Exorbitant costs: $1Billion (that’s 1,000 Million of your taxpayer dollars) for security alone—and it will likely be much more when the bills finally come in. That doesn’t include the Fake Lake, the rest of the non-security hosting costs, let alone the tally for lost tourism, lost business and destruction of retail premises. No one knows what those costs will end up being—despite our repeated requests, the Harper government avoids all of our questions. The only thing we DO know is that the cost will have been enormous. And now, questions are mounting about favouritism and indeed possible corruption in the awarding of lucrative contracts. We will continue to probe, through the House of Commons National Security Committee and otherwise.
Unwarranted force, arrests and our civil liberties: I join the many others calling for a public inquiry based on what happened on the streets of Toronto. Despite all the excuses about “security”, the world saw Toronto—this fabulous, colourful, vibrant, safe and friendly city—as a war zone wasteland with burning cars, police violence and a trampling of civil liberties. The examples of unwarranted arrests, intimidation and inappropriate treatment of innocent, peaceful civilians continue to mount. We MUST stand for human rights, civil liberties, free speech, freedom of (peaceful) association and protest. These are critical in a democracy—it’s about far more than simply voting. Only when these rights are protected, indeed promoted, is a vote, a society, truly democratic. Not only must our police and government officials show the highest respect for these fundamental laws and liberties—they are supposed to be ones protecting them. In this case they didn’t. We must insist that they do. An inquiry is needed. The Ontario ombudsman will now review the ‘quiet’ introduction of sweeping powers (see the Globe and Mail article), and the Toronto Police have initiated a civilian review of police conduct—but Stephen Harper’s government appears to have been at the core of the decisions and the orders being given. We need to know what those orders were, who was giving them, what position those orders may have forced the Toronto police into, and who, ultimately was directing this reprehensible response.
Stephen Harper’s G20: The blame for much of this lies squarely with Stephen Harper. Harper’s last-minute decision to include the G20 in downtown Toronto (he gave the City all of 15 minutes’ notice before the public announcement); Harper’s refusal to consider options, even after Toronto itself expressed major concerns about costs, loss of revenue, security, and a multitude of other real problems for Torontonians; Harper’s handing Toronto Chief of Police Bill Blair and the Toronto police a near-impossible security task while, it appears, insisting that the Integrated Security Unit be coordinated from the Privy Council Office; the Harper government’s incompetence at managing money (your taxpayer dollars!), allowing costs to spiral out of control... Stephen Harper must be held accountable to Canadians for this.
The Liberal Party’s reaction: We have demanded answers from the Minister of Public Safety, Vic Toews. We have also joined in a request with other opposition MPs to have the House of Commons National Security Committee meet as soon as possible to investigate just what happened, and why, and asking Minister Toews to appear. Questions Liberals are asking, and which we hope can be asked at Committee soon, include: Who was ultimately giving security commands during the G20? Who designed the security plans for the G20? What security advice did the government consider before putting the summit in downtown Toronto? How were the contracts for security assistance (and indeed other summit hosting requirements) awarded? What was done, if anything, to manage costs? Who was responsible for the awarding of those contracts and what were the criteria? Given the Harper government refusal to answer almost any question, this will be tough, but we will continue to push.
Canada’s international role: I may be biased, given my own background in international relations and international law, but Canada should be playing a significant part in world affairs—more even than we are now. We have long punched above our weight, and as an example of a successful economy, of an even more successful pluralistic society based on our tremendous diversity and other strengths, and militarily (WWI, WWII, the Korean War, peacekeeping and Afghanistan). We have a real role to play on the international stage, a terrific opportunity to lead by example. As the influence of the G8 wanes and the importance of the G20 increases, it is critical that Canada have a significant role in the G20, particularly now in its early stages. (Kudos to former Liberal Prime Minister Paul Martin who, a number of years ago, proposed the idea of the G20 as an international financial forum in the first place.) Despite all of what has happened, I’m not upset that Canada agreed to host the G20, as part of the responsibility of that international role. I AM, however, very upset at how extraordinarily mismanaged the whole affair was by the Harper government. Exorbitant costs, unwarranted force, trampling of civil liberties, questions of favouritism and indeed possible corruption in the awarding of lucrative contracts—Canadians demand answers, and the world is watching....Stephen Harper must be held to account.
