Friday, July 11, 2008

Canada’s Reputation Cannot Afford Another Year of Harper at the Helm

This week was another black eye for Canada on the world stage. On foreign aid, the environment and human rights it’s clear that Stephen Harper is charting a path even more right-wing than the current Republican Presidential candidate, who as I’ve said before, is extremely Conservative himself. As Harper continues to isolate Canada further from the rest of the world on the key issues of the 21st century, and as he follows in the mold of a President despised everywhere except in the Conservative Party caucus, I’m sure this is just one more week where more Canadians have to come to realize that Harper is far off-side from our values and is taking Canada down a path we don’t want it to go.

Harper’s had many chances to redeem himself, to chart a better course, to realize that it’s time to stop being one of the lone voices against 2020 emissions targets, time to stop being the ONLY Western country supporting Guantanamo Bay at a time when each Presidential candidate says they’ll close it, and time to realize Africa needs our help more than ever and that it’s not time to walk away as we have been. However, each time an opportunity comes to change his ways Harper has failed, each time he ventures overseas it’s a new disappointment and a new round of global condemnations. Is it any wonder now Harper believes that Portugal will beat us for a Security Council seat that just 3 years ago Canada seemed most likely to get? Is this what we really want in a Prime Minister? A Prime Minister who’s seen as part of the problem rather than part of the solution? Canada can do much better.

Only one party is going to restore Canada’s image on human rights, be a world leader on the environment and work to meet the commitment of 0.7% of GDP going to foreign aid. The other has taken us backward on all 3 fronts and give them another term neither we, nor the rest of the world, will likely recognize the Canada we’ve taken for granted for generations. That’s the choice in the next election and the stakes perhaps have never been higher. It’s a message I hope all progressives get loud and clear - we need a new government more than ever and Stephane Dion happens to be the kind of authentic leader that will bring us the change we so desperately need.


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2 comments:

Babylonian777 said...

So what is your solution to the crisis Harper has created???

Until your liberals will stop being absent from confidence votes because of some mysterious case of diarrhea, you will have to live with it.

Funny how you mention Dion as the authentic leader, tell him to stop handing out the laxative to his fellow liberals, maybe they would stick around for confidence votes and bring down the government.

Danielle Takacs said...

You've missed the point. The way to fix this is to ensure Harper loses the next election and not be given a renewed mandate as that would be disastrous for Canada. I'd much rather have an election within the next several months where Harper loses than have had one last year and had seen Harper win. It's very simple it's short-term pain (and it's been very painful to see Harper in office) for long-term gain (ensuring Harper will never be PM again: if he loses he will resign as leader).

I know you aren't an NDP supporter but they seem to endorse the opposite view of favouring short-term gain for Canada (vote down the government as soon as possible no matter the circumstances) at the expense of any long-term gain for Canada - the NDP apparently care more about a bigger caucus then ensuring we have a government that will actually take progressive action on issues like the environment, human rights and foreign aid and a host of others progressives hold dear.