Skip to main content

“I am a Canadian, free to speak without fear, free to worship in my own way, free to stand for what I think right, free to oppose what I believe wrong, or free to choose those who shall govern my country. This heritage of freedom I pledge to uphold for myself and all mankind.” ~~ John G. Diefenbaker

FELDSTED: When your ideals come back to bite you


Many progressives consider themselves to be ‘liberal’ in their ideals and thoughts, so they align with the party that carries the name. They are not analytical or deep thinkers. Their leanings are heavily socialist; they tend to adopt causes for underdogs particularly people in far flung places.

Many of you will recall protests and publicity campaigns aimed at corporations for using ‘slave labour’, and ignoring human rights in overseas operations. Apple, Cisco, H&M, IBM, Nestle, Nike, Nygard, Starbucks and Walmart and many others have been targeted.

You will also recall ‘blood diamonds’ and the condemnation of diamond mining in places like Angola where human rights are absent, and profits are used to finance banditry and civil wars.

Outraged progressives fought for laws to prevent or restrict corporations from doing business with regimes that failed to implement human rights ... and that demanded bribes from foreign businesses. 

That is why SNC-Lavalin is before the criminal courts today.

We have laws restricting Canadian corporations, and their subsidiaries, from paying bribes to do business.


The government that condemns other nations for failure to implement human rights, and engaging in bribery, is not so ultraistic when the offender is Canadian --and one of its darlings.

Ideology and reality are often incompatible. A lesson lost on governments is that it is wise to mind our own business, and ensure that Canada respects human rights for all her residents -- and does not allow internal bribery.

We pay a price for misplaced idealism.


John Feldsted
Political Consultant & Strategist
Winnipeg, Manitoba



Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

'Very good news' that Supreme Court will hear B.C. mineral claims case, Eby says

The BC government needs clarity from the Supreme Court of Canada on a landmark mineral rights claim, Premier David Eby says. But the lawyer representing the challenger says that they would have preferred the province respect the lower court's decision. Eby said Thursday it is very good news that the court will hear its appeal of a ruling that found the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the provincial mineral claims regime are "inconsistent." The BC Court of Appeal ruled in December that the provincial Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act, or DRIPA, should be "properly interpreted" to incorporate the UN declaration into the laws of B.C. with immediate legal effect. That ruling set off the appeal from the province amid concerns that it could cause economic uncertainty ... CLICK HERE for the full story 
Post a Comment
Read more

EBY OFFSIDE WITH NATIONAL INTEREST AS CARNEY AND SMITH BUILD BC'S ECONOMIC FUTURE WITHOUT HIM ~~ BC Conservatives

IMAGE CREDIT :  CBC News   Prime Minister Mark Carney and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith announced a landmark agreement today committing Ottawa to designate a new pipeline to BC's west coast as a project of national interest by October 1, 2026, with construction approval targeted for September 1, 2027. The deal pairs the pipeline with a new industrial carbon pricing framework and a fall 2027 construction start. British Columbia, the province where the pipeline ends, where the jobs would land, and where the export terminal would be built, was nowhere at the table. "This is a nation-building deal, and the BC NDP have been locked out of the room," said Trevor Halford, Interim Leader of the Official Opposition.  "While the Prime Minister and the Premier of Alberta were doing the hard work of growing the Canadian economy, the NDP is on the sidelines calling this pipeline a 'fiction' and an 'energy vampire.'  He chose petulance over partnership, and now BC ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Kamloops - North Thompson BC Conservative MLA Ward Stamer speaks to Bill 20 — K’ómoks Treaty Act

The following is a condensed version of Kamloops – North Thompson MLA Ward Stamer’s remarks, to the BC Legislature, on the afternoon of Tuesday May 19th : I rise today to continue remarks on Bill 20, the K’ómoks treaty, and to address what I believe are some of the most important constitutional, democratic and governance concerns facing this Legislature today. At the centre of this debate are two major issues. First, unresolved overlapping territorial boundaries tied to this treaty process. And second, the growing legal and political consequences arising from the provincial government’s implementation of the Declaration of Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act, more commonly known as DRIPA. Much of the government’s defence on DRIPA rests upon references to the United Nations declaration on the rights of Indigenous Peoples, commonly known as UNDRIP. And this is where we must begin having a more honest and mature conversation in this province. UNDRIP was never originally designed to function ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Labels

Show more