Dark Age Thinking

The good news is that many countries in North Africa and vicinity are throwing off the shackles of repressive  governments and searching for freedom. We on the other hand in Canada are going in the opposite direction. Recent policies by our federal government are causing concerns for our labour force, health care and legal systems.

Justice Minister Nicholson's forthcoming legislation on crime casts a police state  like pall over our country. As a society we are finally beginning to address the mental health needs and challenges in our legal system. Many people who are held in our prison system are ones who should have been given care in our health system. Many of the homeless walking our streets used to have a place in our mental health system. Recently two of our young people were placed in our prison system only to die because they never received the care that was promised.

All this is known but still Nicholson is about to bring forth a one policy for all legislation that will be non-negotiable and with mandatory sentencing we will see our Prime Minister's new jails filled to capacity with many people who should be elsewhere.

With the government's eye directed at unions and pension schemes in the public sector, the same governing body appointed Tony Clement as president of the treasury board and Minister for the Federal Economic Development Initiative for Northern Ontario - the same Conservative who was responsible for squandering millions in backroom negotiations for projects in his riding with unjustifiable connections to the G20.

These are a few of the issues we will be watching during the next session and from the looks of it there will be many more changes in the making that will make our country less civil and more difficult for the people who have needs in the health and legal systems, as well as for the union worker who has his rights taken away by a right wing government.