Guest Blog: Franke James asks "What's Harper afraid of?"

As a grade schooler in the 1940's I recall wiping thick black oil from the wings of wildlife caught in pools of oil on the beaches of Victoria. And that tanker was small relative to the size of the ones to be used by Enbridge.

Thank you so much!! We really need to wake up!!

Joe Oliver was a paid lying sycophant when he was head of the Investment Dealers Association, even telling untruths to parliamentary committee. What would make us think he is now worthy of credibility? These poor small men are simply not worthy of the positions they cheated their way into.

Thank you from all of us who couldn't have said it nearly so well.

I am a new Canadian that came from France over 30 years ago for an adventure. I love this country that I considers mine now. Since the NEW Progressive CONSERVATIVE PARTY has had it hand in governing Canada I cannot brag about this beautiful country of our when I go and visit my relatives in Europe. Because of our poor environment record I can only say 'I hope the majority of Canadians will wake up and elect a government that has some sense in not putting money first with people and the environment last'.
I have enjoyed "What's Harper afraid of?" for its cleverness and honesty with a touch of humor. But it pains me that it is not a piece of fiction but the sad truth.

Hi Andre. Many Canadians are awake as only 25% of them voted for Mr. Harper. The way our system works, the government only needs to have more seats than the others, not a majority of the votes, nor of the seats. Mr. Harper is trying to work fast because he knows he won't get in again. I just hope an election occurs before too much damage is done.

Excellent reality reminder. Our grandparents would be horrified at what's happened to the democracy they fought for. I know I certainly am.

Thanks for the brochure of all your photo ops, I got it last week
that winning smile has taken you a long way.
I think I know what the Koch Brothers want you to do; keep smiling.

Harper, the dictator, is destroying Canada's democratic rights...we need to vote him out of power a.s.a.p., but will we?!

No, sadly we won't. Canadians are complacent. Take away the beer and the steaks and they may start paying attention. Till then...it chills me what this megalomaniac is capable off.

your pictures are worth a thousand words. thank you

Harper and people like Harper are not healthy and cause suffering thus he will make decisions that are not healthy and cause suffering . Do you want to be healthy and happy or unhealthy and suffer ? If you want to be healthy and be happy DO NOT support Harper or people like Harper .

In the end I can only hope that Harper is tried for crimes against humanity and nature, but how much damage will be caused in the meantime.

"A democracy depends upon the active participation of the citizens". We all have a job to do in our struggling democracy here in Canada (both for our present and for the coming generations)! Write your local papers, write your MP, call them, email them,speak with your neighbours and encourage them to "join the chorus", speak out, support with dollars those who seek to organize resistance to Bill C-38 and the many other laws which the current government is trying to foist upon us all. Just voting is not enough.
Knowing what is happening is good and important. However, complaining is not enough. Act! "A democracy depends upon the ACTIVE participation of the citizens".

Very true. A lot of people think that voting every few years is enough. It used to be, but not now, not under Harper. We need to be politically active and engaged.

Prerequisite to being a Conservative, the ability to believe the unbelievable and deny the undeniable.

Beautifully said! I'm emailing this page to all my friends.

Call for a mental assessment of Harper;I don't think he's all there!He certainly doesn't strike me as being on board with Canada and Canadians. Investigate his banking;the one world cabal have this lunatic in there pocket and Canada be damned !!! Talk to other members of his party;are they all helping him attempt to destroy Super-Natural Canada?? What is wrong with you people ??? Wake up and smell the pollution!!

The only way to stop the Harper/Big Business dictatorship is to look at how this was brought about in the first place. Obviously this is not a democracy or government by the people, for the people. In order to have that we need to rethink the whole electoral system so that EVERY voice is heard. The Green Party & Nathan Cullen of the NDP are the only two that I have heard talking about this & the need to cooperate in a non-partisan manner to make this happen. Mulcare & Rae (& whoever the REAL Conservative leader is)- are you listening?? Canadian Voters, are YOU listening??!