Showing posts with label toronto. Show all posts
Showing posts with label toronto. Show all posts
9.7.10
28.1.10
MHF and Willowdale Team at CAPP Rally
Last Saturday, Martha and a group of us from Willowdale met up at Yonge-Dundas Square in Toronto along with thousands of other Canadians to protest Stephen Harper's decision to prorogue Parliament. We were there to demonstrate that we care about our democracy, and if necessary are willing to fight for it, as Michael Ignatieff said that same day in Ottawa.
Standing amidst the throngs of people crowding the square, it was hard to make a good estimate of exactly how many people turned out, but as our numbers kept filling the square and eventually spilled out onto the streets, it was clear that Canadians are anything but apathetic about their democracy. People of every age and from every walk of life had shown up because were not happy with the government's actions. Faced with mounting questions over his government's performance on issues such as torture in Afghanistan and the growing deficit, Stephen Harper was counting on the apathy of Canadians to be able to dodge scrutiny and criticism by shutting down Parliament. And clearly, he judged wrongly!
The rally we attended was the creation of Canadians Against Proroguing Parliament, a non-partisan grassroots coalition with a remarkable story. When Stephen Harper revealed quietly on New Year's Eve that he was shutting down Parliament until March, one university student from Alberta made an act of simple but honest protest: he started a Facebook group. Pundits dismissed this as irrelevant, saying no one really cared. But as more and more people joined, and the group passed 100,000, then 200,000 members, the actions of one citizen concerned for his democracy blossomed into a truly coast-to-coast movement uniting Canadians of every sort and sparking rallies across the country, including the one we attended.
One of the greatest privileges of volunteering alongside Martha is listening in as she converses with Canadians about the issues that are important to them--which is so integral to the job of a Member of Parliament. We met lots of people that afternoon who shared how fed up they had been with the decision to prorogue, but how warmed and inspired they had been to see the strength of this movement that had risen up. It was great to meet so many people share their concerns for the fundamentals of democracy, whether on the streets and squares during the event, or afterwards at Milestones and Future Shop!
Standing amidst the throngs of people crowding the square, it was hard to make a good estimate of exactly how many people turned out, but as our numbers kept filling the square and eventually spilled out onto the streets, it was clear that Canadians are anything but apathetic about their democracy. People of every age and from every walk of life had shown up because were not happy with the government's actions. Faced with mounting questions over his government's performance on issues such as torture in Afghanistan and the growing deficit, Stephen Harper was counting on the apathy of Canadians to be able to dodge scrutiny and criticism by shutting down Parliament. And clearly, he judged wrongly!
The rally we attended was the creation of Canadians Against Proroguing Parliament, a non-partisan grassroots coalition with a remarkable story. When Stephen Harper revealed quietly on New Year's Eve that he was shutting down Parliament until March, one university student from Alberta made an act of simple but honest protest: he started a Facebook group. Pundits dismissed this as irrelevant, saying no one really cared. But as more and more people joined, and the group passed 100,000, then 200,000 members, the actions of one citizen concerned for his democracy blossomed into a truly coast-to-coast movement uniting Canadians of every sort and sparking rallies across the country, including the one we attended.
One of the greatest privileges of volunteering alongside Martha is listening in as she converses with Canadians about the issues that are important to them--which is so integral to the job of a Member of Parliament. We met lots of people that afternoon who shared how fed up they had been with the decision to prorogue, but how warmed and inspired they had been to see the strength of this movement that had risen up. It was great to meet so many people share their concerns for the fundamentals of democracy, whether on the streets and squares during the event, or afterwards at Milestones and Future Shop!
-Ryan Krahn *For more photos see the Facebook album.
23.9.09
Our Democracy is Broken
"OUR DEMOCRACY IS BROKEN - Chronic Minorities, Constitutional Crises, Mindless Partisanship, Voter Indifference. HOW DO WE FIX IT?"
Tonight, Andrew Coyne, Paul Wells, Ed Broadbent, Eddie Goldenberg and John Raulston Saul will debate all of this in Toronto at the St. Lawrence Centre. Willowdale and Team MHF will be well-represented, me included--a group of us is going down to watch it live---I encourage others to join us.
Here's the link with the details.
If you can't come down, it will be aired live on CPAC.
Either way, it's going to be a lively debate!
- Martha
Tonight, Andrew Coyne, Paul Wells, Ed Broadbent, Eddie Goldenberg and John Raulston Saul will debate all of this in Toronto at the St. Lawrence Centre. Willowdale and Team MHF will be well-represented, me included--a group of us is going down to watch it live---I encourage others to join us.
