Green Party and civil liberties groups criticize Harper's anti-terror bill

While leaders of the two main Canadian opposition parties the New Democratic Party's Thomas Mulcair, and Liberal, Justin Trudeau, have been muted in criticism of Harper's new anti-terrorism legislation, Green Party leader Elizabeth May is quite critical.

Both Trudeau and Mulcair have asked for more oversight of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), given that they are given considerable more powers under the new legislation than they previously had. However, Liberal leader, Justin Trudeau, said that his party would vote for the legislation even if the Conservative government of Stephen Harper did not accept changes suggested by his party. The NDP is building a case against the bill and Mulcair, the leader, is likely to announce his opposition to the bill when parliament meets later in the month. However, while the NDP caucus build its case, Mulcair asks questions about oversight and seems wary of being targeted as soft on terrorism.


 A major Canadian newspaper the Globe and Mail published a quite critical editorial on the Bill-C51 the new anti-terror legislation. May said on her website: “I completely agree with the editorial in the Globe and Mail today that Parliament must reject this bill. In the House of Commons today, I urged all MPs to read the editorial and not allow the Conservatives to turn CSIS into a secret police force.The words found under the definition of ‘activities,’ which affect the ‘security of Canadians,’ are so broad that the definition can apply to almost any activity, including nonviolent civil disobedience. This bill could now treat peaceful protesters as potential terrorists. Is Stephen Harper using the imagined fear of widespread security threats to score political points before the next election?”

The Globe and Mail article notes, as do commentators on May's site, that the Harper legislation can be used against many other groups than terrorists associated with Islamic radicalism. Harper has long been suggesting that radical environmentalists out to block projects favored by the Harper government and the oil industry are "public enemies", as far back as 2012. In 2014 an RCMP report joined the chorus suggesting that radical environmentalists were a larger threat to Canadian energy development than religious extremism: “Environmental ideologically motivated individuals including some who are aligned with a radical, criminal extremist ideology pose a clear and present criminal threat to Canada’s energy sector. The Canadian law enforcement and security intelligence community have noted a growing radicalized faction of environmentalists who advocate the use of criminal activity to promote the protection of the natural environment.” No doubt aboriginal activists may also expect to come under increased scrutiny by CSIS under this new legislation.

 Even US whistleblower, Edward Snowden, warned Toronto high school students about the new legislation. Along with journalist Glenn Greenwald, Snowden delivered a keynote speech at Upper Canada College's annual World Affairs Conference. Snowden spoke through a Google Hangout connection from somewhere in Russia. Snowden claimed that the new bill "fundamentally changes the balance of power between the citizen and the state." Responding to some remarks about his violating his commitments not to divulge secrets and the view of some that he is a traitor, Snowden said: “Regardless of how bad a guy I am, ultimately the revelation of warrantless wiretapping, mass surveillance on a global scale is something that we the people deserve to know. And if the government will not tell us, it falls to journalists ... to find and publish the information that informs our voting habits.”Snowden was critical of the mass media who tried to change the narrative as to whether he was a hero or traitor instead of focusing on the substance of what he had revealed.

 The Globe and Mail editorial notes that CSIS will now have powers to actively stop any activity that "undermines the sovereignty, security or territorial integrity of Canada. Activities listed include 'interference with critical infrastucture" or "interference with the capability of the Government in relation to..the economic or financial stability of Canada." The Globe points out that an environmentalist who blew up part of a pipeline would be covered under the law as being a terrorist. A Quebec separatist party could be regarded as terrorist since it would "undermine the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Canada." Aboriginal activists who block a train line could be terrorists. No doubt union activity that interfered with production could become terrorist action.

 Sukanya Pillay, executive director of the Canadian Civil Liberties Assocaition (CCLA) claimed that no explanation had been given as to why our existing laws were not adequate to deal with terrorism. She complained that "advocacy of terrorism" was undefined and that criminalizing such an undefined action could have a chilling effect on what academics and journalists might feel that they could say or write. That probably is the whole idea of leaving the phrase undefined. The British Columbia Civil Liberties Association said that the bill would produce "an unprecedented expansion of powers that will harm innocent Canadians and not increase public safety." Unfortunately, the many forceful critiques of Bill-C51 are unlikely to cause the Harper government to change the legislation substantially.

May giving MacKay a run for his money.

If I were a betting man, which I am not, I would bet that May will lose. Maybe the Greens should opt for strategic voting and vote for the NDP candidate!


