As you may remember, the last time I wrote about Peter Dumbo MacKay, I thought he was in a gentle but fatal spiral, and heading for the ground, or his resignation, with satisfying speed.
After having made a complete sexist fool out of himself.
And for having made the Guinness Book of Dubious Records (for the mentally challenged) with the most number of bad bills rejected by the courts in the shortest period of time, for being riddled with elementary legal errors, and in contempt of the constitution.
But sadly I was wrong.
Because there he was today, still pretending to be a Canadian Justice Minister, in the red light district that is the Con regime. Still claiming that his dangerously flawed prostitution bill will survive a Supreme Court challenge.
Because you know, according to Dumbo, the judges MUST understand that he's trying to abolish the dangerous practice of prostitution.
Even if that's just wishful thinking.
Justice Minister Peter MacKay says the Conservative government’s goal in Bill C-36 is to abolish prostitution but admitted that may be more wishful thinking than realistic.
Even though the Supreme Court threw out the old law because it endangered the lives of sex workers...
And since MacKay's bill would make their lives MORE not less dangerous, is sure to throw out this one as well.
Which makes his feverish desire to rush the bill through parliament even more outrageous.
Justice Minister Peter MacKay kicked off a week of justice committee meetings by warning MPs that prostitution will be decriminalized if his proposed legislation isn't in place by the end of the year.
Or CRIMINAL...
But then Dumbo doesn't give a damn about the lives of sex workers, all he's interested in is setting up yet another confrontation with the Supreme Court, hopefully before the next election.
That's the real reason for the rush.
So his depraved leader Stephen Harper can pit the mob against the court for crass political advantage.
And of course, try to smear and bully the Chief Justice again...
Since I don't doubt that every voice in his head is screaming for REVENGE.
Just like I don't doubt that the deranged diatribe he aimed at Justin Trudeau at the redneck stampede...
"And if, God forbid, Canadians are attacked, or robbed, if they lose someone they love to a murderer, or if they see their children driven to suicide by bullying and harassment… the first thing they want their government to do is not make excuses for criminals, but to stick up for victims," Harper said.
"In fact, Justin Trudeau has said he will repeal our reforms. Repeal, for example our mandatory prison sentences for serious, violent crime," he said. "In other words, I like to describe it this way: he will restore that key liberal principle of criminal justice...that the offender must be considered innocent even after being proved guilty."
Is also aimed at squarely at the Supreme Court and at the very foundations of our justice system.
And the good news? It probably won't work, because like Justin Trudeau the Supreme Court is much more popular than Stephen Harper. And his perverted attempt to debase it, will only make him look even more dirty and DESPERATE.
But that doesn't mean that Canadians don't need to ask themselves whether a Prime Minister who would try to pit the mob against the courts is fit to remain in office...
And you know my answer eh? Not for a moment longer than is unfortunately necessary.
For either we will defeat that deranged and dangerous Con demagogue.
Or his depraved madness will engulf us.
And he will turn our country into a JUNGLE...
Please click here to recommend this post at Progressive Bloggers.
There was a time not so very long ago where the idea of an innocent person being incarcerated was believed to be so heinous that it was better to risk the guilty going free than to chance it. Where thinking so did not mean one wanted to "hug a thug" or prevent proper punishment from offenses committed, but this mentality that was championed by the right wing extremists in NA (and yes, this is another one of those wonderful GOP imports like the liberal media conspiracy myth) about how victims rights are somehow more important than anyone elses has been used to seriously corrupt the concept of what a justice system is truly meant to be.
ReplyDeleteCapitol punishment died in this country because the citizenry knew that our system was flawed, that innocent people were sentenced and jailed even for the most serious of crimes like murder. Just ask Donald Marshall, or Steven Truscott. For all the screaming the Harperites have been dong about how horrible our crime rate is the reality has clearly been something far different, and deep down most Canadians do know it. Which is one of the reasons why they trust the courts more than they do politicians to act in a professional manner and to properly balance the competing rights/interests of everyone brought before them.
This idea of judicial activism (yet another GOP import) doesn't fly in the vast majority of the Canadian citizenry, only those on the fringes of the right wing buy into this notion, and Harper will be making a fundamental mistake if he thinks he can somehow exploit it to hold onto his position as PM. It might fire up that segment of his base, but it will cost them almost all the moderates including the red Tories who have stayed with the CPC until now because they couldn't bring themselves to vote elsewhere, especially with Ignatief as the option closest to them politically given his issues (I exclude Dion because he was too soon after the Libs were driven out over their scandals, and I exclude the Layton NDP because for most of these folks they would have felt that was too far to go for them, otherwise they wouldn't still be hanging on to the CPC at all would they now).
I also think that Harper and company are making a major mistake in trying to eliminate prostitution, especially by so obviously doing so not in the upfront manner but in this through the back door method, despite having been told by the SCC that it will not work. I believe in no small part because of the Charter being brought into our legal codes just over 30 years ago there are many people who are better educated about it and the importance of it than they are about how Parliament itself works, and therefore the Charter has greater credibility and is harder to discredit/redefine by Harper et al, indeed just trying to clearly is risky, and they must know it to some extent otherwise they would have tried to use the "Notwithstanding" clause to advance some of the legislation that the SCC struck down already. Clearly they recognize that this would be tantamount to electoral suicide, which is why they have to go more slowly, but even this speed I would suggest is too fast for those outside their core base.
to be concluded...
