Soliders and veterans take hits, criminal gets welcome mat.
by Ish Theilheimer
and Samantha Bayard with YouTube video
OTTAWA, Straight Goods News, May 7, 2012 — On May Day, the global celebration of organized labour, federal workers and progressive activists demonstrated against federal budget cuts in Ottawa.
Natalie Mehra of the Ontario Health Coalition may have explained it best, "May Day started in Chicago. Workers were killed as they demonstrated for an eight-hour workday. Imagine that, being killed demonstrating to limit your work day to eight hours. I am reminded on days like this that it is on the backs of those workers who fought and struggled for generations before us to create the more egalitarian society, the more hopeful society that we live in today."
SGNews has video of speeches John Gordon and Phillippe Lapointe and even a PSAC remixed rendition of Aretha Franklin's Respect performed by Larry Rouseau.
"Stephen Harper, we are here today," said outgoing PSAC president John Gordon. "We are going to be here tomorrow. You can take us on and you can fight us. We are not going to back down today or anytime."
SGNews has assembled a playlist of video coverage from the Anti-Austerity May Day rally in Ottawa. You canview it here or by visiting the link below.
Treasury Board President Tony Clement wasn't impressed with the rally. "Obviously we indicate our disappointment. We have a fair reasonable and sustainable plan. A reduction of four percent from the public sector numbers is fair and reasonable and moderate… "Seventy percent of our staff reductions have been in back office and administrative position and will not affect the front line at all."
Tony Clement demonstrates his disappointment in May Day
As the parties marked the first anniversary of the Conservatives' election victory last May, NDP House leader Nathan Cullen called for reform of "time allocation" rules so the Conservatives cannot ram complex legislation through with limited debate as they are doing with the massive Omnibus Budget Implementation Bill.
"It's an abuse of their power," said Cullen. "It's an abuse of this mechanism. And the government knows it." He feels each topic touched on by this bill — cutting back on retirement for Canadians, stripping down environmental legislation, and pay equity — should be split off and discussed separately.
Nathan Cullen calls for reform of time allocation procedures.
Last week came a double blow to military personnel and veterans, with news the government will be closing eight regional veterans' service offices and cutting down on suicide prevention and other mental health services for soldiers. NDP defence critic Jack Harris (St. John's East) said the cuts show the government no longer values its veterans and military.
"I characterize it as using the Canadian Forces for propaganda and patriotism when it suits them, but neglecting their real needs," said Harris. "There is a real hypocrisy here between their statements on the one hand — trying to rev up support for their policy — but at the same time neglecting the basic needs of Canadian Forces members and Veterans."
Jack Harris says the Conservatives are neglecting the needs of Veterans and members of the Canadian Forces.
The sexiest issue of the week, however, was definitely Conrad Black's re-entry into Canada, facilitated by a government that has made its reputation by being tough on crime and illegal immigrants. The irony that a convicted felon and non-citizen who still owes the US government $70 million in back taxes was able to apply to get into Canada from prison was not lost on anyone.
As NDP leader Tom Mulcair said in the House. "After one year in power, the Conservatives' record shows that their friends and powerful people take priority over everyone else, even though they campaigned on a promise of accountability. Their latest exploit? Thousands of people follow the rules and wait their turn to be allowed into Canada, yet the Conservative government gave preferential treatment to Conrad Black, a British criminal rotting in an American jail… Why do the friends of those in power not have to follow the same rules as everyone else?" he asked.
Stephen Harper replied, "This decision was made by departmental officials in accordance with the law."
Mulcair wasn't impressed. "The fact of the matter is that no one else has ever been in the situation of being still in jail, having his dossier marched around all the offices of the minister, and getting his approval before even getting out of the slammer. The only exceptional circumstance in this case is he is a friend of the Conservatives."
Later, NDP immigration critic Olivia Chow spoke about Black's case to reporters.
Harper protested, "There has been no involvement of anyone on the political side of government in this." It was hard, though, for the government to escape the widespread perception that Black, whose newspapers relentlessly pursued "Shawinigate" and the Sponsorship Scandal, which, in turn, led to Harper's election as Prime Minister in 2006, has friends in high places.
eMail: ish@straightgoods.com
References
May Day video library
About Ish Theilheimer and Samantha Bayard
Ish Theilheimer is founder and publisher of SG News and lives in Golden Lake, ON. Samantha Bayard is an Ottawa reporter and an editorial and administrative assistant at SGNews.
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