Despite our efforts in this campaign, Bill C-36 was voted in and is now law as Canada’s Consumer Product Protection Safety Act.
CLICK HERE FOR STATUS OF BILL C-36
Thank you to all of you who emailed, called and faxed, time after time during the weeks of the campaign [Nov 22 – Dec 13 2010]. It is not lost on us that many of you were probably involved since the inception of this proposed legislation from Bill C-52 in 2008.
An excerpt from Senator Cowan’s address to the Senate December 13 2010 with a conclusion summarizing the oppositions position of Bill C-36 and the process:
“In my view, honourable senators, most or all of this rancour could have been avoided if the government had demonstrated a little flexibility in its approach to the witness list and a little more patience in its approach to the bill itself. There were Canadians who wanted to be heard and many more Canadians who wanted those voices heard. That is the democratic way. Listening to Canadians and reflecting on their views and concerns is what has allowed us to improve this legislation before and is what we should have been allowed to do this time. That is our job. By slamming the door on those witnesses, we have failed Canadians and we have failed to do the job that under the Constitution we were called upon to do.
We on this side take our role as an opposition very seriously. We are committed to fulfilling our constitutional responsibility. We will support legislative measures that we believe are in the best interests of Canada. We will oppose and we will seek where possible to improve measures that in our view are contrary to that interest.
However, let there be no doubt in anyone’s mind: We will not be bullied by the government that now has the majority of members in this place.”
CLICK HERE to read transcripts from both Committee with respect to the NHPPA’s Shawn to Senate campaign and complete Third Reading sessions.
It took time for those thousands of Canadians who acted with us, to participate, and not withdraw. We needed their involvement to make our work real. Everyday citizens are the necessary extension to give national civic muscle to our expertise. Every letter, email, phone call, fax and post helps to establish the freedom meme. Thank you to everyone who did not wait for others to speak for you. Thank you for your commitment to engage and move out of your comfort zone to advocate for the protection of our Constitution, our Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the established legal rights Canadian courts say we have.
If you want to continue moving through the steps we are taking to challenge this decision please join NHPPA’s E-mail list and our Facebook page. It is by far the best way to hear about our next steps first hand and become involved in our initiatives to work at making right laws and regulations that undermine our fundamental freedoms.
“We are only undefeated because we have gone on trying.” — T.S Eliot
OBITUARY FOR THE RULE OF LAW
written by Shawn Buckley for the NHPPA on Dec 14 2010
Rule of Law – Born June 15, 1215, died December 13 2010
It is with sadness and the deepest of regrets that we announce the death of the Rule of Law in the area of consumer products. Born in England with the Magna Carta, the Rule of Law immigrated to Canada and flourished. She influenced Courts and politicians alike. Despite the odd set-back, everyone thought she was alive and well. Read More… English | French
If you have just been made aware of the implications of this law please review the campaign below as well as the Shawn To Senate campaign and our Freedom In Crisis Lecture Tour for background to NHPPA’s position.
CLICK HERE to download and read NHPPA’s Bill C-36 Discussion Paper
CLICK HERE to donate to the legal challenge.
CLICK HERE to read Harper Government’s Consumer Product Safety Act Passes Parliament – Health Canada News Release December 13 2010
KEEP THE PRESSURE ON. ACT TODAY. Dec 13/10
WE ARE MAKING A DIFFERENCE.
TIMELINE: MORNING, MONDAY DECEMBER 13 2010
WHO: CANADIAN’S WHO’VE TAKEN THE TIME TO ACT AND THOSE WHO’VE NOT.
WE NEED YOU TO BECOME ENGAGED. AND STAY ENGAGED.
READ THIS CRITICAL ACTION AND CARVE 30 MINUTES OUT OF YOUR MORNING TO PARTICIPATE. PARLIAMENT WILL NOT WAIT.
CLICK HERE FOR STATUS OF BILL C-36
TIME FOR ACCOUNTABILITY.
IT FALLS TO THE PEOPLE TO REMIND PARLIAMENT OUR RIGHTS AND CONSTITUTION ARE NOT FOR SALE. LET’S GET TO IT.
Bill C-36 has been adjourned in its second day of third reading. It’s not over.
And it’s not over because of you. Every call, email, hand-written letter and fax to a politician convinces someone that Canadians are watching. Your representatives know that the slavery of the Harper government to big business and international interests is transparently clear to voters.
Every communication you have sent has contained the message that angry Canadians will never let their representatives live down the end of democracy in this country if Bill C-36 passes. We’ve asked a lot from you. We’ve asked you to be relentless. You may be burned out now but IT’S NOT OVER BECAUSE OF YOU.
