Okay, first of all I don't diary often, so I apologize and will fix if there's a rule against multiple topics in a single diary; they're related to a degree, but I'll be hanging around for awhile and can fix if needed. I'll try to do diaries mainly on Canadian federal politics and their potential impact for you all down south, as well as British Columbia politics if there's interest for provincial politics.
Federally, we're blessedly on our summer break; there's nothing further that can be done to wreck the great white north, but the last sitting of Parliament had some impressively horrible pieces of legislation. In no particular order, and with links to the actual legislation for the keeners, I present to you the five most offensive pieces of legislation passed by the Harper Conservatives in this calendar year.
In a move that will shock absolutely no one, each of the Acts is an omnibus Act with god knows what in it. I know such things happen with regularity in the States, or what appears to be regularity to Canadians, but it's a shock to the system to see what's happening in Parliament now. I digress...
Bill C-10, known as the "Safe Streets and Communities Act" http://www.parl.gc.ca/....
The Act amends ten previous pieces of legislation, all relating to criminal justice in Canada. Key changes include mandatory minimum jail sentences for crimes including marijuana growth and possession. There are claims that the Youth Criminal Justice Act is made more harsh towards most non-violent crime. To make the whole thing palatable, or at least to force passage, it also cracks down on sexual crimes against children, figuring that opposition parties won't risk voting against such measures.
Bill C-19, known as the "Ending the Long Gun Registry Act" http://parl.gc.ca/....
Its well named. The Act simply repeals the Long Gun Registry, which was put into place after the Montreal Massacre in the 1980s. No real reason to it, just an ideological opposition to gun control based on perceived threats to personal freedom.
Bill C-31, known as the "Protecting Canada's Immigration System Act" http://www.parl.gc.ca/....
This Act makes numerous changes to the immigration system, with a focus on attracting skilled labourers and those with professional certification. It also seriously undermines the ability for refugees to make claims for permanent residency, in particular the section placing a wait limit between any claim of refugee status and the initial application for permanent resident status. The Act has been criticized by the United Nations as in violation of Canada's obligations to international refugees.
Bill C-11, known as the "Copyright Modernization Act" http://parl.gc.ca/....
This one got defeated in the court of public opinion, as it would have made any kind of electronic copying illegal, unless it was done with the consent of the original publisher. It wasn't on the same level as PIPA and SOPA, but our version would have created serious privacy concerns for Canadians. The twitter campaign #TellVicEverything proved the absurdity of the law, as it would have allowed the Minister to intrude on all aspects of our lives. Since he was curious to know, we helped out by tweeting him the mundane and explicit parts of our day for his consumption. The law is unlikely to be passed in this session of Parliament, or ever.
Finally, we come to Bill C-38, the "Jobs, Growth and Long Term Prosperity Act" http://parl.gc.ca/....
This act is the budget implementation Act, and clocked in at over 200 pages in length; something of a change from the 12 page Acts we're used to. The Act amends, creates or repeals seventy different laws, and was passed within two weeks of its initial submission to Parliament. Highlights of the Act were to eliminate federal environmental impact assessments, giving Cabinet the power to override provincial environmental impact assessments, raising the age in which one can collect Old Age Pensions from 65 to 67, repealing provisions requiring contractors to pay the prevailing regional wage for government projects, and implementing changes to Employment Insurance that require frequent users (read: seasonal workers) to take 'suitable jobs' in the area as defined by Cabinet.
So that's that for Federal politics in Canada. Not much we can do, the next scheduled election is in 2015 and it's unlikely that anything will change that. This is the less depressing part of the diary. I live near the US border, and so do most of my friends from across the country. We're all generally mobile, and want to help the Presidential re-elect campaign, as well as other progressive priorities. We're all spread across the border, so nowhere's especially far away. There won't be transcontinental trips at any rate. Any suggestions for races or particular battlegrounds I should direct the flow of campaign veterans to?