May giving MacKay 'a run for his money' TheStar.com - Federal Election - May giving MacKay 'a run for his money'
Defence minister says rival is an outsider who doesn't know riding
October 12, 2008 Sandro ContentaStaff Reporter
NEW GLASGOW, N.S.–Town crier Jim Stewart, a lifelong Conservative voter, says tradition holds him to strict public neutrality in matters of partisan politics. But if he could express his support in this election, he'd shout and clang his bell for the Green party.
He credits Green Leader Elizabeth May with changing his political stripes.
Until her candidacy in Central Nova riding, Stewart was a staunch supporter of Peter MacKay, the Conservative cabinet minister and incumbent for the past 11 years.
"I knocked on doors for his father – I campaigned for Elmer," Stewart said yesterday, referring to the elder MacKay, who won six general elections and launched what some say is a political family dynasty.
"Suddenly this dynamic lady moves into the area and she's a ball of fire, and people like her," added Stewart, 53, referring to May. "I just think it's time for a change."
Stewart made his comments in an interview after watching both candidates coincidentally bump into each other at a farmers' market.
The rivals greeted each other frostily as MacKay, holding a newly bought pumpkin, found himself leaving the moment May arrived.
Green party officials released a poll they commissioned showing MacKay supported by 36.7 per cent of those surveyed, May with 29.3 per cent, NDP candidate Louise Lorefice with 20.7 per cent and 13 per cent undecided. (The Oct. 8-9 Oracle poll of 300 people has a margin of error of plus or minus 5 per cent.)
May said the tight race has her Conservative rivals in a panic.
"What a leap of faith that this riding will elect me," she said in an interview. "What a leap of faith that it's even possible."
MacKay, the minister of defence, dismissed such talk as wishful thinking. In an interview, he described May – who was born in the U.S. and spent years in nearby Cape Breton and Ottawa before moving to New Glasgow – as an outsider who doesn't understand the riding.
"There's a tradition here that goes back many generations," he said.
For farmer Ed Lakenman, 56, voting MacKay is part of that tradition.
"I know Peter MacKay and my father knew Elmer. It would take something pretty dramatic for me to change my vote," Lakenman said.
But Bonnie Cotter, 49, a jewellery maker who usually votes Tory, said: "Don't get me wrong – I think Peter's a good guy. And Elizabeth May didn't convince me at first, but I'm slowly thinking I may vote her way."
Added Conservative supporter Jean-Pierre Angst, 61: "She's giving Peter MacKay a run for his money."
In 2006, more than 10,000 people in the riding voted Liberal and a key question is who they will support this time. Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion decided not to run a candidate against May since he is her choice for next prime minister.

Green Party snags its first MP

This is from the Globe and Mail.
The first Green MP may never get to sit in parliament given that Harper is expected to call an election before the next scheduled sitting of parliament. Given that the Green Party only got 6 per cent of the vote in the riding last election it is quite possible that Wilson will be defeated. The allegations of misspending will not help him. Maybe he should have tried to join the Conservatives!



Green Party snags its first MP
OMAR EL AKKAD
September 1, 2008
OTTAWA -- In part, the Green Party can thank David Suzuki's daughter for helping it finally get a foot on Parliament Hill.
With its first MP in the party's history, the Greens are momentarily poised to move into the House of Commons. But they also face one of the toughest riding battles in Canada.
Green Party Leader Elizabeth May announced this weekend that Blair Wilson, a former Liberal MP in British Columbia who is now an Independent, will be joining the party.
Mr. Wilson's Green conversion came during a whirlwind week of talks between the MP and the party that were as serendipitous as they were strategic.

Mr. Wilson, as recently as this summer, was still looking to rejoin the Liberal caucus after being forced out amid allegations of misspending. He decided to test the waters with the Greens by dispatching a mutual friend to talk to Ms. May in Nova Scotia a week ago.
At first, the friend "cloaked himself in mystery," only saying that an MP was interested in joining the party, Ms. May said. Eventually, it became clear that Mr. Wilson, who represents the riding of West Vancouver-Sunshine Coast-Sea to Sky Country, was that MP.
It just so happened that Ms. May was flying to B.C. that same week to attend Dr. Suzuki's daughter's wedding. The timing proved perfect.
"It was one of those moments where the sun, moon and the stars align," Mr. Wilson said. "When Liz and I got together we found we had a lot in common."
Ms. May had dinner at Mr. Wilson's B.C. home last Thursday, just as talk of an imminent election morphed from hypothetical to deafening.
"We knew that to have the status at a leaders debate, we had to have a Green MP before the dissolution of Parliament," Ms. May said.
The final hurdle was cleared when the nominated Green candidate in Mr. Wilson's riding agreed that having a sitting MP was more important than the party's long-shot odds of winning it on their own. The Green candidate in the 2006 election garnered 6 per cent of the vote in that riding.

