Hi Gang,
With all the politics talk going on, I thought I would just comment
on the upcoming Canadian election. Specifically, I just want to paste
in an email I got concerning Stockwell Day, a candidate for Prime
Minister. It is scary the support he has garnered. He was in Prince
Albert, where I live, this afternoon, giving some talk across the street
from where I work. You would not believe the amount of people who
attended this speech/fund raiser. I sincerely fear for our furture and
our rights with this man on the scene. Anyway, here is the skinny on
him:
Hi there -Dave Clarke from Edmonton, Alberta writing. I've lived here
for
> > nearly ten years. Watching Stockwell Day move onto the national
stage
alarms
> > me. Most people I talk to don't think he has a chance of becoming
Prime
> > Minister. I don't agree. If not this election, what about the next
one?
> > Voters outside Alberta don't have a sense of who Day is and where he
comes
> > from. As he woos a national constituency, Mr. Day stresses his
fiscal
record
> > and downplays his social conservatism and evangelical Christian
background.
> > He has an excellent advisor and spin doctor-Rod Love, Premier Ralph
Klein's
> > associate for two decades. Mr. Day frequently points to his past
record
and
> > suggests it speak forhim. If you have friends or family living
outside
> > Alberta, may I suggest that you forward this email so that they may
be
better
> > educated about Mr. Day's past record.
>
> > (My comments are in brackets.)
> > ***
> > JUSTICE
> > In 1994, Mr. Day advocated the death penalty for teenagers convicted
of
> > first-degree murder.He has advocated American-style work camps for
some
young
> > offenders.
>
> > In 1997, he drew condemnation from all political stripes when, in a
speech,he
> > suggested serial-child killer Clifford Olson should be dealt with by
fellow
> > prisoners.
> > "People like myself say, "Fix the problem. Put him in the general
> > (prison)population. The moral prisoners will deal with it in a way
which
we
> > don't have the nerve to do."
> >
> > ***
> > ABORTION
> >
> > In 1988 Mr. Day said granting greater access to abortion would
prompt a
rise
> > in child abuse. "The thinking is," he said, "if you can cut a child
to
pieces
> > or burn them alive with salt solution while they're still in the
womb,
what's
> > wrong
> > with knocking them around a little when they're outside the womb."
> >
> > (Mr. Day fought hard to have abortion in Alberta de-insured by
Medicare.)
> > --from the Calgary Herald, June 12, 1995
> > Labor Minister Stockwell Day's comments arising out of the
legislature's
> > all-Tory community services committee may have provided a defining
moment in
> > the debate over abortion funding in Alberta.
> > The Red Deer Tory, who proudly wears his Christian fundamentalist
principles
> > on both sleeves, declared Alberta health care should only pay for
abortions
> > required to save the mother's life.
> >
> > Asked if that excluded a pregnancy resulting from rape or incest, he
did
not
> > waver, answering that medical necessity is the only grounds he would
accept.
> > "Women who become pregnant through rape or incest should not qualify
for
> > government funded abortions unless their pregnancy is
life-threatening."
> >
> > ***
> > GAYS
> > (Mr. Day, a leading opponent of gay rights, was bitterly opposed to
the
> > Supreme Court's decision to force Alberta to include homosexuals in
its
human
> > rights act. He tried to get his government to invoke the
notwithstanding
> > clause to overturn the Supreme Court decision writing protection of
gays
in
> > the human rights code.)
> > --Calgary Herald, April 9, 1998
> > "The freedom for homosexuals to choose their lifestyle is there. But
when I'm
> > asked to legislate, in some way, approval of their choice, then I
have a
> > problem," he says. "How can I do this without a mandate to alter in
public
> > policy a centuries-old definition of what a natural family is?" "The
> > homosexual issue is a real source of concern because they don't know
how far
> > it's going to go," Day says. "There is a concern, yet to be
determined,
that
> > it can't be stopped. These type of unknowns have people alarmed.
> > "The same people who don't want to see homosexuality in their sex
education
> > curriculum and same people who don't want to see gay parades in
their
city
> > also say people shouldn't be fired just because they're homosexual.
> > You know what? People miss this, but people are not being fired
because
they
> > are homosexual."
> > "Homosexuality is a mental disorder that can be cured by
counselling."
He has
> > said homosexuality is "not condoned by God" and maintains being gay
is a
> > matter of choice.
> >
> > ***
> > --The Edmonton Journal, August 16, 1997
> > Alberta Treasurer Stockwell Day wants the Red Deer museum to return
$10,000 in
> > lotteries money because it is doing a study on gays. "We all make
mistakes and
> > they made a mistake in pursuing a project which purports to reflect
the
sexual
> > choices of one per cent of the population," Day said in an
interview.
> > Some statistics suggest between four to 10 per cent of the general
population
> > is homosexual.
> >
> > ***
> > (Mr. Day was appointed minister of family and social services in
1996.For
> > several years he enforced an unwritten policy not to approve
"non-traditional
> > families" for adoption.)
