The Government of Prime Minister Stephen Harper Makes Its Choice for Canada
By Anthony J. Hall, Professor of Globalization Studies, University of Lethbridge
Just two days after the Calgary Chamber of Commerce hosted former US President George W. Bush in his speaking engagement before an adoring crowd of rich business executives, the minority government of Prime Minister Stephen Harper has banned George Galloway from entering Canada to address anti-war audiences.
James Clark of the Toronto Coalition to Stop the War condemned the Harper government’s effort to prevent the silver tongued British MP from speaking in Canada as “a frontal attack on free speech.” Galloway himself referred to the action of his would-be censors as a “last-ditch” efforts by Canada’s “right-wing dead enders” to promote the Bush brand in a country once known more for its peace keeping rather than its waging of aggressive war in close alliance with the torture-mongering former custodian of the White House.
The contrast between Bush and Galloway could not be more dramatic. The decision by the Calgary Chamber of Commerce as well as the Bennett Jones law firm to host the former US president did not go unchallenged. Many millions around the world point to Bush’s badly bloodied hands as chief executive for the dirty work done in waging his fraudulent War on Terror.
Lawyers Against War submitted detailed evidence to the Canadian Ministry of Immigration and to the Canadian Ministry of Justice highlighting evidence that “George W. Bush is a person credibly accused of torture and other gross human rights violations, crimes against humanity and war crimes.”
In a widely-published Internet article entitled “Bush League Justice: Should George W. Bush Be Arrested in Calgary Alberta to Be Tried for International Crimes,” I explored the legal and political implications of the choices raised for Canadian law enforcement agencies and the Harper government by the decision of Canada’s Oil Patch executives to wine and dine the former US president.
With the enthusiastic backing of his lawyer, former US president Ramsay Clark, the legendary Mohawk Warrior and Attica Brother, Splitting The Sky, dramatized the failure of Canadian law enforcement agencies to uphold the Canadian War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity Act.
Please see the gripping video of Splitting the Sky being arrested as he calls for the arrest of George W. Bush.
Take Action
Our freedom of speech is on the line! Take Action! Here are some things you can do:
1. Sign the petition at http://petitiononline.com/galcan09/petition.html.
2. Contact Immigration Minister Jason Kenney and tell him to take of his brown shirt and smarten up!
3. Email your MP. Here is where to get the address.
4. Write a letter to the editor of your local paper; call your favourite radio talk show host; make a fuss!
Paul S. Graham 