Bc is taking all the risks with no real economic gain.In simple terms. How much is gas per liter in Alberta compared to BC. Not to mention the environmental nightmare just waiting to happen. These ships are very safe is what we hear all the time but they are only as safe as the people who operate them. [see] Exxon Valdez etc. So the conservatives finally got their majority government and now we can truly see what Harpos agenda was. So much for credibility. You idiots will never receive another vote from me.

Truly working for the interest of Canadians means protecting the eco-systems that support our very lives.

Fabulous! This needs to be seen by ALL Canadians - would like to see it on all newspapers and news stations - CBC.ca - where are you?

Let's look at Enbridge's track record with pipelining: July, 2010 - the "biggest oil spill in U.S. Midwest history." 877,000 gallons spilled into Michigan's Kalamazoo River, followed by a totally inadequate cleanup. In the 10 years between 1999 and 2008, Enbridge recorded an unbelievable 610 oil and gas spills in the relatively FLAT terrain of 6 States, plus Alberta and the Northwest Territories (NWT). In light of such gross Corporate pipeline INCOMPETENCE, they obviously should not be allowed to participate in the construction of another pipeline in Canada. Rewarding gross incompetence is NOT very clever! And, BC is extremely RUGGED (NOT FLAT), with hundreds of pristine, fish-bearing rivers. The Northern Gateway Pipeline is a STUPID proposal by a proven incompetent U.S. Corporation. IT MUST NOT BE APPROVED!

All Canadians. Please, I'm begging you, WAKE UP!

This is an amazing presentation.. an awakening to the scary truth that we really all must come to face.. I hope that it gets the message out there, and touches as many people as possible!

Thank you!
I am grateful for people like you: for the work you do and do so well!

This is awesome! Franke James, all the power to you! Don't expect any "artist grant" from the government anytime soon...lol...actually, does such a thing exist anymore? hum...I think they slashed that too. Very inspiring, and a good way to share the information. I have sent the letter to my MPs and Prime Minister already a while ago and I think we need all Canadians to hit the streets about bill c-38. It should create outrage all over the country. Unfortunately, people are caught up in their day to day lives and know all about sports, the stock market and reality shows, but few are aware of what is going on and have no idea what bill c-38 is about. WE need to share the info with our friends, families, neighbors and co-workers. It's easy now, with FB, Twitter and e-mails. Talk about it too. People need to hear it. This is NOT a reality show, this is REALITY that will hit us hard and all generations to come.

A brilliant visual essay. I wish I could believe that any Conservative MP will view it or think about it or respond in any useful way.

I'm so proud of Franke James for sharing these bold, important, terrifying truths about what our government is doing and considering doing to our beautiful land, county, and world. Thank you for sharing your talent and your insights Franke.

A fitting word for the Harper govt and associated cronies:
Ineptocracy, defined as:
(in-ep-toc'-ra-cy) - a system of government where the least capable to lead are elected by the least capable of producing, and where the members of society least likely to sustain themselves or succeed, are rewarded with goods and services paid for by the confiscated wealth of a diminishing number of producers.

Thank you, this was impactful and imaginative. I am a member of Dogwood, and this piece came to me from outside my bubble. It cut across the divide. <3

This is absolutely brilliant! Thank you so much! Now I'm wondering is it copyrighted? I would love to see it in billboard/sandwich board style, paraded down the main streets of our towns and cities, for all to see. Of course we'll send it to all our friends/colleagues too.

Mr. Harper and Mr. Oliver and All Conservative Party MPs: Would you dare to sit down and discuss each frame of this presentation with your children? It is their future that you are compromising. Please take responsibility and show some real leadership.

As I looked and read through these pictures, I see the alternative being - Buy our oil from someplace where we cannot see what is going on, someplace out of sight and out of mind. We should be using our own oil, putting much more pressure on our governments and big oil companies to work in front of us, following and maintaining strict guidelines where they can be seen. We have all these campaigns about eating food grown within as few miles of home as possible. We have 'Buy Canadian' campaigns - buy North American built cars - but if you read behind the lines here, the story is "Buy your oil from another country - out of sight and out of mind."

