No action on human rights
Prime Minister Mulroney kicked an MP from Alberta out of the Tory
caucus to enforce party discipline on the Goods and Services Tax.
He packed the Senate to make sure the GST eventually passes.
He spent more than $35 million tax dollars on propaganda to get
Canadians to accept the GST without kicking him out of office.
The millions and muscle he spent before that on the U.S. trade deal
is another example of what the Preem can and will do for a program
his financial and political backers want.
He's not lifted a finger - not even the Trudeau digit - to show
any interest in human rights issues in Canada.
The only Mulroney Minister of Justice to come right out with a deadline
for passing needed amendments to the Canadian Human Rights Act -
John Crosbie - was shifted from the job before the promise came
due.
Ray Hnatyshyn replaced Crosbie and would say only that the government
would keep its promises as soon as possible. Now he's signing our
$20 bills as Governor General of Canada.
Hnatyshyn's successor as Justice Minister - Doug Lewis - came close
to saying the amendments were just months away early last year.
He ended up heading the Transportation Ministry in the next Cabinet
shift.
Now we have Kim Campbell, an ambitious - if nothing else - person
from British Columbia.
It took Campbell more than 100 days to respond to a written request
from the Advocate for information on when to expect the amendments
and what new coverage, if any, is planned.
Nothing in her answers hints at any commitment...
From the October-November issue of The Canadian Human Rights Advocate.
The Advocate ceased publishing at the end of 1990 because financial
difficulties faced by human rights groups, coupled with the GST
and large increases in postal rates, made continued publication
impossible.
Published in the Connexions Digest #53, January 1991
(CX4171)
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