Harper No More protest planned in Vancouver as part of worldwide March Against Corruption

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      Rallies from coast to coast will be held Saturday (March 1) as part of the international campaign March Against Corruption.

      In Canada, the mass actions are billed as Harper No More in protest of the policies of the Conservative government of Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

      Tomorrow in Vancouver, protesters will gather outside the Vancouver Art Gallery at 1 p.m. for a march downtown.

      “One of the ideas that I like to get across is that people need to understand that the government doesn’t always have their best interest in mind,” UBC student and rally organizer Shannon Hecker told the Straight in a phone interview.

      “They should not just blindly follow. People need to start being proactive in taking their future into their own hands and be the future they want to see,” Hecker said.

      “Get involved in your community. Do what you can where you are to make the world a better place,” Hecker added.

      In B.C., similar rallies are being organized in Courtenay, Sechelt, and Victoria.

      The international campaign’s website states: “The March Against Corruption is an international campaign to raise awareness about the corrupting influence of money and special interests in governance and public policy making; to provide a forum for people, to organize and speak out against corruption; and to educate the public about the consequences of corruption.”

      The campaign seeks to promote nonviolent resistance: “The March Against Corruption is dedicated toward promoting democracy and human dignity alike. We are a movement that utilizes direct action to raise awareness about the corrupting influence of money and special interests in governance and public policy making. We welcome all individuals to participate with respect to our commitment toward nonviolent action.”

      Comments

      11 Comments

      Forest

      Feb 28, 2014 at 12:57pm

      I'm in. Now if we can only convince the Libs and the NDP to form a coalition government. Enough is enough!

      Liz

      Feb 28, 2014 at 1:36pm

      What crap - the present government is the best we have had for decades.

      sergey m

      Feb 28, 2014 at 1:59pm

      Thank you Hecker, for looking after the grey masses!
      Will join you.

      sergey m

      Feb 28, 2014 at 2:02pm

      Exactly Liz, What a crap present goverment we have it for decades!

      G

      Feb 28, 2014 at 2:39pm

      First of all that has to be the worst sign I have seen protesting Harpo. Second, why is it that so many people seem convinced the problem is Harpo rather than the system? Harpo really isn't much different than previous PMs who had mark privy governments, and his percentage of the popular vote wasn't uniquely low in our history. The system itself is flawed and it doesn't matter which of the Liberals or Cons get the split. Our Constitution enforces an inequitable distribution of seats in the House of Commons over-representing some Provinces whilst giving others, including BC, the minimal representation required by law. PEI has 4 seats in the House with a population less than 5,000 more than Vancouver Centre: the "tradition" and laws that maintain such over representation are illogical and inimical to representative government.

      Protesting the government of the day is a largely partisan enterprise as those carrying signs and chanting have no problem with the system when their party wins. Unfortunately most of the politically active crowd are dedicated to one herd or another and have no interest in seeing the system change on the chance that someday their masters will form the government. That is why there can never be meaningful electoral reform at any level: the people making the decisions are the ones who benefitted from the flawed system.

      James G

      Feb 28, 2014 at 4:40pm

      Great idea to target corruption! Only, the line of demarcation between this government and it's predecessors has been one of ideology, not malfeasance. What point a protest singling out this increasingly right-wing government over issues that make it look slightly better than the Liberals? Could it be that some might want that to happen? Or have some people simply no memory and no access to information about why the Liberals were turfed? If you listen carefully, you can nearly hear the once well-connected drooling at the prospect of another Liberal government and a new feeding frenzy.

      Emmanuel Goldstein

      Feb 28, 2014 at 5:28pm

      CSEC has the Decepticons on lockdown for the next election. Not only have they increased their funding, the Cons all but dissolved the watchdog office so NSA/GCHQ/CSEC have free roam now over Canadian politics. Remember those 2 ex NSA guy's who spoke at UoT sounding the alarm about democracy disappearing due to totalitarian levels of domestic spying? See what happens next election

      cuz

      Feb 28, 2014 at 6:38pm

      As if the ndpp or justin the teeth could better.

      Don't obsess on Harper: it's the entire system that sucks!

      Mar 1, 2014 at 11:08am

      It's so easy to hate Stephen Harper, his bully ways, his Thatcherism etc, but he is simply the corporate go-boy du jour, and he will be replaced by another corporate go-boy, whether Liberal or N.D.P or another Tory. Forget Harper's machiavellian style and crude manipulations (e.g. fixating on 'crime', manipulating this sector of the electorate against that). Would you rather have a handsome, charming, duplicitous Obama/Trudeau figure spouting whatever platitudes are needed out of one side of their mouths while they enact essentially the same policies as Harper, albeit with "kinder, gentler" rhetoric? The problem is capitalism, not Stephen Harper.

      From my perspective...

      Mar 1, 2014 at 9:47pm

      @ Don't Obsess...

      I don't believe anyone is saying it is Harper alone. Most of realize the system is far from perfect but it doesn't stand a chance of improving with Harper at the helm. He has only made things worse. He is the most corrupt PM this country has ever seen, you only need to lay out the facts, sans-judgement, to see that is true. He really does need to get the hell out of office, and it can't happen soon enough. Personally, I am looking forward to when the Police are finished their investigation and the results are made public.