Posts Tagged by prime minister
NDP Rising? — Be Careful What You Wish For
| 4/21/2011 | Posted by Patti under Canadian Politics |
The polls the last few days are showing the the NDP moving upward, the Liberals sliding some and the Conservatives more or less staying the same. Now, that presents an interesting scenario. The NDP has done this before, appeared to be on an upward swing in the polls and then Canadians apparently came to their senses and shifted away.
That doesn’t mean that will happen again. So should the uptick in support be sustained what could we end up with? Well, the worst case scenario would be that the vote would become so split that Harper comes up the middle and gets his majority. Another prospect is that Canadians are wise enough not to give him anything more than a minority and Layton could end up as the Official Opposition.
While Harper is a bullying, arrogant dictator — Layton is enough of an egotist that he’d see his opportunity to reach the unreachable for him and would likely work to bring Harper down in an effort to offer his party up as the party to take over. There is a reason that Layton has passion behind his claims that he’s the party to fix Ottawa, he actually believes his own rhetoric. (more…)
It is NOT Harper’s Government
| 3/10/2011 | Posted by Patti under Canadian Politics |
Canadians did not elect Stephen Harper as Prime Minister. He was elected as an MP by the people in his riding. He was elected leader of the Conservatives by other Conservatives. When we, the people, last voted in a federal election we sent more Conservatives than Liberals to Ottawa and thus Harper became Prime Minister as the leader of the Conservative party.
So, where does he get off at calling it the ‘Harper Government” on official government correspondence? Because he can get away with doing so, doesn’t make it right.
In a democracy those in the government and even those in the Opposition are there to serve the people. They are paid by tax dollars supplied by the people to lead our country where it needs to go. It seems increasingly, that far too many of those elected to provide that leadership, failed to do so while focused on growing their own perceived status.
This is the latest in a long line of behaviour from Harper and his Conservatives which make it very clear that they lack respect for our democracy. When they lack respect for democracy, how can the people trust that they will safeguard it? (more…)
KAIROS Doc Is No Longer About Funding
| 2/17/2011 | Posted by Patti under Canadian Politics |
It has become increasingly clear that for sure Bev Oda, Minister for International Cooperation, needs to resign or be fired. It has also become increasingly clear that Prime Minister Harper is going to stand behind her no matter how much subterfuge it is going to take.
We’ve learned in the last week that the ‘NOT’ which was inserted into the KAIROS document was done so on Oda’s orders. She may choose to split hairs over whether she knew who exactly picked up the pen and did so, but she had full knowledge the document was being altered. Therein lies the issue. Therein also lies a question.
The issue is that Oda knew the document had been changed and at what point. It was after the two CIDA officials had signed off. The issue is NOT if she made a decision to grant funding to KAIROS ornot. She has the right to make a decision, even if it disagrees with the recommendations of the CIDA officials. The fact she made the decision and then mislead the house and the Foreign Relations committee about the circumstances of the decision, THAT is the issue. (more…)
Milliken Ruling More About Democracy Than Detainees
| 4/29/2010 | Posted by Patti under Canadian Politics |
On Tuesday Peter Milliken, the Speaker of the House of Commons, brought down his ruling on the Opposition parties motion which demanded that the Government turn over unredacted documents related to the Afghan detainee issue. Apparently, in the mind of the Prime Minister, that ruling was of such minor consequence it didn’t even warrant his attendance in the House to hear it.
Milliken upheld the supremacy of Parliament and its right to demand documents or even persons, claims of national security notwithstanding, to be delivered to it. He recognised that in the interest of national security not all documents can be delivered in public. He has called upon both sides of the House to do what Parliament has been doing for 140 years, to work out the differences and find a way to accommodate the supremacy of Parliament. He gave them two weeks to do so.
That is democracy in action. The government does (or should do) what is right and the Opposition provides oversight on behalf of the people.
Over the years, that basic principle has become eroded to the point it has, up until now, allowed a Prime Minister to behave more like a sovereign or President than a Prime Minister. A Prime Minister who truly understood the checks and balances within the system would never have stonewalled to the point that a ruling like Milliken was just called on to deliver would even have been needed.
The detainee issue is important in that Canadians should know if their government has failed to live up to our international obligations in regards to the safety of those detained by our military. Canadians know our troops have done what was required of them, the question is, did our government ensure those requirements were proper?
The government’s stonewalling and refusal to disclose documents to the Opposition to which it is entitled has moved the issue more to the question of what will it take for this Prime Minister to recognise his legal and moral responsibility to respect the Parliamentary rules and practices?
One day later, the Prime Minister rises in the House and gives every indication he intends to continue to defy the democratic principles he has been sworn to uphold. He hints that he is ready to take that defiance to the electorate. He tries to wrap himself in the flag and as the defender of the safety and well being of our troops fighting overseas.
Does he really think that the Canadian people are not smart enough to see the hypocrisy of his stand? Instead of truly supporting and leading our troops, Harper is cowering behind their good name to protect his own political ass.
His government has flatly turned down any suggestions by the Opposition to find middle ground which would allow a least some Opposition MPs to review the documents yet now claims that any ‘reasonable suggestion’ would be considered. Just who determines what is reasonable when we have an autocratic control freak Prime Minister?
Harper needs to find a way to step back from the edge, he might not like the ruling the Canadian people return on his contempt for the workings of our Parliament should he allow this to go to an election.
Opposition Goes After the Stalling
| 3/23/2010 | Posted by Patti under Canadian Politics |
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. (more…)
Ignatieff Slams MIA Prime Minister
| 2/10/2009 | Posted by Patti under General |
Ignatieff went after the Prime Minister’s absence from both the House and the public scene when it comes to the economy and the value of the economic stimulus contained in the budget. I watched Obama’s press conference last night and found it refreshing to see a politician speaking very frankly about the state of the economy and how he wanted to see it dealt with.
Yes, I know, he was trying to sell a stimulus package which is receiving largely partisan opposition. It was refreshing to hear that opposition being framed not just as partisan game playing but asking the questions and laying out guidelines for what he sees as necessary for the good of the people and the economy and where there is room for bipartisan cooperation and what wont gain traction with him.
The major difference between the leadership of the two countries is that in the US, the leaders recognized and faced the fact that the economy was sliding towards and over the edge while in Canada, the Opposition parties were sounding the alarm while the government was busy telling us that if a recession was going to happen, it would have already taken place. (more…)
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