NEW AT THE HARPER INDEX:

-BRINGING CANADA'S ENERGY UNDER US CONTROL

-TORY LAND CLAIMS TRIBUNAL A DUD

-20 YEARS OF TARGETING THE CANADIAN WHEAT BOARD:

The 'Harper Index', the website devoted to keeping its steely gaze on the history, antics and plots of the federal Conservatives, keeps on examining little Stevie and his friends. One recent article is about "deep integration", the business plan to "harmonize" regulations across the Canada, the US and Mexico. As if they weren't "harmonized" enough the Conservatives are promoting two new trade deals that would reduce the ability of the public to control the actions of the corporations. One is the 'Interprovincial Trade, Investment and Labour Mobility Agreement' (TILMA) . This has already been signed by the usual suspects, the governments of BC and Alberta. If agreed to this would allow out of province businesses to sue provincial and municipal governments that they feel "restrict or impair their investments" ie health, safety and environmental regulations are in the gunsights. The other agreement being constructed is the 'Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America' (SPP) which is basically an "energy grab" that would commit Canada to securing the energy supply of the USA even though it has no plans to secure its own energy supplies. Read much more in the article at http://www.harperindex.ca/ViewArticle.cfm?Ref=0056 .

Being as yesterday was National Aboriginal Day it might also be a good time to look into the details of Harper's much ballyhooed new aboriginal land claims tribunal. The Harper Index has an article citing law professor Bradford Morse of Ottawa University and a native affairs analyst who requested anonymity because of the well known vindictiveness of the Harper government. The article goes into the real limitations of the proposal that don't get much media play Well worth a look. Also the dirt of Tom Flanagan, Harper's long term mentor on land claims matters. See http://www.harperindex.ca/ViewArticle.cfm?Ref=0054

Finally, there's an article on the twenty year long history of Conservative attacks on the Canadian Wheat Board. The recent attempts to abolish the CWB hardly came out of nowhere. See http://www.harperindex.ca/ViewArticle.cfm?Ref=0053