A Federal Election          April 2011 Click square for index The election has been dull in the media so far.  The Globe, critical of most things Stephen Harper did before the election, has seemed onfused. Early images were of leaders competing for their budget platforms - health care, families, tax breaks and the like. Groping for what was needed at this election time among my immigrant serving colleagues, I put together and circulated some thoughts. immigration policies which affirm family unity and protect families a just society where courts  put a priority on the primacy of the Consitution and on protecting the rights of those before them, and where the government gives thoughtful support to international efforts to promote human rights a fair society where service agencies are given service contracts in transparent procedures on the basis of their abiltiy to provide the service rather than on basis of their political views, and where feedback on the impact of government programs is appreciated a re-vitalized democracy where parliament makes the big decisions such as whether to go to war, where parliament scrutinizes major expenditures and where Canadian skills of cooperation and compromise are valued a more equitable tax system where individuals get needed services for their tax dollars and where banks and other corporations do not get disproportionate benfits movement towards a sustainable economy which better respects the environment and by which Canada contributes generously to gloobal efforts to respond to global environmental concerns ( I want to see solar panels not only on a few houses in Riverdale and a few farmers' barns, but on the roofs of plaza's and industrial plants and warehouses.) a society which distinguishes the persuit of happiness from the pursuit of wealth, where greed is called what it is, where need attracts support and sharing and where enough is enjoyed as enough 1. Families & Immigration I want immediate and automatic travel permission to Canada for spouses and children of persons who have refugee or permanent resident status in Canada. Presently Canada makes the reuniting of familes of poorer migrants and refugees difficult by procedural obstacles and delays. The refugee recognized in Canada waits for years as proceedures limp along to allow a spouse and children to join him or her fromoverseas.  Refugees in Canada have trouble seeing family members. A refugee risks perscution if he or she returns home . Canada denies family members travel visas to visit because they might claim refugee status.  Immigration rules do not provide for wider family members to immigrate easily.  Refugee families in Canada should not be split by deorting a family member. Family and childrens rights  should be part of the consitution. These rights should be protected by simple court procedure. Presently protection of these rights in deportation is left to the discretion of immigration officials considering a humanitarian application. 2. Constitution & Courts I want a Constitution  a) which incorporates understandings  about rights promised for everyone in Canada by international treaties we signed b) which requires the courts to ensure the protection of  these enhanced Constitutional rights of individuals from lesser laws and from public officials. In my book I showed that the Canadian Supreme Court has chosen not to use its powers to ensure individual rights for immigrants and refugees before it.  Rather it has offered general guidance and then handed the individual back to the authorities. The Court has not required an independent scrutiny of the right at issue. Rather it has allowed the discretion of federal officials to be the  protection for non citizens from risk of torture or family separation. There is no principled way of giving the international treaty rights effect. International case law seems to be  selected to reinforce a court's own decision already reached.  The federal immigration law and its intentions dominates decisions. 3. Fair Open Dealings with Service Agencies I want an agency with a good track record to be able to continue its work whether or not I agree with all of its thinking. The Government has penalized immigrant service agencies which expressed any form of criticism by not renewing grants.  The KAIROS church group failed to get the grant for its overseas work with church partner agencies because the Minister over-ruled an impartial recommendation. KAIROS work  linked to the Middle East Council of Churches may have seemed counter to the government stance on Israel.  Yet the valuable work being done in many places around the world, such as South Sudan, was all chopped. 4. A Clear Role for Parliament and Listening I want a clear role for parliaments in all big decisions. I don't like finding out that Canada is at war in Libya without a debate in at least the federal parliament. Similarly, the Canadian history of large purchases like Airbus makes me want a thorough independent review of any large government purchase contracts. It's not enough to be told things are fine. They must be seen to be fine. As a new immigrant exposed to Canadian NGOs, I was impressed by the way Canadians took  into account the range of provincial and other important voices - going out of their way to make sure these had been heard. I fail to see why the government should function in an any less inclusive manner. 5. Fair Taxation - and a Review I want to see tax dollars going for what I can see are real needs shared by individual Canadians. The Conservative priority on jails does not make sense to me. I also fail to appreciate why I pay my tax dollars when corporations get tax breaks and bail outs and off shore tax havens. It is facile but not self evident to say that corporations create jobs.  My impression is that  they create as few jobs as they can. I need to be shown, for example, how tax breaks for resource extraction industries develop jobs in Canada compared with tax breaks for companies installing solar panels. 6. Pulling our weight on global warming Everything I read tells me that CO2 released from burning fossil fuels for energy is related to global warming and that urgent action is needed to preserve the global environment. and the human species. I read the plan of Greenpeace on how this can be done. I expect my country to pull a generous weight towards the international goals - with a plan and programs  to reduce use of fossil fuels and nuclear power dependency and to shift to a big percentage of energy production to safe renewable energy sources as Greenpeace suggests. 7. Drawing out the best in people As member of a religious tradition, I do not accept that people are self serving and  looking out only for themselves. They are potentially generous, caring and sharing people. The Buhddist middle way seems far more human to me than the push for the top. My Canada does not have to be the biggest, best and richest country in the world.  Canada has to call out the best human characteristics, not the greed, fears and self interest. Working for an NGO mandated to advocate alongside refugees  I found that to get results required working honestly and in good faith with people in various governments despite my own political views. Democracy requires a government with which there can be serious dialogue in areas of concern to vulnerable populations in Canada. By the end of the second week of the election some of my concerns have been raised. Jack Layton raised the possibility of looking at the Constitution - provking an angry outburst from the Globe's Jeffrey Simpson on April 20th. Novelist Margaret Attwood wrote in tthe April 20th Globe a thinly veiled anti Harper political piece along the lines: would you buy a vacuum cleaner from a man who could only tell you that you had to buy it because he knew you needed it and refused to talk about anything else. Also on April 20th a group of immigration lawyers and academics circulated a reasoned piece on why the record of the  Harper Conservatives showed they were bad news for immigrant communities in Canada. Despite the Globe, Layton generated interest in Quebec and this translated into general interest in Layton. By the last weekend polls indicated a lot of interest in Layton.'s NDP. The Globe editors went ahead to pronounce Harper the government to go for - placing its intuition about NDP economic policy problems above its published facts about the many downsides of Harper's government. The Star editors did the reverse and backed the NDP.  Saturday, the Sun leaked a police officer's story, illegally provided, of a massage parlour raid which found Layton there in 1996. (The Sun has been Conservative since inception.) So it seems the Tories promoted the NDP to wrest votes from the Liberals, then undercut it. The election has a facist feel I haven't experienced before. I hope and I fear in this election. ( I got it right. The Tories got a majority. Canada lost several good experienced Liberal MPs and parliament gained a lot of enthusiastic rookie NDP MPs who are powerless in our "winner takes all" brand of democracy. I should feel good about the growth of NDP but I don't.) Top  Click:

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