Monday, November 3, 2008

Hope and audacity

Those of you following my blog know that I have been trying to confirm whether I was put under surveillance for my advocating activities with respect to ethanol. Here's an update...

On October 27, I followed up with the RCMP Privacy Office on my surveillance question of October 8. I was told that my request was "at the earliest stages of processing" and that "many factors influence the release time of information." I was told that I should expect a response in thirty days.

I don't see any practical reason why it should take two and a half months, all told, to get a response to a very straightforward question involving my security and privacy; I don't see why I should accept that the PMO simply chose to ignore my question when I posed it to them on September 13; I don't see how this situation can be considered acceptable in a well-functioning democracy.

Could it be that I'm just not smart enough to understand appropriate use of prime-ministerial power?

My first boss out of university gave me a piece of advice that has served me well in life. He said: George, if something doesn't make sense to YOU then it doesn't make sense PERIOD. Keep asking questions until it does.

So I'm asking questions. But since I'm not confident that the answers I get will be any good, I've decided to seek some pre-emptive legal advice. Last week I retained a firm that specializes in constitutional and administrative law. I am prepared to take this matter to the highest level possible. I want to know why the PMO didn't respond to my question; I want the government to explain to Canada the ethics and rationality of diverting massive amounts of agricultural land to produce fuel at a time when people are going hungry; I want to draw attention to my argument before the planet gets blindsided by another crisis that no one (and everyone) saw coming.

Barack Obama is poised to win the U.S. election tomorrow. Mr. Obama is from Illinois, a corn state, and he is a big supporter of bio-fuels. I have no reason to think that Mr. Obama is not a principled man. Maybe he just hasn't had time to really think through the implications of his stance. All the same, if he wins, his administration will push the ethanol agenda full-speed ahead.

Of course, that only heightens my sense of urgency.

Do I really think an ordinary person like me can change the course of the world with not much more than a laptop and a bit of determination? You bet I do.

Hope and audacity are two things that Mr. Obama and I share.