letter from his buddy Steve

October 8, 2006 at 9:39 am · Filed under Canada politics, Human / civil rights, International politics

In late September, 2002, a Canadian citizen named Maher Arar was detained without charges by United States authorities while he was transiting through New York on his way home to Canada from a holiday. Twelve days later, he was kidnapped by the U.S., shackled in chains, and shipped to Jordan and then Syria, where he was imprisoned and tortured for ten months and ten days. While under torture, he made a confession, but an official Canadian government inquiry has found that Arar is not guilty of any crime. The inquiry has found that Canada’s national police force, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, sent what turned out to be false information to the U.S. about Arar.

This is not the only questionable activity by U.S. agents. The CIA is suspected of kidnapping an imam in Italy and illegally transporting him to Egypt. In that case, authorities in Italy and Switzerland have launched criminal investigations into the actions of the U.S. agents.

Canada is equally vigilant when it comes to protecting our citizens. Canada’s courageous prime minister, Stephen Harper, has decided to take the strongest possible action. He is planning to write a strongly-worded letter to U.S. President George W. Bush. And, just to show Bush how tough we Canadians really are, Harper phoned Bush the other day to give him a heads-up.

As luck would have it, a draft of the letter from Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper to U.S. President George W. Bush was leaked to me, and here is the text:

Dear George:

I am terribly sorry to disturb you. I know that you are busy with the upcoming mid-term elections and I wouldn’t want to take your attention away.

That Mark Foley sure isn’t making things any easier. A sexual predator preying on teenage boys – that can’t help with your friends in the churches. Maybe you should arrange for him to be kidnapped by the CIA and sent to some secret prison and tortured! Hah – hah, just kidding.

But seriously, George, Foley now blames it all on alcohol and says that he is in rehab. That’s one way to dodge the bullet and get some compassion, but I have another idea: Why not say that Foley wasn’t a sexual predator at all. He was doing serious investigation to prove just how dangerous the internet can be when it comes to sex and kids and all that. He has proved his point in a masterful way.

Stick to your knitting, as we say here in Canada. Don’t back down. Don’t sway from your agenda. Mark Foley is a great American who was engaged in an important exercise. God bless America and God bless Mark Foley.

Anyway, that’s not why I was writing.

It’s about this Maher Arar situation – you remember, I spoke to you on the phone the other day.

Some people here in Canada are in a bit of a snit because your government kidnapped him and sent him to Syria to be tortured. Now, normally, I wouldn’t care a whit about these whiners and appeasers, but you have to understand that I’m in a minority government situation here in Canada.

Don’t worry, minority government doesn’t mean that black people are running the show here in Canada.

It means that I just haven’t yet figured out how to get a majority of people to support me (or, under our political system, a majority of the people who actually bother to vote, which means a minority of all the people – well, you know what I mean because you got to be president the first time around even though the other guy got more votes).

So, I have to be extra careful. Which is why I am writing this toughly-worded letter to you. I want Canadians to see me as tough and decisive and not afraid to stick up for Canadians.

Right after I was elected, I hopped over to Afghanistan to mingle with our soldiers. This is a great strategy and maybe you should think about doing it sometime. Maybe you could even use an aircraft carrier. We don’t have aircraft carriers in Canada. We don’t even have much in the way of aircraft. But you do. Think about it. And, if you decide to hang out with soldiers and use them as a patriotic backdrop, then your popularity is bound to increase.

To be honest, soon after I visited Afghanistan, the polls showed that a growing number of Canadians (now a majority) are opposed to our participation in the war over there. But that’s just a quibble. Stay the course. Hunker down. Besides, you don’t have to worry about re-election (sorry, maybe I shouldn’t have mentioned this – has Dick Cheney figured out a way to get rid of the constitutional ban on a third term, he did a pretty good job abolishing habeus corpus and that’s a legal principle that’s been around for 800 years).

Now, about this Arar business. Sorry to keep harping on it, but they don’t call me “harper” for nothing. Just kidding. A joke to lighten the mood.

If you have a moment, and if it’s no trouble, could you ask around the office and see if anyone knows anything about this. Or not. Actually, it’s not that big a deal.

Okay, okay. I know that it was our boys – the Mounties – who gave some phoney story to your boys – the spooks. So, I guess you could say that Canada started the whole thing by whispering some silly ideas into the eager ears of some American spy. I want you to know that we have taken the strongest possible action here in Canada. We’ve called the head of the RCMP to a parliamentary committee, where he was forced to apologize. We’re pretty much agreed here in Canada. It’s their fault and the finger-pointing must be clear and decisive.

I have an idea. Why not blame the whole darn Arar thing on Mark Foley. He’s going down anyway, so might as well pile on a few more things. He could blame it on alcohol, or on some priests who assaulted him when he was a kid, or something.

It’s all about assigning the blame.

Just a suggestion.

Sorry to bother you.

