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Conservative Criminality And How To Stop It.

Blog posts reflect the views of their authors.
Seeing that Scandals have brought down Canadian governments in the past, I would not be surprised to see the current senate scandal lead to the demise of the Conservative government.

It is blatantly obvious to anyone who has been following the senate scandal that our Prime Minister has been involved in some unethical behavior, whether that be lying about what he knows or being in on the whole thing. No doubt there are millions of Canadians that would love to see the Canadian government crumble under the weight of this current scandal, but should the Canadian citizenry sit idly by and watch to see if the government falls because of the current scandal or should we be pro-active in seeing this government brought down.
 

Even if the RCMP investigation elucidates some fraudulent and criminal activity by Stephen Harper, it would only be one of many examples of fraud, criminality and unethical behavior by the Prime Minister and the conservatives government during their time in office. The criminality, fraud and unethical nature of this government was made clear from the very beginning.
 
During the 2006 election campaign, the Conservatives cheated in order to get elected. It has since been made clear that they spent more money then they were allowed to during the election. This was not the only election they cheated in; I am sure the confirmation of fraud in the election of 2011, vis-a-vis the Conservative robocalls, is still fresh in our minds. It should be clear to everyone that when it comes to abiding by the rules of bourgeois elections, the conservatives believe they are exempt. The most egregious of all the Conservative party crimes are the crimes committed against Canadians as a result of this governments anti-social offensive. Over the last 7 years, this government has attacked seniors, youth, workers, veterans, woman and any group that is dedicated to expanding democratic governance in this Country. The following is just a small sampling of the Conservatives attacks on the people of Canada. If you wish, you can find a more extensive list on many different websites and in many articles written on the topic of the conservatives anti-social offensive
 
ATTACKS AGAINST WOMEN
 

In 2006, one of the first attacks against the people of Canada by the quasi-despotic Harper Conservatives was the elimination of the Court Challenge Program. Besides helping

immigrants and refugees, gays and lesbians, and other disadvantaged groups by funding the costs of challenging discriminatory laws in court, this program also advanced the rights of women
 
The Conservative government did not uphold  the child care agreements signed in 2005 that would provided $5 billion in federal funding over five years for national child care system in Canada. Seeing that the vast majority of responsibility for child rearing ends up being taken on by women, it is not hard to see how this decision disproportionately affects women in a negative way.
 
In 2006, the Conservatives cut funding to the SWC by 37%, effectively closing 12 of 16 regional offices. The conservatives also redrafted funding criteria for the SWC which took funding away from rape crisis centers and groups advocating for women's equality.
 
In 2009 the Conservatives introduced the Public Sector equitable compensation act that allows public employers to consider "market demands" when paying staff thus reinforcing hiring practices that discriminate against women
 
Since the conservatives came to power they have given "Real Women", a right wing women's group, more of a platform on the national stage. This group says it promotes traditional family values, but in reality they are anti-gay, anti-choice and misogynistic. Giving this right-wing group a platform hurts all progressives.
 
ATTACKS ON WORKERS
 
The conservatives recent omnibus budget bill is but the latest example of conservatives attacks on workers. This bill is an attack on workers ability to bargain collectively, it favors employees when it comes to binding arbitration and it redefines "workplace hazards" in a way that makes it more difficult for workers to refuse unsafe work.
 
In June 2012 the government introduced back to work legislation to end a CP Rail strike. The government also effectively forced Air Canada workers back to work in march 2012. These are just 2 of many examples of the government interfering with labor disputes for the sole benefit of the employer.
 
U.S Steel has recently announced a shutdown of steel making at Hamilton works. Not only has the steel industry been the economic engine for Hamilton and the surrounding area  for over 100 years, the steel industry is an invaluable asset for a country that uses vast amounts of steel in building cities and infrastructure. With this recent announcement, U.S steel has managed a one, two punch against the working class in Canada. Such a move is both an attack against our manufacturing sector and an attack against the Steel workers union, specifically USW local 1005.
 
Changes to the Employment Insurance program have caused many workers to not be eligible for E. I. benefits. many seasonal workers are now finding themselves having to travel up to an hour away from their homes.  Special parental benefits were eliminated for migrant workers even though migrant workers contribute about 3.4 million annually to the E.I fund. The historically low percentage 37% of unemployed workers receiving  E.I benefits as recently as 2010 has been surpassed by the fact that many seasonal workers are being cut off of benefits and the cuts to workers processing claims causes bottle necking in the system which inevitably leads to disgruntled hopefuls discontinuing there efforts to receive E.I benefits. With the percentage of unemployed who receive E.I  benefits dropping from  over 80 % in the 1980's to less then 35 % today. One has to ask, "why are workers allowing the government to steal our money!!"
 
ATTACKS TO HUMAN RIGHTS ORGANIZATIONS
 
For a list of human rights organizations that have been denied grants and funding please visit the following, http://rabble.ca/news/2011/04/stephen-harpers-firing-range-list-87-organizations-and-people-attacked-five-years. Although it is a list that is a couple years old, it gives you an idea of the number of organizations affected. Many of the organizations denied grants and funding are denied purely on ideological terms.
 
ATTACKS ON FIRST NATIONS
 
We all know about the conservatives tough on crime mandate but what you may not know is that it is disproportionately affecting the First nations. First Nations people make up almost 25 % of the population in Canadian prisons. the number of First Nations in Canadian prisons has rose over 40% since the conservatives came to power.
 
Whether it is oil and other resource companies, more and more wealth has been stolen from first nations lands by corporation since the Harper conservatives came to power. Bill C-45 limits First Nations ability to use their traditional lands to acquire food. Bill C-45 also sets a negative precedent when it comes to the governments fiduciary responsibilities when relating with the First Nations.
 
CRIMES OF PARLIAMENT
 
Although proroguing parliament is not a crime, when you do it to cover up a crime, then it becomes a crime. On December 30th, 2009, Stephen Harper advised the Governor General  to prorogue parliament and the Governor General did just what the Prime Minister advised. The PM suggested the proroguing was so that we could all watch the winter Olympics but many believe it was an attempt to cover up the Afghan detainee scandal  

Besides proroguing parliament on two other occasions, Harper and his gang of criminals have been found in contempt of parliament. One has to ask how Harper managed to be allowed to run for election again when he was found in contempt.
 

WHICH WAY FORWARD?
It has become clear to many Canadian citizens that Harper and his regime think they are above the law and they think they can steal from the citizens with impunity.  It has become clear to many Canadians that our country is run by a kleptocracy. I say it is time that this kleptocracy is taken out of power as soon as possible and by whatever means necessary. We must get away from the idea that we can just wait until 2015 to vote them out of power. It has been clear that shenanigans took place by the Conservatives during the 2006 election and during the 2011 elections they took part in outright fraud; to think that electoral fraud will note be worse in 2015 would be to not connect the dots.

We need to engage in  massive campaigns of civil disobedience, direct action and economic sabotage if we are going to be successful in bringing down the kleptocracy that runs our country. We are also gonna have to be willing to make some alliances with people we may of though we could not ally with n the past. We are gonna have to ratchet up our community  building and talk to our neighbors aboutthe crimes of the conservative government. We need to employ a diversity of tactics if we are gonna win this fight and we will have employ these tactics with the stealth and efficacy of a military strategist
     Aaron Doncaster


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