Could it actually happen? We thought the war of the Stephen/Stéphanes was settled on October 14, 2008, but not so. The opposition parties in the Canadian House of Commons are very publically indicating their intention to bring down the recently elected Conservative government. And to do so by next Monday December 8th, then intending to govern with a coalition of The Liberals, The New Democrats and The Bloc. No one will be calling Canada boring this week!
The stakes are high. This is not a chess game. We do not need instability in government right now. We need leadership. We need stability. We need a sound economic plan; unfortunately there is a very valid range of views on what such a plan should entail.
I have never considered myself affiliated with any political party in Canada. I vote for what I believe is best for the country at any particular time and have voted for several parties.
This recent political spitefulness and stupidity on the part of the newly elected government at a time when Canada literally needs leadership has cost Prime Minister Harper my vote, a vote he earned just six weeks ago. I should state that I was a fan of Prime Minister Chretien’s changes to the rules regarding political party fundraising for democratic and accountability reasons, though where any limit on individual contributions should be I do not know.
I do not relish the idea of Stéphane Dion as Prime Minister, but given that he would only be in power for four months it is probably a non-starter. Prime Minister Harper has definitely brought this crisis on himself. His recent choices were disappointing to say the least. (I should add that I caught a glimpse of Stéphane Dion during The House of Commons Question Period today and he seems to have grown a pair)
Will Prime Minister Harper’s government succeed in attempts to divide this would be coalition or to rally the public? The former, no; the latter, certainly possible.
Whatever happens, the timing of this chaos could hardly be worse.
Suggestions are that Prime Minister Harper will ask the Government General to prorogue Parliament and that it is in reality his only option to hold on to his job at this point. Would that be a good idea…for Canada? The Prime Minister certainly has the right to prorogue Parliament if he chooses to exercise that right, but after careful thought I think it would be an economically irresponsible thing to do. I do not think Canadians should be expected to wait around until the end of January for their government to do what needs doing, given present worldwide economic realities. Such an act would certainly be a sharp contrast to the leadership of President-Elect Obama who seems intent of being prepared to lead the moment he is given power.
I believe it is extremely likely that the coalition government will take power. I do not see the Liberals, The NDP or the Bloc changing their mind at this point. Putting it off until the end of January would only hurt Canadians. The Conservatives need to face the House next Monday and face the consequences of their choices, no matter how hard it will be.
Some are arguing that the coalition is stealing power. It isn’t; the precedent and laws are clear on that point. And it is not undemocratic either, as some who voted like I did for the Prime Minister are saying. If the stats I just acquired are accurate:
| Political Party | Number of Votes | Percentage of the vote |
| Conservative | 5,205,334.00 | 37.6 |
| Liberal | 3,629,990.00 | 26.2 |
| New Democratic Party | 2,517,075.00 | 18.2 |
| Bloc Québécois | 1,379,565.00 | 10 |
| Green Party | 940,747.00 | 6.8 |
then, ignoring all parties that received less than 1% of the vote, then at least 61.2 % of voters chose someone other than Stephen Harper to be their Prime Minister. Even if we exclude the Greens arguing that they did not win a seat or the Bloc for its anti-Canada views, the combined Liberal-NDP would be coalition voters still exceeds Conservative voters. So whether we like it or not fellow Stephen Harper voters, the majority of Canadians did not agree with us.
If this coalition does in fact take power, I sincerely hope it will be a successful experiment in I guess a more representative form of government.
I feel that given the economic realities today, Prime Minister Harper’s tighter fiscal policy may only serve to worsen the recession and decrease private investment and is likely wrongheaded, so I am open to hearing what the coalition proposes.
Canadians need for any coalition to work. If it does occur then the three parties better dam well engage in cross party co-operation the likes that none of us Joe-Publics have witnessed anytime lately. Which means, that no The Liberals, The New Democrats and The Bloc will not agree on everything, but they had better compromise regularly, for the benefit of all Canadians. Compromise: look it up! After the Conservatives’ recent childish behaviour, Canadians need some adults in Ottawa during this economic crisis. Adults, not little boys throwing their trucks at each other.
Sage Spencer
Next Blogum: January 2009
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