In all the nightmare years of Harperland, it was one of the foulest bills the Con regime ever rammed through parliament.
Pierre Poilievre's Orwellian named Fair Elections Act, which he claimed would strengthen democracy.
But was in fact a blatant attempt to strangle it by suppressing the vote.
So I'm glad to see that ghastly law is about to join Poilievre in the garbage can of history.
As the Trudeau government prepares to bury it.
The Liberal government has introduced legislation that makes changes to Canada’s voting system and replaces some of the controversial elements in the former Conservative government’s law.
And while I couldn't be happier to see another big nail hammered into the coffin of the Con regime, and Stephen Harper's foul legacy...
Because the Unfair Elections Act was almost certainly his idea, and Poilievre was only his demon baby.
And while I'm especially pleased by this:
The Liberal government is also staking new ground with a promise to preregister teenagers to encourage them to vote when they turn 18 and expand the rights of expatriates abroad.
Other changes in the bill include: expanding the chief electoral officer’s mandate to include broad public education campaigns; creating a national register of electors to preregister youth aged 14 to 17.
For although that foul law attempted to disenfranchise some seniors, aboriginals, and poor people, its main target was young Canadians...
I only hope that people in this country never forget what Poilievre and his shameless Cons tried to do.
Never forget how Harper's demon baby, or monstrous dickhead, carried on in the House of Commons. How he mocked the opposition, tried to defend the indefensible, and lied like a thief, over and over again...
How he claimed that he had consulted the Chief Electoral Officer when he hadn't. How he muzzled him and prevented him from encouraging young people to vote.
Never forget how he tried to poison our democracy...
Or for that matter, never forget how the Con MP Brad Butt tried to support Poilievre, by claiming that he had personally witnessed voter fraud.
Only to be forced to eat his words...
And end up looking like a Con clown...
As did Pierre Poilievre, whose attempts to suppress the vote only made Canadians even more determined to defeat the Con regime.
And helped motivate them to turn out in large numbers to drive them from power, and cause Cons like Brad Butt to lose his seat.
And the other good news?
This sorry episode in Canadian history has all but destroyed Poilievre's political career.
These days one hardly hears from him. He's no longer a big player in the Commons. He no longer swaggers around mocking the opposition. Even the legislation to kill his bill elicited no reaction from him, not even a single solitary tweet.
Once he was Stephen Harper's favourite and a rising star in the Con universe.
And then suddenly he wasn't...
And for that we should all be grateful.
The Unfair Elections Act ended up in the garbage can of history.
So did Pierre Poilievre.
And so did Stephen Harper...
Time moves on, history and the truth get recycled.
But crimes against democracy should never be forgotten...
18 comments:
I don't want to see Harper get recycled. To the landfill please.
Unlike Harper, I hate to kick a man when he's down. However, in this case I'll make an exception. Pierre's been rather subdued since his Dear Leader, his mentor and bromance of his life got the snot kicked out of him in the last election. I don't think the shock of it has sunk in yet. He's wandering rudderless in a sea of red, no Big Daddy to guide him, no reason to rise and clap like the once obedient seal. Lost at sea, Skippy without a Skipper. 'Tis sad indeed.
What's not sad is the Unfair Elections Act is finally being gutted and replaced with an actual Fair Elections Act. Pierre's baby, his gift to "democracy" has been shattered. No papoose to jump into and hide, no hugs from Big Daddy. He's now the invisible man without a compass, lost at sea.
JD
"But crimes against democracy should never be forgotten..."
Ya like the Sponsorship Scandal.
-MC
and so ends another chapter of life with harper.
voter fraud has not been a big issue in this country because it wasn't happening. the cons wanted people to believe it was, but like so many other things the cons just lied.
I agreed with you MC, as did a majority of voters in 2007 when the Liberals were turfed from power. It is unfortunate though the Cons always fall back on the Sponsorship Scandal as if it was the worst thing in the World, when it is small potatoes compared to many of the programs that were done by the Harpercons- GazeboGate-F-35Gate- ActionPlangate-just to name 3 bigger and more expensive problems under Haper. If this is the only criticism of past Liberal governments that Cons can find, then the Liberals have been effective leaders for the citizens of Canada. GS
If there was concern over certain ballots why not just include those when there is a need for recount. But why even bother. Denying hundreds of people their inherent right to vote because of a slight possibility of voter fraud is a crime.
I saw Pierre Polievre in today's Ottawa Sun. After laughing at how low he'd sunk, I saw he was using CPC talking points on energy or whatever. Still irrelevant....and still ugly.
As I said many times, his last name should be spelled:
PoiLIEvre
I was just thinking that people have been complaining that the Liberals have not fulfilled this promise or that promise, and I agree that I would like to see faster progress on several files but this bill suddenly reminded me that there was a need to clean up a lot of Con legislative filth as well and while doing it is great, it is time-consuming though a lot easier than developing and implementing new policies.
Policy making and doing it more or less properly is a complicated and time-consuming process. I have lived in one country were the government could make a policy decision one day and implement it the next. The results were not always pretty so I'll remain patient as the Liberals develop and implement.
And getting rid of this repellant law is a lovely move. After watching the shenanigans in the USA with wild gerrymandering, racially directed voter suppression and probably a bit of fraud with the electric voting machines it will be nice to get back to a system that actually tries to encourage voting.
This is typical of the right wing these days. A solution looking for a problem, in this case it was the non-existent problem of voter fraud. trump is getting all the hype, but harper really was a post-truth, authoritarian, and angry conservative before it was even cool.
yup a greasy little jerk
Any insight on the TWO upcoming Federal Leadership Conventions?
hi rumleyfips... OK OK you're right. One never should recycle hazardous waste... ;)
hi JD...I have to admit I'm not as noble as you are and I do like to kick Cons when they're down. But I do agree that nobody deserves a good boot than the ghastly Poilievre. I will never forget how he mocked the opposition and our democracy. And to see him finally muted is pleasure indeed....
hi MC...there you go again, quoting the Rebel again. And making yourself look foolish. The Sponsorship Scandal was an attempt to buy the loyalty of Quebecers after the referendum. But it was not a crime against democracy. Please get your facts right...
hi e.a.f... yes, the Cons knew that voter fraud was not a big problem in this country, but still they lied and tried to brainwash into believing it was. Give thanks that we defeated them, for had Harper won another term, neither our democracy or our country would have survived...
hi anon...as far as I'm concerned trying to trying to suppress the vote is about the lowest thing anyone can do in a democracy. And the fact that the Cons tried to discourage rather than encourage young Canadians to vote, is a crime against the future of our democracy that should never be forgiven...
hi Pierre...yes I see he's out there beating the drum against a carbon tax, like all the other Cons. But he sure is a shadow of what he once was. He must know that along with Leitch and Alexander he helped sink his party, and it has clearly humbled him. Thank goodness for small mercies...
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