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Fighting the Russians in the Arctic WTG Steve!

Newsflash(?): Many of Steven Harper’s Policies are based on ideology and not fact.

Wow, way to go Libs.  You finally caught a whiff of the conservative miasma that has engulfed our country.   Where do you stake your claim? Draw your line in the sand? Where do you make your stand and bellicosely shout “You shall not pass!”  The systemic underfunding of women’s groups?  The overspending glut and fake lake of the G8 summit spending?  Not funding abortions in the third world? Nope.

How about the Long form Census and the Long Firearms Registry.  It is on these two ‘important’ issues our principled opposition has brought the noise.

“The Harper government has adopted a deliberate strategy of hiding information from Canadians in order to advance a right-wing social and justice agenda, Liberals charge.

Liberal MP John McCallum pointed Thursday to two recent examples to prove the point: The government’s decision to scrap the mandatory long-form census and its refusal to release a favourable report on the effectiveness of the long-gun registry.

He called the approach “a triumph of ignorance over knowledge, a triumph of ideology over science.”

Those of us who follow our enlightened government have be aware of this small fact for quite awhile.  During the election(s) Harper has often been accused of having a ‘hidden-agenda’.  I would argue that in has never been hidden from the public, as one can ascertain his policy motives and goals quite easily.

Keeping Canada safe from Unicorns, Dragons and Fairy-Folk too!

The “Tough on Crime” agenda is classical social conservative hogwash and prime example of what Harper and his conservatives are about.  Consider, we need more prisons for unreported crimes because our crime rate is falling.  it seems that little mistakes like this are not really worth the Oppositions time.

Now what McCallum says is true, but why the onslaught on these particular issues?

“McCallum said the decision to turn the compulsory long-form census into a voluntary survey is “one of the most visible examples of one of the most fundamental shortcomings” of the Harper government.

He said it’s aimed at robbing federal, provincial and municipal governments of the reliable data they need to deliver progressive social programs. It would skew “the picture of what Canada really looks like” because low-income and minority Canadians will be less likely to fill out a voluntary form.”

Makes sense to me.  We need to know about our population to best meet its needs.

“McCallum also cited the government’s refusal to release the annual RCMP evaluation of the gun registry’s effectiveness as another example of Harper’s penchant for stifling facts.

Opposition parties maintain the government has been sitting on the report for six months and wants to keep it hidden until after a crucial September vote on Tory backbencher Candice Hoeppner’s private member’s bill to scrap the controversial registry.

According to the CBC, the report concludes the registry is cost-effective, efficient and “an important tool for law enforcement.”

“Clearly the Conservatives want to prevent parliamentarians and Canadians from seeing important information about the cost and effectiveness of the long-gun registry before an important vote,” McCallum said.”

Now again, sitting on bad news is not strictly a conservative phenomena, but the long gun registry has been a contentious issue during election time and that is about it.  We are getting much drama for issues that seem to be a low priority for many Canadians.

There is plenty of fodder to roast Harper and his conservatives with, why is the opposition focused on these relatively low key issues?  I’m hoping it is part of a bigger strategy that builds on a few small examples and then works it way up the ladder of importance.   I’d like to be right about this, but I have my doubts.