Every now and again it becomes necessary for those elected to conduct the business of our democracy to be reminded of who they are supposed to represent. The people elect a Parliament who then forms a government and an official opposition based on which party received the most seats.

This seems like a pretty basic principle to know and to understand. The Prime Minister is subject to the will of Parliament, who is subject to the will of the people. When the Opposition parties voted on a motion back in December ordering the government to produce unredacted documents pertaining to the detainee issue, the response should have been pretty straightforward in adherence with the basic principle of Parliament.

The government has tried to throw a blanket claim of ‘national security’ around the affair and are refusing to release the documents. They didn’t even bother trying to go through the motions of trying to reach an agreement with the majority vote, they just stonewalled and then Harper prorogued the House.

Eventually the birds have to come home to roost and Parliament had to reconvene. Harper seemed to think that the December motion would be ignored, the Opposition rendered unable or unwilling to act. He’s wrong. Last Thursday the Liberals, followed by the NDP and the Bloc, rose to call on the Speaker of the House to rule on the motion. They have motions of their own which could lead to the Government being found in contempt of Parliament. Read the rest of this entry »

So, despite widespread fraud, Karzai has won as the President of Afghanistan. I realize this is a country for which democracy is barely starting to take root, clearly those roots are extremely fragile. Old ways are hard to break from but they can be broken from. Just seems to be me, his declarations to the contrary notwithstanding, Karzai has neither the will nor the fortitude to actually start dismantling the culture of corruption which permeates his governance.

He’s not alone on the world stage for leading a country rife with corruption. What draws my attention to his behaviour is that Canadians are fighting and dying in that country in an effort meant to stabilize the country and bring peace to its people.

Anyone who has read this blog knows that I not only support our troops, I support their mission. That being said, I have to admit to some doubts about the effectiveness of Canadian troops continuing to die at a rate higher than most other forces when the man who should be most inclined towards doing everything in his power to make sure it succeeds gives tacit if not direct support to the corruption which impedes the effective governance needed to attain and maintain peace. Read the rest of this entry »