Toronto's Voter Suppression Protest

If you live in southern Ontario, you know that yesterday was a gift, with sunny skies and temperatures reaching about 15 degrees Celsius, surpassing normal highs by about 11 degrees.

A crowd of maybe 1000 gathered in Toronto's Dundas Square to protest the threats against our democracy epitomized by the voter suppression crimes of the last federal election, crimes that the ruling Harper Conservatives seem strangely indifferent to as they consistently impede and mock all efforts to uncover the truth.

As you will see in the pictures that follow, both the protest signs and the range of ages attending the protest bespeak a real concern on the part of a cross-section of Canadian society. After the pictures I have posted two links to local coverage of the event:

Click here to see how CTV covered the protest.

Click here for Star coverage, including viedo.

The Latest On The F-35

While the militaristic Canadian Conservative regime, led by flyboy fan Steve and aggressively supported by his Defence Minister, the dishonourable member from Central Nova, continue to champion the acquisition of the F-35 as Canada's next big toy, it is apparent to almost all who keep themselves informed that the plane is both inappropriate for our needs and experiencing huge cost overruns in its pre-production phase. Those are facts that no Harper-led denials and progaganda can change.

The latest information about the plane from a rational source suggests a surprisingly inexpensive alternative to what will become a financial albatross if the Harperites get their way. You can read Peter Morton's thoughts here.

Vaughan M.P. Has Some Splainin' to Do.

My my my. It looks like Mr. Law-and-Order, the dour and humourless M.P. Julian Fantino, may not have been playing by the rules in the last election.

An Update On Canada's Export Of Death (Asbestos)

While I have written many posts on Canada's indefensible export of asbestos to third-world nations, I am pleased to report that the latest news seems to suggest that this hideous and immoral practice could soon be coming to an end.

Despite the ardent and ongoing efforts of the Harper regime and Quebec premier Jean Charest, which include a $58 million loan guarantee to the mines, Gerald Caplan reports that the other $25 million required in private investment money is not materializing, probably due to widespread, indeed, worldwide, public exposure of this odious export.

You can read the full story here.

What Did You Expect?

Our capacity as a species for delusional thinking and rationalization seems to have few limits, our sad record on climate change and our cheering on of oppressive and anti-democratic government measures when our convenience is at stake but two examples.

In today's Star, Heather Mallick, with whom I frequently lose patience for her self-indulgence, has written a column that merits our attention. Entitled Well, what did you expect,Toronto? she examines everything from Toronto subways to our election of the renegade Harper government in her exploration of this theme.

Robogate: Another Explosive Revelation From The Star

As I noted in my last post, a pattern is emerging in the voter suppression crimes owing to the consistency of the telephone script received in upwards of 30 ridings in the last federal election.

The Star has just made another startling discovery: Automated phone calls that directed people to the wrong polling stations in the last federal election overwhelmingly targeted older voters, all born between 1947 and 1949, directing them to the wrong polling station.

Even more damning, most of those who received the misdirecting calls say they were previously contacted by the Conservative Party and indicated that they would not be supporting their local Tory candidate.

As noted in the article, this kind of information suggests the existence of a database that goes far beyond the names and addresses provided by Elections Canada to all political parties and campaigns.

And of course everyone knows which political party is obsessive in maintaining databases that go well beyond the norm.

Voter Suppression Crimes: A Pattern of Centralization Emerges

While the Harper regime has been busy casting aspersions on those who are claiming foul over their alleged tactics during the last federal election, a pattern is beginning to emerge that makes their protestations of outrage and innocence especially suspect.

According to the latest news, voters in the Toronto-area riding of York Centre say they received misleading robo-calls before the 2011 federal ballot with the same script as the ones that Elections Canada is investigating in the Southwestern Ontario city of Guelph.

That brings to a total of almost 30 ridings where voters allege receiving fraudulent calls with the same basic script as Guelph, reports compiled by the NDP and Liberals suggest.

Meanwhile, the ever-truculent Tories, trying desperately to maintain their offensive against these allegations, have arranged for a party spokesman to label these crimes as “exaggerated allegations” ... warning they “demean millions of voters who cast legitimate votes in the last election.”

In fact, it is the entire democratic process that has been demeaned, not the citizens who cast their votes in good faith. Sadly, that will continue until the government comes clean about what it is responsible for.