Dear Canadian Voters,

Yeah you. Where have you been? It's not enough to join Facebook protest groups - you must stand up for your rights. Call your MP. Tell him/her that you want democratic representation, now. Opposition parties need a call to arms before they'll force an election. We need to tell them we're ready for a new leader.

This country needs real change. Our Fearless Dictator (OFD - the PM formerly known on these pages as Steve) cannot continue to lie about the state of the economy.His shiny, happy economic outlook is strikingly different than that of the Parliamentary Budget Officer. "PBO’s estimates suggest that the Canadian economy was operating significantly below its potential in 2009." This downward trend has been evident since 2000 and is projected by the PBO to continue in the foreseeable future. Strange that Jim Flaherty's outlook is that "Canada's strong fiscal condition going into the recession would be a bonus coming out and that a good chunk of the deficit would disappear when the stimulus spending stops by March 2011." Why would these two views differ? Who benefits from lying about the economy? Oh that's right the politicians. But they never lie!

If the economy continues to under-perform (and it looks like it will) government revenues will also be reduced. The Conservative budgetary projections, aka lies, will have my boy paying down our deficit when he's gray.

Rest assured OFD has been busy working at more than faking numbers, he's also been giving out patronage appointments. 1,500 of them since 2006. I believe he's well past any Liberal records in this department. My favourite so far is appointing a lobbyist from Pfizer to the Canadian Institutes on Health Research. Guess which drug company is about to rich on our dime? Pfizer stock, anyone? Mention that when talking to your MP.

If you need more convincing check out the links at the bottom of this post, Our Fearless Dictator has been very busy centralising power.

Help me, Canadian voters, you're my only hope.

PS to Jack Layton: Sorry about this. Now that your health challenges have come to light, I feel rather shame-faced for complaining about you. Best wishes for a speedy recovery. (However, the NDP should have a presence without Jack or is that ship a dictatorship as well? Apologies aren't my strength, does it show?)

Dear Democrats,

WTF? Where were you?

(And herein lies the problem with the left in Canada and the US. Is it complacency? Ineptitude? I can't decide, but man, am I tired of it. It's time to get off the sidelines and get in the game.)

Dear Reader,

In the past I've mentioned The Current's Request Count. The CBC Radio program tracked the number of requests for interviews with Conservative Ministers and number of interviews actually granted. It's pretty shocking stuff - 34 requests and only 4 interviews were granted. I had thought that Steve's death-grip on government communication was an example of micro-management at its best. After coming across this, I'm not so sure.

Is kind Uncle Stevie, with his sweaters and fake smile, actually a dictator? Do yourself a favour, check out some of those links. I found these ones especially thought provoking:

Canada slips in press freedom rankings

Has Canada entered a Bush-like vortex?

Democracy Canadian-style

Gov't program wants job applicants' views on Tory budget

Watchdog slams lack of transparency in stimulus spending

Siddiqui: Harper acting like an elected dictator

Dear Reader,

Here:

Doctors Without Borders
Oxfam
Plan
UN Refugee Agency

The Canadian government will match Canadian donations. Do it today.

Hello Ukraine,

I'm wishing you all of my best on election day. May you elect a leader with integrity and vision; someone with the ability to walk the line between the West and Russia without falling into the mire on either side.

Peace,
Karen

Dear Jack,

Where on earth are you? Steve and his boys are tossing out the tenets of Canadian democracy and the NDP is busy "formulating a thoughtful, reasonable response". Parliament was prorogued on December 30th, wasn't it? How long does it take to formulate a response? Goodness me! When we will see actual signs of leadership?

Meanwhile, Tony Clement (don't get me started on Tony) claims that only the chattering classes and elites are voicing concern about Mr. Harper's authoritarian move.

Yup, member of the chattering class, that's me. Let's see:

• Suburbanite - check
• Middle class - check
• Stay-at-home mother - check
• Knitter - check
  

Seems to me, I should be the Conservatives target demographic. So why are they going so far out of their way to piss me off? Meanwhile, on the other side of the political spectrum we have the NDP pissing me off by continuing to do nothing.

Jack, it's time to get out there and act like you want to lead!

Sincerely,
Karen

Oh, dear me (part 2)

There's lots of speculation in the Opposition and elsewhere (queue link to the charming, Canadian Cynic) that Steve has prorogued Parliament to avoid questions about Afghan detainees.

This time, I think Steve is actually telling the truth - it's not about covering up allegations of torture. He's quite happy to leave Defense Minister, Peter McKay, flapping in the breeze trying to deny or hide any knowledge of detainees being tortured. There's no love lost between the two men, in fact many have speculated that Harper gave McKay this portfolio to doom his political career. Steve would not shed any tears if McKay is forced to resign. (Could Steve ever shed tears? A question for another day...)

I suspect the real reason Parliament has been prorogued is to hide the fact that the federal finances are in far worse shape than Steve and his pal, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty, would have us believe. Keep your eyes open for a report from Parliamentary Budget Officer Kevin Page next week. He may be our only link to the truth about our financial situation in these undemocratic times.