Harperland Crumbling

Whispering in the Wind (WITW 28) May 7, 2014. 

Not too long ago Steven Harper’s strategy for the 2015 election was both simple and obvious:  neutralize any and all contentious issues not related to economic opportunity and make the 2015 election campaign all about Mr. Harper and his economic management performance since he took office in 2003.  Unfortunately for Mr. Harper and his government, things have not gone as planned.  Today the prime minister and a few handlers are scrambling about trying to salvage the Harperland image.   

Temporary Foreign Workers Program – In Chaos  

The Temporary Foreign Workers Program has been around for decades and has become an important part of making Canada’s diverse economy run more efficiently.  In the past eight years things have gone amok where regulations that were to operate in the national interest were severely abused, if not ignored.  Mines in Canada are now owned and operated by foreign managers using foreign workers, at the expense of using qualified Canadian workers.  In the service industries the situation appears to be worse with critics saying that the situation is an exercise in “human trafficking and slavery”.  Minister Kenney placed a moratorium on applications in the food services sector indicating that the moratorium is only temporary – the situation is a disaster without a solution.  The Temporary Foreign Workers Program as it now exists was created by the Harper government and can’t be fixed easily and definitely can’t be fixed by the 2015 election.  Mr. Harper is going to be living with the debacle and some 200,000 temporary foreign workers working in Canada.

Harper’s Aboriginal Education Program – In Chaos

In early April the Harper government tabled the First Nations Control of First Nations Education Act.  When the aboriginal education initiative was first agreed to by the prime minister and Shawn Atleo, it was seen to be a historic understanding.  The agreement outlined a transfer of the education portfolio to some 600 reserve chiefs – the chiefs would be responsible for education on their respective reserves but would have to meet minimum education standards – the money for construction of schools and administration would be in the billions, to be worked out in more detail after the 2015 federal election.  Last week Shawn Atleo resigned his position as National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations because of the education agreement.  The Bill on aboriginal education is on hold with the federal government because of the Atleo resignation.  In my view Mr. Harper’s strategy to give control to individual chiefs was a cunning move on the prime minister’s part and all that it had to offer was gobs of money.  Surely Mr. Harper knew that the individual chiefs couldn’t handle such a monumental transition – nor could the Assembly of First Nations coordinate such a major transition.  The result is chaos within the aboriginal community and what is at stake – a generation of young aboriginals will be without an education program – the real tragedy. 

Supreme Court Smeared by Harper – Not a Good Idea

The Supreme Court recently issued two rulings which have disappointed Prime Minister Harper, big time.  First, the Supreme Court ruled that Senate Reform could not be undertaken without measured agreement from the provinces.  Mr. Harper was disappointed by the decision and shrugged it off with the suggestion that the court ignored the primacy of the federal parliament and it was now up to the provinces to respond.  In my view Mr. Harper has ignored his responsibility as prime minister of Canada, but in a way does neutralize the issue for the 2015 election campaign.  Second case, the Supreme Court rejected Prime Minister Harper’s nomination of Justice Marc Nadon to the high court.  The rejection incensed Prime Minister Harper to the degree that the prime minister suggested that Chief Justice Beverely  McLachlin acted inappropriately in the nomination process.  Canada’s Bar Association president, Fred Headon offered his opinion on the discord between the prime minister and the chief justice, indicating that the chief justice of the Supreme Court did nothing wrong and suggested that Mr. Harper should clarify publically that the chief justice acted appropriately.  As to the impact this dispute might have on the 2015 election, it’s going to have a big impact because it shows the dark side of Mr. Harper’s personality and management style – nobody is safe from Steven Harper’s wrath. 

Tom Flanagan, On Harper’s Personality - the Dark Side

Up until 2005 Tom Flanagan was a very close confident and senior advisor to Steven Harper in his rise to power.  In his book, Persona Non Grata: the Death of Free Speech in the Internet Age, Mr. Flanagan writes: “There’s a dark, almost Nixonian, side to the man. He can be suspicious, secretive and vindictive, prone to sudden eruptions of white-hot rage over meaningless trivia, at other times falling into week-long depressions in which he’s incapable of making decisions.”  As to whether Mr. Harper participated in Nixonian type “dirty tricks” Mr. Flanagan opined in a television interview that Stephen Harper pushed the envelope many times but never broke the law.  Will Mr. Flanagan and his book have an impact on the 2015 election?  You bet, and it might have an earlier impact as well!