Ding dong, the merry-oh!
Too mean-spirited? Ask Zunera Ishaq, the former English literature teacher and mother of four whose name (but not her face) was dragged through the courts and the media in the Harper government’s mean-spirited attempt to score anti-Muslim points as it limped into the home stretch earlier this month.
Ask Canada’s Aboriginal people, struggling with the issue of murdered and missing women, poor housing and water, bad health care and inadequate education.
Ask demoralized civil servants and Canadian diplomats who have been asked by Canada’s friends and allies for the better part of a decade, “What happened to Canada?” Ask those who wonder why Canada squandered its peacebuilding and peace-brokering reputation and potential in the Middle East, and why Canada doesn’t do peacekeeping anymore. Ask the governments of the very poor developing countries where Canadian aid was shut down in favour of a new strategy based on pimping for Canadian mining companies abroad. Ask the UN, where the Harper government, most notably in the person of John Baird—mall cop manqué, never missed a chance to shout, criticize, withdraw or reduce a financial commitment. Ask the Commonwealth, where Canada ran roughshod so Jason Kenney could score points with Canada’s Tamil community.
Ask the Canadian development NGOs which—once treated as partners—have become contractors, reduced to bidding for government indentures. Ask other civil society organizations that were vilified by the Harper government and set upon by the Canada Revenue Agency, as though speaking out on human rights or the environment was somehow inimical to Canada’s best interests. Ask the scientists civil servants, statisticians and librarians who have been distracted, muzzled and fired. Ask the regulators and ombudsmen and watchdogs who are no longer there. Ask those who understand that burying major change in omnibus bills is inimical to democratic practice and democracy itself.
Ask the Canadian military, forced into pointless and costly sabre-rattling in Ukraine and Iraq in order to give little kids a place at the table with big kids. Ask the military about its inadequate budget, and ask veterans how they voted.
Ask our children in ten years what Canada was doing when climate change was creeping up on the world, when the Harper government’s obsession with the oil sands trumped all and when those with legitimate questions were told the issue was a “no brainer”. The list could go on.
There will be challenges for the new government, lots to parse out of their election promises, and some tough sledding ahead. But for now, Ding dong, the merry-oh!