Should we have Daylight Saving Time all year long?

Everyone appreciates the long light evenings. Everyone laments their shrinkage as the days grow shorter, and nearly everyone has given utterance to a regret that the clear bright light of early mornings, during Spring and Summer months, is so seldom seen or used.

- William Willett
From The Waste of Daylight, pamphlet, Sloane Square, London, 1907


As I write this, it is late November.  The "Death Month" is upon us.  The trees are bare and the ground is awash in brown leaves. By moving the clocks back an hour, we have made a gloomy month even gloomier.  We have deprived ourselves of some precious evening light - and for what good reason?  It doesn't have to be this way.  Why not retain Daylight Saving Time all year on a permanent basis?

One of the delights of summer is that one can enjoy some brightness later in the day.  It's a joy to lounge out on a patio or a veranda in the evening.  That's one of the reasons I sit here wistfully yearning for DST all year long.  Permanent Daylight Saving Time makes sense.  Evidence has shown that it is conducive to human health and safety, as well as environmentally friendly.

Daylight Saving Time is not a new concept.  Ancient civilizations, such as the Romans, coordinated their daily schedules with the sun.  In 1784, American statesman, inventor and author Benjamin Franklin composed an essay called "An Economic Project for Diminishing the Cost of Light."  The essay, published in The Journal of Paris, suggested, albeit  tongue-in-cheek, that Parisian citizens could save money on candles by awakening earlier in the morning and making use of natural sunlight instead.  It should be remembered, however, that Franklin merely proposed a change in sleeping habits and not a time shift.

It wasn't until 1895 that a British-born New Zealand scientist named George Vernon Hudson (1867 -1946) actually proposed Daylight Saving Time.  Hudson was an entomologist who authored illustrated books on New Zealand insects.  His shift work at the Wellington Post Office allowed him the leisure to collect and study the insects.  Since he valued evening sunlight, he became frustrated when early summer twilight interfered with his pursuit of bugs.

In 1895, Hudson  presented a paper to the Wellington Philosophical Society in which he advocated moving clocks two hours ahead in the summer and then two hours back in the winter. His idea was ridiculed by many members of the society.  Eventually, however, T. K. Sidey, a parliamentarian, won support for "one hour summer time" which was tried in 1927.

George Hudson 

Another DST pioneer was William Willett (1856-1915), a British designer and builder of homes.  In 1905, Willett proposed the implementation of Daylight Saving Time.  He suggested that clocks should be set ahead 20 minutes on each Sunday in April and turned back by the same amount on each Sunday in September.

Willett, who was an avid golfer, desired more time on the links during evening hours.  He also wanted people to enjoy the morning sunlight.  It is said that Willett, who was also a keen horse rider, had a revelation while riding on the outskirts of London one morning in 1905.  The idea apparently came to him that the United Kingdom should move its clocks forward between April and October so that more Britons could bask in the abundant sunlight.  He was dismayed that so many Londoners were sleeping in rather than using the morning hours for leisure activities.  In 1907, at his own expense, he published a pamphlet entitled The Waste of Daylight in which he argued the case for summer daylight saving. Here is an except from his brochure.

The effect of this alteration would be to advance all the day's operations in summer two hours compared with the present system. In this way the early-morning daylight would be utilised, and a long period of daylight leisure would be made available in the evening for cricket, gardening, cycling, or any other outdoor pursuit desired.

Willett's plan attracted the attention of a Member of Parliament named Robert Pearce.  Pearce introduced a bill to the House of Commons in February of 1908 and the first Daylight Saving Bill was drafted in 1909.  The bill was put before the British Parliament several times and examined by a select committee, but it still did not pass.  It was opposed by many, particularly farmers.

Although William Willett failed in his attempt to persuade his fellow Britons to adopt DST, his efforts had real significance.  Pearce's 1909 DST bill never became British law, but it was the first attempt at a national level to adopt Daylight Savings Time.  Willett died in 1915 at the age of 58 without getting the opportunity to see his proposal come to fruition.  It wasn't until Britain's World War One enemy, Germany, adopted Daylight Saving Time, that Britain implemented "Summer Time."

William Willett 

Germany introduced Daylight Saving Time in order to save fuel by minimizing the use of artificial lighting. German clocks were turned forward on April 30, 1916.  Weeks later, Great Britain and many other countries did the same.  In 1918, DST was introduced in the United States largely due to the efforts of a man named Robert Garland. Garland, a Pittsburgh industrialist, had been so impressed by DST while in the United Kingdom that he became an ardent supporter of the idea.

On March 31,1918, Daylight Saving Time for came into effect in the United State to conserving vital energy resources and to allow workers more hours of functional daylight during the summer. Despite the war effort, DST was met with great public resistance.  In his book Spring Forward: The Annual Madness of Daylight Saving Time, author Michael Downing wrote, "When the Congress poked its finger into the face of every clock in the country, millions of Americans winced."  "United by a determination to beat back the big hand of government," said Downing, opponents of Daylight Saving Time "raised holy hell, vowing to return the nation to real time, normal time, farm time, sun time - the time they liked to think of as "God's time.""

In spite of public disenchantment, President Woodrow Wilson signed DST into law to support the war effort.  Below is a 1918 poster in which United Cigar Stores welcomes the Daylight Saving bill passed by the United States Congress.

Here in Canada, five cities used DST before 1918: Brandon, Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Hamilton, Ontario, and Montreal, Quebec.  St. John's, Newfoundland used DST prior to 1918 as well, but Newfoundland did not join Canada until 1949.

After World War I, many countries reverted to Standard Time.  In the United States, Daylight Saving Time was only observed for seven months in 1918 and 1919.  It was quickly repealed by the U.S. Congress which, under pressure from agrarian interests, overrode President Wilson's veto.  Farmers fiercely opposed DST and were anxious to return to standard time as soon as possible.  In 1919, Daylight Saving Time became a local option.

World War II, however, sparked the return of Daylight Saving Time.  During the Second World War, year-round Daylight Saving Time was in effect in the U.S. from February 9, 1942 until September 30, 1945.  In Britain, "Double Summer Time" was applied during the war.  Clocks were turned two hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) during the summer and one hour ahead during the winter.

From 1945 until 1966 there was no federal law with regard to Daylight Saving Time in the United States. After the war, the decision on whether to use DST was left to the discretion of individual states.  This created a great deal of confusion because millions of Americans were observing DST based on their own laws and customs. The broadcasting industry, as well as the transportation industry were adversely affected.  Something had to be done.

In 1966, the United States Congress approved Uniform Daylight Time Act to end the confusion.  It was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson on April 12th of that year. The new legislation stipulated that DST was to begin on the last Sunday in April and end on the last Sunday in October. throughout the United States and its possessions.  Any state that wished to opt out could do so by passing a state law.

The energy crisis of the 1970s brought further changes.  In the wake of the 1973 oil embargo, the United States Congress extended Daylight Saving Time to a length of 10 months in 1974 and eight months in 1975.  In 2007, the Energy Policy Act of 2005  came into effect and DST was extended one month by the United States.  As a result, Daylight Saving Time currently begins on the second Sunday in March and lasts until the final Sunday of October in most of the U.S (Hawaii and Arizona exclued).  Canada has followed suit due to its economic social ties to its southern neighbour (one notable exception being he province of Saskatchewan which observes Central Standard Time all year).  The European Union currently follows the "Summer Time" period that was used in Britain for many years and DST begins on the last Sunday in March and finishes on the last Sunday in October.

