The CBC reported today: “Organizers of a one-day website blackout say the Harper government is using its majority to force through environmental changes it never campaigned on, silencing its critics while it does the bidding of the oil industry.”

“More than 500 websites went dark on Monday, as a coalition of environmental groups, corporations, church groups and other political commentators joined forces for an “unprecedented” protest of what they see as the government’s effort to “silence” environmental voices using measures found in the omnibus budget implementation legislation.”

“Over one-third of [Bill] C-38′s text is devoted to short-circuiting Canada’s most important environmental laws,” said Rick Smith, the executive director of Environmental Defence Canada.”

To show that the Harperites are all for free speech 10 cabinet ministers fanned out across the country to tell, “the other side of the story.”  Excuse me, the other side of the story? Let me get this straight. The Harper government which won a majority government with less than 40% of the votes cast and who control in the most dictatorial manner ALL the levers of power have decided to send in the cavalry to ensure that ‘truth and justice’ prevail.

These are the same individuals who would read your emails, build more jails, throw potential immigrants who have followed the rules out of the immigration process, deprive refugees of health care, send many refugees back to face violence, persecution or even death, and who would destroy the environment and rid Canada of any real environmental protection to please their best buddies in the petroleum industry, these…people are now concerned that the truth should be told.

What would they even know of the truth? Minister Peter Kent in response to a question regarding a very real concern for parliamentary process posed by Megan Leslie the environment critic of the NDP, responded to the question by calling it “sanctimonious twaddle” to the hoots and jeers of his colleagues. The only time I have observed sanctimony is when the said minister of the Crown “defends” the cause of the petroleum industry and attempts to deflect attention from the very real questions and concerns offered by First Nations and other interested citizens as they seek to defend their lands and the environment.

Emile Zola once said, “If you shut up truth and bury it under the ground, it will but grow, and gather to itself such explosive power that the day it bursts through it will blow up everything in its way.” Let them use taxpayers money to churn out their propaganda, let them suppress the voices of the people, let them use the levers of power to injure the natural world, let them even resort to political trickery and ignoble acts which debase our parliamentary and governmental institutions, the rising anger of the citizens of Canada will inevitably sweep them away and with them their destructive inhuman policies. Let us hope it is sooner rather than later.