The Harper Conservatives spawned Kellie Leitch and Chris Alexander. Has Ibbitson forgotten snitch lines and court cases against pieces of fabric? The Harper Conservatives wanted immigrants about as much as they wanted head lice, so they gummed up CIC processing to the point of its being called cruel and inhumane by applicants, media and subsequent MPs and high-ranking civil servants. The only significant difference between Harper himself and the current sad list of pretenders to his throne was his ability to rule with an iron fist and keep the worst of his acolytes sufficiently muzzled that the rest of us – the ones who actually account for Canadians' generally high level of happiness – did not fully appreciate the bleakness of their views.