Daylight Saving Time is now used in over 70 countries around the world, with beginning and end dates varying in each country.  Would it be such a stretch to implement all-year DST in those countries?  Does it have to take a major war effort or an energy crises to do so?

Here's why all-year Daylight Saving Time makes so much sense:

* All-year DST would allow us to do away with the dangerous practice of changing clocks.

Changing clocks is disruptive.  It interferes with sleep patterns and its ill effects can range from insomnia to moodiness.  It is extremely difficult for those suffering from Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) in which people suffer depression during specific times of the year. There has been a great deal of statistical evidence suggesting that time change is detrimental to human health and safety. Here are some examples:

Putting the clocks ahead and losing an hour's sleep has been shown to contribute to a greater number of car crashes and traffic deaths.  A study by Austin C. Smith at the University of Colorado at Boulder ("Spring Forward at Your Own Risk: Daylight Saving Time and Vehicle Crashes") examined detailed records in fatal traffic accidents in the United States, the change from DST to standard time and the effects of extending DST in 2007.  It found that during the first six days of Daylight Saving Time there were 302 deaths at a cost of $2.75 billion over a ten-year period. According to The Fatal Accident Reporting System, there was a 17 per cent spike in traffic fatalities on the Monday after the time shift.

Between 1968 and 1971, the United Kingdom experimented with all-year Daylight Saving Time. The practice was abandoned, apparently due to its unpopularity, particularly in the northern regions where farmers raise cattle and sheep.  Nevertheless, during that time, according to an October 25, 2015 article by Lauren Davidson in the Daily Telegraph, winter daylight made the roads safer. There was an 11 per cent reduction in traffic fatalities in England and Wales during the hours affected by the time change, as well as a 17 per cent reduction in Scotland.

Those who work at physically demanding jobs, such as miners, are more at risk when clocks are changed.  According to a March 10, 2014 article in The Atlantic magazine by Rebecca J. Rosen, "the Monday following the switch to Daylight Saving Time ranks among the days when Americans are the most under-rested: On average, Americans sleep 40 minutes less the Sunday night following "springing forward.""  That affects workplace safety.  Rosen cites a 2009 study in the Journal of Applied Psychology in which 576,292 mining injuries from 1983 to 2006 were examined.  Here is what the results of the study by Christopher M. Barnes and David T. Wagner of Michigan State University revealed:  On the Monday after the switch to DST, the number of on-the-job injuries increased by 5.7 per cent over an average Monday.  In addition, Barnes and Wagner found that the injuries were more severe.  The number of work days missed due to a post-DST Monday increased by 67.6 per cent compared to injuries sustained on other Mondays.

There is also evidence that changing the time on our clocks results in a higher percentage of heart attacks.  According to research released by the American College of Cardiology in in March of 2014 (based on information from Michigan hospitals between between 2010 and 2013, the number of patients admitted for heart attacks increased by 10 per cent on the Monday following the changing of clocks to DST.

In 2008, the New England Journal of Medicine published the results of a 20-year Swedish study that indicated a higher rate of heart attack (a seven per cent increase) in the first three workdays after clocks were moved ahead in the spring.  Researchers attributed this to the loss of one hour of sleep. They also noted a similar decrease in the number of heart attacks when clocks were turned back in the fall.

*  All-year DST would reduce energy use.

Daylight Saving Time reduces the use of artificial lighting in he evening.  People are much more likely to shop or dine at a restaurant


* All-yer DST would reduce crime.

When Daylight Saving Time ends in the autumn, criminals take advantage of the extra hour of evening darkness to commit robberies.  According to a study published on October 20, 2015 in The Review of Economics and Statistics, robberies increase by 7 per cent over the whole day, with a 27 per cent increase n the hours during and immediately after sunset.  There was, however, no evidence of a corresponding increase in morning thefts.


* All-year DST would help retail businesses.

It's no secret that most retail businesses favour daylight saving time.  People are more inclined to shop or dine at a restaurants when there is light in the early evening.

* Under year-round DST, farmers wouldn’t have to subject cows to an arbitrary change in milking schedule, although they would have to awaken really early to collect their milk and eggs.

Farmers and rural residents are more likely to oppose year-round DST.  Their voices should be heard and, as much as possible, reasonable accommodations should be made to meet their needs. Although the world is becoming increasingly urbanized, that doesn't mean that inconveniences to farmers should be ignored or that their grievances should be given little consideration.

There is also a valid concern about students leaving for school in the dark (assuming school hours would remain the same under all-year Daylight Saving Time).  However, greater safety measures and other solutions could be found to alleviate this problem.  Remember too, that when there is an hour less daylight in the evening, many workers must return home from their places of employment in the dark.

There is no perfect solution to the problem of Daylight Saving Time.  I am well aware that many people would be dissatisfied and inconvenienced if DST were implemented all year long.  I admit to my own biases.  Although I am a night hawk, I realize that many enjoy the sun in the morning.  There is absolutely no way of pleasing everyone, though, and the benefits of all-year Daylight Saving Time outweigh the disadvantages.

One thing is certain. Moving clocks forward or backward is a hazardous practice and should be abolished.  Enough evidence has been compiled to show that it is not in the best interests of the populace. The real choice is between all-year Standard Time and all-year DST.  Some of DST's most ardent detractors are more upset about having to adjust  to the one hour time change rather than DST itself.  After carefully weighing all the pros and cons, it is reasonable to conclude that all-year Daylight Saving Time is more beneficial than all-year standard time and far better than the present system of changing our clocks twice yearly. Permanent Daylight Saving Time is not a perfect solution, but it's the best solution.


- Joanne

Twiggy: Then and Now

The story of Twiggy is the story of a girl who became a top model very quickly.  It’s also the story of the London pop scene - a scene set, in the beginning, by the Beatles . . .

- Vogue Magazine 

At sixteen, I was a funny, skinny little thing, all eyelashes and legs.  And then, suddenly people told me it was gorgeous.  I thought they had gone mad.

- Twiggy

Twiggy is called Twiggy because she looks as though a strong gale would snap her in two and dash her to the ground.

- Vogue Magazine, 1967

In 1965, U.S. country singer Roger Miller scored a hit with the song "England Swings (Like a pendulum do)"  Those sentiments fit the mood of the times because England was definitely swinging in the mid-1960s.  This, of course, was the height of the "British Invasion" with the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, The Who and other British bands taking the music world by storm.

Britain didn't only dominate the music scene, though.  It was also a fashion leader, and stylish Carnaby Street in London's Soho district set the trends.  With its funky shops and courtyard restaurants, Carnaby Street was a hot spot for the ultra chic and increasingly influential younger generation.

No one personified the youthful image of the mid-1960s more than a rail-thin, doe-eyed teenager with the unlikely nickname of Twiggy.  She was a perfect fit for the age of flower power, mini-skirts and go-go girls.  With her short, blond hair and her triple-lashed eyes, Twiggy was the "it girl' of her generation.  The "Twiggy look" was all the rage in the psychedelic 1960s.

This waif-like teen from working class London was right for the times and the times were right for her.  As Encyclopaedia Britammoca put it, "Twiggy’s adolescent physique was ideal for the rising hemlines and unisex patterns that were then in vogue, and her overall look distinguished her from the curvaceous, glamorous top models of the era."   "Her face" wrote journalist Polly Devlin in Vogue magazine, "might have been conceived by a computer to match the requirements of a face of the sixties,”

Teens on Carnaby Street circa 1966

Twiggy was born Lesley Hornby on September 19, 1949 in a area of northwest London known as Neasdon.  She was the third and youngest daughter of William Norman Hornby, a carpenter from Lancashire, and his wife, Nellie Lydia (née Reeman), a factory worker for a printing firm who worked a Woolworth's counter to earn some extra income.  Twiggy's parents were married in Willesden, North London in 1933.  Her sister Shirley was born in 1934 and Vivien in 1942.