You split the Senate committee, you enabled senators such as Senator Day to demand time for the Minister to consider the implications of an un-amended bill. You exposed the unconstitutional behaviour of Conservative senators, as they were cornered into voting along unthinking partisan lines.
WE HAVE ONE MORE ASK: DON’T STOP NOW.
TELL GOVERNMENT WHAT YOU THINK OF THEIR REFUSAL TO HEAR YOU.
It’s time to think about consequences. This campaign includes, not only the senators who stand between Canadians and democracy, but sends a new message to Prime Minister Harper, to Health Minister Aglukkaq, and to select bureaucrats within Health Canada who will be affected by the consequences of Bill C-36 passing.
CONSEQUENCE 1) HOLD HEALTH CANADA EMPLOYEES ACCOUNTABLE. If Bill C-36 passes, specific individuals will be responsible for undermining the rule of law in Canada. Those who wrote the Bill, those who promoted it, those who turned a blind eye to its failings and those who chose, deliberately, to close their ears to scholarly counsel, will be complicit in the betrayal of your rights as Canadians. Those responsible for drafting and promoting laws that undermine our fundamental freedoms need to be held personally accountable. No person complicit in advancing unconstitutional laws should remain employed by the Citizens of Canada. Where appropriate, they should be held legally responsible for their actions.
CONSEQUENCE 2) DISASTER AT THE BALLOT BOX. If this Bill passes and businesses go to the wall with no protection of legal defence, the entrepreneurs who form conservative strongholds across the country will either leave these shores or change their vote. The Conservatives have made it a party issue, so why shouldn’t we? This is a national ‘community’ issue that will urge everyone who remembers this process to vote against the Conservative government the next chance they get.
CONSEQUENCE 3) LEGAL CHALLENGES. Health Canada will face a barrage of constitutional challenges to their new powers to bypass the rule of law and the Canadian constitution. Actions which appear to be legal under Bill C-36 but which lead to actual harm to Canadians will result in legal challenges. Persons complicit in advancing this Law which undermines our fundamental legal foundations should face legal consequences where appropriate.
CONSEQUENCE 4) PUBLIC ENQUIRY. The fact that our system of parliamentary scrutiny failed to protect Canadians from bad laws begs so many questions that a public enquiry is the only answer. Should this Bill pass, Canadians will be entitled to be told how their representatives were able to justify turning their backs on the fundamental basis of our democracy, the rule of law and transparency.
TELLING YOUR REPRESENTATIVES THEY ARE ACCOUNTABLE
WE ARE ASKING YOU TO EMAIL AGAIN.
We have no template letter for you, since they lay us open to the accusation that you are a computer generated name and not a real person.
However we are aware that it isn’t easy to compose a letter from nowhere.
Here’s our compromise.
STEP 2
Please pick 3-4 of your favourites and cut/paste them into a letter. We suggest that you open your letter with a short introduction noting that, since your representatives have chosen not to hear your voice in the past, you are sending the voices of experts, scholars and writers to speak on your behalf.
In this way we can generate hundreds of unique letters. Pull the things that you feel most strongly about from our suggestions and feel free to copy and paste excepts from this posting as well, with the attribution NHPPA editorial.
STEP 3
EMAIL, CALL AND FAX TODAY.
* Do not worry if some emails come back… most are landing.
Apple Computer Users, please READ the Technical and Content information about the ONE CLICKS below.
CHOOSE AN INDIVIDUAL SENATOR TO CONTACT
CLICK HERE TO FIND SENATORS PHONE, EMAIL AND FAX
HOW MUCH TIME IS YOUR FREEDOM WORTH TODAY?
We need 30 minutes out of your day (preferably this morning).
If you like, add words of your own. Tell Senate, the Prime Minister, the Health Minister and Health Canada that you can still see them. That their evasions and excuses for betraying the democratic process don’t fool you. That handing Canada over to the unfettered rule of bureaucrats, proven to be in thrall to big business, is a crime which will not be forgiven at the ballot box or in the law courts.
LET THEM KNOW WE AREN’T GOING AWAY.
CLICK HERE TO READ DECEMBER 13 THIRD READING (FULL SENATE)
CLICK HERE TO READ DECEMBER 9 THIRD READING (FULL SENATE)
CLICK HERE TO READ DECEMBER 7 THIRD READING (FULL SENATE)
CLICK HERE TO READ NOVEMBER 25
CLICK HERE TO READ NOVEMBER 24
SHAWN BUCKLEY ADDRESSES SENATORS ON BEHALF OF CANADIANS CONCERNED ABOUT BILL C-36 | DEC 6/10
