"There are more people going to good-paying jobs today than in any other time in our history."
About the deplorable sellout he engineered in his sweetheart deal with U.S. Steel, he had this to say:
"We know there are still challenges in the labour market. We read about some today in this area. That's because we are part of a global economy."
While the party faithful applauded his words, a retired Hamilton steelworker voiced a sentiment that I think is felt by many, many Canadians :
Harper does nothing as U.S. Steel ‘shafts’ workers
I am truly shocked that Prime Minister Stephen Harper and the Conservatives can sit back and let foreign ownership of our industries walk all over Canadian workers and not say a word.
I worked at Stelco-U.S. Steel for 31 years. When I retired, I was told this is your pension for the rest of your life. A lot of people don't realize that a lot of our pension is deferred wages paid by employees. Our pensions are not some handout by the company.
Stelco was making a profit when U.S. Steel purchased it. The union continued to take concessions from the company and faced consecutive lockouts when they were ready and willing to sit with this company and negotiate a fair deal for all concerned.
U.S. Steel continues to shaft every Canadian worker and this federal government sits back and does nothing. We must send a message in the next federal election that Canada is not for sale under any circumstances. Harper and his cronies should start touring the soup kitchens and the missions to get a taste of what they are doing to hardworking Canadians who paid taxes all their lives only to get shafted when it's time to retire and enjoy the fruits of their labours.
John Sanislo, Hamilton
The people that built this country are continually being screwed over by the Harpercons. They have to go.
ReplyDeleteHopefully, double nickel, a critical mass of Canadian voters will draw the same conclusion by election time.
Delete.. Incrementalism". not Conservatism .. a trademark tactic & ideology @ work
ReplyDeleteThis is how bit by bit, Canada has been cheated and misled by Harper.
Looking back now, with the advantage of hindsight, fact & actual history we can see a seemingly endless list of failure, deceit, incompetance, obstruction, delay, attacks, arrogance, cowardice and disturbed ideology.
With the leading opposition parties offering blended mishmashes of policy, sometimes aligned & sometimes not with Harperwash.. Canadians require a concerted 'Sunshine Government' to voice reality, truth and consequence. Not a 'shadow government' a la Harper, not a government in waiting.. but a clear fresh voice of Canadians, reflecting the obvious.. defending the dreams, needs and wishes of the People of Canada.
The dark & disturbing operations of Harper et al need to be revealed daily. The bad unwanted wasteful or unconstitutional legislation needs to be shouted down - immediately - daily - in a non partisan manner. Observation, critique, opinion and analysis happens daily.. via yourself and indy bloggers & some journalists, artists, writers, commenters etc.. but it needs more defined focus, much more determined purpose. As much as the term may be problematic - this is a powerful guerrilla movement - even viral - grinding harshly but honestly against a runaway government no longer responsive to its electorate or citizenry
We've seen signs of such movement.. with blue dot, Idle no More, Council of Canadians.. even Anonymous .. and aggregates of bloggers certainly.. but we need more, we need it now.. and it needs to be the lash that clears the Harper creeps from Parliament.
How to achieve that unity of purpose is the big question, Salamander. I don't know how we combat the facile substitution of fantasy for fact that the Harper cabal and its fellow travellers are so adept at. With a public disengaged from politics, the kind of sound bite offered in the above video too often goes unchallenged in people's minds. Perhaps, however, if they filter the rhetoric through their own infelicitous experiences, they will begin to see the truth....
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