As a 15-year-old student at the Kilburn High School for Girls, young Lesley had a Saturday job at Mr. Vincent's, a local hair salon. While working as an assistant at the salon in 1965, she met hairdresser Nigel Davies (later known as Justin de Villeneuve).  Justin, ten years her senior, became her boyfriend, advisor and eventual manager.  It was he who referred to Lesley as "Twigs," because of her slight frame. When she decided to quit school to pursue a career in modelling, he helped her find her way.

In January of 1966, Twiggy made an appointment to have her hair cut and coloured at House of Leonard, a posh salon located in Mayfair, an area of West London (Leonard Lewis, born 1938, is one of the most prominent hairstylists in Britain).  "I had long hair at the time," she told Vogue magazine, "and those drawn-on lashes I became famous for which I wore on non-school days. I mean, I was a mod back then.  Leonard saw me and he said: 'I'd like to do a new haircut on you, would you be up for that?'"

Twiggy was given a whole new look as her hair was cropped into a short, boyish style. Renowned photographer Barry Lategan was then called upon to to take some shots of Leonard's creation. At the Focus on Imaging Ad Shoot in 2010, here's how Lategan described his first encounters with Twiggy:

In 1966, in London, I was based in a studio in Chelsea, Flood Street.  I received a call from a hairdresser, whom I worked with, who said a friend of his had found a girl in a hairdressing salon, whose a shampoo girl and would like to be a model.  This young lady came to my studio accompanied by Justin de Villeneuve.  And as we sat, he talked me into an interest in her. She was walking around the studio looking at all my work and he turned to her and said, "Stop biting your nails, Twigs."  I said, What did you call her?" He said "'Twiggy', because she's so skinny.    The next day she came to my studio with her hair short in a boyish cut.  Her eyelashes were painted on her face.  And she sat in front of my camera and I was absolutely dazzled.  She looked straight into me. It's hard to describe what photogenic is.  She was.

Lategan's portraits of Twiggy with her bobbed hairdo was displayed in the salon.  They immediately caught the eye of a fashion journalist for the Daily Express newspaper who interviewed the aspiring model and featured her in an article that named her "The Face of 1966." With de Villeneuve as her manager, Twiggy soon accepted bookings as a model in London.  At 5 feet, 6 inches or 1.68 metres (short for a model) and weighing just 91 pounds (41.3 kilograms), she exploded on the fashion scene. Her popularity grew enormously and within months, she found herself in Paris where she was featured on covers and in layouts of fashion magazines such as Elle, Vogue and Paris Match.

Twiggy and Justin de Villeneuve

1967 was a banner year for Twiggy.  She jetted around the world and her image was everywhere, from lunch boxes and sweaters to false eyelashes, tote bags and tights.  She became one of the first international supermodels and her face graced he cover of the U.S. edition of Vogue (April  '67). She also embarked on a singing career that year, releasing her first single, "Beautiful Dreams."  She was so popular that Mattel even issued a plastic Twiggy doll.and Milton Bradley designed a game board based on her.

The 17-year-old British sensation visited the United States for the first time in March of 1967.  When she arrived at Kennedy Airport in New York, she was greeted by a throng of  enthusiastic fans, mostly teenagers.  Twiggy spent seven weeks touring America and posing before cameras. According to Historical Dictionary of the 1960s, upon her arrival in New York, she "charged $120 an hour to be photographed, but the rate soon doubled to $240."

Twiggy arriving in New York in 1967

Despite her popularity, Twiggy was not immune from criticism.  Her detractors accused her of promoting an unhealthy body image. "It was debated when I hit the headlines and I always came out and said that I was very healthy, which I was, and always ate, which I do. I love my food. I just come from a lineage. My dad was very slim, so it's kind of in the genes really," she was quoted as saying in a March 29, 2010 Associated Press article by Leanne Italie.

In 1970, after an exhilarating four year ride to fame, Twiggy formerly retired from modelling, "You can't be a clothes hanger for your entire life," she quipped at the time.  Barely into her twenties, she decided to pursue a career in acting.  It was a risk but it paid off handsomely.  Film director Ken Russell cast her in the the role of Polly Browne, the leading lady of a travelling theatrical troupe, in his film adaptation of Sandy Wilson's 1950s musical The Boy Friend.  

The Boy Friend was released in 1971.  For her performance as Polly, Twiggy received two Golden Globe awards, one for best newcomer and the other for best actress in a musical.  She also earned enormous respect.  In 2007, Russell told the Biography Channel that "Twiggy will be an icon until her dying day and beyond,"

Twiggy as Polly in a scene from The Boy Friend

According to a July 30, 2006 article in The Telegraph by Roya Nikkhah, soon after her successful film debut in The Boy Friend, Twiggy broke up with Justin de Villeneuve and moved to the United States.  He remained her manager until 1973 when she severed all ties with him.  In recent years, she has given less weight to his part in her rise to stardom.  According to the Roya Nikkham article, Twiggy has denied that Justin was her Svengali, declaring "he didn't form or mould me." "So, obviously I don't credit him with making me… what happened to me, happened because of the press and circumstance."

De Villeneuve took issue with those remarks.  "We were a double act, and the fact that she now denies this is farcical," he said.  "She has been very hostile and unpleasant about me, but the things she has said are completely untrue."

Through the years, Twiggy has found success performing in film, television and on stage.  She starred in her own variety show for the BBC and portrayed Eliza Doolittle in Yorkshire TV's 1981 production of Pygmalian.  From 1983 to 1984, she appeared on Broadway in the Tony Award-winning Gershwin musical My One and Only and was nominated for a Tony award for her performance.

Twiggy has performed in film and television in both the United States and the U.K.  She had roles in films such as The Blues Brothers (1980), The Doctor and the Devils (1985), Club Paradise, (1986), a TV movie entitled Little Match Girl (1986) and in a three-part TV series called Young Charlie Chaplin (1989)

In 1998, Twiggy hosted a talk show, Twiggy's People, on the ITV network in Britain.  She interviewed celebrities such as Dustin Hoffman, Tom Jones and Lauren Bacall.  In 2001, she hosted another show for ITV called Take Time With Twiggy.  From 2005 to 2007, she served as a judge on the American reality show America's Top Model alongside Tyra Banks, the creator of the series.

In 2005, Twiggy returned to modelling as part of the Marks & Spencer advertising blitz.  She appeared in a major press and billboard campaign for the U.S. department store chain.  In January of 2015, at the age of 65, Twiggy was named an ambassador for L'Oreal, the French cosmetics giant.

Twiggy's Marks & Spencer ad

Twiggy has been married twice.  Her first husband was American actor Michael Witney.  They starred together in a 1974 thriller called W and wed in 1977. Their daughter Carly was born in December of 1978,  Sadly, Witney suffered from alcoholism and died suddenly of a heart attack in New York City on November 30, 1983.  He was 52 years old at the time of his passing.

