Troubling Tories

Who does Stephen Harper think he is? Canada's answer to George Bush, seems to be the answer. Harper is showing a Bush-like penchant for controlling the media that was unheard of in the days of Liberal rule.

First we heard about no longer notifying the press about Minister's meetings. This was obviously done to control comments coming out of scrums when the meetings were over and avoid embarrasing answers to tough questions on policies from the minority govenment.

Next we heard that Harper didn't want his Ministers to talk to the press at all.

Now we hear that he doesn't want the press covering the repatriation of Canadian war dead (Tories rebuked over rules for war dead - Toronto Star).

I've warned Canadians time and again not to learn any lessons from the current US government. They are an evil bunch, sucking away civil rights in the name of security and slowly stripping the Bill of Rights from the Constitution.

Canadians need to fight back now, and frankly, step up to any opportunity for a confidence vote and put Harper to bed before he guts your own Charter.

There is NOTHING good about a secretive government. Harper is afraid of the light. He's trouble, and he's changing the way Canada is viewed in the world - not for the better.

Government accountability? It's hard to count in the dark, Stephen.

The immigration head-tax lives on

Federal ministers consult head-tax victims

Good article here about the attempt to make right with Chinese-Canadian immigrants who faced generations of debt and years of separation due to a Federal head-tax policy in the last century. These immigrants from the late 19th to mid 20th century faced fees from $50 to $500 (adjusted to 2005 dollars, that's $1000 to almost $10,000) in order to immigrate and were excluded from immigration completely between the 1923 and 1947.

Funny how little things have changed.

If new immigrants can get through the system, they still face a tax at the border of about $1,000. They either must put these funds away well in advance, never knowing when the capricious CIC will rule on their case, or must come up with it in six-months after being granted landing. Don't come up with it; don't enter within six-months of being approved and you've lost your place. Start again.

Keep in mind just how much $1000 is to an individual coming to Canada from an improverished nation.

The head tax lives.

Losing a little touch

I have to admit, as I am trying to come to a conclusion in my heart about immigrating to Canada, I am also distancing myself a bit. Maybe it's to soften dissapointment? I used to be up on the day to day of what's happening in T-dot and Ottawa (which makes comedy Friday on CBC that much more fun), but recently I've fallen off and sometimes I'm not getting the references anymore.

Like Rick Mercer's Rant last week...funny...but I wasn't as dialed in. But is anyone dialed into the Liberal Leadership race?

Okay - now I don't feel so bad!

Listening to God

You should be grateful you aren't in my head these days. If you were, you'd be adrift in a bit of a sea of confusion. As I noted in the last post, I'm feeling indecisive. But more practically, I'm also still very, very short on having the kind of money I need to apply under the Skilled Worker class. Living in Seattle is expensive and this last year has not been one of the most profitable. In my worst moments, I feel like if God wants me to come to Canada, he'll make those funds available to me. It's a terrible, self-centered thought. Imagine making this some sort of test for God? Yes - I do that occasionally.

What I really need to do is seek His will for me in all of this. When I listen to the good part of my heart - the one where I know his spirit is - the answer is still "yes." But I also hear, "be patient." I've said before that this is something that if done, is done with a spirit of commitment. Coming to Canada isn't some experiment. And it's something that would change the rest of my life. When I remember that, I'm less impatient for God to put things in the order He wants them to be for me.

I'm going to use this time to research more and to be sure this truely is the desire of my heart, even if I'm alone. I have a feeling it is.

More days of indecision

Awhile back, I asked myself some questions about my inent in coming to Canada. Specifically, I asked if it wasn't just about love. Again I am asking myself, could I go it alone? If I make it, can I make it alone? With other options available to me, is it the best or right thing for me? Am I trying to prove some point? Do I think that if I make it alone, something will change and love will come back? These are hard questions for an optimist. They are questions I don't want to ask, or maybe more accurately, don't want answers to. Is it still the same without her love? If it isn't, is it where I really want to be? Is my Canada really, above all, empty without her? Tough questions.