New identification rules bar some Canadians from casting ballots

Omar El Akkad, Globe and Mail, Wednesday Oct 15, 2008

OTTAWA — One of the lowest voter turnouts in Canadian history began to take shape late last night as voters across the country expressed anger at new voter-identification rules that left some Canadians unable to cast a ballot.

Although it is too early to tell exactly what percentage of the roughly 23 million eligible voters cast their ballots in this election, the numbers hovered about 60 per cent. If that percentage is correct, it would be a historic low.

Turnout has been steadily declining over the past 50 years, dropping from almost 80 per cent in the early sixties to between 60 and 65 per cent in the past few elections.

Tuesday marked the first election since Parliament passed a law last year requiring potential voters to present ID showing their name and address.

Although Elections Canada spent millions of dollars advertising the new rules, it became clear Tuesday that many people who showed up at polling stations across the country only with identification such as passports were not aware of or did not understand the new rules.
"They denied me the right to vote," Lawrence Oshanek complained after being turned away from a polling booth in Calgary.

Mr. Oshanek has lived in Calgary for years, but has no fixed address. The identification he produced and the statutory declaration was not enough, Elections Canada told the local elections officials, he said.

Elections Canada rules allowed three options for potential voters.

They could present a piece of ID with their photo, name and address; they could also present two pieces of ID, at least one of which had an address. Voters could also swear an oath, as long as they had another valid voter from the same polling district vouch for them.

But some Canadians complained that the new address requirements disproportionately alienated younger voters, who may move from house to house more often, or live for periods of time with their parents.

Rick Salay's 21-year-old son and 25-year-old daughter both tried to vote in Toronto Tuesday using their voter identification cards and passports. Mr. Salay said his children were told that wasn't enough. His son managed to find a piece of mail with his address, and could vote; his daughter did not, and couldn't vote.

"It just seems ludicrous to me that with those two pieces of ID [voter registration card and passport], it's still not enough," Mr. Salay said.

"A passport is good enough to get them out of the country."

Elections Canada officials acknowledged some anecdotal problems with the new ID requirements, which first surfaced during advance polls earlier in the election campaign, but described the issues as relatively minor.

With a report from Dawn Walton in Calgary

Today's the Day

Today is the day, so please be sure to get out and vote! Polls in the central time zone - our time zone - are open from 8:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.

To make the most of your vote to stop the conservatives, please vote strategically and remember the acronym "ABC": Anything But Conservative.

For more information about strategic voting and to find out the best "ABC" choice in your riding, please visit:

voteforenvironment.ca
anyonebutharper.ca

Canadian arts community calls for strategic voting

In this piece from TheRealNews.com the new artist group called The Department of Culture, calls for strategic voting against Harper in the election. For more information on strategic voting visit: http://anyonebutharper.ca/

Messages from Allies

From anyonebutharper.ca

A full break down on goings on sometime tomorrow but for today I just wanted to point out a little reality. To alot of people the phrase "Strategic Voting" sounds alot like "Root Canal" but there is a basic reality facing us tuesday.

If everyone 'votes with their heart' instead of their head we're looking at

Conservative 141
Liberal 73
NDP 35
Green 0
Bloc 57
IND 2

If we vote smart we get: (please not the Liberals, Greens, and NDP all do better):
Conservative 97
Liberal 109
NDP 46
Green 1
Bloc 53
IND 2

See details at voteforenviornment.ca
or anyonebutharper.ca

If you've got a minute please take the time to pass this message on to your friends, groups, or whoever will listen.

What You Can Do in the Last Few Days of the Campaign

Hello DoC Supporters,

We are now in the final days of our campaign. These last few days are critical, and we wanted to let you know what you can do to make a real difference in the outcome of the election in the few days that remain. According to today's Globe and Mail, 25% of voters will decide who to vote for between now and when they arrive at the ballot box.

Here's What You Can Do:

1. Tell Everyone You Know About voteforenvironment.ca

There are 65 "swing ridings" in Canada, ridings where the race between the Conservative and a non-Conservative candidate are extremely close. Voters in these ridings have the capacity to dramatically shift the outcome of the election by being strategic about who they vote for. This website offers comprehensive, up-to-date riding-by-riding information on how to defeat Harper at the ballot box--a quick and easy and incredibly important tool for all voters, especially those in these critical swing ridings.

Please consider sending a message to your friends, relatives and contacts, similar to the one below:

With the election fast approaching, many people are concerned about Harper winning a majority.

