Ramblings of Nick Robillard

Now that the Canadian parliament is on a 6 week vaca, I figured I would share some observations. I'd love to get into how this all happened in the first place, and all the things that are wrong with the system, but that wouldn't accomplish anything.

The Politicians (aka: the circus clowns)
On the political side of things, for the past 2 years, I've seen a vicious spin-cycle that has, up 'til now, appeared to be going nowhere. While previous cycles ended with nothing getting done¹, this time around, nothing changed, except that our federal legislature has been forcefully suspended².

The Canadian people (aka: the critics)
I have really noticed a polarization in Canadians lately that I find disturbing. I'm seeing a lot of extremism from the East and West that is quite discouraging.

I must say that Albertans are the most disturbing of all. They seem to be forgetting their roots in low-key farming. All of this oil, I'm afraid, is getting to their heads. I've lost count of the amount of times I've heard someone from Calgary calling all non-Conservatives "socialists", as if it's a sleazy, disgusting word. Even if the Liberals and NDP are socialist (one could argue either way), last I checked, we live in Canada, not the United States. In Canada, we don't pander to extreme right wing sensationalism and we do work together (aka: socialism), or so I thought.

I'd also suggest Albertans that they not take attacks on Stephen Harper as attacks on them. Stephen Harper is attacked so maliciously by "liberal" types because he is so controlling³, because he compromises the rights of Canadians for the gain of big-business⁴, because he doesn't appear to give a rat's ass for the arts⁵, because he has economic views in line with what they feel caused the US economic crisis⁶, among many. He is attacked by "small c conservatives" because they don't feel he shows the "progressive" side of conservatism, the Canadian style of conservatism, that they hope for. They see far too many traditional values that are in line with US style drug war⁷, "laissez-faire" free market values⁸, and the list goes on. I think we can all agree that his unwillingness to "play nice" with other politicians is his most frustrating trait.

I am not a Stephen Harper fan, but I don't believe he will "ruin" Canada if given the opportunity with a majority government. At the same time, he does need to take a look around and realize that many of his personal views are NOT in line with the consensus among the Canadian people. Canadians are far less "laissez-faire" than he is economically and socially. While I appreciate the libertarian side of his views (non-interventionism, free market, etc.), I strongly oppose any attempt to strip away the rights of Canadians. I oppose the path he is taking against crime - the militarization of police forces⁹ and building more, larger prisons¹⁰ is extremely counter-productive. Equally counter-productive is the privatization of primary services¹¹. All we have to do is look at the United States and it is painfully obvious that for-profit health care and for-profit prison systems are extremely dangerous to a society. I'm also very disappointed when I see the Conservative government let US law-enforcement have their way with Canadian citizens, especially when those citizen's deeds in question were done in Canada, with Canada refusing to prosecute those citizens for said "crimes"¹². Harper's lack of intervention¹³ in the Omar Khadr and Maher Arar cases, as well, is saddening.

In closing, I want to be clear. Think for yourself! Avoid extremism! Be a critical thinker! When you see signs of sensationalism, from politicians or fellow citizens, have the judgment to see through it - don't be a sucker! Don't fall for this division that is forming around us. Canada has long had a reputation for being a "nice" place¹⁴ - let's not lose that.
And politicians - stop accusing each other of doing the same damn things! If I hear a Conservative call a Liberal undemocratic, and then the Liberal turn around and say the exact same thing back, I'm going to hurt a small animal.
"You're dumb...", "No you are dumb...", "No I'm not, you are!", "Well i said it first!"...

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Sources

too lazy right now...