Tom Flanagan (political scientist)

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For other persons named Thomas Flanagan, see Thomas Flanagan (disambiguation).

Thomas Eugene Flanagan is an Americo-Canadian writer and professor of political science at the University of Calgary in Alberta, Canada. He is the only son of an Irish-American family from Illinois, and he attended the University of Notre Dame, Indiana as an undergraduate.

Born in the United States, Flanagan first moved to Canada after completing a Ph.D at Duke University to take up a post at the University of Calgary.

Flanagan is part of a group known as the Calgary School and a senior fellow of the free-market think tank, the Fraser Institute.

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[edit] Views on First Nations

Tom Flanagan has been called "The Prince of Darkness" by the media for his views concerning aboriginal issues. [1] Flanagan has gained notice for his unorthodox and racist views about Louis Riel and First Nations politics. He argues that current public policy enriches and empowers a small elite of activists, politicians, administrators, middlemen, and well-connected entrepreneurs, while bringing further misery to the very people it is supposed to help.[2]

In terms of aboriginal history, Flanagan argues that aboriginals were North America's "first immigrants." From this historical analysis, he argues against contemporary "aboriginal orthodoxy" that he thinks grips public policy debate on aboriginal history.

He has been a government witness in aboriginal land claims. His belief that First Nations were Canada's "first immigrants" is seen by some [3] as a politically useful tool for the Canadian government in denying the extent of aboriginal land claims settlements, going as far as advocating the assimilation of Canada's First Nations Peoples in his book First Nations? Second Thoughts.

[edit] Canadian federal politics

Flanagan worked for Preston Manning in the early days of the Reform Party of Canada, but left following the 1993 general election. Currently, Flanagan is a close confidant of Stephen Harper, the Prime Minister of Canada and leader of the Conservative Party. He worked as Harper's national campaign director in the 2004 federal election, and was a senior campaign advisor in the 2006 election.

[edit] Chuck Cadman bribery allegations

A biography of Chuck Cadman, to be published March 15, 2008 charges that two Conservative party officials offered Cadman, who was critically ill with cancer, a $1 million life insurance policy if he voted against the then-Liberal minority government in a confidence vote on May 19, 2005. If Cadman had voted with the Conservatives, the Liberal government would have fallen, forcing an election.[4][5]

Doug Finley (Director of Political Operations, Conservative Party of Canada) and Tom Flanagan said they met with Cadman on the day of the vote to talk about his possible move to the Conservative fold. "We offered ways that we — as campaign officials — could help Mr. Cadman in the Conservative nomination process, and if successful, wage a competitive campaign in a general election," the statement said. Federal Liberals have asked the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) to investigate the allegations. They sent a letter to the Mounties on February 28, 2008 noting that under the Criminal Code of Canada, it is illegal for anyone to try to influence a member of Parliament by offering financial incentives.[6][7]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Basen, Ira. Reality Check: Aboriginal Policy. CBCNEWS. Retrieved on 2008-06-02.
  2. ^ Flanagan, Tom. First Nations? Second Thoughts. McGill-Queens University Press. Retrieved on 2008-03-10.
  3. ^ Warry, Wayne. Ending Denial: Understanding Aboriginal Issues. Toronto: Broadview Press, 2007. P 40-55
  4. ^ Richard Brennan, Bruce Campion-Smith. Cadman affair sparks election threat. The Toronto Star. Retrieved on 2008-03-01.
  5. ^ Geddes, John. The Chuck Cadman affair—from someone who was there. Macleans. Retrieved on 2008-04-02.
  6. ^ Cadman's daughter backs up mom's bribe story. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved on 2008-03-01.
  7. ^ Leblanc, Dominic. Letter requesting investigation to RCMP Commissioner William Elliot. The Toronto Star. Retrieved on 2008-03-01.

[edit] External links

Preceded by
??		 Chief of Staff of the Opposition Leader's Office
2002–2003		 Succeeded by
Phil Murphy
Preceded by
??		 National Campaign Manager of the Conservative Party of Canada
2003–2005		 Succeeded by
Doug Finley
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