Friday, March 19

Some people's take on Mr. Harper

Thought some that may read my blog might be interested in what Murray Dobbin, author, free-lance writer and journalist has to say on Mr. Harper. His take is interesting. So as not to distort or misinterpret what he says her it as he presented it. If you are interested in checing him out further you may check him at www.canadians.org.

"Stephen Harper’s Assault on Democracy
Author and Rabble.ca columnist Murray Dobbin details the harm Prime Minister Stephen Harper is doing to the political and social fabric of Canada in a new, hard-hitting essay commissioned by the Council of Canadians titled Harper’s Hitlist: Power, Process and the Assault on Democracy.

As Dobbin explains in the opening paragraphs of the essay, “This study is intended to examine the most serious violations of democracy committed by the prime minister and his government. Some are clearly more serious than others. But taken as a whole they add up to a dangerous undermining of our democratic traditions, institutions and precedents – and politics. These violations are not accidental, they are not incidental, and they are not oversights or simply the sign of an impatient government or ‘decisive’ leadership. They are a fundamental part of Harper’s iron-fisted determination to remake Canada, whether Canadians like it or not.”

Harper’s Hitlist: Power, Process and the Assault on Democracy
Download report here 1 MB or in sections below:

•Part 1 - Stephen Harper’s Assault on Democracy
•Part 2 - Two Prorogations in Less Than a Year
•Part 3 - Thwarting Democracy
•Part 4 - Controlling Critics
•Part 5 - Manipulating and Muzzling the Media
•Part 6 - A Personal Agenda
•Part 7 - Failing to Protect Canadian Citizens
•Part 8 - Harper Attacks Rights
•Part 9 - Political Advocacy Under Fire
•Part 10 - Conclusion

About the Author
Murray Dobbin has been a freelance journalist, broadcaster and author for thirty-five years. He is also a leading activist and analyst in the movement against corporate globalization. He has written extensively on various trade agreements and their impact on democracy and on neo-liberalism’s attack on social programs. He is a past executive board member of the Council of Canadians and author or Word Warriors, and online activism tool hosted on the Council’s website at www.canadians.org."

Michael, March 19, 2010