The problem is that in many ridings, otherwise unpopular Conservatives are in danger of winning because votes representing the riding's primarily anti-Conservative sentiment are being split between several non-Conservative parties.

To prevent a Harper majority, we must vote strategically in these ridings.

he following website provides comprehensive, up-to-date, riding-by-riding information on voting strategically in ridings the Conservatives could win. Although it is obviously anti-Conservative, the website is otherwise non-partisan.

http://www.voteforenvironment.ca/

If you agree with this strategy, please pass this on to as many other people as possible.

Thank you,

[your name]


2. Pull the Vote on Election Day

Another important thing you can do is help "pull the vote" for the candidate in a swing riding who has been deemed most likely to beat the Conservative in that riding. "Pulling the vote" involves ensuring that voters who have previously indicated that they will be voting for that particular candidate actually make it to the polls on Election Day. For a list of swing ridings go to: http://www.voteforenvironment.ca/content/key-ridings. Click on the riding to find out which candidate you should pull the vote for, and contact their election office.

*Please note that candidates will require you to have some election training before Election Day, so please contact the election office of the candidate you wish to pull the vote for ASAP.

3. Remind Everyone You Know to Vote on Election Day

Another thing you can do is remind everyone you know to vote. First thing in the morning on the 14th, email and/or text message your contacts across the country with a friendly reminder to vote--and to check out voteforenvironment.ca before doing so.

If we all pitch in over the next few days we can have a real effect on the outcome of the election. Please take a moment to participate in some or all of the above initiatives.

Thanks for your support,
Department of Culture

You Have A Choice

Created for avaaz.org

CREDITS:
K-OS, Ed Robertson of the Barenaked Ladies, Ben Kowalewicz of Billy Talent, Adam Gontier of Three Days Grace, Sarah Harmer, Hawksley Workman, Jason Collett of Broken Social Scene, Darren Dumas of The Salads and the Arts Offstage Choir under the direction of David Reed.

SONG WRITTEN & PRODUCED BY
Ian Lefeuvre (The Hundreds and Thousands) and K-OS

Lyrics all contributed by the artists. Additional keyboards are performed by Todor Kobakov from Major Maker. The track was mastered by Joao Carvalho.

Messages from Allies

Election resources on women's equality from CWHN

Federal Election 2008 - Bringing Women's Voices and Concerns to the National Table

CWHN is highlighting resources created by other non-governmental organizations for this federal election. See our website for details:

http://www.cwhn.ca/indexeng.html

Issues that are important to women are important to the country. Remember, on October 14th, exercise your right to vote!

Ellen Reynolds
Director of Communications/Directrice des communications
Canadian Women’s Health Network/Le Réseau canadien pour la santé des femmes
203 – 419 Ave Graham
Winnipeg, MB R3C 0M3
Cell: 250-208-4889
Fax/Téléc: 204-989-2355
news@cwhn.ca // www.cwhn.ca

A Message from the Winnipeg Branch of the Department of Culture

Dear friends, allies, supporters, and fellow Canadians...

Thank you so very much for your many contributions to our campaign over the past few weeks! Your generosity has helped us get the word out about destructive Conservative Party of Canada policies through many means including handbills, posters, events, and now an ad in the Sunday edition of the Winnipeg Sun.

Keep your eyes peeled for the ad below.

The money raised at the Wrecking Ball, This is Not a Conservative Party, and through various individual donations has made this possible. We really hope it reaches people who are on the fence... the ones who are planning to vote CPC because they're looking forward to a little (and ultimately negligible) tax break. The way we see it, cheering for crumbs in the form of small tax breaks is falling for a bribe that will cost more in the end.

To circulate this ad, please click on it to save it in its larger size.

Best,
Members of Winnipeg's Department of Culture

Labour and social movements have made a difference!

Reposted from: Rabble.ca, Thurs Oct 9

Labour and social movements have made a difference
By Fred Wilson

There is one very strong conclusion to draw from Canada’s five election campaign. Don’t draw any conclusions yet.

The trend is now negative for Harper, and positive for Liberals and the NDP. How far that trend goes by Tuesday is simply unpredictable, but this in itself is the excitement of these last days.

Three weeks ago when it looked like Harper would sweep Quebec, I suggested that we could only put our hope in the Quebec labour and social movements. They have delivered, and brought the country back from the edge of an abyss. A sweetener from Quebec is the imminent defeat of Jean-Pierre Blackburn in Saguenay – the Conservative Labour Minister who could not be more anti-labour.

