Last week, users of the social media program Twitter - apparently called “Tweeps” - stuck it to the man.
That man’s name is Vic Toews, and he’s Canada’s Minister of Public Safety. An eminently qualified minister, the former crown attorney speaks three languages, holds several degrees and is by all accounts a nice guy.
However, his government’s new legislation, which would allow police access to customers’ Internet information without a warrant, does not sit well with most Canadians. Of course, by most Canadians, I mean me.
As a conservative libertarian, I am diametrically opposed to any such move. Is such a law enough to make me vote for another party? No. But it was enough to make me, and hundreds of thousands of people like me, voice our displeasure.
That’s where Twitter came in.
By setting up #TellVicEverything, Tweeps bombarded Vic Toews’ Twitter account with the mundane details of their lives. The message was clear: You want to know more about us? We’ll tell you everything!
Mostly humorous, it was a way to let the minister know that government has no business collecting information about people online, without a warrant.
For example, I personally wrote, “No cyber criminals at breakfast. Five-year-old daughter looks guilty, though. Too much sugar on Cheerios?”
One of my favourites came from Anna Davey of Hamilton, Ontario, who wrote “Vic, You must be a hard person to plan surprise parties for.”
All-in-all, it was a positive experience. The #TellVicEverything hashtag was so popular it was the trending at No. 2 in the world.
The message apparently got through, the government has announced a process to make sure citizens’ liberty is protected.
This is exactly how the system is supposed to work, the government listened to the public. I just wish that attitude would trickle down to our provincial government.
Case in point, Premier Redford’s buddy Finance Minister Ron Liepert.
As Education minister, he signed a five-year agreement with teachers in 2007. He was warned against the deal at the time, but refused to listen.
As Minister of Health, Liepert centralized health care into the single superboard. He was warned repeatedly about the dangers of such a move, and refused to listen.
As energy minister, Liepert defended his government’s foolish tinkering with royalty rates, which caused real damage to Alberta’s economy.
He and his government refused to listen to warnings about the move, and refused to apologize after changing the royalty rates back.
In this year’s budget, despite a fifth consecutive deficit, he increased spending to record levels, a move critics called “Alberta’s first NDP budget.”
One week after tabling the budget, Liepert told a group of businesspeople in Toronto, “clearly we’re spending too much.”
So, if we're spending too much, what should we cut? According to Liepert's government, nothing. Instead, “we know a discussion on taxes must lie in Alberta’s future.”
When? Apparently, not until after the next election.
The whole thing seems a little nutty. Especially when you consider the fact that Liepert’s budget calls for $5-billion surpluses in two years. Why not just pledge to freeze taxes?
It seems the government is waffling on taxes for no good reason. In the past year, various government officials have openly mused about a sales tax, increasing sin taxes and even bringing back health premiums. This is going to be an issue in the coming election, whether the government wants to talk about it or not.
Rather than “Telling Vic Everything” maybe we need to tell Ron Liepert one thing: No tax increases!
Oh, who am I kidding. If we’ve learned one thing about Liepert, it’s that #YouCantTellRonAnything.
