Almost as soon as the shooting stopped, and not long after he emerged from his closet, Stephen Harper declared that Canada was under attack by the dark forces of ISIS.
And started calling the dead gunman, Michael Zehaf-Bibeau, an ISIS terrorist. Even though he was a mentally ill crack addict.
And a few days later the RCMP Commissioner Bob Paulson claimed the RCMP had a video that showed that Zehaf-Bibeau had acted for ideological motives.
But now it turns out we may never see that video, and as Tim Harper points out, that’s a real threat to our democracy.
Canadians should ask questions regarding this about-turn. If an investigation has taken a different path, we should be told. Otherwise, we are free to speculate that Paulson was told not to release the video.
There is no evidence to suggest Paulson has been reined in by his political masters, but the terrorist narrative is the convenient way for this to play out for a government tempted to use fear as a means to push legislation which could intrude on the privacy of law-abiding citizens.
Because not only would we not be able to decide for ourselves whether Zehaf-Bibeau was a real terrorist or a raving lunatic.
It leaves open the possibility that the Cons are suppressing the video, for crass political purposes.
To help keep the Fear Factor cranked up high…
Because as this latest poll shows, Stephen Harper has benefited mightily from that terrorist scare.
Stephen Harper’s Conservatives have pulled into a neck-and-neck race with Justin Trudeau’s Liberals, both nationally and in vote-rich Ontario, according to a newly released poll.
And with the Cons and the Liberals in such a close race, the question of whether it was a real terrorist attack could help determine the result of the next election.
And if the RCMP Commissioner Bob Paulson is being forced to suppress that tape, he could find himself in the same position the former RCMP Commissioner Giuliano Zaccardelli found himself in when he influenced the result of the 2006 election.
Former RCMP commissioner Giuliano Zaccardelli’s decision to name then-Liberal finance minister Ralph Goodale in a criminal investigation likely influenced the 2006 federal election, the chair of the RCMP public complaints commission says.
Which could lead to other embarrassing questions like why wasn’t Nigel Wright charged? Or why is the force not investigating the robocall scandal?
So as Tom Mulcair says, Paulson really does need to explain himself:
“He’s got to explain to Canadians why he’s changed his mind,” Mulcair said this week. “Until then, people are going to be able to speculate as to whether or not someone was involved in deciding that it wouldn’t be made public.”
Or run the risk that many Canadians might come believe that we are already living in a police state…
In a dangerous time, in the grip of a ghastly dictator and a foul regime who are always twisting the truth or muzzling it for political advantage, the truth has never been more important.
The tape must be released as soon as possible.
Because the very fate of this country might depend on it…
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