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No. 75621
>>75565 >I know anti-Harper sentiment has been a thing, but I can't figure out what he did to make people personally dislike him. A lot of it has to do with a lack of governmental transparency, particularly his blatant contempt for media and journalists. He would frequently attend events where he would not be taking questions, only having his photo taken; he would have press conferences where he would read a prepared statement and then take no questions; he would have "press events" where only photogs were invited, no journalists... He took a very aggressive stance against the CBC that resulted in massive cutbacks and layoffs. For all its flaws and bloating, the CBC is a public broadcaster that, though gov't funded, was frequently critical of government, regardless of the party in power. There were other issues, like scientific studies and research on arctic warming or the toxicity of groundwater around the tar sands having to be filtered through and essentially approved by the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) before publishing, which was effectively like requiring facts to have government approval before they would be shared with the public. There was also the massive push to make Canada's economy dominantly centered on tar sands oil production, which, as a result of the downturn in oil prices, has since lead to tens of thousands of layoffs. But yeah, I am from the prairies and know quite a few people who generally self-identify as Conservative but were not happy with Stephen Harper's leadership, his relationship with media, his transparency to voters, and a pattern of undemocratic leadership decisions.
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