While perusing the latest at the New Scientist website, I ran across an editorial by one Bob Holmes detailing How Canada's green credentials fell apart. It's a rather depressing read, worth taking a look at as a cautionary tale.
MOST people around the world, if they think of Canada at all, think of it as the national equivalent of the nice boy they'd like their daughter to marry. A bit boring, perhaps, but unfailingly polite, and someone you can always count on to do the right thing. That is a stereotype, of course, but like most stereotypes there is some truth to it, as those of us who live here recognise.
Lately, though, that nice boy has turned into a bit of a bully. Last year, the Conservative Party of Canada, led by Stephen Harper, won a parliamentary majority after being in a minority government for five years. It has since staked out an aggressively right-wing position on many issues, notably science and the environment.
The Harper government has abandoned Canada's climate commitments, cut back on science spending and muzzled government scientists who might stray from the official line. Hardly the cuddly Canada the world thought it knew.
I'd suggest
going to the link and reading the rest, including the comments. Think of it as a preview of what things will be like if the Republicans end up with both houses of Congress and the White House along with the Supreme Court come November.
I don't know if Canadian Conservatives have declared war on women yet, or if they'll try to profitize their healthcare system, but I'm sure it's on the agenda given what they just did to their retirement system.
Conservatives: turning everything to crap wherever they take power.
UPDATE: account of an interview with Harper, by Captainlaser