Monday, May 02, 2016

Tony Clement and the Blinding of Canada



It's been five long years since the Cons gutted the census, and left us stumbling in the darkness, unable to determine who we really are, or what kind of country we're really living in.

But now the long-form census is back. 

And while I'm happy to see it back, it still bothers me to see that Tony Clement, the Con who presided over the blinding of this country, has still not been held properly accountable.



For while he has said he wouldn't do it again.

Mr. Clement told reporters on Thursday that the decision to bring in a voluntary census had been made “collectively” in 2010 by the Conservative government. In hindsight, he said, “I think I would have done it differently.” 


 There may be better ways to capture data while protecting the privacy and security of people, said Mr. Clement: “I’ll take the blame for that – I should have posed that question six years ago.


He's never really apologized.

And these days the Gazebo King of Muskoka is flying high, feeling good about his chances of entering the Con leadership race. 

Asked if he’s considering a run, Clement said he hasn’t made up his mind quite yet.

“But getting lots of encouragement, and still talking to people around the country and I’m feeling good about things,” he said. “I haven’t definitively decided, but we’re moving in that direction, sure.”


And even playing in a band.

Clement also talked about his side-career as a guitar player, saying he has several gigs lined up over the next few months and is trying to defend his growing guitar collection to his wife. 

 “I’ve had one paying gig so far, at the Bracebridge Beer Fest,” he said. “And I got paid 100 bucks.”

And in his present jolly state, doesn't seem to think that gutting the census...



Should have any effect on his political career.

Even though his reckless action blinded us to the needs of the poor and the elderly. Prevented planners from knowing where to build new roads or schools. Wiped many small communities right off the map. Under-reported the numbers of aboriginal people and immigrants. And in the case of gay families, who had just started to be counted, disappeared them altogether.

But then of course, it wasn't the useless Tony Clement who gave the order to mutilate the census. 

It was his monstrous leader Stephen Harper. 



Last fall, Prime Minister Stephen Harper decided his government would oppose the mandatory long-form census. Since then, nothing has changed his mind. His right-wing ideology and political instinct combined to make a policy that's being denounced by almost every leading institution and commentator in Canada. 

For all the wrong and crazy reasons, that only the voices in his head could conjure up to pleasure his rabid base.

This sprang from Mr. Harper's ideological core conviction about Big Government and, more important, a tactical political sense that here was an issue that could activate his party's populist base - that could galvanize the core with bogus but potent arguments about the perils of the "nanny state," the "elites," the "bureaucrats," the same sort of people who connive to take away your guns, raise your taxes and threaten your liberties, against whom only the Harper government stands resolute.

And Clement was only his hapless stooge. 

Mr. Clement, accordingly, has been reduced to a pathetic excuse for a minister, peddling arguments he knows are false, having failed to convince the Boss of why the long-form census made sense.

Who was left looking like a liar or an idiot. 



Industry Minister Tony Clement acknowledged Wednesday it may well be that only a minority of Canadians support the government’s decision to scrap the long-form census — but he says that’s good enough. 

Clement even said if only one Canadian complained about the mandatory long-form census that was good enough to kill it.


For which he should be forever sorry. And give up any idea he has of running for the leadership of the Harper Party. Or anything short of dogcatcher or fart catcher.

Although I urge him to continue his new musical career, and keep travelling from one beer fest to another...



For that's where he belongs.

Just another sorry Con who debased himself beyond recognition.

And whose crimes against this country should never be forgotten...

Please click here to recommend this post at Progressive Bloggers.

16 comments:

  1. Anonymous8:51 AM

    Just an FYI...

    There is a phone scam going about where the caller claims to be from Statistics Canada and if you don't answer their questions, the police... blah, blah blah.

    The cynic in me thinks its the Cons having another tantrum about losing.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. hi anon...yes you have to watch out there are all kinds of scam artists out there at this time of the year. A good rule of thumb is never to trust anything anyone tells you over the phone because you don't know whether they are in Ottawa or Nigeria....

      Delete
  2. Anonymous9:59 AM

    Thanks for this reminder of just how blinkered and toxic the HarperCons were in attempting to dismantle our country's institutions for their own self righteous ideological core values. Values rotten to the core.

