CANADIAN POLITICS:

MORE SERVICES ON THE BLOCK IF HARPER WINS:

While, given the polls, it is becoming exceedingly doubtful that the Harper Conservatives will win a majority mandate (though it is still possible) one should look at what Sneaky Stevie has been able to "accomplish" with a minority. It is doubtful that even the present economic crisis will persuade the Conservatives to abandon their George Bush-like commitment to the same policies that brought the world's economy to its present state. Here's an article from the Public Values.Ca website about how the recent listeria outbreak is merely the "tip of the iceberg" in terms of what Harper's goals are.

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CFIA problems are the tip of the privatization iceberg - food inspector Bob Kingston:
Seventeen other departments could face potentially deadly cuts like CFIA did due to a pro-privatization ideology.
OTTAWA, October 8, 2008 — The listeriosis outbreak that has killed 20 Canadians could be "the tip of the iceberg" both in terms of food safety dangers and risks from other federal cutbacks, according to Agriculture Union President and food inspector Bob Kingston.

At the official launch announcement of PublicValues.ca, Kingston said that CFIA cutbacks, which contributed to the outbreak, were more moderate than those planned by the Conservative government for other departments.

"I'd suggest there are 17 other documents floating around just like" the one detailing CFIA cuts that biologist Luc Pomerleau was fired for releasing.

"What the Harper Conservatives are all about is deregulation and privatizing," said Kingston. "But beyond the privatizing part of it, it's the self-policing. That nonsense — that it's in the company's best interests to put out good products, so basically, why do you need regulation! If that were true, we wouldn't even be in a financial crisis."

He predicted more tragedies ahead if the federal government goes ahead with across-the-board departmental cuts. "It really is the tip of the iceberg. It's a tragedy that 20 people had to die before this government even paid attention. They still tried to bury it as an election item, saying they were going to have an inquiry."

He says the Harper government is driven by extreme pro-privatization ideology, pointing to their actions to strip the Canadian Wheat Board of its marketing powers. Giant companies have been pushing for years to take these powers away from the Board.

"Along comes the Harper government. It's the first government that's actually listened to them," said Kingston, "and blindly followed what they said. We're seeing that sector by sector. They have a belief that corporations are intrinsically good and the profit motive will always lead you to ultimately the best result... I think it's deadly, obviously, when it's acted out in real life."

He said the government is driven by "pure ideology and they tolerate no resistance." He said Harper fired agriculture minister Chuck Strahl for saying the government needed to talk to farmers after the government lost a court ruling over the Wheat Board. "Within two hours he was fired and Harper had gone on national TV and directly contradicted him. That's how Gerry Ritz got the job."

Here is an excerpted transcript of Kingston's remarks at the launch of PublicValues.ca:

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I mention this as the tip of the iceberg. I don't think that could be overstated. The whole issue around food safety and the deregulation - it's been going on for a while but it came to a head of course this summer with the listeria outbreak. Leading into it was the release of a document that outlined this government's plans for the slaughterhouses. What they have already done, in terms of the self-policing of the food industry, has taken place within the processing end of it. Their next target was the slaughter plants, where the risk is even greater.

That's the document that a member got fired for bringing to the attention of their union. That's the one you can still see on our website, that FoodSafetyFirst website. What people need to know, that was part of the strategic review at CFIA. CFIA was only one of 18 departments that was in the same boat. And CFIA was actually treated kinder by this government, believe it or not, than the other 17 departments that were being reviewed.

I'd suggest there are 17 other documents floating around just like it. And that was only year one of the strategic review initiated by the Harper government. Every year they take a quarter of the public service and they do the same analysis of their work and that means these strategic review documents are now in play for the second round of departments, and on and on it will go. They're not asking departments to justify what they do... What they're saying is, you have to identify the lowest 5 percent of what you think is your priorities. It's hard to tell that to CFIA, because of course what they deal with, everything they deal with most people would consider somewhat critical. But they had to identify their 5 percent lowest priority and reallocate funds. Treasury Board told them flat out, the Harper Treasury Board told them flat out that if they didn't it would be done for them. That's what all the departments are facing.

So it really doesn't matter whether the lowest 5 percent in a given department might be the top 5 percent in any other department. That's irrelevant. They just want to see cuts, cuts, cuts. I know they keep talking about pumping more money into it, but you can take a look at any year's spending plans that this government has in place and you will see the next two years always, always, without exception, are about cuts and cuts and cuts. No matter what kind of nonsense they keep saying about increasing spending.

What the Harper Conservatives are all about is deregulation and privatizing. But beyond the privatizing part of it, it's the self-policing — that nonsense that it's in the company's best interests to put out good products, so basically, why do you need regulation? If that were true, we wouldn't even be in a financial crisis.

It really is the tip of the iceberg. It's a tragedy that 20 people had to die before this government even paid attention. They still tried to bury it as an election item, saying they were going to have an inquiry...

