At least one journalist can see through the lies:
Our Robert Mugabe moment, and other unpleasant memories, by Lawrence Martin:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20081205.wcomartin08/EmailBNStory/politics/
On a somewhat related note, I'd like to ask Harper if he ever intends on allowing Canadians to choose their government based on real issues like the economy, the environment, and foreign policy. Another election based on vague concepts such as "leadership" might make me sick. More importantly, it certainly won't help Canada rediscover the principle of "good government".
Finally, and I've always been against this in the past, but does anybody else out there think maybe our Head of State should be elected? Is it time to finally replace the last remaining remnants of our monarchical past? Maybe I'm being rash.
04 December 2008
Spin the Top (You are the Top) and Our House of Hostages
Are you getting dizzy? Stephen Harper is trying desperately to save his job and he's intent on doing it with nothing more powerful than political spin.
He's telling you that the coalition is outrageous and detrimental to national unity. He's telling you that the Liberals and NDP have abandoned Canada. Nevermind that the Bloc isn't a full member of the coalition (they've merely agreed not to bring down a coalition government). Nevermind that in 2004 Stephen Harper was actively trying to broker a coalition with the Bloc to replace Paul Martin's government.
He's trying to tell you that the coalition is disrupting Parliament and that he wants to keep working to move Canada forward. Nevermind that he's asked the Governor General to shut down Parliament until the end of January.
If a coalition between the Conservatives and the Bloc is good for Canada, why is a coalition between the Liberals, the NDP and the Bloc bad for Canada? If Harper wants Parliament to work for Canada, why has he shut it down?
Harper caused this turmoil by losing the confidence of the House. He showed the inability or unwillingness to support Canadians. He even tried to destroy democracy in Canada! He tried to pull the funding of political parties in Canada knowing fully that this would bankrupt his competitors leaving him to run alone in the next election (which he likely would have called in 2009) . A one-party election is not a democracy. That was Harper's hope and all other members of the House of Commons recognized this as an assault on democracy akin to Germany's Enabling Act.
On another note, shame on the Governor General. She has virtually guaranteed that Canadians will weather the global economic storm without help from their own government. She has essentially left Canada without a government. How can Harper justify spending Canadians' money knowing full well that he has no legitimate claim to the Prime Ministership? He knows his government is walking dead. The Governor General has hung Canadians out to dry. She's simply delayed the inevitable and given a dead government another few weeks of air.
The Governor General, knowing that Harper does not have the confidence of the House, should have refused his request for prorogation and allowed Canada's elected officials to lead Canada through the economic maelstrom. Stephen Harper has lost the support of Canada's elected officials and, with the help of an unelected official, is stopping our representatives from representing us.
I've never trusted Stephen Harper. I've long known his only goal was power, but I never thought he'd take it so far as to shackle our elected representatives. And he did it with the assistance of a witless neophyte out of place in her job.
Did I wake up in Haiti?
He's telling you that the coalition is outrageous and detrimental to national unity. He's telling you that the Liberals and NDP have abandoned Canada. Nevermind that the Bloc isn't a full member of the coalition (they've merely agreed not to bring down a coalition government). Nevermind that in 2004 Stephen Harper was actively trying to broker a coalition with the Bloc to replace Paul Martin's government.
He's trying to tell you that the coalition is disrupting Parliament and that he wants to keep working to move Canada forward. Nevermind that he's asked the Governor General to shut down Parliament until the end of January.
If a coalition between the Conservatives and the Bloc is good for Canada, why is a coalition between the Liberals, the NDP and the Bloc bad for Canada? If Harper wants Parliament to work for Canada, why has he shut it down?
Harper caused this turmoil by losing the confidence of the House. He showed the inability or unwillingness to support Canadians. He even tried to destroy democracy in Canada! He tried to pull the funding of political parties in Canada knowing fully that this would bankrupt his competitors leaving him to run alone in the next election (which he likely would have called in 2009) . A one-party election is not a democracy. That was Harper's hope and all other members of the House of Commons recognized this as an assault on democracy akin to Germany's Enabling Act.
On another note, shame on the Governor General. She has virtually guaranteed that Canadians will weather the global economic storm without help from their own government. She has essentially left Canada without a government. How can Harper justify spending Canadians' money knowing full well that he has no legitimate claim to the Prime Ministership? He knows his government is walking dead. The Governor General has hung Canadians out to dry. She's simply delayed the inevitable and given a dead government another few weeks of air.
The Governor General, knowing that Harper does not have the confidence of the House, should have refused his request for prorogation and allowed Canada's elected officials to lead Canada through the economic maelstrom. Stephen Harper has lost the support of Canada's elected officials and, with the help of an unelected official, is stopping our representatives from representing us.
I've never trusted Stephen Harper. I've long known his only goal was power, but I never thought he'd take it so far as to shackle our elected representatives. And he did it with the assistance of a witless neophyte out of place in her job.
Did I wake up in Haiti?
Reading the Rhetoric
The rise of the coalition has thrown the House of Commons into the spotlight. People who've never before been interested in Canadian politics are stopping me at work asking what the heck is going on in Ottawa. Therefore, I've decided to try to put aside my blatantly Liberal views in order to sort through the rhetoric coming out of Ottawa. Nevermind the ads coming from Conservative headquarters, even the media seems to be running wild. So here is the reality, the issues and the facts straight up. People are calling this a coup d'etat. They're saying the coalition is holding the House hostage. This is pure hyperbole, pure sensationalism.
