Do the Conservatives Have a Platform?

 I see people often say the CPC/UCP/etc have no policy, only attacks against the Liberals/NDP... I think this is inaccurate. They cannot present their policy to the public because Canadians would find their vision for Canada so unpalatable as to relegate their RW movement to the scrapheap of history. Some basic tenets upon which the current conservative movement is built:

1. Universal healthcare is an abomination to capitalism
A blog about the UCP in AB, but with the history explaining why the UCP think this way.

Alberta Bill 30 - Introducing For-Profit Medicine in AlbertaA blog about life in Canada. Everything from political ranting to living off the grid, to really whatever strikes my fancy.https://thecailleach.blogspot.com/2020/07/alberta-bill-30-introducing-for-profit.html

2. Public education is an abomination to capitalism, and the Church, as well as a hindrance to continual conservative rule.
Andrew Scheer had, as one of his platforms, the funding of religious private schools and home schooling. But this is just one part.

Federal funding for private schools: a cautionary taleAndrew Scheer’s proposal for a $4,000 tax deduction to send kids to private school would plant a ticking time bomb at the core of Canada’s school syst...https://www.thestar.com/opinion/contributors/2019/08/06/federal-funding-for-private-schools-a-cautionary-tale.html

Premier Jason Kenney had the "public" removed from public schools within Alberta and cut funding to post-secondary institutions, except private religious colleges.

cbc.ca/news/canada/ca…

cbc.ca/news/canada/ca…

Furthermore, in Alberta, the UCP has introduced the idea of non-funded home schooling which does not have to meet the provincial curriculum. In other words, people can now teach their kids any damn thing they want.

Alberta government introduces bill to reduce rules for new charter schools, unsupervised homeschoolingKenney’s government lifted long-standing cap on charter schools last yearhttps://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/alberta/article-alberta-government-introduces-bill-to-reduce-rules-for-new-charter/

If you read that previous article, you will have noticed a push towards vocational schools. And not just high school. Lets get those pre-teens learned up on pipe-fitting and mudlogging. Oh, and don't forget coal-mining. The UCP has paved the way for more open pit coal mines...

And created a lower minimum wage for those under 18. We can get those kids out to work faster than ever!

Making Child Labour Great Again! Alberta’s new labour law breaks old ground while undermining unions - Alberta PoliticsAlberta’s about to Make Child Labour Great Again! If you think this is a breakthrough, you’re probably a fast-food franchise owner. Yesterday, Premier Jason Kenney’s United Conservative Party introdu…https://albertapolitics.ca/2020/07/making-child-labour-great-again-albertas-new-labour-law-breaks-old-ground-while-undermining-unions/

Jason Kenney has, over the years, expressed his concern that schools are indoctrinating kids in collectivist thinking (learning to share & co-operate, one might assume) and all manner of harmful ideas (science?) that detract from basic numeracy & literacy.

VIDEO: Jason Kenney is fear mongering about ‘radical social engineering’ in Alberta schools againhttps://pressprogress.ca/jason_kenney_is_fear_mongering_about_radical_social_engineering_in_alberta_schools_again/

Basic numeracy and literacy are to be the focus of the new UCP curriculum, with annual standardised tests beginning in grade 1 to ensure that teachers do not stray from making their students memorize the times table.

This is the brand new Alberta school outcomes model. "Critical" as in "critical thinking" appears once, in high school. "Literature" does not appear at all. Literacy is treated as a career tool.
education.alberta.ca/media/3402192/…

Indeed, the UCP wants to go further, tying post-secondary academic programs to the speed with which graduates get high-paying jobs. Essentially, eliminating the arts and humanities and focusing on engineering and business.

Post-secondary funding in Alberta will be tied to performance, says ministerhttps://calgaryherald.com/news/local-news/alberta-moves-to-outcomes-based-approach-to-post-secondary-funding

So, education is strictly for preparing Alberta's children for jobs to boost the bottom line of big companies. And if they can get rid of these secular public schools, workers will again be taught obedience to the church as well as to their betters.

3. Social programs are an abomination to the supreme authority of the church.
Charity used to be the exclusive purview of the church. Assistance was distributed according to the recipients' level of obeisance. Government social safety nets mean just anyone can get help.

Even sinners, like addicts. I believe there is a vocal element within the UCP who would like to go back to the old way, where everyone went to church and tithed, then the churches looked after the poor and sick as they saw fit.

Besides, social programs rob the government coffers of money which should properly go to the capitalist overlords.

Park parent of AISH recipient calls UCP changes obsceneThe 2019 Alberta budget is causing some major concerns for Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped (AISH) recipients and their families.AISH provides a living allowance to Albertans who have a pe…https://www.sherwoodparknews.com/news/local-news/park-parent-of-aish-recipient-calls-ucp-changes-obscene

4. Canadians, outside of the inner circle of the conservative movement, are only human capital to be exploited for the increased wealth of the very rich.

Sorry, Not Enough “Human Capital”Restaurant Canada wants Alberta’s $15/hour minimum wage reduced for youth, liquor servers and people with disabilities. Mr Kenney says he’ll consider a reduction for youth and alcohol servers.  No …https://susanonthesoapbox.com/2019/02/17/sorry-not-enought-human-capital/

The CPC, under the rule of Stephen Harper and the direction of Jason Kenney introduced the temporary foreign workers program. There is a generally held belief that Canadians expect too much. Especially too much pay. This is why manufacturing went overseas. And the CPC...

Brought in the TFW program so employers could hire the same sort of cheap labour in Canada. Not as low-paying as jobs in their home countries, but lower than what a Canadian minimum wage worker would have to be paid. This not only exploited these workers, but also...

Depressed wages for Canadian workers. Because the common good of Canadians is far outweighed by the good of the corporations in conservative political minds.

Foreign workers a boon for employers, for Canada not so muchSkills shortages do seem to be rampant, but evidence of labour shortages is largely anecdotal and regional.https://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/economy/jobs/foreign-workers-a-boon-for-employers-for-canada-not-so-much/article11433730/

Another aspect of this view of citizens as human capital is a disregard for human rights, except insofar as it it the conservatives' own rights. Thus, draconian punishments which amuse the mob mentality, stripping of rights from "sinners" like the LGBTQ2+ community...

5. The CPC deserve to govern forever.
Democracy gets in the way of this. Clearly God favours them and they should win every election. Therefore it is ok to cheat, mislead the public, suppress the vote, etc. Because power is their destiny. Or some such rot.

6. The media should broadcast the CPC message and no other.
Which most of them do, of course. They believe strongly in state-controlled propaganda media and would like to see other media shuttered.

Stephen Harper's '24 Seven' videos require up to four staffers to produceAs many as four public servants from the Privy Council Office are engaged in the publishing of weekly video clips that celebrate Stephen Harper’s accomplishmentshttps://nationalpost.com/news/politics/stephen-harpers-24-seven-videos-require-up-to-four-staffers-to-produce

It all comes together in a tidy package. Low education levels, poor health for all but the wealthy, low wages and lowered worker rights, theological laws, control of the media, and the freedom to determine electoral outcomes. And no one able to stand up to them, because...

everyone is poor, sick, uneducated, in prison, or dead. So, it seems the CPC vision for Canada is sort of pre-Magna Carta feudalism meets Industrial Revolution. No wonder they don't make it public. Watch what they do, not what they say.

They follow the GOP playbook, with co-ordination assistance from the IDU...