Keeping it Real…

I, like many other Canadians … according to the polls … still have many problems with Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his way of governing. 

We don’t like his shunning of the public’s right to know: which manifests itself so often when  his Ministers refuse interviews or won’t make themselves available to answer questions; when we learn that federal scientists working at Environment Canada are ordered not to answer questions on their own; when the government refuses to provide information so often, that  complaints to the Freedom of Information Commissioner have doubled in one year; when the government decides it will no longer seek clemency for Canadians facing death penalty in the U.S.; and when it introduces legislation calling for MANDATORY six-month minimum jail sentences for ANYONE selling illegal drugs (may sound good at first glance, but would you really want your own son or daughter imprisoned if they simply sold a small amount of their own marijuana stash to a friend.  Really SIX MONTHS IN JAIL! Ridiculous!).

And then there’s Harper’s own coldness: he still comes off stiff, plastic and sometimes downright unfriendly. I had the privilege of a one-on-one interview with him for BCTV (Global Vancouver) during the last federal election campaign … and found him guilty of the first two on camera …  and quite guarded also off camera.

And yet I say Bravo Stephen Harper!

The Harper government’s strong, principled, straight-forward stands on the International stage deserve our support and admiration.

“PM Plays Energy Card” sang one headline a few days ago, after Harper reminded the Americans that reopening NAFTA could entail very serious consequences for them, not just Canada:  because under the deal, Canada is REQUIRED to ship huge constant quantities of oil and natural gas south to the U.S., even at times of tight supply at home, or despite any premium pricing offered to us by, say,  China. 

Canadians can argue whether we should be tied into that commitment in the first place, but you have to admire Harper’s boldness in laying it right on the line to the Americans, warning them what’s at stake for them,  and he said it while on a trip to the U.S. no less.  Not that their right-wing anti-NAFTA media commentators will take note … but Clinton, Obama and the Congress should.  Bravo Harper!

Canada was also the first country to announce it will NOT be part of the next United Nations anti-Israel lynch mob meeting, ironically called the Conference on Human Rights, slated for Durban, South Africa in 2009.  The last session, in 2001, turned into a fiasco when many Muslim nations (many dictatorships, with horrid records on human rights) turned the conference into an anti-Semitic tirade festival, and all the prepatory meetings have indicated the Durban meeting, with Libya as chair and Cuba as vice-chair, will be the same … or even worse.  Bravo Harper for refusing to have our country there, legitimizing it. 

And Bravo Harper for standing firm with Canada’s clear and repeated condemnations of Hamas and Hesbollah for their terrorist actions in the Mod-East. Canada has approved $300 million in aid to assist poor Palestinians (hopefully more of it will actually get through all  the Palestinian  corruption to help those who need it), but I especially applaud the Harper government’s rejection of Hamas and Hesbollah for who and what they are .. terrorists … and saying so uncompromisingly. And Canada has also stood firm in its  support for Israel and the right of that country … the ONLY democracy in the Middle East and the national home of the Jewish people … to not only exist,  but thrive and defend itself. Bravo!

And Bravo Harper for LEADING in extending Canada’s strong commitment in Afghanistan, where the real fight against the evil forces of world terrorism is now taking place. Capitulation there to the Taliban (which I believe would have been the inevitable outcome of  the original positions advocated by the Liberals, the Bloc and the NDP) would have seen horrible consequences for the people of Afghanistan ..and ultimately, for us too at home. Whatever the horrible price, we MUST win in Afghanistan .. just as we did sixty-five years ago in Europe.

And let’s face it … in  dealing with Iran,  the next looming real threat to the world … Canada, under Harper, will no doubt be more ready, WILLING, and able to ACT, than under Stephane Dion or Jack Layton, to make the hard decisions necessary to save the world from a nuclear holocaust.

Bravo Harper!  If only his domestic policies and attitudes were as progressive as his foreign policies and attitudes … he could actually win a majority.

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