Green Party on the Manley Report

This is from the Green Party Website.22.01.2008 As I recall the Manley report made continuation of any combat mission contingent upon more contribution of troops from other NATO countries and also improved equipment and helicopter support. Of course no Muslim country is likely to volunteer more troops for the very reason that many of their citizens unlike Canadians see the whole Afghan occupation is part of an attempt to establish US hegemony in the area.
I am surprised that the Green Party did not demand that the opium be grown organically and with no GM poppy seeds.



Green Party rejects Manley Report conclusions
OTTAWA – The federal Green Party shares a vision of a stable and secure Afghanistan, but today challenged the newly-released Manley Report’s premise that Canada’s troops must remain in Khandahar beyond February of 2009 to achieve this objective.

“The Manley Report fails to consider that the recommendation of more ISAF forces from a Christian/Crusader heritage will continue to fuel an insurgency that has been framed as a ‘Jihad’. This, in turn, may feed the recruitment of suicide bombers and other insurgents,” said Green Party leader Elizabeth May. “Better human security is certainly needed in the South but it should be provided by a different cultural mix of UN countries as well as the Afghan army and police. Even if this proves challenging to accomplish, this key objective should have been included.”

The Green Party also questioned the Report’s recommended indefinite exit date for the Canadian Forces from Kandahar, citing concern that an open-ended departure date could significantly prolong the training time of the Afghan military and police. The continuous availability of external personnel and logistical support in a poor country like Afghanistan risks creating a structural disincentive to rapid military preparedness, especially in an ongoing conflict situation.

Green Party International Affairs critic Eric Walton also raised concern about the Report’s cursory reference to poppy plant cultivation, which helps fund the insurgency and worsens government corruption.

“It was critical that the Manley Report strongly advanced the Poppies For Medicine (P4M) program, but what we saw was little more than a lukewarm endorsement,” said Mr. Walton. “The Green Party would advance the P4M plan while strongly rejecting US proposals for widespread chemical spraying of poppy fields this spring. This pivotal choice could very soon determine the ultimate success or failure of the mission. It should also be a factor when determining if Canada stays in Afghanistan at all.”

Sask. Green Party calls for royalty hikes

So the two main parties oppose raising royalties. The Calvert klunkers content themselves with selling off the half interest that they had in an upgrader. The history of the sellout of crown corporations can be seen at this site. While non-NDP governments were responsible for some sellouts of course the NDP has done nothing to return them to the public sector. In 1973 Saskoil was established as a crown that explored and developed energy resources but that is all gone as is the government owned Potash Corporation and much else. Everything is up for grabs. Now Big Oil calls the tune there is no public alternative. The choice is between Tweedle Dee (Sask Party) and Tweedle Dumb (The NDP). THe Green Party also seems not to have heard of publicly owned oil companies but will just ding Big Oil a bit harder perhaps almost as much as the Conservatives in Alberta!


Sask. Green party calls for royalty hikes
Last Updated: Friday, October 26, 2007 | 11:29 AM CT
CBC News
The leader of the Green party in Saskatchewan is on side with Alberta's Conservative government when it comes to oil and gas royalties.

In an interview with CBC, Sandra Finley says she wants to charge more to companies that extract resources. She noted that royalty rates in other jurisdictions tend to be higher than what Saskatchewan charges.

She made her comments Thursday, the same day Alberta Premier Ed Stelmach announced the province will boost royalty rates charged to energy companies beginning in 2009.

However, the odds that a similar change will occur in Saskatchewan appear low.

In the weeks before the Saskatchewan election was called, the two front-running parties, the New Democrats and the Saskatchewan Party, each rejected the idea of boosting royalty rates, which were lowered in the province in the 1990s.

The NDP has since accused the Saskatchewan Party of planning to lower royalties.



Meanwhile, Liberal Leader David Karwacki says a Liberal government in Saskatchewan would consider raising royalty rates on oil and gas.

Karwacki says this province must remain competitive, but should consider increasing the amount of money it collects in royalties.

The Green Party of Saskatchewan is running candidates in 48 of the 58 constituencies for the Nov. 7 election, with Finley a candidate in Saskatoon Nutana.

Green Party of Ontario releases its platform.