In English Canada, my union has been better informed and more involved than in any recent election and I think that is largely true also for most of the major unions. PSAC was one of the first to turn the tide against Harper with its campaign on food safety. CUPE, Canada’s largest union, has met daily during the campaign to discuss how to strategically intervene with their membership on crucial issues. CUPE.ca today focuses on the war in Afghanistan and child care – two issues that have not dominated the party campaigns, but are vote determining for many people. The Canadian Labour Congress, which has been relatively quiet through the campaign while it focused on organization in priority ridings, is out today in 49 Canadian newspapers with labour’s political ads on health care, manufacturing jobs and forestry.

Other social movements have also stepped up and delivered as never before. The arts community has been passionate, articulate and remarkably effective. Harper’s attempt to scapegoat artists turned into a Conservative fiasco that is already part of Canadian election lore. One more initiative on the cultural front this week was a joint effort by CEP, ACTRA and the Friends of Canadian Broadcasting on the issue of Canadian ownership of media with ads strategically placed across the country. You can check it out at friends.ca or keepitcanadian.ca.

The grim and frightening prospect that loomed over us a month ago seems to be giving way to opportunity. Inevitably, “the ABC campaign” will favour both Liberals and New Democrats depending on the local scene. Elizabeth May seemed to accept that in her comments Wednesday.

Few will spend the long weekend paying attention to the frenetic closing gambits of the campaigns. It is now about organization on the ground, and word of mouth. Undecided numbers are in the 20-25% range, and a large percentage of those will decide with the ballot in their hand. Herein is the potential for the anti-Harper trend to turn into a wave. It should also be the motivation for progressives to be focused and purposeful, knowing that what we have done in our organizations and as individuals, and what we do over the long weekend and on Tuesday, makes a difference.

Messages from Allies

More from Anyonebutharper.ca (from a few days ago, but still very relevant!)

VIDEO
Just one today, and it's a big one. This is the video for "You Have A Choice"

http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=slnN3GMy7Nc

by K-OS, Ed Robertson of the Barenaked Ladies, Ben Kowalewicz of Billy Talent, Adam Gontier of Three Days Grace, Sarah Harmer, Hawksley Workman, Jason Collett of Broken Social Scene, Darren Dumas of The Salads and the Arts Offstage Choir under the direction of David Reed.

SONG WRITTEN & PRODUCED BY
Ian Lefeuvre (The Hundreds and Thousands) and K-OS

Lyrics all contributed by the artists. Additional keyboards are performed by Todor Kobakov from Major Maker. The track was mastered by Joao Carvalho.

PLEASE POST IT TO YOUR SITE(S) AND SHARE IT WITH EVERYONE YOU KNOW!
(link to share)
http://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=slnN3GMy7Nc

THE OFFICIAL PREMIERE OF THE VIDEO IS AT 7PM TONIGHT AT THE PHOENIX IN TORONTO AS PART OF "THIS IS NOT A CONSERVATIVE PARTY!"

http://departmentofculture.ca/concert/

If you're going, I'll might see you there!

It's just the long weekend to go folks, the fact that Tuesday is after the Thanksgiving weekend means people won't be paying alot of attention this week and voter turnout will be down on Tuesday (I'm sure that that is part of Harper's plan) so drag your friends with you to the polls on Tuesday, call them and ask if they've voted. For decades now we've said 'we'll do something about the environment someday', we've commissioned studies, come up with grand 10 and 20 year plans that fizzled but this is it.

I know people are concerned about the economy but have you noticed that when the economy is up they say we can't do anything about the environment because we'll kill the strong economy, when it's down they say we can't do anything because we'll damage it more. But virtually every reasonable economist in Canada, and most environmentalists agree that a Carbon Tax would actually be GOOD for the economy.

The time to do something about the environment is no longer someday, it is not, over the next 5 years, it is not 'when the economy improves' it is TUESDAY!

Vote with your heart, but don't leave your head completely out of the equation. Vote to remove Stephen Harper.