    If Clement is chosen he will have a lot to answer for and will be met with great skepticism from an electorate that has finally seen the light. If selected as the new Harper he will be relegated to the shadows. Karma.

    Bill

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. hi Bill....you're welcome. I always thought the decision to gut the census was the craziest thing the Cons ever did. It has left a gap in our collective memory. And don't forget that Stephen Harper apparently wanted to make the whole census voluntary which wold have left us in total darkness. And how Clement or Leitch, have the nerve to run for higher office is absolutely unbelievable. And tells me that they have no shame....

      Delete
  3. Even businesspeople have complained about the loss of the long-form census...

    It is a disaster for new immigrant groups, gay families as you say (I wish there could be a way of acknowledging gay seniors - many men and women have to go back into the closet with age and loss of autonomy). People with special medical needs...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. hi lagatta...gutting the census was an act of vandalism that should never be forgotten or forgiven. It showed Harper's true colours, and in my opinion is one more reason he should have been jailed...

      Delete
  4. Anonymous12:35 PM

    The census? I refuse to fill it out. Last time they came to my house 3 times and wouldn't stop harassing me even after I told them I'm not interested. Sick and tired of the government up in my business.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous4:19 PM

      hey dummy, you like driving on government paid roads? How about government paid hospitals - ever been to one. Ever fly out of an international airport in Canada? Yep, all those things brought to you by your pesky government.
      You refuse to participate in Canadian society and fill out the census? Then get the fuck out an go live where there is no government, and everything is run by gangs.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous4:48 PM

      Nah I'd rather stay here in my luxurious downtown Montreal condo (shout out to my boy Simon) and enjoy my life comfortably without contributing. :) But you keep paying taxes and filling out those pesky long form census for me okay? You pay for the refugees, Attawapiskat, welare bums etc... and I'll go out and buy a Rolex.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous8:24 PM

      You mean luxurious moms basement...lol...con troll...the census is coming back anyway. Canada will be back because all thy sons command. Good luck pierre poutine.

      Delete
  5. Anonymous2:17 PM

    Long form was killed for two reasons I think. One was to appease the con base. Any complaints from these pinched faced red necks seem to have had Harper's attention, no matter how self interested they may have been. When these idiots complained about too much "regulation", Harper did what he could for them and compromised the rest of us. Second reason for dropping the long form was to remove information from the public view from which sound policies could be formed.

    Only red necks and imbisciles would support this type of government. Tony Clement trying to appear hip at South by Southwest as he endorsed Harper like the little brown shirt twit that he is, just makes me want to punch him in the face.

    Did I ever mention how much I hate this guy Simon?

    Cheers,
    TS

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. hi TS....as you can see from some of the comments above, those who supported Harper are entirely selfish and don't understand how the census helps all of us. I took a look at some of the handful of complaints the Cons received and sure enough they turned out to be the usual suspects. The ones who believe that their TV sets are reading their minds, and the census is just the first step on the road to communism or a world government. And as for Tony Clement while I don't wish him harm, I regard him with complete contempt....

      Delete
    2. Anonymous8:16 AM

      Just the urge to punch him in the face. I wouldn't do it, but I would not be sorry if someone else did it. I really dislike this monkey.

      TS

      Delete
  6. e.a.f.3:32 AM

    there won't be an investigation into why the census was changed. The Cons did it because it worked for them. if there were no facts, how could they be argued. Do not expect Clements to be sorry for any of this, it was part of the Con plan. I'd suggest it was one of "wierd' thoughts Harper had about the "intrusiveness' of government.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. hi e.a.f...well maybe there won't be an investigation, but since I don't intend to lower my moral standards, I will keep on calling for one anyway....

      Delete
    2. e.a.f.11:53 PM

      Simon, if we didn't have people like you our country would be the lesser for it. It is always good to have people who will stick by their principles.

      I am "pragmatic" in a lot of things, it takes all kinds to make up this country. if people like you didn't push for the "right thing" too many "pragmatics" would let things slide.

      Delete