Holiday Season Notes

I like many Canadians have been following the media reports of the global financial meltdown, but as can be expected, my concerns are centred around the impact that we will feel here at home. Clearly, the manufacturing industry is in trouble in Ontario. The mines, forest products, oil sands, and other commodity based sectors are feeling the economic impact, and job losses are beginning to mount. When these cornerstones of our domestic economy are being devastated, the service sector, and small business are going to be dragged along for the ride.

The Federal Government, along with Ontario, Alberta, and Quebec are now on the verge of a deal to provide a bailout for the holders of Asset Backed Commercial Paper. I am uncertain how this will, or even if it has an impact on my personal situation. I do not pretend to understand all of the economic and financial issues that are being delivered to us on a daily basis. It is clear however, that there are a significant number of Canadians who are suffering at least some degree of financial loss as a result of this debacle.

I am more than a little concerned about how these problems are being dealt with, particularly at the Federal level. I understand the need for the rescue plan for the auto makers. I do not fully understand the issues surrounding the ABCP deal. I am certain however that this whole mess is the direct result of the government's abdication of its responsibilities with regard to the regulation of the financial industry. The impression I get from what I have read, is that although the collapse of the world economic order was triggered in the U.S. and no country will escape the fallout, ours included. The deregulation of the financial industry and acceptance of laissez-faire capitalism, as a government economic policy, has allowed some sectors of society to live very well indeed ,at least on a superficial level, for the last dozen years or so. Now that the chickens have come home to roost, so to speak, many people, most particularly the working, and middle classes, are being hit hard by the downturn. Everyone can see this, even though some in politics will not admit it publicly.

All of that being said however is little more than hindsight, water under the bridge as it were. In the flurry of bad news that has cast a pall over this Holiday Season, I want to know what is going to be done to prevent this from reoccurring in the future? Beyond the current minority government throwing the voters under the economic bus in order to cling to power by proroguing Parliament, and the sight of our political leadership squabbling in public, Canadians have little to look forward to in the New Year, with the exception of more promises of bad news.

Where, and when will controls be put in place to curb the financial damage, either through negligence or outright fraud, that has been perpetrated on Canadian workers and investors? Our politicians are elected to provide leadership. Our government ought to be providing regulation, and control over the economy. Business and industry, in addition to providing jobs also has a role to play in the economic well-being of the country. It is unseemly that they go to the taxpayers for bailouts, while looking for tax cuts for corporations while laying off those self-same taxpayers who are supposed to be providing the bailouts. The brand of capitalism that has been the norm in recent years, can not continue, any more than the form of communism that was practiced in the Soviet Union. Both systems were inherently flawed. It is time for Canadians to hear from their elected leaders,with their proposals for the way forward. I for one will be voting for more, and stricter regulation and a system that offers stability and an economic future for the citizens of Canada.

Parliamentary "Recess"

The Governor General, Michaelle Jean, has granted Stephen Harper a “stay of execution”, at the hands of a majority in the House of Commons. This decision means that Canada is now effectively governed by a group of Parliamentarians, who have managed to engineer a “coup”, and seize control of the Federal Government. I will grant that I am plagiarising the rhetoric of that same group, AKA, the Conservative Party of Canada. It is extremely unfortunate that Michaelle Jean has set a dangerous precedent in granting the PM his request, and thereby allowing him to avert certain defeat at the hands of the opposition. This potentially has opened the door to any future Prime Minister who, when faced with defeat, to exercise the option to prorogue Parliament. Now that Harper has succeeded in achieving this goal, and given his demonstated modus operandi, and the disregard he has shown for the Office of Prime Minister, He most certainly will once again try to “push the envelope” when next faced with a crisis. Where will he stop. What tactics would he consider to be crossing the ethical and moral lines. He is afterall, someone who is puportedly committed to serving the citizens of this country. He has indicated a willingness to use any weapon, or tactic at his disposal to hang onto power. Over the past few days he has shown that throwing Quebecers “under the wheels of the bus” of public opinion and starting the unity crisis anew was not too great a price to pay. What is next? Who is expendible in his quest to destroy all opposition in his quest to retain power?

Thus it is, that we now have a government that has no moral, or ethical right to continue in power. In reality, it matters little, that the voters appear, in recent polling, to be supportive of the Conservatives. It does not matter that the opposition was attempting to form a coalition, and that concept is new and somehow scary to Canadians. It doesn't matter which party or group think that they have gained an advantage. It is irrelevant that some do not like Stephan Dion. Canadian democracy has been diminished. Stephen Harper, when faced with imminent defeat in a motion of confidence, by abusing his power, delayed that vote for a week. He accomplished this by cancelling the opposition day in Parliament on Monday December 01. On national television He did commit to having the vote on the following Monday. He has renegged on his commitment. He has convinced the Governor General to prorogue Parliament until the end of January. It doesn't matter which party you might support. It doesn't matter where you live. The fact is Harper, used the office of Prime Minister to evade the wishes of Parliament and had managed to thwart the wishes of the House. He is now the master of an illegal government. This is the core detail of the entire sorry drama. All of the other details are nothing more than window dressing. Whether or not he manages to gain the confidence of Parliament in January 27th, is irrelevant. Had the constitution been followed he would have lost the vote of confidence over the Economic Statement. We then would have had the Governor General deciding whether to allow a coalition, or sending the voters back to the polls. That would have been a legal outcome.

Using the tactic of prorogation was unethical. This was an abuse of the highest office in the land and shows that the Prime Minister has no respect for the office he has gone to such lengths to hang onto. He has opened the unity debate again. He has engaged more Canadians than ever in the debate, but at the cost of deep divisions, and unprecedented levels of anger. He has openly exploited divisions for citizens of differing cultures or residing in different geographical regions opening wounds that may take years to heal. Stephen Harper has opened a pandora's box of unintended consequences that may harm Canada and its people for the forseeable future. Stephen Harper has poisoned Parliament and has no right to occupy the office of Prime Minsister.