Democracy Gone Astray

Democracy, being a human construct, needs to be thought of as directionality rather than an object. As such, to understand it requires not so much a description of existing structures and/or other related phenomena but a declaration of intentionality.
This blog aims at creating labeled lists of published infringements of such intentionality, of points in time where democracy strays from its intended directionality. In addition to outright infringements, this blog also collects important contemporary information and/or discussions that impact our socio-political landscape.

All the posts here were published in the electronic media – main-stream as well as fringe, and maintain links to the original texts.

[NOTE: Due to changes I haven't caught on time in the blogging software, all of the 'Original Article' links were nullified between September 11, 2012 and December 11, 2012. My apologies.]

Saturday, February 11, 2012

Ban foreign funding of 'radicals,' MP urges

A Conservative MP is calling for federal legislation that would both block foreign funding of the "radical" Canadian environmental movement and lessen the possibility outsiders are directly paying aboriginal chiefs to oppose major projects, such as the Northern Gateway pipeline.

Brian Jean's provocative proposal came during an explosive committee hearing Thursday that resulted in a government MP calling a Liberal "asinine" for questioning the credibility of Vancouver researcher Vivian Krause, a leading critic of foreign-funded environmental groups.

Jean, MP for the northern Alberta riding of Fort McMurray-Athabasca in the heart of the oilsands, hinted at possible payments to chiefs, while asking Krause for details on her research showing U.S. trusts have given $300 million to environmentalist groups in Canada in the past decade.

"I'm not a forensic accountant, but I'd like to know who they direct the money to, whether it's other charities as you mentioned, or whether it's bands or chiefs or lobbyists, and how they get it into Canada," he said at a meeting of the natural resources committee.

"Certainly, I would like to look at legislation to stop these people from bringing in the money, doing so either through disclosure or otherwise stopping them from interfering in Canadian interests."

Jean, who said he's preparing a private member's bill to pre-vent foreign trusts from funding the Canadian environmentalist movement, was asked after the meeting if he was suggesting first nations chiefs are pocketing payoffs from groups to oppose Enbridge Inc.'s pro-posed $5.5-billion Northern Gateway oilsands pipeline to the B.C. northern coast.

"I would certainly hope that is not the case but it wouldn't surprise me," he said.

While he said he has no evidence "whatsoever" to indicate chiefs are taking payoffs, he said he has close family connections with first nations in his riding.

"And I understand the politics of bands and I understand the politics of first nations," he said.

"People who are elected chief are no different from white politicians or Anglo-Saxon politicians in Ottawa. People are people and some people are corrupt and some people aren't.

"I have found very little corruption in Ottawa, but I under-stand that has happened before. We saw the sponsorship scandal. We've seen other examples of Canadian politicians taking money."

He noted the Commons finance committee is looking at laws governing charitable donations, and said he hopes legislation resulting from that probe would force greater disclosure of how charitable groups spend their money.

He said he would also like to introduce his bill to specifically ban foreign interference in Canadian environmental debates.

Krause, who has spent years going through U.S. and Canadian documents on spending by environmentalist groups, was asked about Jean's concern.

"I disagree, I've seen no evidence of that," she said.

Alberta NDP MP Linda Dun-can, her party's aboriginal affairs critic, said Jean was trying to spread a "rumour" that is "reprehensible" and "frankly ludicrous."

She also warned Tory legislative efforts to block cross-border environmentalist funding could side-swipe right-wing groups and even churches that take money from American associates and supporters.
"What kind of hornet's nest are they trying to open up?" Duncan asked.

Liberal David McGuinty questioned Krause's credibility in claiming some environmental groups might be acting improperly in the way they report their operations to U.S. and Canadian tax authorities.

McGuinty peppered Krause with aggressive questions about her background, noting the nutritionist doesn't have any expertise as a lawyer or economist.

His treatment of the witness prompted a harsh reaction.

"This is asinine," responded Saskatchewan Tory MP David Anderson.

"Mr. McGuinty should know better than to try to bully witnesses. He should at least respect her."

Original Article
Source: vancouver sun 
Author: Peter O'Neil 

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