We're doing everything we can to keep [these issues] in the public eye during the election. We hope that other people take up the issues of privatization, self-policing, etc., as well and hold these guys accountable. Because right now they are so ideologically bent toward this stuff it is scary. There's no rhyme or reason. There's no rational discussions you can have with these folks.

Take the Canadian Wheat Board, for example. They say they consult with farmers. Well, the Minister had a meeting here in Ottawa where he had what he considered industry representatives. It was something called Western Canada Barley Growers Association. When they had to file documents in court in Calgary, when the farmers took Harper to court, this Western Canada Barley Growers Association had about 140 something members and most of them were corporations, not even growers. And the 10,000 barley growers that are out in the west — I don't think would honestly feel this is a true representation of their interests.
But the National Farmers Union, which does represent about 10,000 members, were totally shut out of the meeting. They even showed up in town here and asked to attend, and it was a secret meeting. They wouldn't tell them where the address was. So this is the way Harper's government has been running. I mean, they're locked onto an ideological path and no amount of logic seems to sway them. So it's only public outcry that I think will eventually do the trick, and launching a site like this, I'm hoping, will help get us there.

We have legislation in place since 1912 - the Grain Act - to protect small farmers in this country and basically a way of life and to oversee a system where everybody could profitably exist. It was put in place, as I said, specifically to protect small producers from large international companies.

The companies we're talking about, Cargill, Dreyfus, etc., they're the largest private companies on the planet. Between a handful of them they control about 80 percent of the world's food supply. They have been lobbying successive governments since 1912 to change that act and get rid of it, because it protected farmers from them. And they couldn't control the farmers in Canada the way they do in many other countries.

Along comes the Harper government. It's the first government that's actually listened to them, and blindly followed what they said. We're seeing that sector by sector. They have a belief that corporations are intrinsically good and the profit motive will always lead you to ultimately the best result...

That seems to follow every decision they make with respect to deregulation — the profit motive will eventually get us to some perfect place. I think it's deadly, obviously, when it's acted out in real life and they just don't seem to get it. But we're convinced it's pure ideology and they tolerate no resistance.

As a matter of fact, when they lost their first court case in Calgary, before they appealed it in Winnipeg — this is when the farmers all took them to court when they tried to deconstruct the Wheat Board — and the courts actually said, this organization belongs to farmers. You need to talk to farmers. One of his ministers at the time, Chuck Strahl, was asked: what does this court case mean? And he said, maybe it means we need to talk to farmers. Within two hours he was fired and Harper had gone on national TV and directly contradicted him. We're not talking to farmers, period.

And that's how Gerry Ritz got the job. I mean, this guy will tolerate no opposition... I've been around for a while and I've never seen a leader of this country so ideologically bent in one direction.
Links and sources

Food Safety First website

CANADIAN POLITICS:

THE REAL PROBLEM WITH GERRY RITZ (CANADIAN ELECTION TRIVIA PART 5):

The Canadian election campaign rolls on, with the Harper Conservatives promising more of the sort of "steady hand" pro-business form of management that has led to the present debacle in the USA. Molly has mentioned Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz before on this blog, and the problem is not that he has a grim sense of humour. The problem is deeper than "bad taste about food poisoning", to pun one myself. It is the agenda that Ritz, Harper and others on the "reheated Reform" menu have for all of Canada.

Here's another opinion about the Harper crew, from Straight Goods, an online progressive newsmagazine. Molly doesn't necessarily agree with the following author's opinions about the value of government, but she can agree that some services are best delivered in a cooperative rather than market driven way. It's just that Molly sees other forms of such cooperation as possible, while social democrats such as the author cannot even envisage them. We, however, agree that a corporate turnover is undesirable. I do, however, like the description of Harper as "sweater guy", though I still prefer "Sneaky Stevie".

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Gerry Ritz controversy confirms the election is about public values:
Obsession with polls and image politics obscures real issues, such as Harper turning public safety over to the private sector.
by Ish Theilheimer
Until last week, most Canadians had never heard of Conservative Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz, a failed ostrich farmer and former newspaper publisher from Saskatchewan. All that changed last week. A public servant who participated in an August conference-call meeting August about the listeriosis crisis, along with Ritz, leaked some damning comments the minister made during the meeting.

In the meeting, Ritz's comments about the outbreak included black humour, which he himself has since disowned as being in bad taste. To date, at least 18 Canadians have died of listeriosis related to contaminated meats from Maple Leaf Foods. Medical experts have questioned Canada's nation's food safety.

A wise-guy politician and a brave bureaucrat have brought new dimensions to this federal election: issues, and, in particular, public values issues.

Now, a wise-guy politician and a brave bureaucrat have brought new dimensions to this federal election: issues, and, in particular, public values issues.


News media generally bring the public scant information about the many important questions that should be debated and aired publicly in this election campaign. Instead, we the news media are full of discussions of poll results, poll comparisons, image consultants, sweater, haircuts, eyeglass styles. The coverage gets pretty monotonous.