NEWS:

Alberta Premiere Calls for Economic Meeting With Counterpart: Contradicts Harper
http://tinyurl.com/3jlcnn

Oil sands will pollute Great Lakes, report warns
http://tinyurl.com/4ykb8p

Flaherty Suddenly Cares About the Economy
http://www.publicbroadcasting.ca/2008/10/you-cant-trust-conservatives-with-money.html

Elizabeth May Endorses Strategic Voting in Close Races
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20081008.welxngreens1009/BNStory/politics/home?cid=al_gam_mostemail

Canadian researchers call for end to 'politicization' of science
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canadavotes/story/2008/10/09/scientists-letter.html?ref=rss

Canadians prefer national child care system to monthly allowance 2 to 1 according to Nanos poll
http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/October2008/09/c4801.html

POLLS:

CPAC-Nanos Conservatives 33% (no change) Liberals 29% (no change) NDP 20% (no change) Bloc 10% (-1) Greens 7% (no change) Undecided 15% (-1)
While the Conservatives and/or Liberals were up or down 1 - 2 points here and there it was within the margin of error. Statistically significant NDP +4% in Quebec, Conservatives -6% in Atlantic Canada.

Also in terms of "Leadership Indicators" Harper lost ground on Trust, Competence and Vision for Canada while Dion gained in all 3 areas.

http://www.nanosresearch.com/election/CPAC-Nanos-October-9-2008E.pdf

According to the Canadian PRess/Harris-Decima poll
Conservatives 32% (+1) Liberals 27% (no change) NDP 19% (-1) Green 12 % (no change) Bloc 8% (no change)

So - it is the 15% undecided that we need to convince, and strategic voters.

Messages from Allies

Vote Strategically!

From Anyonebutharper.ca
http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=se4G8t_o0T8
http://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=se4G8t_o0T8

Video from Alberta Artist Richard Sixto on Harper, the Military, the Arts the Media, the Environment and more
http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=Hu9XE4fZZEQ
(link to share)
http://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=Hu9XE4fZZEQ

Also, thank you all for watching and sharing the "You Have a Choice" video from yesterday. So far it has been seen (after 1 day) by 11,433 people and has a 5 star rating!

http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=slnN3GMy7Nc&feature=related


NEWS

Conservatives Bail Out Banks
They are trying to sell it as an investment, but what they are actually doing is buying 25 billion dollars in questionable mortgages.
http://www.cbc.ca/money/story/2008/10/10/flaherty-banks.html

A Green Candidate in Quebec has withdrawn to help the Liberals
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canadavotes/story/2008/10/09/green-liberal.html

Duceppe Calls Harper on His Linguistic Double Standard
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canadavotes/story/2008/10/10/duceppe-dion.html?ref=rss


POLLS

CPAC Nanos
Conservatives 33% (no change) Liberals 27% (-2) NDP 22% (+2) Bloc 10 (no Change) Green 8 (+1)
other points of interest - the Tories are down 2 points to 16 in Quebec but they are up 4 to 32 in Ontario with the Liberals down 6 to 33.

Canadian Press Harris-Decim
Shows a Conservative Rebound
Conservatives 34% (+2 up 3 over 2 day) Liberals 26 (-1) NDP 18 (-1) Bloc 9 (+1) Greens 12 (no change)

Messages from Allies

Conservatives silent on Communication and Culture!

To members of Canadians For Democratic Media

Campaign for Democratic Media sent a series of questions to the five major federal parties get their positions pertaining to media and culture on record. We received responses from four of the five parties: only the Conservative Party did not reply, despite being approached several times.

The government and MPs elected on October 14th will play a decisive role in determining what information, perspectives, ideas and entertainment are readily available to Canadians as well as how Canadians communicate with one another.

I urge all Canadians to review these policy positions before voting.

Download the report and find out where the parties stand on Net Neutrality:
http://democraticmedia.ca/positions08

Please share this with your fellow voters

-and ask your local candidates where they stand!
http://democraticmedia.ca/blog-entry/vote-media-democracy

We rely on your donations to continue our work. Please consider becoming a supporter. If you sign up for monthly donations of $10 or more, you will receive a FREE full-year subscription to Briarpatch Magazine! A one-time donation is fine, too. Whether it's a little or a lot, it all adds up. So please, DONATE NOW: http://democraticmedia.ca/donate

Steve Anderson
604-837-5730
steveinfos@gmail.com

At the Department of Culture we're giving thanks...

But before we do, please visit DepartmentofCulture.ca to read three important things you can do in these final days:

1. Pull the Vote on Election Day
2. Play Phone Tag with residents of Whitby-Oshawa
3. Tell Everyone You Know About voteforenvironment.ca

We are now in the final days of our campaign. The Conservatives are going down in the polls are we are feeling energized. These last few days are critical, and we wanted to let you know what you can do to make a real difference in the outcome of the election in the few days that remain:

1. Pull the Vote on Election Day
One of the most important things you can do is help "pull the vote" for the candidate in a swing riding who has been deemed most likely to beat the Conservative in that riding. "Pulling the vote" involves ensuring that voters who have previously indicated that they will be voting for that particular candidate actually make it to the polls on election day. For a list of swing ridings (ridings where the race between the Conservative and non-Conservative candidate are extremely close), go to: http://www.voteforenvironment.ca/content/key-ridings . Click on the riding to find out which candidate you should pull the vote for, and contact their election office.

