Month: October 2005

Gerry Nicholls blog

Gerry Nicholls, who heads up the National Citizens Coalition, emailed me yesterday to let me know about his new blog. Perhaps the article that I wrote for his group had an effect?

The National Citizens Coalition is a non-partisan organization that takes a conservative/libertarian stance on many issues ranging from free-speech to free-enterprise. The group used to be headed by Stephen Harper and now rests in Gerry’s capable hands.

I finally met Gerry at Peter Jaworski’s Liberty Summer Seminar where he gave a rousing speech about the defence of free-speech during elections (you can listen to Gerry’s speech here). The NCC has battled incumbent lawmakers (across the spectrum) for decades on gag laws during federal elections. Gerry and the NCC are important advocates for all Canadians.

Anyways, Gerry’s a good guy and it we’ve only recently started to cross paths and it now seems like this occurs on a semi-frequent basis. Plus, I hear Gerry gets invited to all of the best parties.

Go to Gerry’s blog and say hello.

NCC article

Gerry Nichols, who heads up the National Citizens Coalition invited me to write an article about freedom/liberty issues and I agreed. What else to write about than blogging and its role in spreading liberty in Canada. The article will appear in next month’s newsletter and I’ve been given the go-ahead to give my readers a sneak peak here.

Beware The Blog!

The Internet is changing the way the world communicates and that’s good news for those of us who value freedom.

On an international level this new technology is breaking down barriers of communication and linking citizens in emergent democracies to ideologies and philosophies of freedom that were otherwise denied to them by their governments.

And here in Canada, blogging, podcasting and online communities are radically changing how information is handled, reported and interpreted.

The advent of blogging, in particular, has enabled every person to easily make their opinions available to a global audience. It has also provided Canadians with an alternative to the often biased mainstream news media.

Indeed it was to counter this bias that we started BloggingTories.ca, an online community of approximately 200 conservative-minded bloggers including several Conservative party MPs and candidates, journalists and authors.

These BloggingTories interpret Canadian news and events as they unfold free from the biased filter of the media.

And BloggingTories just don’t interpret the news. They also investigate and publicize facts and information the mainstream media either ignores or fails to uncover.

For instance, Blogging Tories have uncovered a variety of government-related concerns from the limited mandate of Justice John Gomery to the preponderance of Liberal donors on the boards of Crown corporations.

In fact, print and broadcast media have actually taken to publishing and broadcasting the opinions and findings of Blogging Tories.

All this has made our group a real thorn in the side of the ruling Liberal party.

But the value of blogging and the Internet goes beyond just making life difficult for Liberal politicians.

These new technologies, I believe, will also make it possible to sidestep the Liberal government’s notorious election gag laws.

Of course, supporters of the National Citizens Coalition know all about the gag law and how it stifles freedom of expression.

You know how it makes it a crime for citizens to freely and effectively communicate political opinions during elections and how the NCC bravely battled against them in the courts for more than 20 years.

You also know how last year the Supreme Court of Canada endorsed this horrible law as constitutional.

What you might not know, however, is that the gag law is designed to zero in on election expenditures.

Once you spend more than $500 on election advertising you must register with Elections Canada; you are not permitted to spend more than $150,000 on a national campaign; you can’t spend more than $3000 on a local campaign.

But blogging is virtually free. So the costs of getting your message out on the Internet falls far below the gag law imposed limits.

This opens the possibility of running an election ad campaign on the Internet. Why not? Certainly the value and widespread ease of dissemination of a blogger’s message can match or surpass any of the Liberal government’s paid propaganda.

My point is that citizens with a message for change are enabled by blogging; they can use it to weaken the grip of incumbents who craft anti-speech laws to protect their positions.

Of course, the government may yet move to control the Internet. The Canadian Radio-Television Commission (CRTC) is perhaps one of the most significant spoilers of free expression in this country and it likely has its eyes set on regulating cyberspace.

The CRTC may argue for instance that to be granted the right to broadcast information, one must apply for a license and must fall within the ideological mission of the government body.

At the present time however, the CRTC has not put up a significant challenge to the free expression of otherwise legal political opinion on the Internet. Time will reveal whether or not they will try.

In the meantime, the BloggingTories will continue to provide a grassroots voice for change.

And in the process these conservative-minded bloggers will reshape how we receive political news and commentary.

They are changing the concept of democracy.

Positive policy announcement

When I speak to friends, family, neighbours, taxi drivers, and the mailman about politics there are usually two conclusions: Voters know that the Liberals are corrupt and the Conservatives seem to only underline this point while neglecting to offer anything positive and tangible to Canadians.

When the new Conservative TV ads were released, despite the gritty, edgy or “bumpy” look to the ads, I was happy to see widespread exposure of the party on prime-time television. A benefit of soaring above the Liberals and the NDP in fundraising to be sure. However, when I polled a politically neutral friend, the same complaint: pointing out that the Liberals are unfit to govern, while stalling on offering solid policy to voters. One step forward, one step back.

The beating of a dead horse, so to speak.

Of course, Gomery will make an argument on November 1st for booting the Liberals out of office (perhaps not so explicitly, but Canadians will easily connect the dots). Consider also that Jack Layton, while propping up the embattled Liberals, has been the only federal leader to make any (significant) gain in the polls. While in truth nobody should perceive that Layton represents the only party that “wants to make government work” (scavenging scraps from a bleeding dysfunctional government that is only too willing to pay off anyone for support is hardly a testament to “good government” or “making it work”), the public perceives Layton as someone who has risen above the fray and as a politician that would rather talk policy than politics.

Of course, it IS the role of Her Majesty’s Loyal Official Opposition to provide opposition to the government and to call it on corruption. However, the argument can be made that while Canadians generally vote governments out of office (rather than vote them in), Canadians find it a much easier task when prompted by positive ideas for change from the party that vies to sit on the government benches.

Therefore, I’m happy to read today’s news as both a supporter of the Conservative Party and as a free market voter who is encouraged to see more ideas in the mix to be measured by the electorate.

Today, the Conservative Party is set to announce a variety of initiatives to help a specific sector of the economy: skilled tradespeople. This policy is particularly effective on two fronts: nationally and individually. Nationally, the number of skilled tradespeople has dwindled over the years creating a significant deficiency in this sector of the economy. On the individual front, Conservative party spokesman William Stairs notes that these new initiatives to be announced today will provide “a way we can help one specific group, to help the economy overall”. One example of the individual benefit is the more than doubling of the value of tools that can be tax-deducted by a skilled tradesperson per year to $500. Canadian Construction Association president Mike Atkinson remarks, that the initiatives represent “a step in the right direction and we’ve been asking for it for some time now”.

Stephen Harper and the Conservative Party are standing up for workers.

Canadian workers should ask Jack Layton how much of this CPC-proposed tax relief will go towards the bankrolls of developing nations in order for Canada to purchase the right to allow its industries to pollute if he’s elected Prime Minister.

Conservatives are offering positive practical policies for Canadians and while they’ve made similarly positive policy announcements in the recent past, this latest announcement is only encouraging of more good things to come.

Keep it positive Tories. Let Gomery do the damage.