Today marked the return of the Canadian Parliament after it was suspended by the Governor-General in early December.
The suspension was the result of a failed game of chicken between the Conservative Tories and the three liberal opposition parties (Liberals, Bloc Québécois, and NDP) when the Conservatives outlined a budget and dared the opposition to accept it or oust them in a vote of non-confidence.
Sadly, and rather embarrassingly, in Canada, under a minority government, opposition parties can ban together and call a non-confidence motion in the House of Commons, which, if passed, means that the government has lost the confidence of the House. The government must then either resign or ask the Governor General to dissolve Parliament and call an election.
In order to avoid this, since Canadians just went to the polls in October (when they reinstated the Conservative government and the Liberals endured their worst beating in years), the Governor General suspended Parliament for one month to provide the Conservative government time to revise the budget in an attempt to satisfy the opposition and maintain power.
So, after a month away developing a budget that would support the Canadian people, satisfy the opposition, and most importantly, save his job, it was today that Prime Minister Stephen Harper stood before Parliament to deliver the Conservative government's new budget and economic stimulus plan.
Unfortunately, in the eyes of the opposition, it was not worth the "low-cost black and white" photocopy it was circulated on.
In fact, it likely was not worth the time that the Conservative party invested into creating it, since it seems as though two of the three opposition parties - Bloc Quebecois and NDP - have already made up their mind to not support it.
Despite the fact that the opposition had requested the Conservatives come back with a more persuasive budget and are somewhat supportive of the changes, they now find the Conservative party's budget to be insincere and not worthy of their support.
Jack Layton, NDP: “Well, there's probably going to be measures there [in the budget] that we would support, but they'd much more likely actually be implemented by a government that believes in them. I'm afraid we'd have to say that Mr. Harper has lost our confidence and he's now willing to propose things that he doesn't even believe in, in order to save his job. We think there's a much better way forward, and that's for parties to work together in the coalition.”
Gille Duceppe, Bloc Québécois: “One of the things that is extraordinary about this Speech from the Throne is the contrast between the language of the autumn [economic] statement – which was partisan and divisive – and this language which is talking about reaching across the divide and finding non-partisan solutions and some particularly charming words about protecting the vulnerable, saving jobs today and creating jobs tomorrow. Where have I heard that language before? Imitation is a sincere form of flattery. But the reality here, the stubborn reality, is there a problem of trust. This government appears to have a split personality.”
More ridiculously, Mr. Duceppe also said "the speech was at odds with the plans advocated by U.S. President Barack Obama" saying, “There's absolutely nothing for the environment. Not a word.”
I'm very proud to be Canadian, but this is embarrassing. What's done is done - the world has seen our dirty laundry - but the future of our country can be saved if our leaders put aside their bruised egos and unprofessionalism and ban together for the good of the country, and not for their own personal agenda. Liberal party leader Michael Ignatieff will make his decision Wednesday whether to side with opposition or support the Conservative budget. Decide well Mr. Ignatieff, decide well.
No comments:
Post a Comment