Linda Leon's Blog

How can the Canadian government combat hate crimes?

Linda Leon — Thu, 02 Feb 2017 03:12:56 +0000

An open letter to:

Ahmed Hussen, Minister of Immigration

Ralph Goodale, Minister of Public Safety

Gentlemen,

Canadians watch aghast as intolerance, misogyny and xenophobia sweep the United States, and creep into Canada.

Six innocent men were murdered, many others grievously wounded and families harmed in Québec City on January 29. This atrocity occurred at a place of worship during prayer.

It is not a coincidence that a similar crime was committed in a African American Church in Charleston, South Carolina less than two years ago. Extreme right wing groups fomenting violence are now in Canada with connections to larger American counterparts.

Dear Justin Trudeau: Canada is now sleeping with a rabid, thin-skinned elephant

Linda Leon — Tue, 15 Nov 2016 19:20:52 +0000

Dear Mr. Trudeau,

Your father once observed that Canada's relationship with the United States was like that of a mouse sleeping with an elephant. Since the election of Donald Trump, that relationship is even more fraught with peril. We are now sleeping with a rabid elephant, which has a very thin skin and poor impulse control.

So how will your government deal with this terrible state of affairs?

I applaud your determination to keep to the high road and remain polite. However, push will come to shove at some point. How do we protect ourselves while remaining on speaking terms with a powerful government led by rabid elephants?

Have you looked to Lester Pearson for inspiration?

Referendum simply wrong tool to resolve complex questions on electoral reform

Linda Leon — Thu, 29 Sep 2016 18:18:17 +0000

On Monday, September 26, the Special Committee on Electoral Reform was in Whitehorse seeking opinions from Yukoners. Questions centered on which electoral models could, or could not, serve the North and Yukon. The ensuing discussions revealed just how difficult it will be to come up with an electoral system that serves all Canadians well. Electoral reform is a daunting project.

Most Conservatives will tell you that we should keep the First Past the Post electoral system because it works perfectly well. And it does...for the Conservative Party of Canada. (Beware of conservatives disguised as defenders of democracy.)

Open letter to Rona Ambrose on negative politicking

Linda Leon — Thu, 25 Aug 2016 22:38:10 +0000

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Open Letter to Rona Ambrose,

Interim Leader of the Conservative Party of Canada

Dear Ms. Ambrose,

If Yukon Liberals used the Conservatives' dirty tactics, what would their ads look like?

Linda Leon — Thu, 08 Oct 2015 16:00:23 +0000

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The Conservative Party, on behalf of Yukon MP Ryan Leef, has mailed out campaign flyers depicting Liberal Larry Bagnell as a nefarious scoundrel, painted scary red, who "BROKE HIS PROMISE" and will bring back the long-gun registry!

Dear Ryan: It's time to move on

Linda Leon — Fri, 28 Aug 2015 05:29:00 +0000

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Open Letter to Ryan Leef, MP for Yukon

Dear Ryan,

Dear Ryan: Take a stand against voter suppression!

Linda Leon — Thu, 13 Aug 2015 20:08:12 +0000

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Open Letter to Ryan Leef, MP for Yukon

Dear Ryan,

Voter suppression can help the unscrupulous win elections.

Negative politicking in the form of vicious smear campaigns and fear/hate mongering are straight from the playbooks of the cynical strategists who have been advising Republicans for decades and Stephen Harper more recently.

Dear Ryan: Give Canada a fair democracy. Change our voting system.

Linda Leon — Mon, 20 Jul 2015 22:39:34 +0000

Open Letter to Ryan Leef, Member of Parliament for Yukon

Dear Ryan,

Recently, a German dinner guest boasted about the superiority of the German electoral system.

So I did some research to see just how superior Germany's system was to other systems, including Canada's First Past the Post, (FPTP), electoral system.

Dear Ryan: Stand up for law and order!

Linda Leon — Fri, 19 Jun 2015 01:32:02 +0000

Ryan Leef, Member of Parliament for Yukon

Dear Ryan,

When the Canadian Access to Information Act came into force under Prime Minister Trudeau in 1983, it was considered the most progressive model for freedom of information legislation in the world. The Protection of Privacy Act, companion legislation, ensures that individuals' rights to privacy are not compromised by public access to information. The two Acts are, together, referred to as ATIP.