Your friend,

“Steve” Harper

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Do it – but don’t frighten the horses

October 5, 2006 at 7:21 pm · Filed under Canada politics, Human / civil rights

Credit where credit is very richly due!

In my last posting, I tried to dig into the murky depths of my memory for the quote about sexual expression. Never rely on memory when you have Kenn Chaplin and the wonderful world of the internet at your fingertips.

Here is the actual quote:

“My dear, I don’t care what they do, so long as they don’t do it in the streets and frighten the horses.” – Mrs. Patrick Campbell, British actress, circa 1910

Thanks, Kenn.

- Michael Shapcott

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Hatred is protected speech, sez Canada’s Harper

October 5, 2006 at 4:56 pm · Filed under Canada politics, Human / civil rights

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper is mulling over a plan to introduce legislation that would allow civil servants to refuse to issue licenses or otherwise participate in same-sex marriages.

Huh?

This is wacky, wacky, wacky.

Wacky #1 – as a long line-up of constitutional scholars has confirmed, the federal government has no business telling provincial government employees how to do their job (the processing of marriages is a provincial responsibility).

Wacky #2 – Harper and his gang say that it’s an attempt to protect religious expression, but since when did hatred become a religious value? Fact is, the Charter of Rights and Freedoms allows people to hold religious beliefs, but that doesn’t mean that those beliefs can be used to deny others their constitutional rights. Religion doesn’t trump equality. Remember, it’s gays and lesbians that are in the cross-hairs of Harper’s government at the moment, but who knows which group will be next.

Wacky #3 – Why are Harper and his group so obsessed with the private sexual expression of certain people? Does he really think that importing the George Bush – Karl Rove gay-bashing agenda is going to win him majority government? I believe it was Lillie Langtry, the English actress, who said something along this line: I don’t care what you do, as long as you don’t do it in the street and startle the horses.

Amen.

- Michael Shapcott 

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U.S. homeowner crash could drag down renters, too

October 4, 2006 at 5:40 pm · Filed under Canada politics, Homelessness, Housing, International politics

Hardly a day goes by without a new set of numbers, and a new expert, proclaiming that the crash in the U.S. home ownership market is nigh. Far too many home owners have been living in fantasy land in the U.S. – fuelled by too-willing lenders. They’ve watched house prices climb to unsustainable levels, then allowed home owners to borrow against the equity in their homes – using their house as a virtual ATM.

The collapse has already started, according to some indicators in some parts of the U.S., and it may not only drag down the U.S. housing market, but the entire U.S. economy and, with it, the Canadian and global economies.

Meanwhile, low-income households in the U.S. who are renting have been paying an increasingly big penalty as high ownership costs have dragged up rents in many parts of the country. Housing affordability – especially for low and moderate income households – is a critical problem. The private market isn’t able to deliver affordable ownership, and it certainly isn’t able to deliver affordable rental housing.

A massive housing crisis sweeping across the U.S. will quickly spread to Canada. Some say that the over-heated housing markets in Western Canada (especially Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver) are a sure sign of danger to come.

A recent report from Statistics Canada that an increasing number of young people are being forced to move back with their parents is yet another warning sign of growing trouble in the housing market.

There is, at last count, close to $2 billion in federal affordable housing funding that is sitting in Canada’s national capital waiting for specific projects to come forward. Now is a good time for the government to invest in new social housing. Co-op and non-profit housing have a 30-year record of providing good quality, cost-effective homes in mixed-income neighbourhoods throughout Canada.

It’s the best antidote for the housing plague that is starting to rage south of the border and threatening to spill into Canada.

- Michael Shapcott

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Terence Finlay – a man of integrity

October 3, 2006 at 9:39 pm · Filed under Canada politics, Toronto

Anglican Archbishop Terry Finlay, former Bishop of Toronto, has been suspended for performing a marriage of two women.

Shame on the Anglican Church for punishing Finlay with bad politics.

He is, as Rev. Sara Boyles of Toronto’s Church of the Holy Trinity has proclaimed, a man of integrity.

Terry has been a strong and consistent advocate for social justice. Recently, he has been appointed to take on the challenge of helping to resolve the residential schools issue – an important file that requires compassion, justice and integrity.

Back in 1992, I joined with others in raising a critical voice when Finlay dismissed an Anglican priest who was gay. Earlier this year, Finlay admitted in public that he regretted that decision. Anyone can make mistakes. It takes a man of integrity to critically review his own actions and seek to make amends.

As for those voices in the Anglican church who are clamouring for a strict interpretation of a few passages in the Bible, I would like to ask them: Are they next going to seek to cast out from the church anyone who dines at Red Lobster? After all, the Bible has extremely clear and strict dietary laws – and shellfish (and swans, for that matter) are absolutely prohibited.

Or what about the passage in the New Testament that says that women must stay silent in the church. Are Anglicans going to start enforcing that Biblical injunction?

Faith needs to be alive and breath, not dead and stuffed between the strictures of a long-ago world.

- Michael Shapcott 

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