Wednesday, January 16, 2008

Stephen Harper practices bulldozer democracy: "Conservatives fire president of nuclear safety agency"




Stephen Harper is going to have to learn to “play nice” in the sand box, lest he have no sand box at all to play in. That said, there is nothing child’s play whatsoever about the issue of nuclear safety.

One thing is for certain: if Bulldozer Steve doesn’t get his way, he will fire you. As occurred when he fired the head of Elections Canada following his spat with Jean-Pierre Kingsley over the brewing “in and out” campaign financing abuses of the Conservatives in the 2006 election.

Who is well served by this form of bulldozer democracy? Canadians? Our important institutions like Elections Canada and the Nuclear Safety Association? It reminds me of his draconian treatment of once pandered to income trust investors, whose nest eggs he promised he would never raid and once elected, condemned them as “coupon clippers”. Better perhaps that Canadians become day traders and stock speculators in retirement?

Yesterday income trust tax apologist Terry Corcoran of the National Post had an article entitled Who's cashing in on the ABCP market? that ended with the following lofty statement:“ it looks too much like an insiders' game, in which some people are protected, others aren't, and the market is being starved of information”.

Too bad people like Terry Corcoran aren’t able to apply their lofty principles more uniformly, since that comment applies equally to income trusts and its handling by the press. Perhaps its time for someone to write the piece entitled: Who's cashing in on the income trust policy?

Starved of information? Bulldozer Democracy? Where is the proof of alleged tax leakage? When it comes to policy making, it’s always best to start and the beginning and work forward.


Conservatives fire president of nuclear safety agency
Ian MacLeod, Vancouver Sun
Published: Wednesday, January 16, 2008
OTTAWA - The federal government late Tuesday night fired Linda Keen as president of the embattled Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission......

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Stephen Harper`s answer to an issue he does not agree with is to form a panel.

Stephen Harper`s answer to someone he does not agree with , is to fire them.

Sure does make it easy to run a government that way when your motto is "My way , or the Highway".

If chalk river goes "poof" , perhaps he could just borrow Jim Flaherty`s famous line "It`s not my Fault" & he can leave with a clear conscience that he has done everything he was capable of doing.

Of course , what he is capable of & what is required are two different things.

Time to get some people in there capable of doing the job--"these guys " sure are not "them".

Mike.

Anonymous said...

Good one! Dr Mike.! "It’s not my fault".

Better to just blame Keen. After all, I am perfect. Call me Stevie Wonder.

Or perhaps Harper's Bizarre?

Anonymous said...

Harper's Bridge Too Far.

More Spin and prevarication by Prime Sinister Tubby.

Ms Keen is right and Lunn & Harper are wrong. IT's just that simple and no amount of Harper's lies will change that fact. She did her job.

Gutless intimidation by Harper and Co is all this is and now to fire her - this man is a disgrace.

The people of Canada are waking up to the fact that the Country is being run by Goons.

Time to Fire Harper and his whole gaggle of liars.

I think Harper has just plunged his wicked arrogant Government headlong into the abyss. As Winston Churchill described of Adolf, change the name and IT fits “this wicked man [Harper], the repository and embodiment of many forms of soul-destroying hatred.”

Canadian's deserve better.

Anonymous said...

Brent Fullard writes:

I guess Stephen Harper is only following his own advice on the Keen matter, as he gave to to fallen John Tory: "Kick Ass"


Canada’s New Kick Ass Government:

"Kick ass," the Prime Minister told Tory in a lengthy telephone call just after the Oct. 10 landslide re-election victory by Premier Dalton McGuinty's Liberals.
http://www.thespec.com/News/CanadaWorld/article/292215

Anonymous said...

Don't forget this exercise in "chill" on any dissenting bureaucrat:

Adrian Measner was fired in December 2006 as president of the Canadian Wheat Board over his public opposition to Conservative plans to end the Winnipeg-based agency's monopoly on barley sales.