It isn’t like there’s no pressing work to do...

As Harper & Co. Stay the course they have set with their first prorogation, governing by not governing, serious work is set aside.  The stimulus plan-with-no-plan does not exist in a vacuum, and several stakeholders need to work in tandem to make sure that the funds are not only used in a way they can best benefit our economy, but that other factors are examined closely so that damaging effects can be avoided.

(Pic adapted from)

More than 90 per cent of thousands of new projects receiving funding from the Harper government will proceed without a federal environmental assessment, Canwest News Service reported in November.

Why?

According to our dictatorship, those pesky environmental assessments would slow down projects and threaten economic recovery. 

Sort of like taking a couple of months off to go to the Owelympics would slow down governing an entire country.

This avoidance of making sure projects don’t endager the health and safety of Canadians is not a mere delay, however.  The very panel that the CONs created to advise them on such environmental impacts has been ignored for nearly two years.  In fact, the committee has not even met since the spring of 2008.

Throughout this time, sweeping changes to regulations have been passed, effectively exempting thousands of projects from mandatory evaluations.   "We haven't had any notice that the minister has dissolved the committee, but it's kind of awkward to have a committee that doesn't meet," said Gary Schneider, who sits on the panel.

The government, however, managed to introduce exemptions to projects without the consultation of the environmental panel and without going through legislation.

(Schneider) said he was confused about why Environment Minister Jim Prentice has not asked them for advice.   "If you think that you know everything, and you don't need to take advice from the public, just because you got elected . . . I don't think it paints a very good picture of the minister," he said.

I don’t think it’s just a case of Prentice thinking he knows everything, but yet another example of  going through the motions of creating a panel for optics while never intending to take their advice because they know ahead of time that such advice will conflict with their narrow ideology and support of business interests before all else - including the long term future of average Canadians.

A spokeswoman for the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency said she could not comment on why the committee has not met since 2008 because it would cost her job. But she suggested that they would be brought together again soon as part of a required review by Parliament in 2010 of the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act.

Right - unless the CONs decide that such a review simply is no more necessary than considering the impact projects could have on our health and safety.

Considering the CONs lack of concern over environmental issues and their paranoid fear of reports, I guess that we and our children will just have to deal with the fallout of poorly planned projects offering no environmental protection.

Unless, of course, we join forces, say “enough,” and get rid of those uneducated, incredibly stupid, and undemocratic bastards while we still have the chance.

Talking to the public across Canada for the next few months and holding a thinkers’ meeting in March won’t cut it, nor will placing left-wing colours above common concerns for Canadians do it.  That two-thirds of the population with enough brains to realize how destructive Harper and the Cons are to our democracy and future need to contact members of the opposition and let them know they need to show up and work now.  Fuck prorogation and take back the Hill.