Here's the link with the details.
If you can't come down, it will be aired live on CPAC.
Either way, it's going to be a lively debate!
- Martha
16.6.09
2nd Annual Toronto Regional Day
Hi! My name is Ryan and I am a volunteer for TeamMHF. This Saturday, I was one of several Willowdale representatives at the 2nd Annual Toronto Regional Day organized by the Liberal Party of Canada (Ontario). “Ready to Win” was the event’s title, as the purpose of the day was to help prepare those of us at the grassroots level for an election campaign, if an election is called.
The lobby of the Ryerson University meeting room was buzzing when I arrived a few minutes before 8:30 in the morning. There were a lot of familiar faces present, including a number of people I recognized from the Vancouver convention in May. There wasn’t a lot of time of time for chatting over coffee, though, as the schedule was packed!
For the first break-out session of the day, we were assigned to tables with people from other ridings as well as our own. Along with several other Willowdaleans, I was seated with number of people from Etobicoke-Lakeshore, the riding of Michael Ignatieff, leader of the Liberal Party of Canada. We were given ten minutes to come up with an election preparedness plan given the hypothetical scenario of an election in six months. The mixed seating arrangement gave us the opportunity to exchange our ideas and our experiences from past campaigns.
After each table shared their plan, an “expert panel” composed of experienced past campaign managers provided advice and recommendations for improving the plan. Several more break-out sessions throughout the day continued on this theme, with variations on the time frame from 6 months to two days.
We broke in the middle of the day for a lunch of sandwiches and salads (which was included with registration!). This provided more opportunities to meet and chat with Liberals from all over the Toronto region.
The highlight of the day for me was a speech by Rocco Rossi, National Director of the Liberal Party of Canada. He spoke with great conviction about the challenges facing the party, but also about the huge strides that we have made. Mr. Rossi stated that the party needs for every Liberal in Canada to see themselves as personally responsible for the party’s future. He challenged each of us to recruit at least one new Liberal—which would double membership if everybody did this!
The event was a great opportunity to hear some expert advice from seasoned campaign runners. For me, the most helpful input came simply from connecting with people from other ridings in Toronto, sharing ideas and stories from past campaigns. I should mention that Eileen Shuchat, who is Toronto Region president for the LPC(O), did a great job in organizing the event and is actually from Willowdale herself! We left the event energized and ready to fight an election regardless of when the next one will be held.
- Ryan
The lobby of the Ryerson University meeting room was buzzing when I arrived a few minutes before 8:30 in the morning. There were a lot of familiar faces present, including a number of people I recognized from the Vancouver convention in May. There wasn’t a lot of time of time for chatting over coffee, though, as the schedule was packed!
For the first break-out session of the day, we were assigned to tables with people from other ridings as well as our own. Along with several other Willowdaleans, I was seated with number of people from Etobicoke-Lakeshore, the riding of Michael Ignatieff, leader of the Liberal Party of Canada. We were given ten minutes to come up with an election preparedness plan given the hypothetical scenario of an election in six months. The mixed seating arrangement gave us the opportunity to exchange our ideas and our experiences from past campaigns.
After each table shared their plan, an “expert panel” composed of experienced past campaign managers provided advice and recommendations for improving the plan. Several more break-out sessions throughout the day continued on this theme, with variations on the time frame from 6 months to two days.
We broke in the middle of the day for a lunch of sandwiches and salads (which was included with registration!). This provided more opportunities to meet and chat with Liberals from all over the Toronto region.
The highlight of the day for me was a speech by Rocco Rossi, National Director of the Liberal Party of Canada. He spoke with great conviction about the challenges facing the party, but also about the huge strides that we have made. Mr. Rossi stated that the party needs for every Liberal in Canada to see themselves as personally responsible for the party’s future. He challenged each of us to recruit at least one new Liberal—which would double membership if everybody did this!
The event was a great opportunity to hear some expert advice from seasoned campaign runners. For me, the most helpful input came simply from connecting with people from other ridings in Toronto, sharing ideas and stories from past campaigns. I should mention that Eileen Shuchat, who is Toronto Region president for the LPC(O), did a great job in organizing the event and is actually from Willowdale herself! We left the event energized and ready to fight an election regardless of when the next one will be held.
- Ryan
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