Please note that candidates will require you to have some election training before election day, so please contact the election office of the candidate you wish to pull the vote for ASAP.

2. Play Phone Tag with residents of Whitby-Oshawa
This Thanksgiving weekend, express your thanks for all that you love about this country by helping to kick a turkey out of Parliament. Help put a wrench in Finance Minister Jim Flaherty's election campaign from the comfort of your own home by playing "phone tag" with residents of his riding of Whitby-Oshawa. We're just putting the finishing touches on this initiative--keep an eye on our website for its launch on October 9th.


3. Tell Everyone You Know About voteforenvironment.ca
There are 65 "swing ridings" in Canada. Voters in these ridings have the capacity to dramatically shift the outcome of the election by being strategic about who they vote for. This website offers comprehensive, up-to-date riding-by-riding information on how to defeat Harper at the ballot box--an important tool for all voters, especially those in these critical swing ridings.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

We also thought we should take a moment to extend our deepest thanks to everyone who has given their time, passion, and imagination so generously.

We've made new friends and allies, learned a huge amount, and have been inspired by the overwhelming talents and dedication of all the artists and organizations who have worked so hard both in association with Department of Culture, and on their own, creating their own organizations, developing their own initiatives, making artwork, attending rallies, canvassing, and just talking up the issues. Your efforts have been incredible, and we thank you for all that you've done. We look forward to seeing where this wonderful energy and momentum will lead in the days, months and years following the election--we hope it doesn't stop here. Don't forget to vote on the 14th. And on Election night get together with friends, family, and colleagues to see just how much difference we made. In Toronto, we'll be celebrating at the Gladstone, starting at 8pm. We invite you to join us in raising a glass to our country, all that we've accomplished over the past month, and the future that lies ahead. We are anticipating that there will be much to celebrate.

In solidarity,
Department of Culture

Rick Mercer Report : Harper Home Pregnancy Test

Still as valid as ever...

Open Letter from Canadian Economists on the Current Economic Crisis and the Appropriate Government Response

Reposted from an e-newsletter circulated by the CCPA

The deepening global financial crisis, the decline in world commodity prices, and the growing possibility of global recession are exposing worrisome weaknesses in Canada’s economy. Complacent expressions of faith in our “fundamentals,” and other varieties of economic denial, will not protect Canadians from the coming storm.

Canada’s Economic Fundamentals are Anything but Strong

Macroeconomic performance has weakened dramatically since the current government came to power at the beginning of 2006. Economic growth has largely stalled. Productivity has declined. The recent expansion was largely propelled by high commodity prices and a housing bubble – both of which are now ending.

Labour markets have weakened, and employment is poised to decline further as the slowdown takes hold. Some sectors have already been badly hit. Over 300,000 jobs in manufacturing have been lost. Yet less than 40% of unemployed workers qualify for Employment Insurance benefits.

Excluding petroleum and minerals, our international trade performance has deteriorated. Incomes for corporations, governments, and some households have been inflated for a time by record global commodity prices. But over-reliance on resource extraction is not a sustainable basis for our future economic progress. Meanwhile, in large part as a consequence of this growing resource reliance, Canada has failed miserably to do its part in the urgent global effort to limit greenhouse gas emissions.

Although Canadian financial institutions did not engage as aggressively in risky practices as their U.S. counterparts, the Bank of Canada has already had to step in to provide many billions of dollars in short-term liquidity. Credit conditions in Canada are becoming more uncertain, restricted, and costly, and this will inevitably constrain spending and output in the months ahead.

Canadian households are more indebted than ever, with $1.25 of debt for every dollar of disposable income. Amid gloomy headlines, falling stock and housing prices, and precarious household finances, Canadians are starting to cut back on consumer spending.

Many Canadians did not benefit much during the good times: poverty rates in Canada did not meaningfully decline and real wages have hardly increased at all, even while corporate profits surged to all-time highs. But the prospect of recession now threatens all of us with hardship – whether we shared in the good times or not.

Crisis Demands an Active Government Response

The general approach of Canadian economic policy in recent years has been to reduce the scope of government (through tax cuts, deregulation, and privatization), ratify the growing resource orientation of Canada’s economy, and squander the chance to use revenue from the resource boom to enhance long-run productivity, prosperity, and stability. Some politicians wish to further reduce the size and influence of the public sector.

