I have designed an easy Canada quiz for Jim Sutherland after reading his comment column (Red Deer Advocate, Monday, Aug. 24, 2015).
Hint: there is only one correct answer.
• Who prorogated Parliament in 2008 to avoid a motion of non-confidence and precipitated a constitutional crisis?
• Who tried to govern Canada through the Prime Minister’s Office telling MPs and Senators what to say and how to vote?
• Who was unaware of what his PMO staff were doing, especially as it relates to the Mike Duffy scandal?
• Who favours the rich in Canada on issues such as taxes, income splitting, pensions, child care, and family allowances?
• Who has failed to implement the Kelowna Accord, fostered the Idle No More Movement, refused an inquiry into missing and murdered Aboriginal women, and received censure from the UN and other groups for his treatment of our Aboriginals?
• Who has challenged the rulings of our independent judiciary (the Supreme Court) and attacked our Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin?
• Who passes laws retroactively to cover RCMP mistakes?
• Who has cut funding to the arts, culture and the CBC?
• Who has caused the delay or cancellation of new pipelines by refusing to address the issue of climate change adequately?
• Who refuses to meet with the provincial premiers on issues vital to Canadians?
• Who has damaged our Canadian military by not replacing our CF-18s and not telling Canadians the real cost of the F-35s, allowing the navy to erode to levels below that of Bangladesh, replacing our Sea King helicopters too slowly, and mistreating our veterans?
• Who has used huge omnibus bills to sneak all nature of unrelated laws through Parliament?
• Who has cut funding to women’s groups?
• Who has reduced foreign aid, especially to Africa?
• Who has passed minimum sentencing laws, requiring the building of more prisons at a time when the crime rate has gone down and rehabilitation programs have been reduced?
• Who was endangered the privacy of Canadians with Bill C-51?
• Who has limited access to government information and also eliminated the long form census?
• Who has muzzled our scientists by reducing their funding, eliminating their projects or firing them?
• Who delayed the repatriation of Omar Khadr, a child soldier, as long as possible?
• Who has damaged Canada’s foreign image by favouring Israel over the Palestinians, lost a non-permanent seat on the Security Council of the UN, and promised empty climate change policies?
• Who has not promoted the diversification of Canada’s economy and research and development aggressively enough, leaving Canada at the mercy of world oil prices?
• Who has refused to stimulate the economy with deficit spending on infrastructure to create jobs at times of high unemployment?
Answer: S.H.
Ray Kowalski
Sylvan Lake