December/January 2005

There have been benefits in the form of jobs, contracts, and other spin-offs, including agreements with aboriginal governments providing cash payments. Balanced against these, however, are the social costs. There is a growing drug problem and, further exacerbating community tensions, the income gap between rich and poor has grown. Regarding the environment, lakes have been drained to mine the diamonds, with unpredictable downstream effects. Furthermore, there are no long-term plans in place for restoring exhausted mines to nature.

The Brazilian legacy will be repeated in Canada if our government does not ensure that local populations benefit from diamond mining and that the environment is protected.
Kevin O’Reilly
Research Director, Canadian Arctic
Resources Committee

Yellowknife, Northwest Territories

Flanagan and Company
Thanks to Marci McDonald for her in-depth exposé (“The Man Behind Stephen Harper,” October) connecting the dots from Leo Strauss to whatever sort of party Stephen Harper now leads—a question that may be answered following the upcoming policy convention. By contrast, we’ve known for years what David Orchard stands for, and where he wants to take Canada. Some actually find his clarity and consistency appealing.

Many in the Orchard camp chalked up Peter MacKay’s betrayal to crass and breathtaking political expediency. How little did we realize we were victims of “noble lies” justified by ruling elites employing Straussian political principles. Mr. MacKay may not be as complex a man as Mr. Harper.

Nevertheless, to complete the account of the demise of this country’s founding party, you might shine your light on the pullers of Mr. MacKay’s strings.
T. David McComb
Toronto, Ontario

Marci McDonald’s excellent article on Tom Flanagan was much needed. The Canadian news media paid little attention to Flanagan, despite his important role in the last campaign and the likelihood that he would have held an important position in the pmo if Stephen Harper had been elected. McDonald errs, however, in calling Flanagan and Harper libertarians. A libertarian believes that the state has no business telling citizens how to live their lives. Consequently, libertarians support same-sex marriages, the decriminalization of marijuana, as well as opposing government social security programs. Neo-conservatives believe in eliminating government support programs, but definitely want to tell people how they should lead their lives. Libertarians often feel very uncomfortable about supporting neo-conservative parties.

McDonald also fails to expose the myth that Flanagan and the Calgary School somehow speak for the West. They do speak for Southern Alberta, but the party they support represents a minority in the West. Equally untrue is the claim made by Alan Kornberg that people would not be outraged by these ideas if they came from the University of Toronto or McGill. These ideas outrage most people regardless of where they originate.