Eco issues are the only ones that matter? Hmm...Afghanistan, poverty, crime, etc. etc. are somehow all just eco issues? And exactly how is merging Catholic and Public school system an eco issue? Or is it an issue that doesn't matter even though the Green party has a position on it? This is from the Star.
Sep 13, 2007 12:46 PM
Michele Henry
Staff Reporter

Taxing water and pollution instead of income, encouraging "walkable" communities linked by transit and meshing Roman Catholic schools with the public system together form the basis of Ontario's Green Party election platform.

Frank de Jong, provincial leader, introduced his party's priorities in front of Queen's Park today, saying eco issues are the only ones that matter.

"The issues that are being discussed in this election are all green issues, whether we're talking about smog or electricity or nuclear power or preventive health care or agriculture or transportation," he said.

"It's high time Ontario started changing the way we live to live in balance with nature. Contrary to popular opinion, it's easy being green."

The platform - a combined effort of 100 Green Party members, all volunteers, across the province - emphasizes four points: halting climate change, "energy self-sufficiency," "better education" and local sustainability.

De Jong is calling to phase out coal by 2009 and to shift provincial taxes off of "goods and onto bads," taxing resources and sprawl instead of businesses and people.

During today's announcement, de Jong, who is running in the Davenport riding against Liberal incumbent Tony Ruprecht, Conservative candidate Antonio Garcia and NDP candidate Peter Ferreira, said he should be included in the all of the candidates debates, especially considering that green issues are on everyone's agenda.

"The Green Party is a player in this election," he said. "I hope to be in the leaders debate because I don't know how we can discuss religious education without the Green Party being there.

"I don't know how we can discuss climate change without the Green Party being there.

"I don't know how we can discuss the environment and finally address sprawl without the Green Party being there."

De Jong is opposed to funding faith-based schools. The Green Party advocates merging the Catholic and public systems into one, with French and English streams.

"We want to encourage all children in Ontario to learn together," he said. "And to learn to live in social harmony. That will happen only when Ontario ends faith-based education."

A tree-hugger on the Ontario election

This is from this site. The article is by Lloyd Alter. It illustrates how an NDP supporter can come to support the Green Party.

Frank de Jong and the Green Party of Ontario

What's not to like about the Green Party?

Energy Policy: "Instead of squandering billions of tax dollars on expensive, heavily subsidized nuclear energy, or allowing coal-fired plants to continue to pollute the air we breathe, the Green Party believes Ontario can build a sustainable energy future through a combination of conservation, efficiency and renewable energy programs."

Sustainability:"we can restore the health and vitality of our communities by supporting each other through simple everyday actions: by buying locally produced food and other goods; by walking, cycling or riding public transit instead of driving short distances; by working in the communities where we live; and by conserving energy and resources wherever possible."

Climate Change "By combining personal action with regulations, market mechanisms and incentives, Ontario will dramatically reduce greenhouse gases and start to turn back the clock on climate change. Every purchase of a toothbrush, a vegetable, an automobile or a house is an economic decision that influences climate change. Simple changes to our tax structure will make it easier for businesses and consumers to modify their lifestyles and purchasing habits. We believe this can best be achieved by shifting taxes off climate change-neutral choices and onto climate change-inducing choices.We think Ontarians should pay for what they burn, not for what they earn."

What is not to like is that the first-past-the-post electoral system makes it really hard for new parties to get members elected. The green party can get 15% of the provincial vote; if everyone lives in one riding they will get elected but spread it out and they don't. In parts of Europe and New Zealand they have a mix of proportional representation so that smaller parties can have some representation in the house, and there is a referendum on this during this election. Until such a time when one can vote for the party as well as the candidate, many will feel that a vote for the Green Party is a wasted vote. It isn't, candidates lose in every election , but it is a tough hurdle. ::Green Party of Ontario

John Tory and the Progressive Conservatives

When Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt, they had to wander in the desert for 40 years so that nobody who was a slave in Egypt would enter the promised land. That is how a lot of people felt about the Ontario Progressive Conservatives; they can wander in the political wilderness for 40 years until every last member of their last government is dead and gone. Then the Tories went and voted in the eponymous John Tory as their leader; he seems like a nice guy and gained a lot of respect and profile in his run for mayor of Toronto.

You want to like him, but then he opens his mouth. He promises the earth but with no new taxes, saying he will "find efficiencies and eliminate fat" but his predecessor Mike Harris cut all the fat and much of the bone and muscle, and the Liberals who followed have not been exactly on a binge to put it back.

Environmental policies as stated in their "Plan for Ontario's Future" are vague. He wants to "tackle all aspects of the environmental challenge... air pollution and greenhouse gases, conserving green spaces for future generations, protecting our water supply and reducing toxic contaminants."

