Canada's leadership in crisis

[Sheriff Roland]

He's doing it again!

Stephen Harper's not-so-benign dictatorship

http://www.ottawacitizen.com/health/Stephen+Harper+benign+dictatorship/2394185/story.html

t seems Stephen Harper, our not-so-benign dictator, can't stand Canada's constitutional democracy. He is fed up with Parliament's restrictions on the almost unlimited power of his office and his executive.

Harper has, again, spoken with the Governor General and requested the prorogation of Parliament, this time until he is ready to bring down his government's budget in early March 2010.

It seems Harper is determined to attend the Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver without having to face constant criticism from those pesky and "disloyal" opposition parties and Liberal senators. Best to put Parliament on ice.

After the budget, I am certain Harper will then pay the GG another visit requesting that Michaëlle Jean drop the writ for yet another election, the third election since he took office in 2006...


I can't believe the comments from readers. This article states my view of the sad condition of today's governing Conservatives. Yet the readers (or should I say the commentators) all disagree with the author of the piece. What the hell is happenning to this country?

[oilgun]

He's doing it again!

Stephen Harper's not-so-benign dictatorship

http://www.ottawacitizen.com/health/Stephen+Harper+benign+dictatorship/2394185/story.html

t seems Stephen Harper, our not-so-benign dictator, can't stand Canada's constitutional democracy. He is fed up with Parliament's restrictions on the almost unlimited power of his office and his executive.

Harper has, again, spoken with the Governor General and requested the prorogation of Parliament, this time until he is ready to bring down his government's budget in early March 2010.

It seems Harper is determined to attend the Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver without having to face constant criticism from those pesky and "disloyal" opposition parties and Liberal senators. Best to put Parliament on ice.

After the budget, I am certain Harper will then pay the GG another visit requesting that Michaëlle Jean drop the writ for yet another election, the third election since he took office in 2006...


I can't believe the comments from readers. This article states my view of the sad condition of today's governing Conservatives. Yet the readers (or should I say the commentators) all disagree with the author of the piece. What the hell is happenning to this country?

Like I said before, I retired my Maple Leaf pin out of shame a while back.  I'm also quickly on my way to becoming a Québec sovereigntist, something I never imagined I would ever become.  Very, very sad!

[Sheriff Roland]

Influential British magazine slams Canada's Prime Minister Stephen Harper's suspension of Parliament

http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5i3ob0pXMJ10RaXcZoyLFEs25CWqg

...

The magazine's print edition has published both a critical story about the suspension of Parliament and a scathing editorial denouncing what it calls Harper's "naked self interest."

The editorial likens Canadian ministers to hapless former U.S. president Gerald Ford "who could not walk and chew gum at the same time."

Harper's government, says the magazine, "cannot apparently cope with Parliament's deliberations while dealing with the country's economic troubles and the challenge of hosting the Winter Olympic games."

It suggests, tongue in cheek, that Harper should simply shut down Parliament altogether until the economy is running at full throttle.

The editorial opines that Harper may in fact be correct that "Canadians care more about the luge than the legislature, but that is surely true only while their decent system of government is in good hands" - and Canadians "may soon conclude that it isn't."

Well, at least we're making international news.   Thanks, Mr. Bush, er, I mean Mr. Harper.

[Sheriff Roland]

Latest prorogation is an insult to our democracy (an editorial)

http://www.thebarrieexaminer.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2259986

A smart man once said: "When a government starts trying to cancel dissent or avoid dissent is frankly when it's rapidly losing its moral authority to govern."

By proroguing Parliament, the Harper government continues to show contempt for our democratic process. It continues a pattern of avoiding the valid criticisms of question period or awkward demands of investigative committees.

A number of serious issues face Canadians, including our role in preventing or enabling torture in Afghanistan, an economy entering a long, tough, jobless "recovery", and travel security which clearly isn't up to the threat of terrorism. Issues such as these must be handled by our elected officials. Yet those officials have all been sent home, essentially on paid vacation, in one of the longer prorogations in Canadian history.
...

The pretext for this shutdown is to allow for "recalibration" on the economy and a break during the Olympics. Again, I don't recall electing our MPs to watch Olympics from VIP seats, and I am stunned that our government can't handle the economy while Parliament sits. They can't walk and chew gum at the same time either?

A government generally prorogues having passed most of its agenda. This government hasn't gotten through even half of it, with most of their much-vaunted crime bills still outstanding
...

[Sheriff Roland]

Prorogation tightens gap between Tories, Liberals

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/calgary/story/2010/01/13/ekos-conservatives-liberals-poll-prorogue-suspend.html

The lead enjoyed by the Conservatives over the Liberals has dramatically narrowed since Prime Minister Stephen Harper suspended Parliament last month, a new poll suggests.

The Conservatives now lead by a marginal 1.6 percentage points over the Liberals, compared with the 15-point advantage they had in a mid-October survey, according to the EKOS poll released exclusively to CBC News.
...

About 47 per cent told EKOS the government was moving in the wrong direction — a sentiment expressed for the first time since June 2009.