Under ATIP, the public is guaranteed timely access to information relating to all government business.

Dear Ryan: Please don't troll me!

Linda Leon — Thu, 14 May 2015 03:48:53 +0000

Ryan Leef, Member of Parliament for Yukon

Dear Ryan,

Internet trolls are people who use distortions, false dichotomies, insults, threats and other inflammatory statements to disrupt online debate. Comments from trolls are cries for attention from furious outcasts and are best ignored.

However, troll-speak is common in certain professions. Professionals who use troll-speak are coldly calculating manipulators of public opinion. Some of them troll-speak because their held ideologies are indefensible in reasoned debate. Others behave like trolls because that is where their talents lie and because they are well paid to do it.

Dear Ryan: We need to talk about political corruption

Linda Leon — Fri, 17 Apr 2015 18:13:30 +0000

Ryan Leef, Member of Parliament for Yukon

Dear Ryan,

What, in your view, constitutes political corruption?

Graft, the practice of using one's political position for financial gain, is what usually comes to mind when considering political corruption.

Senator Mike Duffy pursued opportunities for personal financial gain from his Senate position. Perhaps Duffy thought he was entitled to extra perks because of his usefulness as a campaigner and fundraiser for the Conservative Party. From the lengths that your caucus went to hide Duffy's peccadillos, it appears that Conservatives thought so too.

Dear Ryan: I don't trust the motives behind Bill C-51

Linda Leon — Fri, 06 Mar 2015 16:55:00 +0000

Ryan Leef, Member of Parliament for Yukon

Dear Ryan,

"The government made this decision because we do not believe Canadians should be forced, under threat of fines, jail, or both, to disclose extensive private and personal information."

The above statement came from the Prime Minster's Office in 2010 to justify the cutting of the mandatory Long Form Census.

Can you explain how that squares with an increase in surveillance of ordinary Canadians by the RCMP and CSIS allowed through Bill C-51, the Anti-terrorism bill?

Dear Ryan: Don't pretend the Harper government cares about free speech

Linda Leon — Mon, 19 Jan 2015 19:24:18 +0000

Ryan Leef
Member of Parliament for Yukon

Dear Ryan.

"Does this pencil make me look fat?"

Stephen Harper held the pencil above his head.

Foreign Affairs Minister, John Baird, was embarrassed.

The Prime Minister had asked his most trusted advisers to help him stage a compelling, vote-winning, fundraising, reaction to the murders of the Charlie Hebdo cartoonists by terrorists.

"Never let a serious crisis go to waste," said Stephen Harper, reminding them of Rahm's Rule of Crisis Management.

"Mr. Prime Minister, you look absolutely heroic! Anyone who says different gets a Revenue Canada audit!" said the Conservative Party campaign manager, Jenni Byrne.

Dear Ryan: The tragedy of the Yukon's commons

Linda Leon — Wed, 17 Dec 2014 18:14:10 +0000

Ryan Leef, Member of Parliament for Yukon

Dear Ryan,

The Tragedy of the Commons is a famous paper published in the magazine, Science, in 1968. In it, ecologist Garrett Hardin wrote about the finite resources of the planet and the impossibility of protecting those common resources without government intervention through regulations. Hardin was mainly concerned with the need for population control. But he also believed that the same principles should be applied to the protection of the environment as a commons, from excesses by industry.

Hardin studied English feudal societies where groups of commoners shared unregulated access to pastureland or "commons."

Dear Ryan: We've found the cause of conservatism, but is there a cure?

Linda Leon — Wed, 03 Dec 2014 05:02:50 +0000

Ryan Leef, Member of Parliament for Yukon

Dear Ryan,

On November 17, CBC's, The Current, had a feature on Keystone XL pipeline and its potential effect on Canada's ability to achieve its 2020 greenhouse gas emissions targets. Anna Maria Tremonti mediated a debate between Keith Stewart from Greenpeace and Ron Liepert, a senior advisor for the Canadian Strategy Group and the nominated federal Conservative Party candidate for Calgary Signal Hill.