After an election, the leader with the most support in the House of Commons is asked by the Governor General to form the government. That leader then forms the government and becomes Prime Minister. After the October election, Stephen Harper had the support of 143 Members of Parliament, more than any other leader. He was therefore asked to form the government and became Prime Minister.
While Parliament is in session, the Prime Minister must maintain the confidence (or support) of the House of Commons. Stephen Harper has lost the confidence of the House. The coalition, lead by Stephane Dion, now has more support in the Hosue than do the Conservatives. The coalition has committed to defeating the government because the government has lost the confidence of the House.
When a government loses the confidence of the House, the Prime Minister must go to the Governor General and ask her (or him) to dissolve the government. At this point the Governor General must ask if any other leaders can form a government (i.e. if any other leader has the confidence of the House). If there is no such leader, the writ is dropped and we have an election. However, if another leader can form the government, that leader becomes Prime Minister. The government will (either on December 8 or January 27) lose a confidence vote and the Prime Minister will be forced to ask the Governor General to dissolve Parliament. At this point, the Governor General must ask Stephane Dion if he can form a government. He will say yes and will become Prime Minister.
However, the Governor General's duties in this case are not well defined. There really is no precident to tell her how to act. Traditionally, because the Governor General is not elected, she must take the advice of her top advisor (the Prime Minister). Stephen Harper will advise her to call an election. While there is no precedent for her to ignore this advice, her normal duty is to ask other leaders if they can form a government. Which decision the Governor General will make is unknown. She will have to consider the ramifications of: (1) having another election so soon, and (2) having a seperatist party as part of a coalition government. She must also decide if the coalition can reasonably form a stable government. We have a signed document showing that the coalition can form a stable government for at least 18 months, but the other two questions are still looking for answers.
The other issue that has arisen is the issue of proroguement. The Prime Minister may ask the Governor General to "prorogue" Parliament. To prorogue Parliament is to end the current session early. Stephen Harper wants to prorogue Parliament in order to buy his government time by avoiding a vote of confidence. The Governor General may refuse this request, but doing so would be unprecedented. The coalition is (as I write this) trying to convince the Governor General that, since Stephen Harper does not have the confidence of the House, she does not need to heed his advice. This is also completely unprecedented...
11:38am ET - Members of the Prime Minister's Office are telling the CBC that proroguation has been granted.
If this is correct, we will see the House of Commons shut down until January 26, 2009 and the government will fall on January 27, 2009. At that time, the Governor General will either allow the coalition to form the government or call an election for early March.
I hope this post, while long and boring, has helped clarify what has and may happen.
After an election, the leader with the most support in the House of Commons is asked by the Governor General to form the government. That leader then forms the government and becomes Prime Minister. After the October election, Stephen Harper had the support of 143 Members of Parliament, more than any other leader. He was therefore asked to form the government and became Prime Minister.
While Parliament is in session, the Prime Minister must maintain the confidence (or support) of the House of Commons. Stephen Harper has lost the confidence of the House. The coalition, lead by Stephane Dion, now has more support in the Hosue than do the Conservatives. The coalition has committed to defeating the government because the government has lost the confidence of the House.
When a government loses the confidence of the House, the Prime Minister must go to the Governor General and ask her (or him) to dissolve the government. At this point the Governor General must ask if any other leaders can form a government (i.e. if any other leader has the confidence of the House). If there is no such leader, the writ is dropped and we have an election. However, if another leader can form the government, that leader becomes Prime Minister. The government will (either on December 8 or January 27) lose a confidence vote and the Prime Minister will be forced to ask the Governor General to dissolve Parliament. At this point, the Governor General must ask Stephane Dion if he can form a government. He will say yes and will become Prime Minister.
However, the Governor General's duties in this case are not well defined. There really is no precident to tell her how to act. Traditionally, because the Governor General is not elected, she must take the advice of her top advisor (the Prime Minister). Stephen Harper will advise her to call an election. While there is no precedent for her to ignore this advice, her normal duty is to ask other leaders if they can form a government. Which decision the Governor General will make is unknown. She will have to consider the ramifications of: (1) having another election so soon, and (2) having a seperatist party as part of a coalition government. She must also decide if the coalition can reasonably form a stable government. We have a signed document showing that the coalition can form a stable government for at least 18 months, but the other two questions are still looking for answers.
The other issue that has arisen is the issue of proroguement. The Prime Minister may ask the Governor General to "prorogue" Parliament. To prorogue Parliament is to end the current session early. Stephen Harper wants to prorogue Parliament in order to buy his government time by avoiding a vote of confidence. The Governor General may refuse this request, but doing so would be unprecedented. The coalition is (as I write this) trying to convince the Governor General that, since Stephen Harper does not have the confidence of the House, she does not need to heed his advice. This is also completely unprecedented...
11:38am ET - Members of the Prime Minister's Office are telling the CBC that proroguation has been granted.
If this is correct, we will see the House of Commons shut down until January 26, 2009 and the government will fall on January 27, 2009. At that time, the Governor General will either allow the coalition to form the government or call an election for early March.
I hope this post, while long and boring, has helped clarify what has and may happen.
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