Former Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, and known "climate criminal," reportedly plans to establish a foreign policy institute. (Photo: Adrian Wyld/Canadian Press)
May 25, 2016
News that former Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper would be leaving politics presumably to "make his fortune" was met with derision and delight from his many critics who say that the conservative MP "destroyed the social fabric of Canada."
Harper is expected to resign from federal politics before Parliament resumes in the fall. According to the Globe and Mail, which broke the news Wednesday, he plans to "pursue new interests on corporate boards and the establishment of a foreign policy institute," which, according to an undisclosed source, "won't be academic or domestic-policy focused...but directed largely at global 'big picture' issues."
And one former policy director speculated that those issues will likely include free trade, in addition to Harper's "geopolitical thinking" in regards to human rights, democracy, and "standing up to authoritarian regimes."
During his tenure as Prime Minister, which spanned from 2006-2015, Harper was known internationally for pushing through an aggressive conservative agenda which included: wholesale investment in fossil fuels, including Canadian tar sands; blocking international efforts to combat climate change; dismantling civil liberties through mass surveillance; unflinching support of Israel and attempts to outlaw pro-Palestinian boycott movements; supporting numerous wars overseas; and willfully ignoring the treaty rights of Canadian First Nations, among many other things.
After word of his imminent departure broke, critics took to social media to speculate about what may be next for the man accused of turning Canada into a "climate villain."
\u201c@Adam_Stirling Nah. It will be the Stephen Harper Institute on Taxation & the Economy or #SHITE.\u201d— Adam Stirling (@Adam Stirling) 1464187788
\u201cStephen Harper after trying 4 years to destroy social fabric of Canada leaves politics to make his fortune\nhttps://t.co/CPpTi3SBgC #cdnpoli\u201d— John Smith (son of Harry Leslie Smith) (@John Smith (son of Harry Leslie Smith)) 1464182226
\u201cBREAKING. Stevie (Harper) now on Donald's VP short list. #GOP #cdnpoli\u201d— Raffi Cavoukian (@Raffi Cavoukian) 1464194542
\u201c1. #Israel. 2. Maintain #US global hegemony. 3. Israel. 4. TK #StephenHarper #cdnpoli https://t.co/bASk6jLF0t\u201d— Kevin Michael Grace\ud83c\udff4\udb40\udc67\udb40\udc62\udb40\udc77\udb40\udc6c\udb40\udc73\udb40\udc7f\ud83c\uddee\ud83c\uddea\u269c\ud83c\uddf3\ud83c\uddf4 (@Kevin Michael Grace\ud83c\udff4\udb40\udc67\udb40\udc62\udb40\udc77\udb40\udc6c\udb40\udc73\udb40\udc7f\ud83c\uddee\ud83c\uddea\u269c\ud83c\uddf3\ud83c\uddf4) 1464196653
\u201cEx-PM Stephen Harper is set to retire from politics. Here's a pic of Trudeau thanking him for his years of service.\u201d— JOHNNY NOVAK (@JOHNNY NOVAK) 1464185796
\u201cHarper resigning to pursue same corporate interests more directly. #cdnpoli https://t.co/2Mr7yzpRih\u201d— Derrick O\u2019Keefe (@Derrick O\u2019Keefe) 1464181812
\u201cHarper's resignation also frees him up to help out his pal Sheldon Adelson some more on the US election. #cdnpoli\u201d— Derrick O\u2019Keefe (@Derrick O\u2019Keefe) 1464181955
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Lauren McCauley
Lauren McCauley is a former senior editor for Common Dreams covering national and international politics and progressive news. She is now the Editor of Maine Morning Star. Lauren also helped produce a number of documentary films, including the award-winning Soundtrack for a Revolution and The Hollywood Complex, as well as one currently in production about civil rights icon James Meredith. Her writing has been featured on Newsweek, BillMoyers.com, TruthDig, Truthout, In These Times, and Extra! the newsletter of Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting. She currently lives in Kennebunk, Maine with her husband, two children, a dog, and several chickens.
News that former Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper would be leaving politics presumably to "make his fortune" was met with derision and delight from his many critics who say that the conservative MP "destroyed the social fabric of Canada."
Harper is expected to resign from federal politics before Parliament resumes in the fall. According to the Globe and Mail, which broke the news Wednesday, he plans to "pursue new interests on corporate boards and the establishment of a foreign policy institute," which, according to an undisclosed source, "won't be academic or domestic-policy focused...but directed largely at global 'big picture' issues."
And one former policy director speculated that those issues will likely include free trade, in addition to Harper's "geopolitical thinking" in regards to human rights, democracy, and "standing up to authoritarian regimes."
During his tenure as Prime Minister, which spanned from 2006-2015, Harper was known internationally for pushing through an aggressive conservative agenda which included: wholesale investment in fossil fuels, including Canadian tar sands; blocking international efforts to combat climate change; dismantling civil liberties through mass surveillance; unflinching support of Israel and attempts to outlaw pro-Palestinian boycott movements; supporting numerous wars overseas; and willfully ignoring the treaty rights of Canadian First Nations, among many other things.
After word of his imminent departure broke, critics took to social media to speculate about what may be next for the man accused of turning Canada into a "climate villain."
