Harperman - Tony Turner's Song

Almost every day there seems to be a new reason to vote against Harper. Whether it's more bad news about the people he chose to sit in the Senate, his muzzling of our scientists, the death of door-to-door mail delivery, the firing of safety inspectors, Canada's lack of leadership on environmental issues, the closing of government libraries and the destruction of government library materials, it all contributes to a scary picture of one man running the country in exactly the fashion he chooses, no matter what any experts may try to advise. In a particularly mean-spirited move, the Canada Revenue Agency has been engaged in auditing many charitable organizations because of their political activities. I guess an organization called Canada Without Poverty sounds pretty scary to our current government.

Here in Ottawa, it's not hard to find civil servants to tell you news from the inside. It doesn't matter which federal government department they work for. The story is the same: massive cuts to their staff and budgets and the loss of power and control in their departments. For an example of how tightly controlled civil servants are these days, have a look at this article  by Margaret Munro, who tells us that "federal librarians and archivists who set foot in classrooms, attend conferences or speak up at public meetings on their own time are engaging in high risk activities, according to the new code of conduct at Library and Archives Canada."

No one in Ottawa has any real power or decision-making ability except Harper. Gone are the days when ministers ran their departments and were responsible for them. Virtually every decision must go through the PMO. This is truly a one-man show.

Our neighbour, singer Tony Turner, has written an excellent song which neatly summarizes the situation. Have a listen and feel free to pass it along.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ei50lM6ab1c.