> > ***
> > EDUCATION
> > From 1979-85, Day was administrator of the "Bentley
> > Christian Training Centre"-an independent school of 100 students and
six
> > teachers run by the Bentley Christian Centre, a fundamentalist
Pentecostal
> > church, 25 kilometres northwest of Red Deer. The Bentley Christian
School
> > taught the Accelerated Christian Education (ACE) curriculum. The ACE
program
> > was American-based and was rooted in a literal interpretation of the
Bible. It
> > taught creationism over evolution, for example.
> >
> > A 1985 government audit of the general curriculum concluded ACE
students
were
> > rarely called upon to be creative, original or critical. The
auditors
were
> > concerned the program created "a degree of insensitivity towards
blacks,
Jews
> > and natives." In newspaper articles at the time, Day vigorously
denied
the
> > curriculum was bigoted in any way.
> > "God's law is clear," an angry Day told Alberta Report in
1984."Standards of
> > education are not set by government, but by God, the Bible, the home
and
the
> > school." Day refused in an interview recently to say if he still
believes
> > that.
> >
> > ***
> > South MLA Victor Doerksen created a stir when he called on the
government to
> > remove all books from Alberta's school curriculum that demean God or
Jesus
> > Christ. He produced the award-winning novel Of Mice and Men as a
novel
he
> > considers unacceptable. The book was brought to his attention by a
Wetaskiwin
> > man who was unsuccessful in getting it banned from schools. Doerksen
> > introduced a petition from 881 Albertans wanting all education
literature
> > removed that is intolerant of religion, and profanes the name of God
or
Jesus
> > Christ. Labor Minister Stockwell Day, MLA for Red Deer North,
supported
the
> > move.
> >
> > (This happened in the middle of the national Freedom to Read
Week,1996)
> >
> > ***
> > DEMOCRACY
> > (Mr. Day's sneering, high-handed behaviour in the Legislature is
well-known
> > to Albertans who have attended a sitting. The Alberta Legislature
has a
sad
> > history of limiting debate, too much to go into here. The recent
Bill
11
> > Private Healthcare Bill was just the latest example. Here's an
editorial
> > from 1995's Edmonton Journal.)
> >
> > So Stockwell Day is fantasizing "in kind of a blue-sky way" about
cancelling
> > the fall sitting of the legislature.
> > The government house leader knows that too much democracy is a
dangerous
> > thing. "The longer we're in here, the temptation is too great to
come up
with
> > more laws and more regulation," he says. Even if the Conservatives
> > resist the urge to work, Day believes the Liberals will fill up the
empty
> > hours with yelling. Those pests. His ears hurt. He wants to go home.
> > Why not shut down the legislature altogether, Mr. Day? The Alberta
taxpayer
> > would save $15,000 for every day the door was locked. The new
dictatorship
> > would never have to listen to questions, answer questions or debate
public
> > concerns. The opposition would not exist. It would be so quiet in
Alberta,
> > wouldn't it? You could go home to Red Deer North, and stay there,
and
never
> > come back. Think of it.
> >
> > ***
> > HEALTHCARE
> > (Mr. Day was part of the Alberta Cabinet that decided to cut the
Health
Care
> > Budget by over 30% while at the same time hiking up "premiums" so
that
"fees"
> > paid by individuals to government were made to cover all the actual
costs
> > without resorting to any tax funds what so ever.)
> > CULTURE
> > -Ottawa Citizen, June 8, 2000
> > "Stockwell Day added he would eventually end all taxpayer financing
of
CBC
> > television and eliminate all cultural subsidies to all cultural
institutions
> > and individuals."
> >
> > ***
> > OTHER TIDBITS
> > When elected in Red Deer North in 1986, Mr. Day made an
evangelical-style
> > speech that made explicit his literal believe in the Bible. Mr.Day
is a
> > Creationist.
> > In 1987, he raised the hackles of women's groups when he disputed a
poll
> > indicating one million women had been abused physically,
emotionally,
sexually
> > or economically.
> > Mr. Day was appointed minister of labour in 1992. He made Alberta's
minimum
> > wage the lowest in the country.
> > He has called official bilingualism an "irritant" and questioned the
> > effectiveness of sex education in the schools."There is a growing
body
of
> > literature suggesting that, as sex education becomes more
comprehensive,
there
> > is a corresponding increase in sexual activity."
> > (In fact, the opposite is true. Canada has one of the lowest teen
pregnancy
> > rates in the west)
> >
> > ***
> > (All these quotes are available online. If you need citations,
just
drop me
> > a line - [EMAIL PROTECTED] <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> . Here's a
few
> > Stockwell links)
> >
> > Hellfire, neo-Nazis and Stockwell Day
> > http://www.vue.ab.ca/archive02.html
> > http://www.vue.ab.ca/archive02.html>
> > The man who shouldn't be prime minister
> > http://home.dencity.com/valleycouncil/dobbin.txt
> > <http://home.dencity.com/valleycouncil/dobbin.txt>
> > http://cbc.ca/news/viewpoint/columns/rebick/rebick000628.html
> > http://cbc.ca/news/viewpoint/columns/rebick/rebick000628.html>
>
Sorry for the long email.
Evian