The dramatic events of recent weeks have destroyed the idea that markets are best left to their own, unregulated devices. The enormous costs of this complacency have been clearly demonstrated. Government and its institutions must now show leadership and play a more active role in stabilizing financial markets, stimulating real investment, and maintaining employment and incomes.

The spreading downturn in both the financial and the real sides of the economy is likely to undermine spending and employment levels in many regions and sectors of Canada’s economy. Income support measures, employment insurance in particular, should be strengthened. In addition, public infrastructure projects, including those aimed at reducing Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions and expanding affordable housing, should be ramped up to maintain employment and production (as private-sector activity declines).

The federal budget is narrowly balanced, and may slip into deficit (especially if real GDP begins to decline). The current government has pledged to prevent such a deficit at all costs, and this will mean significant cuts to public spending as the budget balance deteriorates. But that course of action would worsen the economic downturn and job losses. It is far better to maintain public programs to support employment and incomes, even at the cost of a cyclical deficit.

The Bank of Canada must continue to support the financial industry with liquidity, and should reduce interest rates to stimulate borrowing. But the government must also explore other avenues (including the use of public institutions, like the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, the Business Development Bank of Canada, Export Development Canada, and other conduits) to expand lending to households and businesses. At the same time, the financial industry must be re-regulated to prevent the unproductive speculative excesses that caused the current crisis.

The global economy is heading into a challenging, dangerous period – perhaps the worst crisis since the 1930s. Canada cannot expect to be immune from those global developments. Economic history teaches us that government intervention is essential in times of crisis: both to stabilize markets and to shorten downturns with counter-cyclical measures.

Signed by: 85 economists
http://www.progressive-economics.ca/2008/10/07/open-letter/
--
Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives
410-75 Albert Street, Ottawa, ON K1P 5E7
tel: 613-563-1341 fax: 613-233-1458
email: info@policyalternatives.ca
http://www.policyalternatives.ca

The Harper Index

Analyzing persuasion techniques of Canada's Conservatives

Framing mistakes and contradictions pile up!

http://www.harperindex.ca

Harper's attacks on women's rights

Women have reason to fear another Harper government.
by Linda Silver Dranoff, Tuesday, October 07, 2008
http://www.straightgoods.ca/ViewFeature8.cfm?REF=522

Women have a lot to fear from a Harper government, whether he gets a majority or a minority. The polls show that in battleground ridings across Canada, the Conservative party leads among women voters. How can this be? How can we have forgotten?

Just because Harper's stylists and public relations advisors have tried to soften Harper's tough image by putting smiles on his face and sweaters on his back does not change the fact that women's interests have suffered at the hands of Stephen Harper and his government's misguided policies in the two years since he has been Prime Minister. Everything he has done indicates that women's interests will continue to suffer if he is re-elected.

Soon after taking office, Harper broke the promise he made during the 2006 election campaign to "take concrete and immediate measures... to ensure that Canada fully upholds its commitments to women." By a simple stroke of the pen (and without parliamentary involvement), he removed "the pursuit of equality" from the mandate of Status of Women Canada (SWC).

Before that, SWC's role was to protect the equality interests of women in government policies and programs. Harper ruled that SWC could no longer fund any organization that did research, advocacy or lobbying to promote women's equality. Then he financially crippled their ability to do the part of the job he had not excised, by cutting $5 million from a $13 million budget.

Twelve of the agency's 16 regional offices were closed. Any available funding was short-term and for projects; there was no core funding and no funding for administrative costs.

Many organizations lost their financial underpinnings. Because advocacy was no longer eligible, the National Association of Women and the Law was a casualty. For more than 30 years, NAWL's lawyers did advocacy and research to support legal improvements for women. Under Harper's government, it had to close its office and terminate its paid staff.

The Court Challenges program, in place since the early 1980's, was another fatality. This program subsidized test cases to interpret and clarify the1982 Charter of Rights and Freedoms. It financed some of the work of the Women's Legal Education and Action Fund ("LEAF"), founded in 1985, which has intervened in over 150 constitutional equality cases on a wide range of issues including violence against women, sexual assault, workplace inequities, socio-economic rights and reproductive freedoms.

LEAF's goal is to ensure that the law guarantees substantive equality for all women in Canada. It now relies on donations.