Twiggy and Michael Witney

Twiggy's second husband is British actor/director Leigh Lawson, the former partner of Hayley Millss (Lawson and Mills have a son named Jason Lawson).  In 1988, Twiggy and Lawson starred with Shirley MacLaine in the film Madame Sousatzka, a British drama directed by John Schlesinger.  That same year, they wed in Sag Harbor, Long Island, New York.  Lawson adopted Carly, who took on her stepfather's last name.

Twiggy and Leigh Lawson

Twiggy recently celebrated her 66th birthday and appears to be quite content with herself.  Earlier this year, in an interview with the  Daily Mirror,  she said, "When I was growing up, I never got dates at the dances, because I was this funny, skinny little kid. Then in my 20s I was always worried about not doing the right thing. I had a daughter when I was 29 and I started growing up then, but it was only in my late 30s and 40s when I finally became comfortable with myself."

So how did all that fame at such a young age affect Twiggy?  In a 2009 interview with Jess Cartner-Morley for The Guardian. she stated, "The thing is, when you're 16, you don't feel young. At the time you think you're quite grown up. It wasn't until much later, when I had a daughter and she got to be 16, that I looked at her and thought, 'Oh my God, I was that young when it happened.' It's amazing, really, that I didn't go stark raving bonkers."

In the 2010 Associated Pres article, Twiggy credited her father with keeping her on an even keel. She said, "My dad was always a very strong presence in my life. He instilled a kind of being down to earth, being sensible, especially when this whole thing happened to me," she told Leanne Italie.


END NOTES

*  Twiggy is an animal rights activist and anti-fur campaigner.

*  Twiggy has written two autobiographies.  The first one, entitled simply Twiggy was published in 1975.  The second, entitled Twiggy in Black and White. was published in 1998,  She is also the author of a 2008 book on healthy living called A Guide to Looking and Feeling Fabulous over Forty.

*  In 2005, Twiggy and Leigh Lawson both appeared in an episode of the American TV comedy series The Nanny entitled "Stop the Wedding, I Want to Get Off"  (Season 1, Episode 16, Air Date: March 16, 1994).  Twiggy played Jocelyn Sheffield, the sister of Maxwell Sheffield (played by British-born Charles Shaughnessy).

*  On November 21, 2011, Twiggy released an album entitled "Romantically Yours."

* Twiggy and Leigh Lawson reside in London.  She is now formerly known as Lesley Lawson or Twiggy Lawson.

*  Twiggy's daughter, Carly Lawson, studied animation at Edinburgh University and is is currently a print designer for English fashion designer Stella McCartney, the daughter of former Beatle, Paul. Twiggy and Carly recorded a mellower version of Neil Young's "Only Love Can Break Your Heart" for the "Romantically Yours" album.

Twiggy and daughter Carly

*  Justin de Villeneuve lives in the Chelsea area of  London.  He has been married twice.  His first wife was model Jan de Villeneuve.  They had daughters.  Their daughter Poppy is a photography and their daughter Daisy is an illustrator.  In 2007, de Vileneuve wed Sue Timney, a British interior and textile designer, at Chelsea Town Hall.

* Twiggy has her own clothing line called Twiggy London.  It is available on the Home Shopping Network (HSN).

- Joanne

Bloomberg Poll: 41% of Americans want to build wall along Canadian border

News Item (September 25, 2005): Four in ten Americans now agree erecting a wall along the 8,850 kilometres (5,499.13 miles) between the otherwise friendly nations is a good idea, according to the latest Bloomberg Politics Poll.

Yes, you read that right.  According to that Bloomberg poll, 41 per cent of respondents agreed with the statement that, "There should be a brick-and-mortar wall between the U.S. and Mexico."
Forty-one per cent also agreed with the statement, "If a wall is good for the Mexico border, it is good for the Canada border as well."

It's unbelievable, isn't it.  It would be amusing, if it weren't so sad.  Okay, okay, it's just one poll and I believe most Americans have much more sense than that.  Still, it's a worrisome reflection on the state of America today, especially the right wing of the Republican Party and its supporters.

Americans of that mindset, not only want to build a wall around their southern neighbour, Mexico, but also around those dangerous Canadians to the north.  You know, those same Canadian who saved the lives of six American hostages in Iran back in 1979.  Those same Canadians who opened up their homes and hearts to American travellers who were stranded during the 9/11 crisis.

How any reasonable American could conceive of Canada as a threat is beyond me!  Indeed, reasonable people tend to build bridges, not walls. That's why it is disturbing that Americans of this mindset are becoming more pervasive and bold.  Just like the so-called "birthers" who are convinced that U.S. President Barack Obama was born in Kenya or Indonesia, they falsely believe that the 9/11 terrorists entered the United States via the Canadian border.

The truth is that Obama was born in Hawaii and all 19 of  the 9/11 hijackers had visas for entry into the United States.  According to FactCheck.Org., "only one came to the U.S. on a student visa,"  The others arrived in America "on tourist or business visas."

Although both of the aforementioned theories are myths and have been thoroughly debunked, they still have credence among some ill-informed and ideologically deluded Americans. In October 2004, even Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, then a New York senator, was quoted as saying the terrorists had crossed into New York from Canada. Her office disputed the quotes, but they provoked outrage and there were demands in Canada for an apology.

The idea of building walls along borders has not only been endorsed by some stereotypical red-neck truck drivers, but by two "serious" candidates for the office of  U.S. president. In a discussion with NBC host Chuck Todd, Governor Scott Walker of Wisconsin, who recently exited from the Republican race for president (Thank goodness!), seemed to agree that the idea of erecting a wall along the Canadian border should be considered.  Donald Trump, another Republican candidate, told a rally in Dallas, Texas, that "walls work."  For Trump, who is a staunchly anti-Mexican, that was par for the course.

How can someone like "The Donald" even be considered suitable for the office of President of the United States?  What public office has he ever held?  He has never been a governor, a senator, a mayor or anything else of that nature?  He has absolutely no diplomatic skills,.  He says almost anything that comes to his mind and has made numerous offensive and ill-considered remarks, especially regarding women and Mexican immigrants.  His tactlessness hasn't prevented him from making billions of dollars or being entertaining.  He's certainly adept at those two things and that's why the media are enjoying his candidacy.  Yet it is essential for an American president to have sound diplomatic abilities.  In 2016, the United States will be electing a new leader, not a reality show host or a stand-up comedian.

Then there's the conservative media.  Sean Haanity, a conservative Fox News host, was asked, "You're going to do it at the border with Mexico, but how about the 5,000 miles between the U.S. and Canada.  Hannity replied, "I would do it up there, too  I would do it up there, too."  Nice, Hannity, nice!

On May 17th, 1961, then-President John F. Kennedy addressed the Canadian Parliament in Ottawa.  In his remarks, he described the relationship between Canada and the United States.  He said,
"Geography has made us neighbours. History has made us friends. Economics has made us partners. And necessity has made us allies. Those whom nature hath so joined together, let no man put asunder."  He added, "What unites us is far greater than what divides us. The issues and irritants that inevitably affect all neighbours are small deed in comparison with the issues that we face together -above all the sombre threat now posed to the whole neighbourhood of this continent - in fact, to the whole community of nations. But our alliance is born, not of fear, but of hope. It is an alliance that advances what we are for, as well as opposes what we are against,"

Kenndey's address to the Parliament of Canada took place 54 years ago, at the height of the Cold War. Times, of course have changed.  Today the world is threatened by the scourge of terrorism, but Kennedy's sentiments still ring true.  The United States and Canada must face our problems by working together and with other countries.

