|
EXTREME ACTION
A short time ago I read the book Shakedown: How Our Government
is Undermining Democracy in the Name of Human Rights (McClelland
& Stewart) by Canadian Author Ezra Levant. The book details
Levant’s struggle against federal and provincial Human
Rights Commissions, (HRC) along with those of others including
that of writer Mark Steyn.
Levant’s crime was to publish the infamous Danish cartoons
depicting images of Mohammed. Steyn’s was to publish
a factual study on the impact of Islamic demographics. In
short, the commission attempted to sacrifice our right to
free speech in order to support the made up right of “not
being offended.”
Section 13 of the Canadian Human Rights act gave them that
power, and we have to praise our own MP, Rick Dykstra, for
his courage and good judgment in introducing a bill to remove
Section 13 from the act.
What is ironic is that both Levant and Steyn have spoken
out against Islamic extremism and were punished in extreme
measure by our own government under the mandate of the Human
Rights Commissions. If you read Shakedown, you will understand
how the commissions have become ‘extreme’ in the
way they conduct their business. It is an example that is
being played out across the land by organizations once rooted
in noble causes.
As one example, let’s take a look at Greenpeace, the
Canadian Environmental organization that has opposed whaling,
nuclear proliferation, clear cut logging and more. Undoubtedly,
they made a significant difference, enlightened the world
and changed people’s minds. But as founding member,
Patrick Moore, who now criticizes the group for “failing
to evolve” says, “When a majority of people start
agreeing with you, it’s time to stop hitting them over
the head.”
Moore blames the end of the cold war for freeing up radical
protestors who then transferred into environmental protest.
Is this protest for protest sake? One has to wonder whether
those who protest the WTO Summits are motivated by the issues
or the opportunity.
Former NDP leader and Premier of Ontario, Bob Rae, said it
best when he abandoned his party identifying them as a “culture
of opposition and protest.”
Protest became fashionable during the American civil rights
movement and the anti-Vietnam war era. Then along came the
environmental movement and women’s rights. Protest and
demonstration played a necessary and successful role in the
evolution of our society, but it has now become an industry.
To recognize that a battle has been won puts those, who are
unwilling to evolve, out of the spotlight, and for some, out
of a job.
The culture of opposition and protest will find its platform
in order to survive. The shocking truth about the Human Rights
Commissions (as explained in detail in Shakedown) is that
they manufactured a reason for their existence by persecuting
people who had not violated any human rights but merely spoke
their minds.
When you’ve accomplished your goal and your adversaries
start agreeing with you, as Moore pointed out, “it’s
time to stop hitting them over the head.” The alternative
is to become extreme in one’s cause, which is exactly
what the HRCs did.
But they do not have the monopoly on extreme action when
it comes to organizations whose success has made them less
necessary, thereby causing them to waver from their original
mandate.
Let’s take a look at our heritage organizations and
use Port Dalhousie as a case in point. Since Port Dalhousie
was designated as a heritage district, an extreme element
has been attempting to ignore the documented wishes of the
residents to not have “onerous” restrictions placed
upon them. The designation was used as a weapon to fight a
development that has been deemed by the OMB as “good
planning and in the public interest.” The same group
of people have fought to save a shack on Main Street that
is a derelict eyesore and had been condemned by the city.
In league with these people is the Architectural Conservancy
of Ontario (ACO) a group founded in 1933 with a mission “"to
preserve buildings and structures of architectural merit and
places of natural beauty or interest" Now, with the 2004
strengthening of the Ontario Heritage Act, the group is flexing
its muscles and stretching its mandate. Apart from the threat
of losing our property rights on our own home turf in the
Port Dalhousie Heritage District, ACO is taking on the Canadian
Armed Forces with bullying tactics.
At issue are two hangars at the Downsview Airport in Toronto.
ACO President, Lloyd Alter, made this comment in a posting
on their website: “...refuse to accept that some bureaucrat
in the DND can destroy an important piece of our city’s
history on a whim.”
I doubt it was “on a whim” but ACO may have a
point; after all, this is where the famed Avro Arrow was built.
But Alter also saw fit to encourage his membership to bombard
the CAF with emails. It is this tactic that bothers me. Why?
Because it’s too easy. It’s armchair protest that
doesn’t require commitment and wastes people’s
time. ACO has since retracted the request after receiving
a missive from Lt. General Andrew Leslie who stated: "I
am running an Army that is fighting a war. I do not have the
time or inclination to respond to them on an individual basis.
As well, they are a distraction to the main focus of what
I do as your Army Commander.”
Perhaps Alter recognized that his tactic was ‘extreme’,
but he may be echoing a majority voice of his membership.
ACO, like many organizations who started out with sound goals,
could benefit by more moderate voices in their organization.
Not all buildings are worth saving. Bullying tactics attract
militants and cost the group credibility. ¤
OUR COVER
Chicken Chuckin' on Martindale Pond
Fowlfest 2010 marked the 10th anniversary of the annual Chicken
Chuckin’ Championships. It also marked the inaugural
year for the weekend long festival.
The weather cooperated to a degree with sustained cold temperatures
that froze Martindale Pond to a safe limit. Unfortunately,
it stayed cold with a bristling wind and overcast skies. The
large tent provided by Dave Prentice of the Kilt & Clover,
where the championships originated, offered refuge and refreshments.
This is where we met Tom McPhee who later introduced us to
his daughter, Kaitlyn. Tom is the new cook at Moe’s
Tavern (Lakeport & Linwell) who was not in town to steal
anyone's ‘secret’ wing recipes, but to show his
daughter a good time. Her rosy cheeks were testament to her
appreciation of winter, and it wasn’t an effort to convince
her to wander a little further out onto the ice to pose for
a picture.
This year, Fowlfest added a few new dimensions to the event.
The tent for one, but also a wing eating contest and an opportunity
for patrons to sample wings at some of the restaurant bars
and fill in a ballot for their choice of the best. Scorecard
Harry’s owner, Mike Scott, when asked what made his
bar the winner replied, “twenty years of experience.”
And let’s not forget wings (and pizza) are Scorecard’s
specialty.
The event raised over $2000 for Hospice Niagara, while the
chucked chicken went to feed a team of sled dogs owned by
Dave Prentice’s brother. ¤
|