The Women's Future Fund closed, another victim of the 2006 government funding cuts. The WFF had raised money for national women's organizations that fostered equality rights for women and girls, like the Canadian Association of Elizabeth Fry Societies, National Congress of Black Women Foundation, and the Canadian Research Institute for the Advancement of Women.

Then there's childcare. Women have sought for thirty years to establish a universal and accessible childcare plan with substantial government funding to ensure that as many Canadian children as possible have access to safe and regulated programs. Under the previous government, all the provinces and the federal government had agreed to a major initiative, by which more childcare centres would be built and financially supported.

One of the first things Stephen Harper did when he took office was to summarily and unilaterally terminate the program. There was no parliamentary vote; there was only executive fiat. Harper's choice to make a limited cash payment to select families did not provide any daycare spaces (much less a national system) to care for children. You can't buy daycare services for $100 a month.

Stephen Harper slashed or terminated funding to the organizations that were vigilant on women's behalf. He made these funding cuts to equality-seeking women's groups and to women's programs apparently for ideological reasons. He wasn't facing a deficit when he did it; he was rolling in the bountiful surplus inherited from the previous Liberal government.

In only two years, the Harper government has done a great deal to dismantle major advances won by the women's movement, working with woman-friendly governments, over the previous 30 years — advances such as family law reform, pay equity, maternity and parental leave benefits, modest improvements to childcare programs, domestic violence programs and much more. Important, respected and effective programs have been crippled and then shut down.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade website still tells the world that, "Canada is a world leader in the promotion and protection of women's rights and gender equality." Ironically, the main link on that page leads to a 404 — File Not Found. And that is exactly what is likely to happen to women's rights if the Conservatives manage to form the government again.

Linda Silver Dranoff is a Toronto lawyer and author of Every Canadian's Guide to the Law. She spearheaded the lobby effort for family law reform and is a former vice-chair of the Ontario Status of Women Council.

This is NOT a Conservative Party!

Join us TONIGHT at the King's Head Pub (120 King Street) for a rockin' night of music and video with performances by:

Quinzy
Drums & Wires
Patrick Keenan
DJ Rob Vilar
Les Klassen, Hope Peterson, & PO-MO


Cover is PWYC... we just wanna see you there!!!

An open letter to Prime Minister Harper by Wajdi Mouawad

This open letter to the Prime Minister was published in Le Devoir a few weeks ago; the translation is thanks to John van Burek. We just realized that we'd not included it here as well, for all of you to read, in case you haven't already.

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Monsieur le premier ministre,

We are neighbours. We work across the street from one another. You are Prime Minister of the Parliament of Canada and I, across the way, am a writer, theatre director and Artistic Director of the French Theatre at the National Arts Centre (NAC). So, like you, I am an employee of the state, working for the Federal Government; in other words, we are colleagues.

Let me take advantage of this unique position, as one functionary to another, to chat with you about the elimination of some federal grants in the field of culture, something that your government recently undertook.

Indeed, having followed this matter closely, I have arrived at a few conclusions that I would like to publicly share with you since, as I'm sure you will agree, this debate has become one of public interest.

The Symbolism

Firstly, it seems that you might benefit by surrounding yourself with counsellors who will be attentive to the symbolic aspects of your Government's actions. I am sure you know this but there is no harm in reminding ourselves that every public action denotes not only what it is but what it symbolises.

For example, a Prime Minister who chooses not attend the opening ceremonies of the Olympics, claiming his schedule does not permit it, in no way reduces the symbolism which says that his absence might signify something else. This might signify that he wishes to denote that Canada supports the claims of Tibet . Or it might serve as a sign of protest over the way in which Beijing deals with human rights. If the Prime Minister insists that his absence is really just a matter of timing, whether he likes it or not, this will take on symbolic meaning that commits the entire country. The symbolism of a public gesture will always outweigh the technical explanations.

Declaration of war

Last week, your government reaffirmed its manner of governing unilaterally, this time on a domestic issue, in bringing about reductions in granting programs destined for the cultural sector. A mere matter of budgeting, you say, but one which sends shock waves throughout the cultural milieu ­rightly or wrongly, as we shall see- for being seen as an expression of your contempt for that sector. The confusion with which your Ministers tried to justify those reductions and their refusal to make public the reports on the eliminated programs, only served to confirm the symbolic significance of that contempt. You have just declared war on the artists.

Now, as one functionary to another, this is the second thing that I wanted to tell you: no government, in showing contempt for artists, has ever been able to survive. Not one. One can, of course, ignore them, corrupt them, seduce them, buy them, censor them, kill them, send them to camps, spy on them, but hold them in contempt, no. That is akin to rupturing the strange pact, made millennia ago, between art and politics.

