Why Has Stephen Harper Not Fired Chuck Strahl?

It's been more than two days since we found out that Chuck Strahl, Canada's spy watchdog, is moonlighting as a lobbyist for Enbridge.

And by so doing has erased the boundaries between the petro state and the surveillance state.

Now to make matters even worse, we find out that Strahl is also a lobbyist for a First Nations' energy company with links to China. 

Strahl, who was Aboriginal Affairs minister from 2007 to 2010, registered with Alberta’s lobbyist registry on Dec. 3, 2013, to lobby for Frog Lake Energy Resources Corp. The energy firm has partnered with Chinese-financed Windtalker Energy Corp to drill for oil on Frog Lake’s territory.

Which makes this question even more important: Why hasn't he resigned or been fired?

Because how can a country that calls itself a democracy accept that the spy watchdog should be working for a First Nations' company with links to China? When CSIS agents are actively investigating those kind of companies?

Vancouver lawyer Merle Alexander told APTN National News that he was approached by CSIS agents in 2010 and 2011 probing whether First Nations were being “manipulated” by the Chinese through their business deals.

“CSIS is looking at the relationship between First Nations and China for potential undo influences, (Strahl) works for a First Nations owned company that has relationships with China and he also has a role on an investigative body,” said Alexander. “Anyone can draw on those three things, you should be able to publicly answer to it.”

And how can we accept that a man who has access to the information gathered by CSIS, work for a company like Enbridge? 

In whose name the Harper regime has been trying to muzzle scientists, and harass and intimidate its opponents,by among other things branding them as extremists and TERRORISTS.



You know, the kind of people CSIS  is charged with going after.

How can we accept all of the above and still call ourselves a democracy instead of a petro police state?

And yet, although the NDP is demanding that Strahl give up one of his many jobs.

In a statement, New Democrat House leader Nathan Cullen says it should be common sense that Strahl — someone on the federal payroll — should not lobby for a pipeline seeking federal government approval.

So far Stephen Harper has done or said nothing. 

And as this writer points out, his refusal to act is just another example of his oily politics of contempt 

Too much is to be gained from the energy sector to expect that the federal government will be anything but aggressive in the fulfillment of contracts and quotas and grand business ambitions, and the opposition be damned.

What is troubling is the heavy-handed manner in which the operation has been brought forward, from the enabling legislation to the conflicts of interest of which Strahl is the latest installment.

This detail raises the possibility that in the person of Strahl the functions of lobbyist and CSIS watchdog have been merged in some sort of cost-saving effort. The more likely explanation however is also the more uncontroversial one: Stephen Harper has since the beginning shown contempt for ethical considerations when they get between him and where he wants to go.

As well as another example of his diseased delusion that laws are made to savagely punish others, but do not apply to him and his scummy gang.

Even as he slowly turns this country into a sinister surveillance state...



And the questions we should all be asking ourselves are how far will he go? And to what nightmare place would this deranged authoritarian planet burner take us?

Along with that other even more troubling question: in a country so broken as this one, will ANYTHING ever be done about it?

And as you know, I'm hopeful it will be eh?

That 2014 will be the year we draw the line, and say enough is ENOUGH.

Chuck Strahl should be fired.

And as soon as is humanly possible, so should Stephen Harper...



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