Sad... is all I can say. Canadians are being let down by our own government. Every time you turn around some minority group is whining and complaining. If you are a minority or an imigrant you have rights........
I was a civil servant in Ottawa for 8 years before I moved to the USA. What I remember the most was the smug attitude prevalent in the government - basically, people went around feeling smug and superior - that "They" were the Enlightened Ones, and the place of "Citizens" was to follow their lead like "serfs".
There was also this belief that They were not to be messed with - I mean someone could be a stock room clerk, and they'd literally think that people in the general population should not "mess" with them - because they were In The Government. Everyone was on a power trip, and it was all about about controlling people.
Laziness and sloth were ingrained and encouraged - after all - They were the "Anointed Ones" (yes some would actually refer to themselves as "Anointed Ones"). Another popular phrase was "The Little People don't know any better - our role is to Enlighten them".
It was like the entire population was made up idiotic children that needed to be led - not only in action, but in way of thinking.
It was amazing - if any individual questioned anything They did, the "problem" was that the said individual was a deviant self-thinker - not in line with the rest of the Enlightened World. They truly believed if they did not lead everyone, society would self destruct in a wave of self interest. They dealt with rabble-rousers by focusing all their might on them and crushing them as an individuals. They still do it today.
When I worked for Them, I worked on software designed to track the media - it was a database that kept track of media articles about the government - specifically reporters that were negative towards the ruling party (then, the Liberal party of Canada). When reporters stuck out as troublemakers, they went to work on them - usually by pressuring their Editors to have them toe-the-line or get them fired. A number of reporters had their careers destroyed during the infamous HRDC scandal in 1998 (where 1 billion dollars went, and still is, "missing"). I have their careers on my conscience (my software tracked them), and that episode was a major reason why I quit the civil service. I was a young idealist then, and they used me.
Canada is a seriously MESSED UP country - it's a bizarre mix of old English "class" society, combined with some American influences, but with a very left wing slant to it.
Since immigrating to the USA, I've purposefully stayed away from defining myself as a "Democrat" or "Republican" - I distrust both - but I can tell you that I shudder whenever a high level politician points to Canada as an "ideal society". Whenever I see a politician dreamily refer to Canada as some kind of Utopia I know exactly what kind of ambition this politician has.
I've learned from experience that the move government you have, the more comfortable, and bold, They get. It's a surefire recipe for abuses of power.