Contempt

Art and politics both hate and envy one another; since time immemorial, they detest each other and they are mutually attracted, and it's through this dynamic that many a political idea has been born; it is in this dynamic that sometimes, great works of art see the light of day. Your cultural politics, it must be said, provoke only a profound consternation. Neither hate nor detestation, not envy nor attraction, nothing but numbness before the oppressive vacuum that drives your policies.

This vacuum which lies between you and the artists of Canada , from a symbolic point of view, signifies that your government, for however long it lasts, will not witness either the birth of a political idea or a masterwork, so firm is your apparent belief in the unworthiness of that for which you show contempt. Contempt is a subterranean sentiment, being a mix of unassimilated jealousy and fear towards that which we despise. Such governments have existed, but not lasted because even the most detestable of governments cannot endure if it hasn't the courage to affirm what it actually is.

Why is this?

What are the reasons behind these reductions, which are cut from the same cloth as those made last year on the majority of Canadian embassies, who saw their cultural programming reduced, if not eliminated? The economies that you have made are ridiculously small and the votes you might win with them have already been won. For what reason, then, are you so bent on hurting the artists by denying them some of their tools? What are you seeking to extinguish and to gain?

Your silence and your actions make one fear the worst for, in the end, we are quite struck by the belief that this contempt, made eloquent by your budget cuts, is very real and that you feel nothing but disgust for these people, these artists, who spend their time by wasting it and in spending the good taxpayers money, he who, rather than doing uplifting work, can only toil.

And yet, I still cannot fathom your reasoning. Plenty of politicians, for the past fifty years, have done all they could to depoliticise art, to strip it of its symbolic import. They try the impossible, to untie that knot which binds art to politics. And they almost succeed! Whereas you, in the space of one week, have undone this work of chloroforming, by awakening the cultural milieu, Francophone and Anglophone, and from coast to coast. Even if politically speaking they are marginal a nd negligible, one must never underestimate intellectuals, never underestimate artists; don't underestimate their ability to do you harm.

A grain of sand is all-powerful.

I believe, my dear colleague, that you yourself have just planted the grain of sand that could derail the entire machine of your electoral campaign. Culture is, in fact, nothing but a grain of sand, but therein lays its power, in its silent front. It operates in the dark. That is its legitimate strength.

It is full of people who are incomprehensible but very adept with words. They have voices. They know how to write, to paint, to dance, to sculpt, to sing, and they won't let up on you. Democratically speaking, they seek to annihilate your policies. They will not give up. How could they?

You must understand them: they have not had a clear and common purpose for a very long time, for such a long time that they have no common cause to defend. In one week, by not controlling the symbolic importance of your actions, you have just given them passion, anger, rage.

The resistance that will begin today, and to which my letter is added, is but a first manifestation of a movement that you yourself have set in motion: an incalculable number of texts, speeches, acts, assemblies, marches, will now be making themselves heard. They will not be exhausted.

Some of these will, perhaps, following my letter, be weakened but within each word, there will be a spark of rage, relit, and it is precisely the addition of these tiny instances of fire that will shape the grain of sand that you will never be able to shake. This will not settle down, the pressure will not be diminished.

Monsieur le premier ministre, we are neighbours. We work across the street from one another. There is nothing but the Cenotaph between our offices, and this is as it should be because politics and art have always mirrored one another, each on its own shore, each seeing itself in the other, separated by that river where life and death are weighed at every moment.

We have many things in common, but an artist, contrary to a politician, has nothing to lose, because he or she does not make laws; and if it is prime ministers who change the world, it's the artist who will show this to the world. So do not attempt, through your policies, to blind us, Monsieur le premier ministre; do not ignore that reflection on the opposite shore, do not plunge us further into the dark. Do not diminish us.

Wajdi Mouawad

The Wrecking Ball was a Smashing Success!

The DoC-WPG wishes to extend warmest congratulations to the WPG-WB for rolling out a tremendously successful night!

It was clear that everyone loved the performances and agrees that we shouldn't shy away from overtly political theatre!

We need the insights and inspirations of writers, actors, directors, and other theatre professionals as part of our wider socio-political discourse! Let's DEFINITELY make the Wrecking Ball an annual event... it's great for all of us, and it was especially great for the DoC... thank you SO much for your generous fundraising efforts on our behalf! We'll spend that money wisely... prepared to be info blitzed, Winnipeg!