Brilliant! This sums up the terrible plans that will lead to further environmental devastation in our country. Thank you!

Thanks, that was a great presentation ! Although I don't know if I feel the need to say "please" , although it is a nice touch. I feel like at some point we have to say enough is enough. Instead of please stop, while we are being slapped in the face. I am NOT suggesting slapping back, but asserting a strong NO ! Then maybe if the abuser continues, he needs a knee to the groin. We are getting close. Or maybe more accurately he is getting close. Cheers All !

Isn't the real challenge to get these messages to those beyond the choir to whom you/we are preaching, to engage your/our own creativity rather than simply consuming others'?

This needs to be circulated Canada wide. Franke James has done a remarkable job in telling it as it is....he is to be given the Order of Canada. He has also made it very easy to send the message to your local MP and that was most helpful to a basic computer user. I have sent this on to others and only hope they take the time to look closely at the message and send emails to MPs. Perhaps we can flood their email boxes with this information. It also hope our beautiful BC Coast will have oil free beaches for my grand children's children to play on.......

i have no confidence in Harper.

i have no confidence in Harper.

But think of all the employment and increased GDP the environmental clean-up will entail!
Nature made the biosphere by stuffing carbon in sinks underground and undersea, for millions of years. Thanks to Steve and Joe (and accomplices like Redford and Clark) the competition is to see who can get the most CO2 into the atmosphere in the shortest possible time, thus undoing Nature's gift of sustainable human life. (Gaia will survive, but without homo ignoramiens.) Aux armes citoyen(ne)s! Keep the tar sands where Nature stored them!

How much tar sands oil money silently supported Harper that allowed him to get elected? His lack of vision of how to keep Canada a pristine, safe country is a disgrace and making our great country a laughing stock around the world. Harper continues to use his sly and vicious tongue to belittle anyone opposing his views, at the same time avoiding honest answers to the
serious problems he has created in Canada. His heavy-handed power and control of our MPs is neither good government, nor acceptable. We need to change our system of voting to ensure that idiots who do not act on behalf of the Canadian people first ever reach such an important office. Harper needs to go! Let's all keep that in mind.

Well said, Lillian.

Be careful here. The next phase in this rampage of the right will be the rounding of malcontents. These people are beyond arrogant, having drunk the sanctimonious cool aid they plan now to walk on water; just as soon as they thicken it a little. Stop 'em, by all legal means stop 'em before its too late. My name's above, come get me.

I know Jasbir Sandu is against bill C38 and wants to protect the environment. My NDP MP!

Franke James, you are a national treasure. Thank you for all you do. (I have an autographed copy of your book) This is a brilliant example of how art can speak more eloquently than words alone.

The spirit and the factual coverage of all the ills that are being visited upon us by this so-called government are brilliant. I'm printing and displaying it - thank you so very much.

Having worked in industry all my life, I know that spills WILL happen. Will it be in the rainforest or in my grandchild's back yard, or on the saltchuck? Who are these people anyway that think they have the all mighty power of ruining my/our existence by the stroke of a pen???
Stop this nonsense and really listen to Franke James' ART!

Thank you Franke for exposing Joe Oliver for the dud that he is..just another Harper puppet!

I am a geologist who is retired and thderefore feel that I have more scientific credibility than the average person (especially a polititions or news media personell). To me it is a scientific and statistical "no brainer" that a pipeline as proposed by Enbridge is an " Accident? " waiting to happen!!!

The pipeline is planned to go through the community of Burns Lake and to cross a channel that is upstream from our water intakes.

Just out of curiosity are you against the pipeline. Or just the current route? If it was to be sent through the Yukon would you support it and create a photo essay to support enbridge and the average Canadian?

I am from Alaska. I am a retired guide and charter boat captain. I operated on Prince William Sound for 12 years. I saw the destruction caused by the Exxon Valdez. Please do not threaten the incredibly diverse and beautiful environment that you have on B.C's Pacific Coastline. The Earth does not need another catastrophic oil spill.