Conclusion:
ReplyDeleteBottom line this is the action of one who holds the rule of law and due process in utter contempt, not that is is any surprise to those of us who remember how poorly he reacted as NCC head when the SCC ruled against him during those challenges. I also think that prostitution has de facto acceptance in most of Canadian society, the concern I believe is more that it be not populated by those forced to be there via human trafficking/slavery. I think that the majority view on this is much along the same lines as that of marijuana, and that this is a particularly dangerous hill for the Harper CPC to try to fight on. Bad enough that they refuse to do as the SCC said they needed to do to protect sex workers as they work, now to try and back-door eradication despite no nation ever succeeding, not even those of dictatorships and tyrannies beyond anything Canadians would ever accept for themselves managing to do so, and most people understanding this.
I think these days many people do not find it that hard to understand how someone might find selling their bodies sexual abilities for money on their terms, even if it isn't something they would do for themselves. This is something I believe is a direct result of the losing of the moral authority of religions in our society to dictate moral issues to us (and I think the way the RCC mishandled the pedophile priests scandals for literally decades cost them any ability to be taken seriously anymore, and I believe that spilled over onto many other Christian sects in terms of deciding that we need to separate such from our public policy debates and decision). Not to mention the impacts of the reality of the non-traditional family structures and the mentality that accepts them as valid creating this as a byproduct. Mind you, this is still only for those who chose this for themselves, not those coerced by others into it, that is always wrong, and is rape as well as slavery.
I'm not going to get into the gender issues involved here, except to remind people yet again that this is not simply a women's rights issue, there are a significant number of male prostitutes out there too, both straight and gay service providers so to speak, and they need to be remembered whenever we discuss this issue. So far I've heard nothing from anyone at the hearings that makes this point, and I do not want to see this being forgotten in all of the genuine concern for women.
As to turning our country into a jungle Simon, he already has, the question is whether it is still freshly enough rooted that we can uproot it before it take permanent hold. This was why I was always a stop Harper first and at all costs person since the dying days of the Martin government after all. Governments who steal money from us are bad, true. Government who steal our rights and freedoms though are far Far FAR worse, and that is what Harper has been and was is real hidden agenda, not the socon crap.
hi Scotian... I didn't get into the issue of prostitution since it is so rife with moral judgement and wretched hypocrisy, and all I'm interested is in harm reduction. But yes, this whole Con War on Crime is a GOP invention as is the war on the judiciary. In their final agony the Cons are going back to their Reform days, which as you point probably won't work, but is sure to be a disgusting spectacle. i suppose you're right about already living in a jungle, but should he manage to win again he will turn this country into something even worse...
DeleteMan, do I ever wish Larry Flynt would place one of his famous $1,000,000. bounties on dirt dug up on harpie or mckay. Would you ever see them change their stripes in a fucking hurry! What if our fuhrer had secret pics of him in drag or mckay bound and diapered licking the boots of a dominatrix. Wouldn't that just be super special!?
ReplyDeleteMakes me feel war and fuzzy all over, n'est pas? ;-)
hi anon...yes I would like to see Larry Flynt go after Stephen Harper or any of the other Cons. And I of course would welcome any pics of any Con caught in fragrante delicto. The Cons have smeared so many people they deserve a dose of their own medicine. Although that would be getting down into the gutter with them, and it is probably better to seize the high ground and watch them drown in their own excrement...
Delete"Justice Minister Peter MacKay kicked off a week of justice committee meetings by warning MPs that prostitution will be decriminalized if his proposed legislation isn't in place by the end of the year."
ReplyDeleteWarning MP's that it's no longer criminal activity? The horror, the horror, a hurricane of hookers!
Stupid little git. Amazing that Ms. Stronach ever bothered with him, I guess she was really, really bored.
hi Edstock....yes it is an absurd spectacle isn't it. MacKay trying to convince us that prostitutionare is out of control, when the only ones who are out of control are the Con hookers themselves. The fact that MacKay would humbly admit that he just might not be able to abolish prostitution, like everyone else who has tried that in the last thousand years, is laughable if it wasn't so contrived and so pathetic. But he actually is going to make an attack on the judiciary a big part of his re-election campaign, and for that alone deserves to be booted from office...
DeleteIn what way is Herr Harper, MacKay and the rest of the Harper cabal above prostitution? Don't they prostitute themselves for the giant corporations and for their own power and glory? They certainly sell the Canadian citizens out. Every time the bottomless pits of greed corporations, line up at the trough and squeal for more money? Harper pays them another, $60 billion in tax reductions. What do we call that? That is honorable? Convince me.
ReplyDeleteProstitution has been in this world for centuries. Their prostitution is a far more understood reason for that profession, than Harper, MacKay and the rest of their outfit. They are always for sale, to the highest bidder.
As I said? Prostitution will never be stomped out. I'm for making their lives, as safe as possible.
hi anon...well as you know I'm not shy about calling the Cons hookers, because you're absolutely right there is absolutely nothing they won't do for Big Business, or for their own power and glory. But as Brian Mulroney liked to say, there is no hooker like an old hooker, and Harper is definitely over the hill, and will soon be forced to retire...
DeleteFor those who think that the Supreme Court is going to ride to the rescue ......
ReplyDeleteBill C-36 + The Criminal Code (section 21) = TOTAL PROHIBITION (selling and purchasing of sexual services).
And if that doesn't work, Harper can invoke the Notwithstanding Clause in the Charter of Rights, since none of the exceptions preventing the implementation of the clause would apply in this case (i.e. selling and purchasing sex are not inalienable rights). And don't count on another party repealing the law.
Welcome to the new Canada, the one that Harper told us you would not recognize.