CPC: Canada's Political Crisis

In case no one caught on to the title, it was a play on the Conservative Party of Canada (CPC).

Well now!, Canada we are in quite a pickle at the moment, aren't we? There are talks at the moment of a collapse of Government and the possibility of either a brand new election just 2 months after the previous one, or even better, a coalition government of the Liberals and New Democrats, with support from the infamous Bloc Quèbecois.

The reason for this sudden turmoil is that the Jim Flaherty and the Tories came out with a `mini-budget`on Thursday that was thought unacceptable by the Opposition. Now, they claim it to be because the economic update did not include a much needed `bailout`for Canadian Industries - i.e. Auto, Forestry, etc. There was also the issue of eliminating certain election financing in the way of the political parties receiving $1.95 for each vote that they got during an election, which would essentially cripple the major political parties, other than the Conservatives of course. 

Firstly, this particular issue of the $1.95 per vote is something that should not EVER be put to law without dicussion in the House. It pertains directly to the democratic functions of the Canadian State, and is not to be change by the stroke of a pen from any ruling party. If you remove the major source of political government funding from the Opposition parties, you essentially come up with a one-party, right-wing state.  Unacceptable under any circumstances.

Secondly, this past election was like viagra for the ego for the Tories. They just cannot accept that they do not hold a majority of seats in the house, that they do not represent the views of more than 40% of the Canadian (voting) population, and that they cannot function without some sort of collusion between themselves and the Opposition. We as Canadians are sick and tired of this government paying chicken with the Opposition parties, and we are sick and tired of Mr. Harper's blatent politicking in Ottawa.

He has divided the House of Commons to the point where it cannot function as a healthy body anymore. This alone is reason to oust him and his Cabinet in favour of a coalition Liberal-NDP government. Stephen Harper has created an atmosphere of contempt in our capitol, and has operated an extremely secretive government that makes Canadians nervous and disheartened and distrustful of our political process. 59% of the population of Canada bothered to vote this October, showing that vote apathy has struck a blow to our democratic pillars in Canada. Voter apathy can usually be translated into voter contempt. When things are going good in government, people are excited, the base is energised - as we saw in the American GE. When we dont trust our leader, when there is little viable alternative for change, people throw their hands in the air and say 'fuck it - let someone else deal with it!'.  And that is what happened in our last election, much to Canada's chagrin.

 

Now, I am a major proponent of not throwing taxpayer dollars at a this economic recession, but I do believe that we need to do whatever we can as a nation, and as the benefactors, to ensure that we are hit softly by this downturn. We need to give money to these ailing industries so that we can save the jobs of the autoworkers and the forestry workers - but we must act as the IMF or World Bank acts when giving out loans and demand that they change their practices for the better. Stop building gas-guzzling, no-selling SUVs. Start putting out ONLY eco-friendly vehicles to help combat climate change and to quell the demand for foreign oils. GIve them the loan, nationalise a portion of the profits and get us our damn money back, and then some!

We need legislation that is going to protect working, blue collar Canadians and their jobs at the same time. Give incentives to companies that do not outsource their work, penalise those that do. Its really that simple. You may say that penalising companies for being more profitable is akin to sacralige, but you know what, we are facing an economic depression. If you are a Canadian company who is send jobs that could belong to Canadians overseas - you are part of the problem and you will face the penalties for that. You hurt Canadians by doing that, by seeing nothing but the bottom line. Shame.

 

So in closing, I am all for a coalition government by the Liberals and NDP, with support from the Bloc. 44% of voting Canadians put their mark beside a Liberal or New Democrat in October 2008, 10% for the Bloc Quèbecois, and you must also assume that those who voted Green will throw their weight behind the coalition. That is at the very least somewhere in and around 55-60% of the population who will support this power sharing agreement. The sooner the better, I say. Un-paralyze this House and get the blood flowing through Canada's veins again.

 

Jack Layton for Prime Minister!

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