Is it now old-fashioned to
expect those who govern us, to do so in a decent, respectful way? If it is, then
call me old-fashioned. Even for someone painfully aware of the depths to which
our democracy has sunk, especially since the Harperites took over, I was shocked
to learn about a bullying incident which played out on Parliament Hill earlier
this month.
The Commons Agriculture Committee was meeting to talk about "low-level
presence." Before you doze off, it's a topic which everyone who puts food in his
mouth, should care about! This government actually wants Canada to start
accepting traces of genetically-modified (GM) genes in the food we import, even
though those genes have neither been inspected nor approved by our own domestic
regulators! A guest appearing before the committee, Lucy Sharratt of the
Canadian Biotechnology Action Network (CBAN), opposed this idea. This was hardly
surprising, since CBAN's very reason for being is to act as a watchdog on the
implications of adopting more and more GM-altered food in our country. Her
argument was, if this government gets its way, Canada will become the first
country in the world to accept such imports. And, by so doing, we are not only
inviting contamination of our food imports, but destroying the livelihoods of
organic farmers, as well.
Opposition members of the committee challenged Ms. Sharratt, but at least, they
were respectful and let her state her case. Such was not the case when it came
to Blake Richards, a gunslinging Conservative MP and committee member from
Alberta. Instead of sticking to the topic, he went off on Ms. Sharratt,
obsessing over the source of CBAN's funding. In the words of a veteran
journalist covering the meeting, Barry Wilson of the Western Producer, "Richards
argued she represents radical American, anti-GM environmentalists, opposed to
Canadian interests. The implication was, she has a hidden anti-Canadian agenda."
Wilson's editorial accused the Conservative Party of Canada of a “'take no
prisoners' vision: you are for me or against me" and that this "vision" was
showing through at other committee meetings, not just this one. His verdict on
Richard's overall conduct? "It was rude, crude and abusive."
Meanwhile, the global trend is decidedly leaning toward the domination of
Corporate, GM agribusiness, its resultant increase in the application of harmful
pesticides and the decline of non-GM and organic methods. Why should we be
concerned? Because parents who want nothing more than to minimize levels of
pesticides in their children's bodies, are slowly but surely losing that option.
And with a wild-west mentality now firmly entrenched in the psyche of the
governing, GM-boosing Harperites, it seems nothing short of a concerted effort
on the part of us all, to stop voting Conservative, offers the best way forward.