Twenty Fifteen

by | December 20, 2014

George Orwell’s dystopian novel, Nineteen Eighty-Four, was published in 1949; the year 1984 has come and gone, but the culturally literate recognize references to words and phrases from the novel: Big Brother, doublethink, thoughtcrime, and Newspeak.

Although there is no expectation that this post will be as popular as Nineteen Eighty-Four or will coin as many words, “Twenty Fifteen” discusses an Orwellian Canadian December and looks ahead to an Orwellian 2015 in Canada. In December, two newly elected Ontario mayors announced they would reconsider the illegal practise of reciting the Lord’s Prayer at the opening of city council meetings.

On December 17, the Mayor of Mississauga, Ontario and her Council voted to keep the reciting the Lord’s Prayer knowing they’re breaking the law, and on the same day, they issued a press release promising to foster “greater inclusion of all [Mississauga] residents and stakeholders.” No doubt all Mississauga residents and stakeholders are thanking their mayor who art in Mississauga for her consideration. Mayor Crombie’s doublespeak is enough to make Orwell’s headstone nod in confirmation of Orwell’s perspicacity.

However, in Brampton, Ontario, Mayor Linda Jeffrey’s refusal to break the law shows a familiarity with Orwell’s “Politics and the English Language,” an essay that “encourages concreteness and clarity instead of vagueness, and individuality over political conformity.” Mayor Jeffrey uses plain language to explain why the Lord’s Prayer was dropped from Brampton City Council meetings:

Again in Mississauga, a provincial MPP and a federal MP have and will contribute to the Canada’s dystopian 2015. On March 25, 2014,

Mississauga East-Cooksville MPP Dipika Damerla’s private member’s bill proclaiming April 2 each year as Pope John Paul II Day received Royal Assent

On April 2,

the first-ever Pope John Paul II Day in Ontario, Toronto’s Cardinal Thomas Collins celebrated the first-ever Roman Catholic Mass at Queen’s Park in the building’s 154-year history.

In his homily,

Collins reminded his small flock Catholic schools are “a gift to all the province,” while also praising politicians for their dedication.

Collins’ flock inside and outside the legislature need to be reminded that the “gift” of Catholic schools is paid for by all Ontario taxpayers. The Catholic Church itself, which has elevated doublespeak to an art form, is not paying for Ontario’s public but separate Catholic schools.

Worse is yet to come: On December 16, 44 Canadian senators voted against the motion “that Bill C-266 (An Act to establish Pope John Paul II Day) be not now read a third time but that it be read a third time this day six months hence.”  Twenty-six senators voted for the motion because Bill C-266

blurs the principle of separation of church and state, which is a fundamental tenet of the Canadian Constitution, a very serious element.

and because

of some very disturbing things that happened in the Vatican. . . .The most disturbing thing though, in terms of things that have happened at the Vatican, is how poorly they have handled the matter of sexual abuse, sexual abuse against thousands of children by thousands of priests.

Despite these and other objections to Bill C-266, the Act to establish Pope John Paul II Day “passed the Senate Dec. 16 and has received royal assent”: April 2 will be John Paul II Day in Canada.

Conservative MP Wladyslaw Lizon (Mississauga East-Cooksville) introduced Private Members’ Bill C-266, to the House of Commons in 2011. Lizon’s website says,

Born and raised in Poland, Wladyslaw Lizon moved to Canada to pursue the many opportunities our country has to offer new Canadians.

In Lizon’s case, Canada offered him the opportunity to become a member of the Parliament of Canada and the opportunity to lobby on behalf of his Polish-Canadian constituents and on behalf of the Roman Catholic Church.  He has ensured the Polish-Canadian and Catholic vote in the next federal election unless people realize that his “motivation” was not to promote the “values that resonate deeply in our country and with Canadians”; he introduced Private Members’ Bill C-266 to get elected in 2015.

Lizon’s, Damerla’s and Crombie’s political maneuvering will ensure that the Christian God Big Brother will keep our land glorious and free.

4 thoughts on “Twenty Fifteen

  1. Heather Hastie

    Good article Veronica. One of the main reasons I think religion is so threatened by atheism is their love of power and control, many examples of which you’ve demonstrated.

    I watched the Brampton vid. The attitude of Mrs Archer who was “very disturbed” that the Lord’s Prayer had been dropped is one often seen by the majority religion. She insisted Canada “must have a basis”, which she thinks should be Christian, “then we be inclusive”. It’s the old story of the majority religion wanting to maintain power and control. Mrs Archer said things like the only way councilors could be properly “guided” was via the Christian god and they got their “wisdom from God”, and it was only from Him they should “seek direction”. There was also the typical passive aggressive move where Mrs Archer commented that people would not have voted for the mayor if they knew she was going to do this.

    Reply
  2. Kevin

    I am embarrassed to be a resident of Mississauga where the Polish Catholic influence on politics (Lizon, Crombie) is being pandered to by the South Asians (Damerla, wannabe Saldanha). Coincidently, two days before the issue came up in Council, Saldanha had a Christmas party for top Mississauga (McCallion, Crombie) and Conservative (Kenney) brass. I’m surprised Harper wasn’t there himself!

    Reply
  3. Tim Underwood

    What we are witnessing is Canada gradually outgrowing its feudalistic heritage. George Orwell experienced England’s use of religious psychology within its colonies first hand.

    Today, here in Canada, inside the indigenous reservations, there exists the most active remnants of this use Christianity for psychological dominance.

    The practitioners of these control mechanisms (both internal and external to the Indian Nations) are probably unmindful of their use of Christianity as a controlling mechanism. Through years of application they are aware of Christianity’s usefulness.

    Without Christianity we have more responsibilities for our selves, our children and our neighbors. There no longer exists any supernatural entity to take on these responsibilities for us.

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.