In August of 1961, about three months after President Kennedy's visit to Canada, the Berlin Wall was constructed, cutting off West Berlin from surrounding West Germany.  It was regarded as a symbol of oppression by the free and democratic world.   On June 26, 1963, about 22 months after the wall was erected, JFK delivered a famous speech in West Berlin in which he declared, "... All free men, wherever they may live, are citizens of Berlin, and therefore, as a free man, I take pride in the words "Ich bin ein Berliner! (I am a Berliner)."

There was great celebration when the Berlin Wall came tumbling down in 1989.  Although that wall was built primarily to keep people from leaving East Germany, it  seems to me that freedom-loving people should be wary of all those who advocate the building of border walls, regardless of whether their intention is to prevent people from entering or from leaving.


- Joanne

Unlucky Prince Eddy: Queen Victoria's grandson was the subject of scandal

Even his nearest and dearest, who were naturally bent on making the best of poor Prince Eddy, could not bring themselves to use more positive terms. Prince Eddy was certainly dear and good, kind and considerate. He was also backward and utterly listless. He was self-indulgent and not punctual. He had been given no proper education, and as a result he was interested in nothing. He was as heedless and as aimless as a gleaming gold-fish in a crystal bowl.

 - James Pope-Hennessy
From Queen Mary.Queen 1867 - 1953. Knopf. 1960


Prince Albert Victor, known to his family as "Eddy," was second in the line of succession to the British throne.  His father. Albert Edward, Prince of Wales (later King Edward VII), was the son and heir apparent to Queen Victoria.  His mother, Alexandra, Princess of Wales, was the former Alexandra of Denmark.  Poor Eddy, however, never ascended to the the throne and he never married the woman he loved.  He died before his father and his grandmother,  He was much-maligned in life and well after his untimely death.  For his detractors, however, Eddy was largely the author of his own misfortune.

Prince Albert Victor Christian Edward was born on January 8, 1864.  Due in March, the little prince was born prematurely at Frogmore House, a royal country estate on the east side of Windsor Castle in the English county of Berkshire.  He was named "Albert" after his paternal grandfather, Prince Albert, husband of Queen Victoria, "Victor" after the queen herself and "Christian" after his maternal grandfather, King Christian IX of Denmark.

Baby Prince Albert Victor with his parents

The new baby weighed less than four pounds.  His premature birth left him with a weak immune system and he was frequently ill.  He was considered to be of low intelligence and was partially deaf due to hearing problems inherited from his mother's side of the family.

On June 3, 1865, Eddy's younger brother, George Frederick Ernest Albert (later King George V) was born in Marlborough House, London.  Although the two brothers were close in age, their lives turned out very differently, with George being the more fortunate sibling, while the hapless Eddy could not seem to do anything right.

After the birth of George, three daughters, Louise (1867-1931), Victoria (1868-1935) and Maud (1869-1938), followed in succession.  Another son, Alexander John, was born prematurely on April 6, 1871, but he only survived for a day.  Meanwhile, George and Eddy were educated together under the tutelage of Reverend John Neale Dalton, who remarked that Eddy had an "abnormally dormant condition of mind."

Prince Eddy (left) and Prince George c. 1870

Prince Eddy (right) and Prince George

It was decided that young Prince George should pursue a career in the navy and Reverend Dalton advised that elder brother Eddy should join him as a naval cadet aboard the Royal Navy's training ship, HMS Britannia. Dalton was of the opinion that George would help motivate his struggling older sibling.  As cadets, the boys learned the fundamentals of seamanship

When their time aboard the Britannia ended, the brothers were transferred to the HMS Bacchante, As, midshipmen, they embarked on a three-year world tour aboard the Bacchante, which began with a voyage to Gibralter in 1879.  When their Bacchante cruise came to an end, Eddy and George spent six months in Lausanne, Switzerland to improve their French.  Then the princes finally went their separate ways.  George received another posting at sea, while it was decided that Eddy should further pursue his academic studies.

In October of 1883, Prince Albert Victor entered Trinity College, University of Cambridge, to finish his education.  Eddy failed to impress his tutor, J.K. Stephens, who didn't think his student could derive much benefit from attending lectures at Cambridge.  Stephens described the prince as someone "who barely knows the meaning of the words to read."  In 1865, Eddy departed from Cambridge after being excused from writing exams.  He then became an officer in the 10th Hussars, a cavalry regiment of the British army.  His brother George, however, remained in the navy.

Prince Eddy (right) and Prince George

In 1890, at the age of 26, Eddy returned to civilian life after an undistinguished army career. Prince Albert Victor's lack of military and academic achievement was par for the course. Throughout his life, Eddy was the subject of criticism, speculation and controversy.  He found himself linked to the notorious "Cleveland Street Scandal."

The scandal broke in July of 1889 and involved a male brothel located at 19 Cleveland Street in London.  Implicated in the scandal were high ranking figures in British society, including Lord Arthur Somerset, an Extra Equerry or personal attendant of Eddy's father, the Prince of Wales. Eddy was also rumoured to be a "brothel client," although he had never been named by any of the prostitutes.  The Prince of Wales, intervened and Eddy was not formerly interrogated or prosecuted in the investigation.

Eddy's father and Queen Victoria felt that the young man needed the influence of a wife to settle him down.  The queen encouraged him to woo Princess Alix of Hesse, his first cousin and Victoria's granddaughter. Alix, however, refused Eddy's marriage proposal.  In 1894, she wed Tsar Nicholas II of Russia instead and became known to history as Alexandra Feodorovna, the last Empress of Russia. On July 17, 1918, following he Bolshevik Revolution of 1917, Nicholas and Alexandra and their children were taken to a basement room and assassinated.

In October, 1889, after having been linked to a scandal and rejected by Princess Alix, Albert Victor set forth on a seven month tour of India amid speculation that he was trying to evade accusations and disassociate himself with the Cleveland Street scandal.  However, according to two authors, Theo Aronson in his book Prince Eddy and the Homosexual Underworld (1994) and Andrew Cook in Prince Eddy: The King Britain Never Had (2006), the tour had been planned in the spring, before the scandal had come to light.
 
While in India, Prince Albert Edward became acquainted with a woman named Margery Haddon, the wife of civil engineer Henry Haddon, who was based in the city of Calcutta (now known as Kolkata). Described as vivacious, Margery was the daughter of a civil servant.  She was born and raised in Calcutta, which was then the centre of British colonial power in India.

After Eddy's death, Margery travelled to England and named the prince as the father of her son, Clarence Guy Gordon Haddon.  In 1914, she was arrested outside the gates of Buckingham Palace after shouting that she was the mother of the prince's illegitimate child. By that time, Margery was in dire straights and she appeared deranged.  The unfortunate woman had apparently become an alcoholic, and had had several failed marriages.  Still, she remained adamant about her son's paternity.  She asserted that her affair with the Duke of Clarence had begun at one of a number of the gala balls given during Eddy's tour of India.

The head of Scotland Yard's Special Branch, which is responsible for royal matters and the security of the royal family, investigated the matter and eventually dismissed the claim.  In 2005, official papers in the National Archives were released concerning the Haddon affair.  These documents reveal that Albert Victor's lawyers had conceded that there had almost "certainly" been "some relations" between the prince and Mrs. Haddon, while denying that Eddy had fathered her son.

