By Gerald Caplan

Are you old-fashioned? Do you still believe in gender equality? Do you intend to promote gender equality? Do you believe a woman should be able to have an abortion if she chooses to?

Or are you just an old-fashioned progressive? Do you sympathize with Palestinians who are treated like dirt by the government of Israel? Do you oppose the pursuit of free trade with a government like Colombia’s that has a deplorable human-rights record? Have you been critical of our government for freezing foreign aid spending? For arbitrarily cutting off aid to eight very poor African countries?

Above all, would you care to be vocal about these views? If so, be very afraid. The Harper government is going to get you.

It’s been one of the glories of Canadian democracy that we have a tradition of government funding of citizens who might oppose some government policies. Most Canadians have come to see an active and engaged civil society as a crucial component of a robust democracy.

Over the past half century, the tradition has evolved that the Canadian state – in practical terms, the government of the day – should enable non-profit civil-society groups and NGOs to operate and to make their voices heard. Many NGOs have become partially dependent on these public funds, and until the last couple of years all governments and most Canadians believed this was a good deal for all of us. It’s in the common good to ensure that all voices are heard on crucial issues.

As Amnesty’s Alex Neve puts it: “We are not a nation founded or built on some sense of orthodoxy, ideology and conformity. We are a nation of diversity and debate.”

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Tags: Alex Neve, Amnesty, Colombia, harper, Israel, NGO

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