President's Message

Let’s stop Stephen Harper

October 9, 2008

It’s pretty hard to forget Mike Harris, the former Ontario Premier who left scars on this province that still haven’t healed.

Now his political twin, Stephen Harper, is our Prime Minister. Like Harris, Harper is all about cutting taxes. Cutting taxes is his answer to everything.

But cutting taxes won’t bring back the 400,000 manufacturing jobs we’ve lost. Cutting taxes won’t address climate change. Cutting taxes won’t create more childcare spaces, or shorten hospital wait times, or reduce poverty.

Without taxes, government can’t work. And it certainly can’t help people.

The Stephen Harper you see on TV is not the real Harper. Not long ago, he was president of the National Citizens’ Coalition, an extreme-right-wing lobby group. The NCC has called for the “de-unionization” of Canada, the privatization of public services, and massive cuts to human rights, women’s groups, culture, and public sector jobs.

I strongly urge you to learn more about Harper’s political beliefs. You can download The Harper Record for free from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. I also like The Harper Index, a web site devoted to helping Canadians know the real man.

The world is in a crisis right now, and we don’t know what will happen next. Now more than ever, Canada needs an activist government that will invest in infrastructure and jobs and shelter people from the worst of the current economic storm. We don’t need Stephen Harper.

The OPSEU Executive Board urges you to cast your vote to defeat Harper and his Conservatives. To do this, we need to vote smart.

It is crucial that you make your decision based on the situation in your own riding. Under our system, we’re not having one election on Oct. 14, we’re having 308 separate elections. It’s your riding that matters.

So, how do you find out about the political lay of the land in your riding? The Elections Canada web site has results from the last election. Another good site is electionprediction.org, a project started by the Political Science department at the University of Waterloo. Probably the best is voteforenvironment.ca , sponsored by environmental activists. The goal of the site is to stop Harper by voting smart. That’s our goal, too.

I hope you have a great Thanksgiving weekend. On Tuesday, Oct. 14, let’s stop Stephen Harper.

In solidarity,

Warren (Smokey) Thomas

President