He promises a clean energy system- of nuclear and renewables, and coal. "Dalton McGuinty has refused to take this key environmental step, (putting scubbers on existing coal plants) insisting that he was going to close the coal plants instead – an unrealistic promise that no-one was surprised to see him break. The reality is that independent authorities tell us we’re going to be still relying on coal for a while yet."

and:

"Look at how we can use the latest technologies being developed and used in other jurisdictions, such as gasification and carbon sequestration, to reduce those emissions and pollutants even more. Adopt a realistic plan to replace dirty coal power with clean alternatives, with the understanding that it would be irresponsible to reduce our energy capacity without a plan for its replacement. "

He also says that all new government buildings should be 30% more efficient, a very weak target, and new government vehicles will all be E-85 capable.

We like his decentralization plan, "to use great architecture to help renew and revitalize critical downtown areas across Ontario. New or renovated buildings can serve as community icons as well as community centres for business, education, arts and tourism. We’re going to build Ontario again, so let’s make it both smart and beautiful." But that is about it.

Mix clean coal fantasies with Tory's proposals for full funding of religious education and you have got a loser here. Sorry John, another 36 years of wandering is ahead. ::Ontario Progressive Conservatives read also John Lorinc's take on Tory in ::Spacing Votes.

Howard Hampton and the New Democratic Party



Well, that is a strong start. Hampton is driving around Ontario in his Escape Hybrid, saying that "Nuclear plants are expensive, unreliable and risky." and "We have a fresh idea -- a safe, clean, affordable and reliable supply of publicly owned and publicly controlled electricity, focused on an aggressive approach to renewables, energy efficiency and energy conservation. This approach worked in California where the state built the equivalent of 12 power plants with energy efficiency investments, replacing the need for 12,000 megawatts of generation capacity – or almost 50 per cent of Ontario’s peak demand on a hot summer day. We can make it work in Ontario too."

Not much information about exactly what they are going to do, perhaps more information will come during the campaign. Hampton doesn't like big oil:

"The NDP stands up for consumers. We believe in strong, effective consumer protection – safeguards only the province can provide – to make sure no big business can swindle, cheat or rip off hard-working ordinary folks." and suggests "Gas price regulation is a fresh idea that will make a real difference for drivers. It will stop gas price volatility, eliminate opportunistic price gouging and deliver fair, stable and predictable fuel prices – and lower gas prices over the long haul."

Please Howard, explain to me how "an aggressive approach to renewables, energy efficiency and energy conservation" jives with "lower gas prices over the long haul."?

The NDP started as the party of Labour, and historically has had internal conflicts between it's young green urban voters and it's support of unions and workers. The nuclear industry has shrunk to a point that it no longer worries about the nuclear workers any more, but forestry is big. When it comes to the protection of the boreal forests, some say that the NDP is supporting the industry rather than the environementalists. According to Murray Campbell in the Globe and Mail,
environmentalists see Hampton as: the paragon of green policies in the south but has a different message once he enters into Shield country.

They began thinking this way when they noticed the NDP was calling for the closing of all Ontario's coal plants - except for the one in remote Atikokan. Their displeasure deepened recently when they read the party's replies to a questionnaire sent out by a forest-industry organization.

All three parties were asked identical questions by the Ontario Forestry Coalition, which represents the industry, municipalities and labour unions. It was formed to press the government to help the forest industry, which has lost 10,000 jobs in recent years.

Environmentalists involved in boreal-forest issues judge the NDP's response to the coalition's survey as by far the brownest response of the three parties in that it reflected the forest industry's positions. ...Tim Gray, a former executive director of the Wildlands League and now program director at the Ivey Foundation, said he found the NDP's response "disturbing and surprising."


So what is a TreeHugger to do?

It used to be simple in Canada; The NDP was the natural home of the left-leaning intellectual wanting to change the world and build a new Jerusalem. I, my family and my father before me have voted NDP since the party was founded. Not once, in all those years, has my candidate actually been elected, so I am used to the sacrificial vote.

I also live in the Davenport riding, where Green Party leader Frank de Jong is competing for his seat. Being a leader usually means a higher profile and a better chance of being elected, even with a courageous if suicidal promise to end 140 years of funding for Catholic schools in a predominantly Portuguese and Italian part of town.

It has been a difficult decision. The Liberals have done a creditable job in their first four years; the Conservatives remain conservatives and are not even in the room; The NDP has been my political home all of my life. However the the political climate is changing as rapidly as the real climate; I am voting for Frank de Jong and the Green Party of Ontario.