Dear Ryan: Don't vote for Bill S-6

Linda Leon — Thu, 30 Oct 2014 23:16:59 +0000

Ryan Leef, Member of Parliament for Yukon

Dear Ryan,

Senator Lang's, Bill S-6, "An Act to amend the Yukon Environmental and Socio-economic Assessment Act and the Nunavut Waters and Nunavut Surface Rights Tribunal Act" has Senate approval and is before Parliament. It was introduced through the unelected Senate, an allowable, if questionable, route for bills to take. The short title is: Yukon and Nunavut Regulatory Improvement Act.

Here is part of the introduction to the Yukon Environmental and Socioeconomic Assessment Act (YESAA):

Dear Ryan: What's with the left-leaning non-profit witchhunts?

Linda Leon — Wed, 24 Sep 2014 16:26:53 +0000

Ryan Leef, Member of Parliament for Yukon

Dear Ryan,

The Conservative Party has redacted official documents, been charged with contempt of Parliament for failure to disclose information on the cost of their crime bill and the fate of the Afghan detainees, destroyed scientific reports under Fisheries and Oceans, threatened public servants, blacklisted artist Franke James and muzzled scientists.

Censoring non-government organizations (NGOs) is another way to suppress dissent.

Dear Ryan: How are wedge politics working out for Stephen?

Linda Leon — Mon, 18 Aug 2014 03:36:08 +0000

Ryan Leef Member of Parliament for Yukon

Dear Ryan,

Adam Goldenberg, writing for the Canadian Jewish News, said this about the Conservative government's policy on the Middle East. "This is the dark underbelly of the prime minister's otherwise laudable support for the Jewish state: his party has snatched vice from the jaws of virtue and turned Israel into a partisan bauble, a mere wedge to divide the electorate."

Dear Ryan: Protect the Peel River Watershed!

Linda Leon — Thu, 17 Jul 2014 22:10:05 +0000

Ryan Leef Member of Parliament for Yukon

Dear Ryan,

We need your help.

The Peel River Watershed is a pristine area in northern Yukon prized by First Nations and famous worldwide for its extraordinary beauty.

Dear Ryan: Conservatives are not under seige from the media!

Linda Leon — Fri, 13 Jun 2014 22:16:35 +0000

Please help rabble.ca stop Harper's election fraud plan. Become a monthly supporter.

Ryan Leef, Member of Parliament for Yukon

Dear Ryan,

A recent Conservative Party fundraising letter disguised as an anti-CBC rant and survey from propagandist, Fred DeLorey, was leaked to Friends of CBC.

Dear Ryan: The Unfair Elections Act is a law Pierre Poutine can be proud of

Linda Leon — Fri, 23 May 2014 16:22:29 +0000

Ryan Leef

Member of Parliament for Yukon

Dear Ryan,

On May 13, Bill C-23, the Unfair Elections Act passed. It now awaits rubberstamping by the Conservative Senate.

While clauses with the worst optics for the Conservative government have been removed, Bill C-23 remains a document that Pierre Poutine can be proud of.

Dear Ryan: Dismantling democratic safeguards through Bill C-520

Linda Leon — Mon, 28 Apr 2014 16:08:06 +0000

Ryan Leef, Member of Parliament for Yukon

Dear Ryan,

Thank you for working on a private member's bill to require situation-appropriate sentencing and treatment for those suffering from foetal alcohol syndrome disorder (FASD) who run afoul of the law. This is a worthy project.

Dear Ryan: The Fair Elections Act is an insult to our intelligence!

Linda Leon — Sun, 30 Mar 2014 02:41:31 +0000

Ryan Leef

Member of Parliament for Yukon

Dear Ryan,

In a letter to the Yukon News, March 19, you said, "the Fair Elections Act will ensure citizens are in charge of democracy."

