The Prime Minister’ Recent Race Through Niagara – Isn’t It Ironic?

By Mark Taliano

Life is full of ironies, but at times like this, it seems we have more than our share of them.

Harper in the Welland Riding this April with a tractor from John Deere, a company that has closed its operations in this region under his watch, looming in the background.

Let’s face it, Welland’s manufacturing base has been totally decimated by trade agreements endorsed by both major parties, but some Wellanders (possibly a majority) will still vote for these parties.  Regardless of the amount and number of tax breaks, tax havens, and bailouts, corporations will and do leave for sunnier climes where labour, health, and environmental concerns don’t shackle them. It’s called economic colonialism, and there are more losers than winners in the equation.
When John Deere left for Mexico, Welland lost.  When John Deere extracts its profits from Mexico, Mexico loses. The environment loses because of the pollution issues related to transport, and even PM Harper loses somewhat when he rides a Mexican–made John Deere ATV — apparently the Mexican–made products aren’t quite as good.  There are winners though, and they are the owners of the company, but they represent a small minority of those affected by the relocation.

So where’s the irony?  Neither of the major parties intends to re-negotiate NAFTA any time soon, but Wellanders still plant those blue signs, and those red and white signs, on their lawns.  It reminds me of Noam Chomsky’s theory about “manufactured consent.” Major media outlets benefit from corporate tax breaks, and corporate-driven policies, so they aren’t eager to tell subscribers that, yes, it IS ironic that PM Harper is pictured atop a John Deere ATV. The manufactured spin is that his party’s policies are good for business and for Canadians.  Tell that to Welland’s John Deere workers who lost their jobs.

People are losing jobs in the health system as well, and privatization means “clients” will pay more for less. P3 hospitals are one example, but another is the pharmaceutical industry: a government can purchase meds and deliver coverage more efficiently than private industry. There’s nothing new about this, and the politicians aren’t talking about it much, but again, I still see those signs on the lawns.

We don’t see many signs adorned with the Council Of Canadians logo, of which Maude Barlow is the National Chairperson, but her contention that the monies for the American manufactured fighter jets could be better spent elsewhere isn’t getting much press either. How ironic that the taxpayers will have to pay for these purchases, while the things that matter most are being neglected.

This neglect of our own best interests is being nurtured and manufactured.  In some circles they call it propaganda, another irony, since we are lead to believe that our democracy is free from such manipulations.

Enough of the ironies though. Maybe we should just change the colors of some of those signs.

Mark Taliano is a Niagara resident and frequent contributor to Niagara At Large.

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