As I have been trying to imply for the last few years, the conservative ideology that masquerades under the term "austerity" is not an ideology at all. It is a blanket term that covers the attempt to empower utter greed at any expense. It is a term used to manipulate you into voting in your worst interests. It is a technique to dismantle social programs, take your money and give it to the corporations. It is in the terms of the damage it is creating now in our societies and to our planet , The Crime Of The Century. Currently, the budget bill before the Canadian Parliament (Bill C-38) does a bunch of things that don't seem to have much to do with the budget--including completely gutting Canada's federal environmental laws. The Environmental Assessment Act is being completely repealed and replaced with a regime that gives the government the power to basically approve any project they want without any environmental review--including mining projects in Alberta's Athabasca Tar Sands and the Canadian portion of the Keystone XL pipeline. And while environmental protections are being slashed, $8 million is going to the Canada Revenue Agency to audit charities (with the understanding that the main targets will be environmental charities--which the government has labelled as money launderers working for foreign interests). By putting this in a budget bill, the Conservative government has ensured that there will be minimal debate on these changes, and they will almost certainly be passed by the majority-Conservative parliament. Canada's largest environmental groups have organized a website blackout on June 4 to protest and raise awareness of these changes.
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