\u201c@Adam_Stirling Nah. It will be the Stephen Harper Institute on Taxation & the Economy or #SHITE.\u201d— Adam Stirling (@Adam Stirling) 1464187788
\u201cStephen Harper after trying 4 years to destroy social fabric of Canada leaves politics to make his fortune\nhttps://t.co/CPpTi3SBgC #cdnpoli\u201d— John Smith (son of Harry Leslie Smith) (@John Smith (son of Harry Leslie Smith)) 1464182226
\u201cBREAKING. Stevie (Harper) now on Donald's VP short list. #GOP #cdnpoli\u201d— Raffi Cavoukian (@Raffi Cavoukian) 1464194542
\u201c1. #Israel. 2. Maintain #US global hegemony. 3. Israel. 4. TK #StephenHarper #cdnpoli https://t.co/bASk6jLF0t\u201d— Kevin Michael Grace\ud83c\udff4\udb40\udc67\udb40\udc62\udb40\udc77\udb40\udc6c\udb40\udc73\udb40\udc7f\ud83c\uddee\ud83c\uddea\u269c\ud83c\uddf3\ud83c\uddf4 (@Kevin Michael Grace\ud83c\udff4\udb40\udc67\udb40\udc62\udb40\udc77\udb40\udc6c\udb40\udc73\udb40\udc7f\ud83c\uddee\ud83c\uddea\u269c\ud83c\uddf3\ud83c\uddf4) 1464196653
\u201cEx-PM Stephen Harper is set to retire from politics. Here's a pic of Trudeau thanking him for his years of service.\u201d— JOHNNY NOVAK (@JOHNNY NOVAK) 1464185796
\u201cHarper resigning to pursue same corporate interests more directly. #cdnpoli https://t.co/2Mr7yzpRih\u201d— Derrick O\u2019Keefe (@Derrick O\u2019Keefe) 1464181812
\u201cHarper's resignation also frees him up to help out his pal Sheldon Adelson some more on the US election. #cdnpoli\u201d— Derrick O\u2019Keefe (@Derrick O\u2019Keefe) 1464181955
Lauren McCauley
Lauren McCauley is a former senior editor for Common Dreams covering national and international politics and progressive news. She is now the Editor of Maine Morning Star. Lauren also helped produce a number of documentary films, including the award-winning Soundtrack for a Revolution and The Hollywood Complex, as well as one currently in production about civil rights icon James Meredith. Her writing has been featured on Newsweek, BillMoyers.com, TruthDig, Truthout, In These Times, and Extra! the newsletter of Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting. She currently lives in Kennebunk, Maine with her husband, two children, a dog, and several chickens.
News that former Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper would be leaving politics presumably to "make his fortune" was met with derision and delight from his many critics who say that the conservative MP "destroyed the social fabric of Canada."
Harper is expected to resign from federal politics before Parliament resumes in the fall. According to the Globe and Mail, which broke the news Wednesday, he plans to "pursue new interests on corporate boards and the establishment of a foreign policy institute," which, according to an undisclosed source, "won't be academic or domestic-policy focused...but directed largely at global 'big picture' issues."
And one former policy director speculated that those issues will likely include free trade, in addition to Harper's "geopolitical thinking" in regards to human rights, democracy, and "standing up to authoritarian regimes."
During his tenure as Prime Minister, which spanned from 2006-2015, Harper was known internationally for pushing through an aggressive conservative agenda which included: wholesale investment in fossil fuels, including Canadian tar sands; blocking international efforts to combat climate change; dismantling civil liberties through mass surveillance; unflinching support of Israel and attempts to outlaw pro-Palestinian boycott movements; supporting numerous wars overseas; and willfully ignoring the treaty rights of Canadian First Nations, among many other things.
After word of his imminent departure broke, critics took to social media to speculate about what may be next for the man accused of turning Canada into a "climate villain."
\u201c@Adam_Stirling Nah. It will be the Stephen Harper Institute on Taxation & the Economy or #SHITE.\u201d— Adam Stirling (@Adam Stirling) 1464187788
\u201cStephen Harper after trying 4 years to destroy social fabric of Canada leaves politics to make his fortune\nhttps://t.co/CPpTi3SBgC #cdnpoli\u201d— John Smith (son of Harry Leslie Smith) (@John Smith (son of Harry Leslie Smith)) 1464182226
\u201cBREAKING. Stevie (Harper) now on Donald's VP short list. #GOP #cdnpoli\u201d— Raffi Cavoukian (@Raffi Cavoukian) 1464194542
\u201c1. #Israel. 2. Maintain #US global hegemony. 3. Israel. 4. TK #StephenHarper #cdnpoli https://t.co/bASk6jLF0t\u201d— Kevin Michael Grace\ud83c\udff4\udb40\udc67\udb40\udc62\udb40\udc77\udb40\udc6c\udb40\udc73\udb40\udc7f\ud83c\uddee\ud83c\uddea\u269c\ud83c\uddf3\ud83c\uddf4 (@Kevin Michael Grace\ud83c\udff4\udb40\udc67\udb40\udc62\udb40\udc77\udb40\udc6c\udb40\udc73\udb40\udc7f\ud83c\uddee\ud83c\uddea\u269c\ud83c\uddf3\ud83c\uddf4) 1464196653
\u201cEx-PM Stephen Harper is set to retire from politics. Here's a pic of Trudeau thanking him for his years of service.\u201d— JOHNNY NOVAK (@JOHNNY NOVAK) 1464185796
\u201cHarper resigning to pursue same corporate interests more directly. #cdnpoli https://t.co/2Mr7yzpRih\u201d— Derrick O\u2019Keefe (@Derrick O\u2019Keefe) 1464181812
\u201cHarper's resignation also frees him up to help out his pal Sheldon Adelson some more on the US election. #cdnpoli\u201d— Derrick O\u2019Keefe (@Derrick O\u2019Keefe) 1464181955
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