Enough already
Editor’s Note
Photo of publisher Lisa-Whittington-Hill, left, and editor Jessica Johnston by Chris Blanchenot
“Congratulations on being equal!” my friend Sharmeen exclaims during a late-night chat, when I mention this issue’s cover feature is a retrospective of Stephen Harper’s first year in power. The Conservatives had just announced their intention to close 12 of the 16 Status of Women Canada offices, following the decision to cut 40 percent of the equality group’s operating budget.
“We don’t need to separate the men from the women in this country,” explained Canadian Heritage and Status of Women Minister Bev Oda. “This government as a whole is responsible to develop policies and programs that address the needs of both men and women.”
To those who have been monitoring this government, the move appeared as just the latest in a year-long assault on equality—one more drop in the manure bucket. Cuts to social programs, increased military spending, closer ties to the United States, we’ve heard these things repeatedly, and it feels almost clichéd to talk about them. To those who have been following along, nothing the Conservatives have done in power has come as a big surprise. Horrifying yes, surprising—not so much. You only had to look as far Harper’s background and his party’s platform to see the tax cuts on the wall. Our prime minister could sprout a forked tail and horns at this point, and we’d think, “Yup, saw that one coming.”
But, blinded by the sponsorship scandal and glare from the untarnished parts of the Liberal party, not everyone did see the neo-con agenda coming, which is how we ended up with our most right-of-centre government in history. Mercifully, public opinion appears to have shifted over the past year; recent polls showed the Conservatives neck-and-neck with the Liberals, even before the latter had a leader.
Anniversaries being a natural time to reflect and look forward, Mitch Moxley brings us a Conservative year in review, outlining eight reasons to leave the Harper government behind the next time we get the chance. Veteran business writer David Olive offers a different perspective on our federal government, arguing that despite rumours to the contrary, the Red Tory is alive and well—out of necessity.
Not all the anniversaries in this issue are cause for jumping up and down, however. Native theatre pioneer (and 2006 Governor General’s Award nominee) Drew Hayden Taylor takes us on a tour of the history of native theatre, which by his calculation turned 20 in November.
And, of course, there is the afterglow of This Magazine’s 40th anniversary, which we celebrated with the last issue. (If you missed it, back issues can be ordered online or by calling our office.) Moving into our 41st year, we have exciting changes coming up, some of which begin with this issue. Our back page is home to a new feature called “Then & Now” which illustrates the evolution of an item through time. In this issue: cell phones! We are also returning to our past habit of theming issues so we can explore events and ideas in depth and from different angles. This issue is the “Conservative” one.
There’s a good chance we’ll face another federal election in 2007. The traditional gift for a one-year anniversary is paper. Let’s make it a pink slip.
Jessica Johnston editor[at]thismagazine[dot]ca