The documents also reveal evidence of a cover-up by the royal family.  Margery Haddon was becoming troublesome and could not be ignored any longer.  Officials quietly arranged a passage for her to return to India.  Clothes were provided for the desperate woman through funds from a secret Scotland Yard account and she was given spending money.  An intermediary for the duke also provided financial support for young Clarence.  On February 20, 1915, Mrs. Haddon departed for India and there is no record of her returning to England.  The affair was kept out of the public eye until the 1920s when Clarence, who had spent much of his adult life working abroad, turned up in London.

Upon his return from India, Eddy was given the title of Duke of Clarence and Avondale and Earl of Athlone by Queen Victoria On May 24, 1890, her 71st birthday. The prince also became enamoured of  Princess Hélène of Orléans, the daughter of  Philippe, Comte de Paris, the pretender to the French throne. Hélène was born on June 13, 1871 in London, England, where her father was living in exile from France.  The couple wanted to wed, but Hélène was not considered a suitable bride for Eddy because of her Roman Catholicism. The major obstacle to the marriage was the Act of Settlement, an act passed by the Parliament of England in 1701 which prohibits anyone who becomes a Roman Catholic or marries one to ascend to the throne.

Princess Hélène of Orléans

Eddy and Hélène's romance almost caused a constitutional crisis and Prince Albert Victor even considered renouncing his claim to the throne. In frustration, the couple went before Queen Victoria to plead their case and Hélène expressed her willingness to convert to the Church of England. Victoria, although initially opposed to the marriage, was eventually persuaded to agree to the match. Still, the marriage never happened.

Princess Hélène's father was unyielding.  He refused to allow his daughter to convert to Anglicanism. As a last resort, Hélène decided to take her case directly to Pope Leo XIII.  In an audience with the pontiff, she implored him to allow her children to be raised as Protestants. According to a letter from the Baron de Charette, a family friend who had accompanied the princess, the pope said, "It is useless, you know I can't compromise on the principles I represent."

Many years later years later, Prince Michael of Greece (born January 7, 1939), a great nephew of Hélène and a first cousin once removed to Prince Albert Victor, was permitted to rummage through some family papers. He came across a file marked "Eddy," which contained correspondence between Hélène's father, the Count of Paris, and the Vatican., and letters from Eddy to Hélène.  Based on his discovery, Michael, a historian, wrote a book about about the star-crossed love affair entitled Eddy and Helene: An Impossible Match.

Eddy's letters were tender and bittersweet and they provide some insight into the relationship between Albert Victor and the woman he loved.  In his missives from Balmoral and Sandringham, a smitten Eddy addressed Hélène as "his beloved one."  He wrote that she was "indeed to me an angel upon Earth."  "Nothing on Earth," he vowed, "would turn my resolve to stick to you whatever happens, even if I had to wait 50 years or more.

Despite the prince's solemn pledge to stand with Hélène, the relationship was doomed.  In May of 1891,  Hélène wrote to Eddy advising him to "do your duty as an English prince without hesitation and forget me."  Three days later, he responded, telling her that it "almost breaks my heart to think that our lives must be spent apart.”

On July 1, 1891, Queen Victoria wrote to Hélène and told the princess that she supported the marriage but "feared the difficulties of this marriage . . . would be insurmountable . . . that in spite of my keen desire to facilitate this union, my hands are tied and I can change absolutely nothing in the laws which prohibit all marriages between English princes and Catholics, because of the succession to the throne."  She also told Hélène that she believed "her poor grandson," although unhappy, would "have to accept it.

Unlike his nephew, King Edward VIII, who abdicated in 1936 to marry a twice-divorced American, Eddy did his "duty as an English prince."  Yet he never forgot Hélène and neither did his grandmother. After his death, Queen Victoria sent her the dried flowers that had been placed on Eddy's coffin.  “I beg you to accept these keepsakes as proof of my affection for the one who was so devoted to my dear grandson," she wrote from Windsor Castle.

Months after his break-up with  Hélène, a suitable Protestant bride was finally found for the heartbroken Prince Eddy.  In December of 1891, he became engaged to Princess Mary of Teck, known informally as "May,"  Mary was born at Kensington Palace in London on May 26, 1867. Although raised in England, she was a princess of Teck in the Kingdom of Württemberg (a state in Germany that existed from 1806 to 1918).  Her father, Francis, Duke of Teck, was of German extraction.  Her mother, the Duchess of Teck (born Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge), was a member of the British royal family and a granddaughter of King George III.

Prince Eddy and Mary of Teck

                                                                        Photo Credit – www.findagrave.com

Mary of Teck was 24 years of age when she became engaged to Prince Albert Victor.  She was Eddy's second cousin once removed and highly regarded by Queen Victoria.  The marriage, however, never occurred.  A month before the wedding, which was scheduled for February 27, 1892, Prince Albert Victor became ill with influenza while at Sandringham House, Norfolk.  Soon after, he developed pneumonia and died on January 14, 1892.  He was just 28 years old at the time of his passing. While delirious during his final moments, Eddy called out the name of his beloved Hélene.

Mary of Teck in 1893

During the 1960s, speculation arose that Prince Eddy had been involved in the infamous "Jack the Ripper" murders in which five women, thought to be prostitutes, were brutally killed in the Whitechapel district of London between August 31 and November 9, 1888.  The victims were Mary Ann Nichols, Annie Chapman, Elizabeth Stride, Catherine Eddowes and Mary Jane Kelly.  They were strangled to death and organs were removed from their body.  It is for this reason that the killer is believed to have had some surgical skill.

According to the book Jack the Ripper A-Z, the allegations linking Prince Eddy to the murders can be traced to author Philippe Julllien's book, Edward VII, published in 1962.  In his book, Jullien writes that "the prince and "the Duke of Bedford" were rumoured to have perpetrated the murders, although he did not specify which Duke of Bedford was involved.  Then, in November 1970, an article in The Criminologist by Dr. Thomas Stowell raised eyebrows.  The article, titled "A Solution," was actually a veiled accusation against Prince Eddy.

Stowell used the private papers of Sir William Gull, a prominent 19th century English physician who treated members of the royal family, as his source material.  He made a case against the killer he referred as "S" (for suspect).  "S" was an heir to power and wealth and was nicknamed "Collar and Cuffs" (Prince Eddy was referred to as "Collar and Cuffs" due to the high starched collars he wore to conceal his unusually long thin neck).  According to Stowell, "S" had contracted syphilis in the West Indies.  The disease had caused him to become insane and he was compelled to commit the horrific murders.  The royal family had tried to hide him away and have him committed to a mental hospital.

Author Stephen Knight, in his 1976 book Jack the Ripper: The Final Solution, theorized that Prince Albert Victor had fathered a child with a working class Whitechapel woman named Annie Elizabeth Cook and that he had secretly married her.  Eddy and others, he surmised, had committed the murders to cover up the prince's indiscretions and to serve an anti-Catholic Masonic conspiracy. According to this theory, one of  "Jack the Ripper's" victims was the child’s nanny and another was a case of mistaken identity.

Although Jack the Ripper: The Final Solution was a commercial success, there are so many contradictions in Knight's theories that some regard it as a hoax.  Another book, Prince Jack: The True Story of Jack the Ripper (1978), written by Frank Spiering, also pointed the finger at Prince Eddy.  It claimed that Prince Albert Victor was capable of carrying out the surgical techniques used on the murder victims because as an avid hunter, he was skilled at "dressng deer."

