[ottawa-activist-events] Saturday Childcare Protest on Parliament Hill!!!
tOM Trottier
------- Forwarded message follows -------
Date: Tue, 18 Apr 2006 20:33:44 -0700
From: "Leo Trottier" <trot...@gmail.com>
I'm not usually for quickly protesting things in a public way, staging demonstrations,
etc. BUT I've just read that Harper is going to make getting rid of the new childcare
program a no-confidence issue.
This program has been long in the making and negotiating, and scuttling it now will set
Canada back a decade or more ...
(a brief list of more reasons why its important that it happen now is listed at the bottom)
I think this is an issue that (lots of) people can easily get behind (nearly everyone, in
fact). Massive protests, involving teachers, students, parents, all the unions, office
workers, all the other political parties, etc. would raise the awareness and media profile
of this issue and, very likely, cause him to change the budget. This organisational
effort could also help set up the infrastructure for future protests (e.g. on the slashing
of 40% off the govt's climate change research budget, non-ratification of Kyoto, etc.).
This opportunity is soooo good. It couldn't be easier, right now, to paint Harper as anti-
children, anti-progress, anti-family, anti-education, anti-poor people, and elitist,
ideological, and unpragmatic ... it's incredibly easy to sell will play incredibly well in the
media.
Let's do this. Now. A massive protest could be organised for this Saturday in
Parliament Hill.
Leo
(reasons ... !!
1. it's been years in the planning -- any setbacks will be devastating
2. study after study after study has shown that kids need good child care, and that
most parents are fully prepared to provide it (and that tax-based incentives won't work)
3. Harper is not doing this for anything like pragmatic reasons. it is completely
irrational and ideological and can be shown to be so
4. Harper is politically weak (though he's doing a good job of appearing strong)
5. it's anti-children
6. it's just caught wind in the media ... the opportunity needs to be seized asap before it
can be spun or a different issues steals the headlines
7. it's giving money where it's not needed -- lots of parents that can already afford
quality day care, and thus don't need the money, will be getting it to .... )
------- End of forwarded message -------
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