Where does it end? An obvious question poses itself: How far will the Harper government go to neutralize those who oppose the massive expansion of the tar sands? And to further demonize the groups -- the David Suzuki Foundation, Tides Canada, West Coast Environmental Law, the Pembina Foundation and several others -- Flaherty last week implied they could be connected to international terrorist groups. Challenged on the obvious targeting of political enemies, Flaherty shot back: There are some terrorist organizations, there are some organized crime organizations, that launder money through charities and that make donations to charities and thats not the purpose of charitable donations in Canada. This statement would be laughable were it not so grossly irresponsible. It was clearly designed to create hatred of these groups so that if and when they are stripped of their charitable status there will be enough Canadians suspicious of them to support the government. Given the pace at which the Harperium is neutralizing democratic rights in this country, wary citizens must now be on guard that the next election is not stolen, one way or the other, by a prime minister apparently committed to dismantling democracy and permanently changing the country. Standing in Harpers way are the organizations he is targeting with audits, illegal spying, public demonizing and open threats. Anyone who cares a whit for this country has to commit themselves to preventing this from happening. Should these vital organizations be stripped of their charitable statuses, we, as citizens with a huge stake in the outcome of these battles, must commit to making up any loss of contributions they suffer as a result. And if you are not already giving to them, start now. Our response to Harpers intimidation tactics being challenged by the BCCLA should be to immediately contribute to the organizations in question. The fight against Big Oil corporatism may be the most important one you ever support. thetyee.ca/Opinion/2014/02/10/Big-Oil-Democracy-Hijacked/?utm_source=daily&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=100214
Posted on: Tue, 11 Feb 2014 02:19:55 +0000
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