Mark Warner, the ousted Conservative Candidate in Toronto Centre, has warned in a video posted to MySpace that he is “concerned” that the government of Stephen Harper has “a hidden agenda with respect to capital punishment.” Recent actions have indicated that this government no longer opposes the death penalty for Canadian citizens or internationally.
Warner, an international lawyer, explains why he believes that recent actions by the Conservative government are designed to lay the groundwork for a long-term dismantling of the legal arguments against capital punishment in Canada. This is consistent with Harper’s leaked strategy of “incremental Conservatism,” whereby right-wing policies are introduced slowly, with increasing extremism.
The former candidate also points out how much Harper is damaging Canada’s reputation internationally, saying, “this decision has been greeted with outrage by the kind of people who normally applaud the actions of Canada.”
You can watch the full video here.
so we protect Americans from being killed here and not Canadians from being killed in the U.S. – huh…
:/
i want to throw a pie at Harper one day…
Don’t you think it would be responsible for you to point out that this video was produced by the special interest group Canadian Coalition Against the Death Penalty, which appears to have been around since 1998, based upon how far its archives go back on its website?
Who, might I ask, has the real hidden agenda?
Oh yeah, you wrote: “Recent actions have indicated that this government no longer opposes the death penalty for Canadian citizens or internationally.”
The link you provided doesn’t say this. It states: “An official with the Foreign Affairs Department says Canada will vote in favour of the resolution when it comes to the floor of the UN General Assembly in December, but will not sponsor it. ”
Aren’t you being economical with the truth?
Yes, Dot, you are bang on the money about the “hidden agenda”. Well done finding one here! Posted public, on the World Wide Web, but hidden…but to your point: the “Canadian Coalition Against the Death Penalty” must, as you suggest, have a hidden agenda.
Now just what could those people be about? Maybe there’s a clue in the obtuse name if we just parse it a bit harder…