The allegations linking Eddy to the "Jack the Ripper" murders, however, are not supported by any concrete evidence. In fact, Court and Royal records show that the prince was not even in London at the time of the important murder dates.  From August 29, 1888 until September 1888, he was staying with Viscount Downe at Danby Lodge (Nichols was murdered August 31).  From September 7-10, 1888, he was at the Cavalry Barracks in York (Chapman was murdered September 8).  From September 27-30, 1888, he was at Abergeldie, Scotland and Queen Victoria recorded in her journal that she had lunch with her grandson there (Stride and Eddowes were murdered between 1.00 and 2.00 a.m. on September 30).  From November 2-12, the prince was at Sandringham. (Kelly was murdered November 9).

Most historians have dismissed claims that Prince Albert Victor was involved in the gruesome crimes of 1888.   While Eddy certainly had his faults, it is extremely doubtful that he was responsible for the "Jack the Ripper" murders.


END NOTES

* On July 6, 1893, Mary of Teck married Albert Victor's brother, Prince George.  Upon the death of Edward VII on May 6, 1910, George became king and reigned as George V until his death in 1936. Queen Mary passed away on March 24, 1953, only 10 weeks before the coronation of her granddaughter as Queen Elizabeth II.

* On June 25, 1895, Princess Hélène of Orléans married Italian-born Prince Emanuele Filberto Vittorio, second Duke of Aosta, a member of the House of Savoy and a cousin of King Victor Emmanuel of Italy.  The wedding took place at the Church of St. Raphel in Kingston upon Thames, England.  The couple had two sons, Amedeo (1898-1942), third Duke of Aosta and Aimone (1900-1948), fourth Duke of Aosta.

Hélène was widowed in 1931 and remarried in 1936.  Her second husband was Colonel Otto Campini (1872–1951).  Hélène died at Castellammare di Stabia, Italy (an area in the Metropolitan City of Naples) on January 21, 1951.  She was 79 years old at the time of her passing.

*  In the 1920s, Clarence Haddon, who was obviously named after the Duke of Clarence, showed up in London demanding to be recognized as the son of Prince Albert Victor.  Not having documentary evidence, his claims were not taken seriously and he was viewed as somewhat of a crackpot.  Still, he continued his campaign to be recognized at the prince's son.

In 1929, Haddon published a book entitled My Uncle, King George V, in which he reiterated his mother's claim that he was Prince Eddy's offspring.  He asserted that he was born in London in September of 1890, about nine months after Prince Albert Victor's meeting with Margery Haddon.

On November 29, 1933, Clarence Haddon was arrested and charged with threatening and attempting to blackmail King George V.  He was accused of writing to the king and demanding money in return for silencing his claims that he was George's nephew.

According to an Associated Press (AP) news report, Clarence Haddon went on trial in London on January 11, 1934.  The report, describes Haddon as an "unemployed consulting engineer."  It quotes Haddon as telling the court that he "had witnesses to say that his mother was secretly married to the Duke of Clarence."

The judge, believing that Haddon was delusional, eventually found him guilty and placed him under conditions of bail for three years, provided that he refrained from claiming that he was Prince Eddy's son. He later breached his bail conditions and was incarcerated for a year. According to one source, My Heritage.com, Clarence Haddon died circa 1940.


- Joanne

Canadian National Exhibition Sand Sculptures

The Canadian National Exhibition was founded in 1879 and it is a Toronto tradition.  I've been going to the CNE, or as we Torontonians affectionately call it , "The Ex," my whole life.  The grand fair is Canada''s largest annual community event and runs for 18 days.  It always ends on Labour Day and it ushers in the new school year and the fall season.

This year, I took some photos of the four entries in the International Pairs sand sculpting competition at the Enercare Centre, the main building at the Ex.  Here are pictures of the entries.

THE UNITED STATES ENTRY: "Idea Factory"
Sculptors: Eva Sazuko McGrew and Greg LeBon

THE CHINESE ENTRY: "Ancient Mysteries of China"
Sculptors: Yan Zhang and Lidong Yang

THE CANADIAN ENTRY:  "All You Need is Love"
Sculptors:  Jonathan Bouchard and Stéphan Robert

TOGO (AFRICA) ENTRY
Sculptors: Bob Atisso and Bouke Atema

FROM THE CNE WEBSITE

International Sand Sculpting Pairs Competition

BREAKING NEWS:  The Judges Have Spoken!
Team USA wins top honours followed by Canada in second place!

Now it is up to you, our guests, to vote for the Fan Favourite. 


END NOTE

This sculpture below, entitled "Rock on Rock," by Daryl Maddeaux was also on display..

- Joanne

Does the Harper government deserve to be re-elected?

 Photo Attribution:

                                   https://www.flickr.com/photos/presidenciamx/12622527495/

The campaign is on!  Canada's 42nd general election will be held on Monday, October 19, 2015. We have been given the opportunity to replace a tired and exceedingly mean-spirited government.  We have a chance to remove from office one Stephen Joseph Harper, the most ideologically-driven and partisan prime minister in our history.  It isn't going to be easy.  The Conservative Party of Canada has a war chest just with funds.  The party will continue to spend millions of dollars on ads attacking Liberal leader Justin Trudeau and NDP leader Thomas Mulcair.

The election was called on August 2nd.  At 11 weeks, this is the longest campaign in modern Canadian history.  Don't be deceived by the bombardment of negative ads.  Don't be sidetracked by the Conservative Party's fixation on Justin Trudeau's hair.  Concentrate on the real issues and make an informed decision.

This is not an ad hominem attack on Mr. Harper.  It is an attack on his policies and a lament for the damage those polices have inflicted on Canada.  The Harper government should be soundly defeated for what it has done to this great nation and its standing in the world.  I will outline my reasoning in a clear and concise fashion:

1.  The Economy: Canada's economy is sluggish.  It is stagnating.  It has contracted over the first five months of 2015.  We are on the verge of  a recession.  Yet the Harper government refuses to take responsibility for the country's poor economic performance.  Of course, it is quick to accept the credit for good economic news.  In the August 24, 2015 issue of Maclean's magazine, columnist Scott Feschuk writes that Stephen Harper is "running on his economic leadership,even as the economy hurtles toward recession.  He's running on his fiscal record, despite seven straight deficits and an addiction to bribing Canadians with their own money."

Prime Minister Harper has blamed the sluggish economy on external factors and low oil prices.  Yet the economies of other developed countries are not performing as poorly and it was Stephen Harper himself who placed Canada's hopes for economic growth on the oil industry. He is the one who put all this country's eggs in one basket.

2.  The Environment:  The Harper government's record on the environment is absolutely disgraceful.  Canada's record on decreasing green house gases is shameful and it is a blight on our world-wide reputation.  At home, the government has reduced environmental regulations and muzzled the findings of scientists.  It regards them as "radicals."

3.  Jobs:  Where are the jobs, especially for our young people?  Ask anyone sending out resumes how difficult it is to find work other than part-time, seasonal and contractual.  Are we suppose to just meekly accept that our children will not have long term jobs and secure pensions in a country as rich and full of resources as Canada?  Surely young Canadians deserve better.  Surely they deserve a more hopeful future.

The Harper government believes in the fallacy of trickle-down supply-side economics. Conservatives argue that lower taxes and less government create jobs.  They contend that the private sector will create employment for the masses.  So, why hasn't it happened?  It seems that more companies are laying off employees rather than hiring.

4.  The Long Form Census;  The Harper government has put an end to Canada's long form census, a useful tool for planners and an invaluable source of information about this country.  Ask any librarian or urban planner or researcher about the usefulness of the long form census.

