Is there some other Canada I don’t know about?

As CAPP was working out the final details for a nation wide protest against Harper proroguing Parliament and his undermining of democracy, the Big Guy himself was patting himself on the back in a self-congratulatory speech concerning his four years in power.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper, speaking to his caucus on Parliament Hill, says "Canada is safer, stronger and better off" after four years of Conservative rule.

Really?...really?

That man needs to start reading Canadian news.  http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/714708--if-the-news-is-canadian-harper-s-not-watching

"The classic test, as set out by Ronald Reagan, is are you better off four years later?" Scott Reid, former prime minister Paul Martin's communications director, told Canwest News earlier this week. "Here's the verdict: We're less prosperous, less respected, less fair and we're less democratic. That's Stephen Harper's record."

I’ve been kind of picking up on the same things myself.

Unemployment:

December 2005: 6.5
December 2009: 8.5

   
Deficit and spending:

Harper & Co. Quickly ate up a 12 billion surplus left by Paul Martin.  Steve then delivered us a deficit he promised would never occur, earning Flaherty the name of  Deficit Jim.

His budgets have featured steep spending boosts averaging roughly 6% per year, a surge described as "reckless" by the Canadian Taxpayers' Federation. (Oct.2008)

As the rest of the world and most economists agreed we were headed into a recession, Harper denied this and failed to prepare accordingly.  We now face years of massive deficits.

The federal government is expected to run a deficit of $55.9-billion this fiscal year, and Finance Minister Jim Flaherty has said that could be reduced to $5.2-billion by 2014-05. However, parliamentary budget officer Kevin Page has recently said the Canadian government could be facing a “structural deficit” of almost $19-billion at around that time as an aging population leads to a shrinking labour force and diminished economic potential.

Freedom of press:

Took a dive under Harper.

Human rights:

Poverty - Canada's backsliding on indigenous rights has upset its chance for global leadership on poverty and human rights, says Amnesty International secretary general Irene Khan.  By refusing to sign the UN's declaration on the rights of indigenous peoples and failing to close the poverty gap between aboriginal communities and the rest of Canada, Khan said it will be difficult for the Harper government to gain a moral edge when it hosts the landmark G8 and G20 summits at Huntsville next year.

Women’ rights - While most coverage and concern was focused on the SWC regional office closures, the words "equality," "advocacy," and "action" were quietly removed from the Terms and Conditions of the SWC mandate, and from various SWC documents, such as their website (a chilling process of erasure that attempts to change history -- borrowed directly from the Bush administration’s ‘handling’ of women’s organizations in the US).  Oda also eliminated virtually all funding for research on women and women’s issues and made it impossible for women’s organizations involved in advocating or lobbying governments to be eligible for SWC money.

Child soldiers -   Back in 2002, Canada signed on to an international treaty aimed at rehabilitating child soldiers...Canadian troops in Kandahar indeed capture child fighters, only to turn them over to Afghan security forces for what is usually a brutal interrogation.

That, he says, is a clear violation of Canada's international obligations and – depending on how the children are treated by the Afghans – almost certainly a crime under Canadian law..."Canada was once at the top of the heap in this regard," says Attaran. "Now we're keeping company with those at the bottom."

The Omar Khadr case shows just how poorly Harper has performed when it comes to rights of child soldiers.

Death penalty - Canada has actively opposed the death penalty in recent decades, refusing extradition requests to the U.S. unless there are assurances the U.S. prosecutors won't seek the death penalty...In late 2007, however, Stephen Harper's Conservative government indicated a change in procedure.

Then public safety minister Stockwell Day stated Canada would "not actively pursue" the return of Canadians facing the death sentence "who have been tried in a democratic country that supports rule of law."...The Tories' decision drew harsh words from Amnesty International, which accused Canada of softening its opposition to capital punishment.

Environment:

Do I really need to explain this one?

Asbestos:

World Call of Conscience to Prime Minister Stephen Harper to Stop Obstructing the Rotterdam Convention (asbestos)

Afghanistan:

"Quite frankly, we are never going to defeat the insurgency... “ - Harper

And his new position raises the obvious questions: If the Taliban can't be beaten, what are Canadian troops doing in Afghanistan? If the Taliban can't be beaten, why are our soldiers still dying? If the Taliban can't be beaten, why are Canada and its NATO allies encouraging the Afghan government to keep fighting a war that, according to Harper, it may be able to "manage" but can't possibly win?

Soldiers killed in Afghanistan:

Since 2002, 139 Canadian soldiers have been killed serving in the Afghanistan mission.  Four Canadian civilians have also been killed, including one diplomat, one journalist and two aid workers.

Changing the nature of our involvement in Afghanistan drastically increased the number of deaths among our military stationed in that country.

Under the Liberals - 2002-2005: 8  
Under Harper - 2006-Jan. 2010: 131

Pensions and retirement:

Harper not only fails to protect seniors and their pensions, he threatens them further.

Geneva conventions and torture:

Orders from former Canadian Forces chief of defence staff Rick Hillier and the federal Cabinet hindered Canadian troops as they were attempting to process Afghanistan detainees in compliance with international war law and likely contributed to severe detention conditions at the military police compound in Kandahar, previously unreleased documents indicate.

Accountability and transparency:

Information Commissioner Robert Marleau said Thursday the grip on federal files is tightening, largely because of the Conservative government's "communications stranglehold" on the bureaucracy.  "There's less information being released by government than ever before. And that's alarming."

Democracy:

Even the venerable Economist magazine, which normally hovers above the fray of Canadian politics, has condemned the move as a clumsy attempt to muzzle the sound and fury of parliamentary debate..."It's yet another step in a pattern of leadership and governance by Prime Minister Harper that is in an authoritarian direction," said Peter Russell, a constitutional scholar at the University of Toronto. "He seems to want to minimize his exposure to critical review. And I think that's a very dangerous thing."

There are many more items that could be added to the list showing that the real Canada is certainly not the one Harper boasted about in his speech.

Does he think simply making such a statement will convince the chattering classes, or has he isolated himself for so long, listening only to his own words echoed back from his compliant members that he actually believes it himself?