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| Canada's Coat of Arms |
Harper's reign of terror could end tonight and the world would surely rejoice for it. It's not really an easy thing to say. Despair has reigned since the day he gained his coveted majority, because I knew exactly what would do. His intent couldn't have been clearer. He wanted to dismantle the things Canada held dear to recreate Canada into a grotesque shadow of itself. He desired to remake Canadian values to one of his personal vision. He would sign trade deals that would subvert our sovereignty and allow corporations to dictate the laws they want and force governments to remove ones they don't like. He would silence critics who didn't see the world the way he did and ensure that nobody blew the whistle on him. He also looked at ways to keep people locked up longer than they really should be. This was the authoritarianism that has reigned in Ottawa over this decade.
Since the day he became leader of the party, voting problems sprouted up. It seemed as if every election he got closer to, there were more incidents of voting problems. And finally he was propelled to a majority through apparent vote suppression and other techniques. Even the presiding judge over the trial of Michael Sona, who became the fall guy for the Conservative Party of Canada, stated that the prosecuting evidence presented said so. So obviously, he never had an honest mandate. And of all of them in this election, his campaign has been the sleaziest in the history of this country. It looked as if there was no honest way for him to form the government. He even changed the laws to try to make it easier for him to get elected.
And as soon as he seized his glorious opportunity, the speaker of the house became his speaker and was not impartial in any sense. His ministers could barely manage their portfolios, and that's because they were managed by the PMO. Messaging and talking points were micromanaged by the PMO in terrifying proportions. Budgets were passed with little debate, despite being omnibus bills, insidiously changing laws on an expansive scale. For example, over 2 million lakes and streams were under federal protection; after one budget bill was passed, only 154 were under protection. Tactics used during Question Period were the most reprehensible ever used.
He chose dubious allies which ended up further damaging Canada's reputation. This is supposed to be the country that desired to be better. That's a significant national value. After all, it's the motto of the Order of Canada, our country's highest honour. This motto is emblazoned for the world to see on a ribbon which sits behind the shield on our coat of arms. It reads "Desiderantes Meliorem Patriam" in Latin, with the meaning "desiring a better country."
He has spent the last nine years trying to convince us that the country can't get any better than his grotesque facsimile. After 9 years of secrecy, suppression and malfeasance, it is about to end. His legacy will stand in judgement of historians and they will not be kind about it. His own arrogance would become his downfall.
With opponents like Paul Martin, Stephane Dion and Michael Ignatieff, how could he possibly lose? Not this time. He wasn't just fighting his own legacy. He was fighting a ghost, one with a legacy far greater than his. And he had to fight the body politic, which determined that he was in office long enough. To survive a fight on all three fronts, Harper had to use every tool in his arsenal to win. But alas, the tools he used were not strong enough to overcome the winds of change. We became vigilant against the past malfeasance he was able to get away with before.
And to put him on the same pedestal as John Diefenbaker is the greatest insult that could be given to the man himself. He has lied, evaded responsibility and withheld parliamentary information for the sake of his own protection. Brian Mulroney wasn't the greatest prime minister either, but he never drifted away from Canadian values the way Stephen Harper did. As a matter of fact, I even question what side Harper was on when Mulroney took a stand against the Apartheid regime of South Africa.
Harper tried to own the brand, but it was never his to own. He tried to control everything so much that he hurt himself and he hurt the brand. And people have just begun cringing at the possible collateral damage we will bear witness to tonight. The world is watching, hoping for a true return to the international stage, as an honest dealer to the world. But it's going to take some time to repair the damage he has done.
And hopefully, the rehabilitation begins tonight.
