Ideology and idiocy ...

Self respect. Pride. Discernment. Common sense. I think these qualities are lost on most Canadians. It seems like uncritical social liberalism in this country has robbed us of the ability to discern what best serves the interest of Canadians. Ideology usually leads to idiocy … and Thursday’s decision by Canada’s Immigration and Refugee Board is one of the most idiotic stories of bureaucratic bumbling ever.

Today, convicted sex offender Farid Noedost is virtually walking free on the streets of Winnipeg instead of being deported to his native Iran. Noedost was released on parole on Thursday after the Immigration and Refugee Board determined his fears of being killed in Iran are valid.

Noedost was arrested in 2006 after two girls, aged 16 and 15, said they were abused by the man on three occasions after passing out from drugs and alcohol. Noedost was sentenced to three years in prison in December 2007 for possession of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking and given a three-year suspended sentence and probation for a sexual assault conviction in April 2008.

Noedost was slated for mandatory deportation because his sentence was a federal term of more than two years.

But Thursday's hearing was held after concerns arose for Noedost's safety in Iran. He has a warrant for his arrest after escaping from Iran years ago. He has also become a Christian since incarcerated. He claims he will be killed for his newfound faith if he returns to Iran. Noedest played the religious persecution card with Canadian bureaucracy and won. And we lost. Big time.

Michael McPhelan of the Immigration and Refugee Board said he wasn't convinced Noedost will not reoffend. "I have concerns that you are dangerous to the public in Canada," McPhelan said via video conference from Vancouver to a Winnipeg courtroom.

"The way you have conducted yourself in Canada is despicable. You are a danger to girls under 18."

But McPhelan added, "The need to protect the Canadian public is outweighed by the risk you face in your country of origin."

What?!?! For the record: NOTHING outweighs the need to protect the Canadian public. McPhelan should be reprimanded, if not fired, for his statement. And he should be replaced with someone who puts the people he serves first.

With contributions from Kevin Rollason's article in the Winnipeg Free Press.

The world's coldest banana republic ...

Full disclosure: I've voted Liberal, NDP, and Conservative in various elections for various levels of government. I even had Green Party signs on my lawn during the last two federal elections. So, I'm not a hard-core political idealogue.

But I do agree with National Post columnist, John Ivison, who suggests that the imminent defeat of the minority Conservative government gives Canada the prospect of becoming the world's coldest banana republic.

Other pithy comments from Ivision:

The most likely scenario will see Mr. Dion become Prime Minister at the head of an alliance so unholy it would have been burned at the stake for heresy in the Middle Ages.

The inherent contradictions of this coalition will be exposed sooner or later. The accord signed by Mr. Dion, Mr. Layton and Gilles Duceppe says that "within the limits of common sense, the partners agree to work on a 'no surprises' basis." But common sense is in short supply in Ottawa these days, and it will only be a matter of time before one or other of the leaders springs a surprise on his partners.


What was Harper thinking?

I have no idea why Stephen Harper decided to push an agenda last week that would have created serious problems even for a majority government. I am stunned by the incredible lack of judgement he demonstrated.

In typical Canadian fashion, we elected Stephen Harper to provide middle-of-the-road direction for this country. He did so successfully as a minority government leader prior to the last election, and we awarded this mediocri ... er, moderation ... by sending more Conservative MP's to the House of Commons on October 14.

Canadians did not give Harper free reign. He had no mandate to put a hardline Conservative agenda on the table last week. Admittedly, Dion, Layton, and Duceppe are three of the most ill-equipped leaders I have ever seen, but did Harper really think they would give him a pass?

Harper's indiscretion has let Canadians down. By refusing to function as the leader of a minority government, he has forced us to face the possibility of moving from mediocrity to outright ineptitude in the House of Commons. The prospects are dim.

Back to the polls

I don't relish the idea of spending another $30 million on yet another election, but it's time to go back to the polls. (And this time, Canadians need to show up and vote.) Harper did not respect the will of Canadians to govern as the leader of a minority. Now, a coalition of incompetents think they can hijack the House of Commons and impose their agenda on Canadians. Voters need to make their voices heard. Demand an election. Don't ever let politicians think they can bypass the will of the people. It's too cold in Canada to enjoy the fringe benefits of a banana republic.

