Showing posts with label harper contempt for freedom of speech. Show all posts
Showing posts with label harper contempt for freedom of speech. Show all posts

Tuesday, November 18, 2014

The Latest Addition To The Harper Enemies List

... apparently are army chaplains who speak truth to power.

Although technically she wasn't fired, (she offered her resignation, which was accepted), Rev. Sandra Tankard incurred the displeasure of both her local Legion and her Conservative MP, Greg Rickford:
The Royal Canadian Legion in Kenora, Ont., accepted the resignation of its chaplain on Monday, after some members and the local Conservative MP complained her remarks about Veterans Affairs and Afghanistan War veterans at a Remembrance Day service were too political.

During the Nov. 11 legion service, Rev. Sandra Tankard spoke out about concerns that veterans who fought in Afghanistan are not getting proper care, and then talked about cuts to Veterans Affairs.
Here is the offending comment, a very small part of an eloquent speech Tankard gave during her Remembrance Day service:
Our Government has continued to cut funding to the Ministry of Veteran’s Affairs, including removing Service Offices.

Like many other members of the Royal Canadian Legion, I claim my right to dissent against this action, both with my voice and a letter to my MP and with the promise of my vote to the party that would restore that funding to the people and programs it has supported!
After the service,
Tankard said local Conservative MP Greg Rickford approached her directly and expressed his "displeasure" about her remarks.
Asked what others could learn from her experience, Rev Tankard observed, rather wryly and with some restraint,
"perhaps it is that the freedoms we have to speak are not necessarily as vibrant as they once were."
Undoubtedly that is a sentiment Canadians from many walks of life would heartily concur with.