When it comes to Stephan Harper you either love the guy or despise him. For Canadians there is really no in-between. As an example, one left-wing blogger responding to a Globe and Mail article titled “ Ignatieff Vs. Harper” wrote, “I’ve had a belly-full of the Harper dictatorship and Iggy’s efforts to scuttle the Coalition. Every time we sing “O Canada,” we pledge to “stand on guard for thee.” Well, let’s start doing it! Let’s start taking back our democracy now!”
To many left wingers the descriptor ‘dictator’ when referring to Harper can be read in many respondents from national newspapers, radio shows and internet forums. Most of his detractors come from regions of Canada that typically vote to the left.
Here in Alberta, where the right-wing politicians enjoy continued support, the left-wing voter is out numbered, but their opinions do not change. So what is it about our current Prime Minister that irks the left?
First I believe that Mr. Harper is a conservative. Worse yet, he is a conservative that governs with his conscience. This is not to say he does not change his spots if circumstances dictate, quite the contrary. He has changed his position whenever it was politically expedient to do so. This is when the average left-winger pounces. They see this as hypocrisy because whether or not they want to admit it, Harper is held to a higher standard than Liberal leaders.
Second, Mr. Harper conducts business as if he has a majority government. Can you imagine, a leader of a country actually making unpopular decisions in spite at the risk of losing the ‘House’ confidence? It happened on two very recent occasions, first was the ‘funding of the arts’ decision that saw reduced government funding of the theatre and motion picture industry. An industry that is more prevalent in the east. Then there was the decision to end public funding of political parties. The former fuelled the anger of those who were incensed at the latter. The result was an attempted take-over by bipolar bed partners forming a coalition of the unwitting.
But whether Harper is your man or not, one thing is becoming clear as you peruse national news reports. Canada is beginning to look better politically from an international viewpoint.
Case in point; in 2006, Harper made an unpopular move to bolster our military. When he took office our military had a deteriorating inventory of heavy equipment. We had 30 Hercules aircraft, of which on average 20 would be grounded for repair at any given time. Our Sea King helicopters were in dire need of replacement and our ability to respond to incursions into the Northwest Passage were hindered by a lack of patrol boats, ice breakers and air response. In all, while the military has suffered since the Trudeau years, our military responsiveness has been reduced to 20,000 combat ready troops. This from a country that after WWII had the fourth largest military in the world.
In just two years our military has made progress and the USA has hinted they will accept Canada’s sovereign claim of the Northwest Passage if we can demonstrate sovereign control by our military.
Our conservative government has done just that. Defence Minister Peter MacKay has recently disclosed that just before Barack Obama’s Canadian visit last month CF-18 Hornet Jet Fighters intercepted two Russian TU-95 bombers just outside the Canadian Arctic and gave ‘clear signals’ to turn tail and head back to Russian air space. It was disclosed that our government has made a point of sending that same message to Russia each time they have encroached Canadian air space. These incursions from Russia started nearly two years ago, prior to that Canada did not detect any activity for decades.
When it comes to Canadian military, Harper has been clear on his position when he says, “I do not care whether the party opposite does not support our military. This party does, and we will have a strong military for a strong country.” This statement from a leader governing with a minority position. Right is right, the rebuilding of our military is only one of many important functions that needs to be addressed by our leadership.
Harpers, ’dictatorship’ style language of pushing ahead in spite of the risk of losing the confidence of the opposition is precisely what most right-wingers like. “He calls them as he sees them!”
This form of leadership is not lost on the likes of Michael Ignatieff. Looking more like a conservative in liberal clothing, Ignatieff is touring across Canada in an effort to wrestle support from conservative strongholds, the rural Canadian. If he is successful in winning the next federal election the progress for our military will once again be placed on the back burner. To do that, he will need the vote of the rural folks if he is going to get the support that Harper now enjoys.
In an effort to woo the farmer, Ignatieff has said he has family’s rural ties, insisting he loves the “smell of the farm.” I guess to the Liberal leader when he thinks of us non-urbanites he is reminded of the smell of a barn.
I think I will stick with Harper.
To many left wingers the descriptor ‘dictator’ when referring to Harper can be read in many respondents from national newspapers, radio shows and internet forums. Most of his detractors come from regions of Canada that typically vote to the left.
Here in Alberta, where the right-wing politicians enjoy continued support, the left-wing voter is out numbered, but their opinions do not change. So what is it about our current Prime Minister that irks the left?
First I believe that Mr. Harper is a conservative. Worse yet, he is a conservative that governs with his conscience. This is not to say he does not change his spots if circumstances dictate, quite the contrary. He has changed his position whenever it was politically expedient to do so. This is when the average left-winger pounces. They see this as hypocrisy because whether or not they want to admit it, Harper is held to a higher standard than Liberal leaders.
Second, Mr. Harper conducts business as if he has a majority government. Can you imagine, a leader of a country actually making unpopular decisions in spite at the risk of losing the ‘House’ confidence? It happened on two very recent occasions, first was the ‘funding of the arts’ decision that saw reduced government funding of the theatre and motion picture industry. An industry that is more prevalent in the east. Then there was the decision to end public funding of political parties. The former fuelled the anger of those who were incensed at the latter. The result was an attempted take-over by bipolar bed partners forming a coalition of the unwitting.
But whether Harper is your man or not, one thing is becoming clear as you peruse national news reports. Canada is beginning to look better politically from an international viewpoint.
Case in point; in 2006, Harper made an unpopular move to bolster our military. When he took office our military had a deteriorating inventory of heavy equipment. We had 30 Hercules aircraft, of which on average 20 would be grounded for repair at any given time. Our Sea King helicopters were in dire need of replacement and our ability to respond to incursions into the Northwest Passage were hindered by a lack of patrol boats, ice breakers and air response. In all, while the military has suffered since the Trudeau years, our military responsiveness has been reduced to 20,000 combat ready troops. This from a country that after WWII had the fourth largest military in the world.
In just two years our military has made progress and the USA has hinted they will accept Canada’s sovereign claim of the Northwest Passage if we can demonstrate sovereign control by our military.
Our conservative government has done just that. Defence Minister Peter MacKay has recently disclosed that just before Barack Obama’s Canadian visit last month CF-18 Hornet Jet Fighters intercepted two Russian TU-95 bombers just outside the Canadian Arctic and gave ‘clear signals’ to turn tail and head back to Russian air space. It was disclosed that our government has made a point of sending that same message to Russia each time they have encroached Canadian air space. These incursions from Russia started nearly two years ago, prior to that Canada did not detect any activity for decades.
When it comes to Canadian military, Harper has been clear on his position when he says, “I do not care whether the party opposite does not support our military. This party does, and we will have a strong military for a strong country.” This statement from a leader governing with a minority position. Right is right, the rebuilding of our military is only one of many important functions that needs to be addressed by our leadership.
Harpers, ’dictatorship’ style language of pushing ahead in spite of the risk of losing the confidence of the opposition is precisely what most right-wingers like. “He calls them as he sees them!”
This form of leadership is not lost on the likes of Michael Ignatieff. Looking more like a conservative in liberal clothing, Ignatieff is touring across Canada in an effort to wrestle support from conservative strongholds, the rural Canadian. If he is successful in winning the next federal election the progress for our military will once again be placed on the back burner. To do that, he will need the vote of the rural folks if he is going to get the support that Harper now enjoys.
In an effort to woo the farmer, Ignatieff has said he has family’s rural ties, insisting he loves the “smell of the farm.” I guess to the Liberal leader when he thinks of us non-urbanites he is reminded of the smell of a barn.
I think I will stick with Harper.
No comments:
Post a Comment