So Gerry Ritz's sarcasm comes as a wake-up call. His comments represented what's known in the US as flagrant indifference to the pain and suffering of others.



Too much emphasis on Ritz' personal shortcomings tends to obscure, again, the real campaign issue. Whatever you think of him as a person, the big question is whether you want Canada run by and for the giant corporations — or for the public in the public's own interest.



Stephen Harper has been quite clear on this point for most of his career. Then, suddenly, at the start of the election campaign, he became Fuzzy Sweater Guy and the Steady Hand on the wheel of government. Talk about black humour! This is the prime minister who axed national day care, arts funding and court challenges, to name a few, while muzzling federal staff and political colleagues. If you see fuzzy sweater guys like this coming down the street toward you, look out!



The government only brought in the new industry-self-managed inspection procedure for meat inspection in April, and already 18 are dead. That's a pretty good average, if I may use black humour myself.



Throughout his political life, Stephen Harper has been dedicated to one main idea: less government. The main beneficiaries of "less government" are big corporations. For ordinary Canadians, "less government" invariably means fewer services, less protection, less safety, higher prices, and private services such as health care, education, elder care, child care, health and safety inspection, etc.



Gerry Ritz has focused a spotlight on what Sweater Guy is all about. He should be the ballot question. Do you want the Gerry Ritzes of the world in charge of food, toy and airline safety?



Ish Theilheimer has been Publisher of the leading, and oldest, independent Canadian online newsmagazine, StraightGoods.ca, since founding it in September 1999. He is also Managing Editor of PublicValues.ca. He lives with his wife Kathy in Golden Lake, ON, in the Ottawa Valley.

CANADIAN POLITICS:

THE RITZ PUTS YOU ON (CANADIAN ELECTION TRIVIA-PART 4):

The Canadian election campaign grinds on, with its usual selection of weekly slips of the tongue on the part of Sneaky Stevie's pirate crew. One of these is Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz whose rather crude jokes about the recent Listeriosis outbreak have led to repeated denunciations from the victims of the tainted meat involved and also repeated calls for Harper to fire the man on the part of opposition parties. Ah yes, but Mr Ritz is not all fun and games. He has a serious side as well, as the following article from the Harper Index makes plain. A good "team player" in the Harper cabinet, Ritz is almost as bullying and secretive as his boss, and like Sneaky Stevie he makes no bones about his corporate agenda. The cold cuts dispensed to those quarters will never be sliced too thin. Read on.

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Ritz aggressively defends industry:
Embattled agriculture minister is known as bully and yes-man for Stephen Harper.
OTTAWA, September 18, 2008: Who is agriculture minister Gerry Ritz, the MP and agriculture minister from Battlefords- Lloydminster? The failed ostrich farmer and former newspaper publisher has been the victim of leaks this summer. In July came news of a leak at the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) of a government document detailing the shift of food inspection from government to food manufacturers and distributors. As a result of this new policy, food companies will, for the most part, inspect themselves and federal inspectors will spend the bulk of their time going through company-generated reports.

Ritz was back on the front pages this week after it was reported that he made wisecracks in a departmental conference call in August over the listeriosis outbreak. The crisis, which has resulted in at least 17 deaths, occurred just months after the changes to food inspection.

Terry Pugh, Executive Secretary of the National Farmers Union (NFU), says Ritz is a "a yes-man" for Stephen Harper and "one of the most vociferous opponents of the Canadian Wheat Board." He is also closely tied to the ethanol lobby.

When CFIA biologist Luc Pomerleau was fired in July for leaking the document, Ritz praised the colleague who turned Pomerleau in as the source of the politically embarrassing leak.

"Some people have likened him to a whistleblower. I dismiss that," Mr. Ritz told the Globe and Mail. "The whistleblower was the gentleman who turned Mr. Pomerleau in."

As chair of the House agriculture committee, Ritz maneuvered to prevent meat processors being forced to open their books during the BSE crisis, Pugh says. "He always fought to protect the interests of the companies."

Ritz' "stamp is push and bully your way in," says Pugh. "But he's a ding-a-ling, he doesn't know when to shut his mouth. To make jokes like that during a conference call is the height of stupidity. The fact that some courageous person would report it is amazing. Retribution will come hard and swift," he predicts.

Ritz also caused waves earlier in September when Agriculture Canada announced that crown corporations like the Farm Credit Corporation (FCC) will now have to consider the "personal integrity" of program applicants. Critics say the move is purely political because it came after the FCC loaned money to former Liberal cabinet minister Alfonso Gagliano – of Sponsorship Scandal fame – for a grape farm.

"The concerned crown corporations will immediately begin to review their policies and programs to ensure that due consideration is given to the personal integrity of persons applying for financial assistance or other benefits from the corporations," Ritz said in a news release.