Stephen Harper, Pierre Poilievre, and the Great Terrorist Scam

It's easy to forget the past, in the age of Trump, when the truth is so easily buried under a daily avalanche of excrement and insanity.

But two years ago, at this same dark time of the year, a desperate Stephen Harper was about to launch his Great War on Terror.

It had just been a few months since a gunman had stormed Parliament Hill, Harper thought he could use the fear card to scare Canadians into giving him another Glorious Majority.



And he wasn't about to let facts get in the way, or take no for an answer.

So when Justin Trudeau suggested we should examine the root causes of terrorism, Harper ridiculed him and accused Trudeau of "committing sociology." 

While his yapping minion Pierre Poilievre continued to proudly proclaim that the root cause of terrorism is TERRORISTS!!!!



And as hilarious as that might seem now, at the time it seemed to me like something Big Brother might say, or in Poilievre's case, Little Brother.

And it only reinforced my belief that if him and his filthy Cons were re-elected, we'd end up living in a police state.

So I'm glad to see that not only were Harper and Polivievre booted out of power, but have also been exposed as frauds or Con artists. 

Now that a study commissioned by the Harper Regime itself, has revealed that root causes are important in the fight against terrorism.

And they KNEW it. 



Despite rhetoric refusing to understand the “so-called root causes of radicalization,” internal documents show Stephen Harper’s senior bureaucrats actually believed mental health issues are “often” one of its underlying causes.

Canadians will find nary a peep about social policy or anything relating to mental health issues in the Harper government’s 2012 counter-terrorism strategy or either their 2013 and 2014 reports on “the terrorist threat to Canada.” 

Yet the secret documents list several “examples of intervention programming around the world” that do exactly that, including programs in the United Kingdom, Germany, Sweden and Australia.

But still Harper would put his brutish ideology before the security of Canadians.

From the safety of his bunker...



Or whatever.

And what's even more scandalous about all of this, is that the Cons are doing it again. 

Trying to scare Canadians for crass political purposes.



Demanding that anyone suspected of having fought for ISIS not be allowed back, even though in this country we have a right of return.

Demanding that all suspects be put on trial even if there is no evidence to convict them. Which in most cases there isn't.

Rejecting de-radicalization even though it has been shown to work.

International and regional conflicts will continue to shape and mould the nature of terrorist threats to Canada. But in order to address the issue of violent extremist groups, counter-terrorism ought not to revolve solely around military action. There must also be a comprehensive approach that incorporates education, policing, community, health, culture and democracy. 

Academic research suggests that terrorism could be significantly diminished via several approaches: Crime prevention, community engagement and public health policies.

And only proving Justin Trudeau right again...



Despite the sensitivity of the issue, especially when the safety and security of Canadian citizens are at stake, Trudeau’s approach could therefore be deemed the most effective and efficient. 

The Conservative approach, meantime, not only indicates a “once a terrorist, always a terrorist” mindset, it also capitalizes on fear and stigmatization of Muslims, and does little to resolve the issue of homegrown radicals.

While crushing Andrew Scheer under the weight of his own baloney...



Or the weight of Harper's bovine excrement...



Those were weird and scary times, and we really dodged a bullet.

Who knows what might have happened if the Cons had won the last election?

What dark nightmare world might we be living in now?

And thank goodness for Justin Trudeau...