Taxation without representation ...

I pay my taxes online. Why do I have to vote in person?

For the record, I marched my patriotic self down to the local school today to cast my vote. There, I encountered one of the last vestiges of the pre-computer age: the Canadian polling station.

As I walked into the gymnasium, I was greeted by a friendly representative of Elections Canada who asked to see my voter information card. And that's when the trouble began. He looked at my card, grimaced, and informed me that I'd have to wait in a long line to cast my vote. I was surprised by the news, as there were three polling stations in the gymnasium and two of the stations were completely inactive. Not a soul waiting in line. Nada.

However, the gods had deigned that I be assigned to polling station #43, which indeed had a long line of voters waiting to cast their ballots. At first I thought to myself, "This should go quick. How long can it take for these people to cast their votes?" And this is when I came face to face with the marvelously multi-dimensional inefficiencies awaiting the Canadian voter.

The cardboard polling stations are bad enough: a complete waste of paper.

The paper ballots add impractical to wasteful. The clerk at my polling station had so much difficulty finding and tearing the perfs that he mistakenly opened the ballot and exposed the vote.

The pre-printed voter information cards seem like a good idea, but their advantage is defeated by poor execution. The problem? Too many people have information cards that don't match their photo ID. This particular misfortune grinds the process to a halt: no one in line can vote till the person with the defective ID sufficiently demonstrates their identity (i.e., fills out the paperwork).

And so, on election day, in my quaint little neighbourhood, I found myself slowed by tedious paper ballots, stymied by line-halting paperwork, and staring at two empty polling stations across the gymnasium. And I asked myself ...

• Why don't we have voting machines instead of convoluted paper ballots and cardboard ballot boxes?


• Why isn't there a side table or separate line for people to prove their identity?


• Why are there long lines at some polling stations and no lines at others?

and, most of all ...

Why am I here in the first place?

If I can pay my taxes online, why can't I vote online? As far as my online personhood is concerned, it's taxation without representation! Maybe it's time for an online Boston Tea Party!

I don't think I'm alone in my complaint. Check the stats. No one is surprised by the outcome of the Canadian federal election. The real news item in Election 2008 is the voter-turnout stat: the lowest-ever at 59%. (The prairies take the title for lowest turnout in Canada at 55%.)

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On another note ...

I'm sad to report that Hard Rubber didn't win the CBC Anthem Challenge. Still, I'm glad I did my best to give Canadians a new hockey anthem. My thanks to the boys in the band and a special note of appreciation to Winnipeg's #1 morning show host, Larry Updike, who featured the anthem on his show.

Maybe I'll shop Hard Rubber around to another sports program?!?

You can't be serious ...

Don't get me wrong: I understand the concerns of the pro-life movement. I appreciate their angst over Canada's manic pre-occupation with abortion and euthanasia. I'm glad someone apparently has marginalized persons such as the unborn and aged on their agenda.

But I think the pro-life agenda would do itself a huge favour, credibility-wise, if it would spend more time loving marginalized people and less time lobbying for them.

Case in point: this week, a pro-life coalition -- comprised of Defend Traditional Marriage & Family, the Canada Family Action Coalition, and the Campaign Life Coalition -- issued a press release announcing their Election Guide for Serious Christians.

According to the press release, their voter's guide "specifically targets church-going, conservative Christians with a bold message of voting for candidates who support five Non-Negotiable Moral Principles". As it turns out, the five non-negotiable moral principles aren't really principles at all. They're pro-life positions on 1) abortion, 2) euthanasia, 3) embryonic stem cell research, 4) human cloning, and 5) homosexual marriage. The voter's guide declares these five so-called principles should be "ranked above all other issues that come up in political debate".

The coalition hopes churches will print up the guide as a Sunday bulletin insert. Failing that, lay people can stand outside the church on a public sidewalk and distribute the guide as a handout "to help fellow Christians vote the way they should".

Hmmm ....

I'm pretty suspicious of a Christian coalition that goes around deciding who's a serious Christian and who isn't. When that coalition thinks it's discerned five non-negotiables on complex social and bio-medical issues, I'm definitely doubtful. And when that same coalition thinks it can rank its agenda above all other issues and tell Christians how they should vote, I assume they're not really serious after all.

Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world. - James 1.27

Seriously.