5.  The Post Office:  Thanks to the Harper government, home mail delivery is being phased out. This will cause untold hardship for the elderly and the disabled.  We will have people falling on ice as they try to retrieve their mail during the winter.  We already have large and unsightly outdoor mail boxes littering the landscape.  If other countries can afford home mail delivery, why can't Canada?  Canada Post has been poorly managed.  Stamp prices rise exponentially and postal services continue to deteriorate,

6.  The CBC:  The Harper government is destroying the CBC, our public broadcaster, in a piecemeal fashion.  It is starving Canada's national network bit by bit with budget cuts.  With each budget cut, the CBC bleeds more and more,  Quality goes down because of a lack of financing and people complain about using taxpayer funding for inferior programming.  The CBC is necessary because it shines a light on Canada.  It brings Canadian communities together.  Private broadcasting, on the other hand, tends to simulcast commercial-filled American shows

What the Conservative government is doing to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation is not only reprehensible, it is insidious.  Rather than taking an axe to the CBC, it is wounding it one cut at a time until it dies a long and lingering death.  That is why it is why it is a essential that a new government restore funding to our public broadcaster.

7.  Gun Control: The Tories have relaxed gun control laws and they have killed the long gun registry.  As the American experience has taught us, the more guns available, the more murders and firearm accidents.  Do we really want to emulate our neighbours to the south with regard to firearms?

8.  Fear Mongering:  Canadians certainly should be vigilant where terrorism is concerned, but the Conservative government has played on people's fears.  It has used the fear factor for partisan advantage and has portrayed the parliamentary opposition as naive and soft on terrorism.  It has done this for electoral advantage. Furthermore, the Conservatives have demonstrated a lack of concern for the civil liberties of Canadians with the passing of its controversial Bill -51.    

9.  Aboriginal Peoples:  In 2008, Prime Minister Stephen Harper apologized for the Indian Residential Schools and began setting up a Truth and Reconciliation Commission.  In 2010, he signed the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.  Unfortunately, however, his government is responsible for severe cutbacks to aboriginal organizations and the abandonment of the Kelowna Accord of November of 1985.  The accord, a ten-year plan to improve the health, education, living conditions and economic opportunities for Aboriginal peoples, was the result of consultations between the federal government, provincial and territorial governments, and five national aboriginal organizations.

Stephen Harper has shown indifference and a lack of understanding with regard to the more than 1,100 aboriginal women gone missing or murdered since 1980.  He has refused to call a formal federal inquiry into the tragedy.  He regards it merely a criminal matter and will not consider the social implications.  According to the prime minister, an inquiry would be "another study . . .in place of action."  Meanwhile, in May of 2014, the RCMP stated that the number of indigenous females missing or murdered was three to four times higher in proportion to the rest of the population.

10.  Poverty: That is the issue none of the party leaders want to talk about much. However, it is a sad reality in this country.  Under the policies of the Harper government, the gap between the rich and poor is growing wider every day.  Our social safety net is fraying.  In this purportedly "developed" nation, children are going to bed hungry or without proper nutrition and many people are homeless and destitute.

11.  Taxation and Government Ads:  Due to their ideology, the Tories will not raises taxes on the wealthiest Canadians and neither will they increase corporate taxes.  They claim to be careful with taxpayers' money.  Yet they have wasted millions of dollars on government ads that are thinly-disguised pro-Conservative propaganda.  The government's 2009-10 Economic Action Plan ad campaign cost $52.3 million (Toronto Star, April 30, 2015).  In addition, the media have been inundated with ads featuring contented Canadian families and soccer-playing children.  They promote the supposed benefits of Conservative budget measures such as income sharing (which only helps those who don't need help).

Since the Conservatives came to power, an estimated $750 million has been spent on government ad blitzes (Toronto Star, April 30, 2015).  Admittedly, some of the ads, such as public health alerts, have provided necessary information.  Most, however, have shamelessly promoted the policies of the Conservative government.for partisan gain.  Remember the 2013 Job Grant ads?  Those ads ran before the program was even implemented.

It should be noted that both the Canadian Taxpayers' Federation and Democracy Watch (an Ottawa-based citizen group advocating democratic reform) have been highly critical of the Conservative government's ads.

12.  Foreign Policy: Canada has traditionally been regarded as a middle power, an honest broker and a peacemaker.  Under the guidance of Lester Pearson, this country pioneered the concept of sending peacekeeping troops to areas of conflict.  Stephen Harper, however, has tried to change Canada's image to that of a warrior nation.  He has not been supportive of the United Nations, which, although imperfect, is the only international organization for achieving peace, security and co[operation among nations.  It promotes human rights and tries to solve humanitarian and social problems.

Due to the Harper government's policies, Canada suffered the embarrassment of losing its 2010 bid for a seat on the United Nations Security Council.  Yves Fortier, Canadian ambassador to the UN from 1988 to 1991, stated that Canada's humiliating failure to win the seat was "a reflection of things that Canada has done or not not done that a majority of nations disapprove of."

Here are just two examples of Conservative policy that cost this country an important a voice on the UN Security Council: Some countries, especially vulnerable island nations, were displeased with Canada's lack of enthusiasm for taking measures to decrease greenhouse gases, while African nations were upset about Canada's reduction of aid to that continent.

13.  Fighter Jets:  The Conservatives have planned to purchase 65 very costly fighter planes (Kevin Page, Canada's former parliamentary budget officer, has estimated that the cost of the planes would be a whopping $29.3 billion over 30 years).  The Tories chose the F-35 jets without a competitive bidding process. They plan to spend billions of dollars on planes that are unlikely to meet Canada's needs,  University of British Columbia professor Michael Byers has contended that the F-35 is not designed to suit Canada's Arctic and Maritimes.  He has written that purchasing a single-engine fighter "would almost inevitably result in the needless loss of Canadian pilots."  Byers has also stated the following: "“Instead of blowing the defence budget on a fleet of unproven, hyper-expensive F-35s that could soon become outdated, we should be looking for a lower-risk, lower-cost alternative.”

The purchase of the F-35 jets is currently on hold, but has not been ruled out.

14.  The Mike Duffy Scandal and the Senate:  The Mike Duffy scandal has further tainted the record of the Harper government.  As Senator Duffy's fraud trial continues, more will be revealed about the inner workings of the PMO and it won't be pretty.  Duffy and another Conservative appointee to the Red Chamber, Pamela Wallin, have been accused of making fraudulent Senate expense claims.

Many Canadians are calling for reform or abolition of the Upper House. In July of 2015, Prime Minister Harper vowed not to name any new senators until the Senate is reformed (there are currently 22 vacancies).  The prime minister is leaving it to the provinces to sort out the mess, putting the onus on them to come up with a plan for reform.


END NOTES

I have focussed on 14 issues in my reasoning as to why the Harper government should be defeated. There are certainly many more, but I do not have the time or space to write about them in one opinion piece.

This federal election provides a chance for Canadians, especially those between the ages of 18 and 25, to exercise their franchise. On October 19th, let your voices be heard.  Please get out and vote!  It costs nothing and you will be doing something that people in many countries don't have the right to do.  Our democratic system is far from perfect but, as Winston Churchill pointed out, it's better than all the others.  You may be disillusioned and disenchanted, but apathy is not the answer.  Would you rather live in a dictatorship or a totalitarian country?  I don't think so.

Be a part of the democratic process,  Let the politicians know that they have to listen to you if they want your vote.  Don't get fooled again!  Put an end to the Harper era.  Vote this tired and cruel government out of office.  Put an end to this ugly regime.


- Joanne