While Bill C-23 imposes punishments to those who are caught committing electoral crime, you are incorrect to state that it will empower the Commissioner of Canada Elections (CCE). The CCE may no longer compel witnesses to testify. The CCE will be answerable to the Attorney General, which unlike Elections Canada is not an arms length institution. The Act enforces secrecy about investigations undertaken by both the CCE and the Director of Public Prosecution. These cases will be exempt from Access to Information requirements.

Dear Ryan: Unfair Elections Bill C-23

Linda Leon — Tue, 25 Feb 2014 19:29:29 +0000

Ryan Leef

Member of Parliament for Yukon

Dear Ryan,

Former premier of Alberta Ralph Klein, a man big on partisanship and short on principles, considered an educational public radio station, CKUA, a thorn in his side. To solve this problem, he appointed a crony as both board chair and CEO of CKUA. According to Marylu Walters' book, Radio Worth Fighting For, Gail Hinchliffe paid herself, board members and friends huge salaries and fees while bankrupting the radio station and blaming staff for financial mismanagement. Problem solved from Klein's point of view.

Dear Ryan: Barbarians are destroying our libraries. Again.

Linda Leon — Mon, 20 Jan 2014 17:01:43 +0000

Member of Parliament for Yukon

Dear Ryan,

Parroting fossil fuel mandarins, Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver insists over and over again, "People need to listen to the facts! And the science!" Actions speak louder than words. Anyone who cares to look can see that the Conservative government has an aversion to facts. As a result of Bill C-38, important scientific laboratories and programs were defunded. Canadian public sector scientists have had their numbers decimated. Pure science has been abandoned in favour of industrial research, yet another indirect subsidy for the fossil fuel sector. Libraries and Archives Canada have seen crippling budget cuts and the Long Form Census has been terminated.

Dear Ryan: Go rogue and support the Reform Act

Linda Leon — Tue, 17 Dec 2013 22:49:12 +0000

Ryan Leef

Member of Parliament for Yukon

Dear Ryan,

Two novels by Terry Fallis have received attention lately. Best Laid Plans won the Stephen Leacock Award for humour in 2008. The sequel, The High Road, was even funnier. Both books follow the political adventures of an accidental MP, Angus McLintock. McLintock goes rogue. He refuses to support his own party's policies when they score partisan points at the expense of the common good. He tells his constituents the truth. And they believe him.

The reason behind the popularity of these novels is that it appeals to a longing for authentic leadership amongst Canadians.

Dear Ryan: Scandals and Stephen, the 'honourable man'

Linda Leon — Thu, 21 Nov 2013 20:07:18 +0000

Dear Ryan,

"Come I to speak in Caesar's funeral. He was my friend, faithful and just to me:
Yet Brutus says he was ambitious; And Brutus is an honourable man."

The quote is from Mark Anthony's speech at the funeral of Caesar from Julius Caesar by Shakespeare.

We are living in Shakespearian times, Ryan. Large figures are brought low by intrigue, ambition and hubris.

Senator Dan Lang, with regard to the senate scandal, told the Yukon News, "All I know is that the Prime Minister is an honourable man, and he’s doing the best he can for Canada."

Dear Ryan: Canada Jobs Grant vs. Labour Market Agreement

Linda Leon — Tue, 08 Oct 2013 17:28:32 +0000

Ryan Leef, Member of Parliament for Yukon

Dear Ryan,

Last month Canada's territorial and provincial premiers met to discuss the Canada Jobs Grant (CJG), which the federal government wants to launch with their co-operation. The premiers are not happy.

Dear Ryan: A better class of political parties

Linda Leon — Wed, 18 Sep 2013 00:43:30 +0000

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Dear Ryan: Conservative Party propaganda

Linda Leon — Tue, 13 Aug 2013 23:47:54 +0000

Dear Ryan,

In July, the Toronto Star published a fake Braille Ten Percenter that, aside from the Member's name and photo, was identical to the one you mailed to Yukoners. The content was designed by the Conservative Party propaganda team, the Conservative Caucus Research Bureau.

According to the House of Commons Board of Internal Economy rules, the Ten Percenters "must originate with the Member." The convoluted rules around these publicly funded flyers have been bent to the point of absurdity. But this rule is very clear.