In Canada we have seen a year of political turmoil as our minority government has struggled to survive as the opposition parties, so hungry for power, have seen their self interests as superseding what were our country's best interests. They have finally succeeded in bringing the government down and we now face a winter election. The problems inherited from the previous majority government have handicapped the present minority government despite the fact that the current Leader, and Prime Minister, is an honourable and well qualified leader who has honoured his promise to investigate that previous administration even if it did bring down his government. His exoneration did nothing to silence his critics. Their only interest is  power. They ignored the facts, and  the wishes of the people who do not want this election, and continue to slander a man who wishes only to serve Canada  as his father did for so many years before him in the House of Commons through many administrations. Honourably and well.

And now we face an uncertain outcome as the leader of the party most likely to be the one which would form the government in a new Parliament, should the present government lose in the upcoming election, is as close to a clone of the NEO CON administration in the United States which we are ever likely to see in Canada. HIs tactics are right out of the Bush/Rove play book. And definitely alien to everything Canada represents in the world, and to each and every one of us who believes in the principles we have cherished all these years. Under his leadership Canada would change  and become little more than a  pseudo American satellite state.

The United States is our nearest neighbour and we historically have shared many values. But, under the present administration in that country they have become something a great deal different than their forefathers intended, and are as divided as any nation on earth. They have abandoned their values, become tyrannical, and a threat to peace on this planet. This is not to say all their citizens agree with their policies for they do not, and those who do still share our values  are heartsick and afraid as they see their country changing. But they are helpless in the face of the machinations and deception which is rampant in their government today. The NEO CONS have done their research well, they have built a formidable cadre over many years of those who believe that might  is right.  Force is their answer. Sovereignty of foreign countries is honoured only so long as it fits into their long range plans.

The Geneva Conventions have been abandoned, the United Nations is seen as  being dispensable, and truth has become an anachronism to their leaders. Freedom itself is under onslaught in the country which has stood for so many years  as the shining beacon of democracy. And this is the model  the man who wishes to assume leadership of our country aspires to emulate ?

God forbid. Canada has always represented the very best in human relations and peace keeping endeavours to the world community and under this man's leadership those values too will be under onslaught for he is a student of the NEO CON principles and tactics. He has begun this campaign with subterfuge and if Canadians buy into this "new Stephen Harper image" it may well be the first step to destroying our country.

The old  Progressive Conservative Party  was a party which did have Canada's best interests at heart. The new Conservative/Alliance merger has created  a party which is a threat to everything Canadians hold dear. Power is paramount. Bigotry and  hate, although submerged at the moment from public view, is very much a part of the party's creed. Leopards do not change their spots. Old line Conservatives understandably want to believe their party has been rebuilt, they have had no real home since the party was decimated several years ago in an election which saw  the voters' backlash against the Mulroney years in power. But Stephen Harper's party is NOT the answer. Not unless you are a rabid Right Winger.

 Under Harper our Health Care Plan will be under attack ... regardless of his present  publicly stated positions. They are contrary to all his previous positions with regard to Health Care in Canada. Under Harper we face the very real possibility of Quebec seceding from Canada. Under Harper we will no longer be a country with a peace keeping mission in the world. We will be as war like as the United States, although without their military might, as thirty million citizens can not possibly support the expenditures required to even come close to the might of a country of three hundred million. We will become nothing more than a branch of their armed forces.  Under Harper equality for all will be only a fond memory. He has publicly stated he intends to reverse the law on equal rights under the law for  a significant  segment of the Canadian population. Discrimination will be alive and well in Harper's Canada.

 In Harper's Canada we will see our surplus disappear as he spends to curry favour to prolong his time in office. He'll throw crumbs at those most in need and enrich his corporate allies. Campaign promises are easy to make, they do however have a tendency to dissipate once the dust of an election campaign  settles. It is very reminiscent of the Bush campaigns where he promised to bring honesty and respect  to government and address the plight of the middle class and those in need ... can anyone  now say he has done this, when in fact he has done the complete reverse? As I said ... right out of the Bush/Rove play book.

 Another very real danger under Harper , aside from Quebec separation is the unrest in the western provinces where much of his support lies. Martin has only begun to repair the damage by previous administrations and prove to our Western fellow citizens that he is the Prime Minister of ALL of Canada, not just those in the heavily populated eastern provinces. He has only had  months to begin this task and much of that time has been spent combating the rhetoric of Stephen Harper and his cronies. 

 Bottom line .. and it isn't one I state lightly ...  Stephen Harper is a danger to everything for which we stand.  He will sell us out completely to the United States and it's Right Wing/NEO CON Agenda. And Jack Layton knows this. He must. Layton is not a stupid man.  Yet he chose to align himself and his party with  them in order to force this election. Even knowing that everything Harper's Conservatives  represent is antithetical to every goal  for which his party has stood since  it was founded. If ever one doubted that power corrupts absolutely there should no longer be any doubt.

 The present  Liberal Party is not the party of Chretien. Paul Martin has been throughout his political career , an honourable and patriotic Canadian. There is no mystery about the fact that he opposed Chretien  for the leadership many years ago and at every turn in  the later years of  the Chretien time in power. Jean Chretien was at one time a leader we all admired. Perhaps because we associated him with Pierre Trudeau in our minds but as years passed he lost his way  and allowed policies which now are besmirching a new Liberal  Martin leadership  which had no part in the  malfeasance. This is grossly inaccurate and Canadians need to wake up to reality. Before it is too late.

 Yes, the Liberals have been in power for a  long time now  but the country has never been more prosperous, unemployment has not been this low in thirty years, and most importantly, the Liberals  will protect our sovereignty. The Liberals under Paul Martin  are  good for Canada and Canadians and change simply for the purposes of making a change is foolhardy and  dangerous to our way of life.

I am praying that my fellow Canadians  will see through the facade which Harper is  presenting like an actor on a stage and see the man. I am praying they remember his long term positions and his aims for our country. They are not ours. They never have been. And they never will be. Think .. before you cast your ballot.  More depends on this vote than you can even imagine. If Canada is to  survive as we know it, Stephen Harper must not win. Unless of course, you approve of the present United States administration's goals. If you do, you will vote for Stephen Harper, but  I promise you, you will  NOT be voting for Canada.

 If Canadians have an ounce of common sense they will re-elect Paul Martin's Liberals ... and with a Majority Government. Another Minority will see continuing rancour and lack of attention to the country's needs as the Opposition Parties continue to jockey for position and attempt to bring the government down within months, if not sooner, and take us back to the polls once more.  We shall face an exact reprise of the past several months.

Canada needs to get back to business. The people's business. It is all in our hands now. And so is the future of our country.  I implore you, consider wisely and vote judiciously. For the sake of Canada and each and every one of us who believes in what our country represents. And, most importantly, do make the effort to get out and vote no matter how inconvenient or difficult it may be at this time of year. 

I cannot express more emphatically ... the miniscule inconvenience is a very small price to pay for our  beloved country.