Harper Government Plans to Run CBC
The Conservative government’s budget bill contains disturbing changes that introduce direct government interference in the public broadcaster’s activities. It is a move that should concern all Canadians.
The new changes would allow the government to directly interfere in the day to day running of the Corporation. At the heart is a plan for direct interference in collective bargaining between the CBC and its employees. The legislation even goes so far as to place a member of the Treasury Board at the bargaining table. CBC’s government appointed Board of Directors would now have to seek government approval to reach any agreement with CBC employees.
The legislation tabled yesterday effectively eliminates the arms-length relationship with government that’s at the heart of public broadcasting.
“This is an outrageous and unnecessary violation of the principle of public broadcasting. It undermines nearly 80 years of public broadcasting in Canada and around the world by meddling with the essential arms-length relationship between the CBC and the government of the day. The change is disturbing as it has all the markings of an attempt to turn the CBC into a state broadcaster,” said Carmel Smyth, National president of the Canadian Media Guild, the largest union that represents CBC workers.
A reporter from the Jordan Times asked Minister John Baird if Canada was governed by a coalition government. Baird explained that there was not a tradition of coalition governments in Canada, and that the Harper Conservatives, with 38% of the national vote, had elected the majority of seats in Parliament, and now have a stable majority. The reporter asked a supplemental question for clarification because he thought that he had misunderstood Minister Baird. He asked: “How is it possible that you could have a majority government with only 38 % of the popular vote?” Baird was taken aback because he was not prepared for questions about Canada’s quirky Westminster electoral system; he had come to discuss Syria and increase trade with Jordan
![The Canadian Government votes against Science
Today [March 21], our members of parliament debated a motion put forward by NDP Science and Technology critic, Kennedy Stewart. The motion reads as follows:
That, in the opinion of the House,
a) public science, basic research, and the free and open exchange of scientific information are essential to evidence-based policy-making;
b) federal government scientists must be enabled to discuss openly their findings with their colleagues and the public;
c) the government should maintain support for its basic scientific capacity across Canada, including immediately extending funding, until a new operator is found, to the world-renowned Experimental Lakes Area Research Facility to pursue its unique research program.
The governing Conservative party cheered as they defeated the motion, 157 against to 137 for. That’s right—a majority of our parliamentarians, every single one of them Conservative, voted against this motion.](http://25.media.tumblr.com/10a5f3f1252a0854f588e3dd8a4587a1/tumblr_mkd2fwag7K1qb6pv1o1_400.jpg)
The Canadian Government votes against Science
Today [March 21], our members of parliament debated a motion put forward by NDP Science and Technology critic, Kennedy Stewart. The motion reads as follows:
That, in the opinion of the House,
a) public science, basic research, and the free and open exchange of scientific information are essential to evidence-based policy-making;
b) federal government scientists must be enabled to discuss openly their findings with their colleagues and the public;
c) the government should maintain support for its basic scientific capacity across Canada, including immediately extending funding, until a new operator is found, to the world-renowned Experimental Lakes Area Research Facility to pursue its unique research program.
The governing Conservative party cheered as they defeated the motion, 157 against to 137 for. That’s right—a majority of our parliamentarians, every single one of them Conservative, voted against this motion.
Canada quietly pulls out of UN anti-droughts convention
The Harper government is pulling out of a United Nations convention that fights droughts in Africa and elsewhere, which would make Canada the only country in the world outside the agreement. […]
Baird’s office referred questions to the Canadian International Development Agency, which rejected a request for an interview.
Guess what? Harper’s government also closed CIDA.
(via Mark Mackinnon)
Oil spills can benefit economy, panel told
Some businesses in northern B.C. could benefit from an oil spill, according to testimony this week into the proposed Northern Gateway pipeline.
Northern Gateway witness John Thompson told the Joint Review Panel that given what happened after the Exxon Valdez spill in Alaska in 1989, clean up crews attending a spill could generate economic spin-offs.
“Part of the evidence in the spill recovery document is, in fact, a lot of those companies in the Alaska communities made more money catering to the clean-up of the spill than they would of under normal circumstances,” Thompson said under questioning from the United Fishermen and Allied Workers’ Union.
WOW. Interesting tactic you got there, Enbridge.
The state of democracy in Canada & VenezuelaWhen Hugo Chavez died after battling cancer for two years, Harper told the people of Venezuela they could now “build a better, brighter future based on the principles of freedom, democracy, the rule of law and respect for human rights.”
There’s a word for statements like this.
Hypocrisy.
Harper’s government has committed election fraud and violated the charter. It is the most secretive and undemocratic governments Canada has ever seen, a government that has muzzled scientists, threatened environmental groups and silenced voices that disagree with their ideology.
Harper has been criticized by the UN for his inaction on poverty and by Amnesty International for violating Aboriginal rights. He is dismantling Canada’s democracy, one backward step at a time.
And he has no right to tell Venezuela what it means to be a democratic nation or to respect human rights.
Not with the direction Canada is headed.
Rick’s Rant: Muzzling Scientists (from February 26, 2013)
From rickmercer.com:
Well another week, another story about scientists in Canada being muzzled. This time it’s eggheads up in the arctic studying climate change – a joint project between the Canadians and the Americans. And of course our government told them they had to sign a piece of paper saying they could never discuss their findings in public unless a political staffer in Ottawa said it was okay which is never going to happen.
Now of course the Canadians did what they were told, they signed on the dotted line because, well, they want to eat. But the American scientists went ballistic because, well, they’re Americans and you know what the Americans are like. It’s freedom of speech this and freedom of speech that. And the way they were carrying on you’d swear that they had been transported back in time and dropped behind the Berlin wall at the height of the cold war. Nope, you’re in Canada in 2013. You want to do science in these parts you better get used to it. And get over yourselves. It’s not like scientists are the only ones being told to shut up in this country. No, it’s everyone.
Remember when Canada used to have a Veterans Affairs Ombudsman? He used to go on TV every night and scream bloody murder every time the government abused our veterans. Well, he’s gone. They got a new guy in there now. Do a Google news search, he barely comes up. And then there’s the Cabinet. If scientists have been muzzled, half of the Cabinet has had their voice boxes removed. And then there’s the backbenchers. They have taken to communicating with a series of blinks and twitches like in a hostage video.
So if you are a scientist, don’t take it personally, times have changed. The days of discussing science and your findings in public, they’re over. It is a bygone era like smoking in the supermarket. This is the new Canada. Thank you for not talking.
Rick’s Rant – Kevin Page
Rick Mercer’s rant on Vic Teows’ decision to put an end to charity pizza parties in prisons.
“… that sounds dangerously close to… contributing to society!”
Well done Macleans. Click on that link and read this.
I’ve accidentally read some of those comments and why are people so awful :(
