HARPER WATCH / 60 reasons for Harper's failing grade

F-email fightback will be watching as Marcus McCann of Xtra.ca brings us a countdown of the 60 ways Harper is reshaping Canada in his own image

Marcus McCann asks - Why were we so afraid of a Harper government? Legislation dictated by religious ideology? War on the homos? Slashes to social programming? A US-style prison system?

Just 15 months into his mandate, and in a delicate minority Parliament, he's doing all those things — and more. Harper and his cabinet have been slowly — quietly — changing the way Canada is run. But many changes don't get headlines, because they don't require legislation to pass through Parliament. That's because government policies can be changed directly from the Prime Minister's Office — and policies affect the kind of Canada we live in much more than legislation does. That Canadians haven't noticed — or else are willfully blind — proves it really has been a con job.

THE COUNTDOWN SO FAR:

#60: PARTISANS CLOG JUDICIAL SCREENING COMMITTEES
Conservatives made headlines in February 2007 for controversial appointments to the board that recommends new judges.They included twice-defeated Conservative candidate Mark Bettens, a firefighter with one year of school at Cape Breton University and no discernible expertise in law.

#59: VIC TOEWS SNAGS JUSTICE PORTFOLIO
Prisoners' right to vote, gays' right to marry, women's right to choose: the former Manitoba justice minister has spoken out against them all.

#58: ANTIGAY LAWYER PROMOTED TO COURT OF APPEAL
On Sep 20, the Prime Minister appointed David Brown to the Ontario Superior Court in the Toronto area. Brown represented anti-gay and anti-abortion views in a handful of court cases and wrote legal documents on the "sanctity of life." Freedom of choice groups were understandably miffed.

#57 CAN I GET ONE THAT SAYS 'IDEOLOGUE' ON MY BACK?
Stockwell Day says it's ridiculous to provide a tattoo parlour in a prison. Why would good, hard-working taxpayers spend their money on "I heart mom" tats for crooks? If you've ever been inked yourself, you know about the sterilization checklist a tattoo artists goes through before they stick you. In prison, no tattoo program, no sterilization. The result is new infections of HIV and Hepatitis C in prison — a place where years of neglect has led to staggering infection rates.

#56 HILL JOB FOR FOCUS ON THE FAMILY PREZ
It lasted less than a year, but Darrel Reid's appointment sent shivers up the spines of even moderate Conservatives. He was the head of Focus On The Family Canada from 1998 to 2004, an ideologically anti-gay, anti-feminist, anti-abortion group with connections to the leaders of the US Christian right. He became chief of staff in September 2006.

#55 HARPER TEARS UP KELOWNA ACCORD
Twice, actually.

#54 CONS SHUT OUT BLACK AND BLUE
Montreal's Black and Blue Festival used to receive federal dollars as part of its regional economic development program. The weeklong event attracts 10,000 participants and generates millions of dollars in spinoff revenues. The reason for the federal change of heart? It's not a family festival — a logic which can be used to shut out almost any gay event in the country, however family friendly it actually is.

#53 GAY MARRIAGE DEFEAT WAS TO BE FOLLOWED BY RELIGIOUS EXEMPTION BILL
It was at the height of the rhetoric surrounding Harper's failed attempt to re-open same-sex marriage in the fall of 2006. We knew it would fail. They knew it would fail. But what bone were they going to throw the SoCons ? The Defence Of Religion Act was in the works and according to an Apr 2 story, the Globe And Mail now has proof that it was in the works and that former justice minister Vic Toews was personally involved with its planning.

LINK: Xtra.ca