When I heard about the coaltion between the Liberals and NDP, supported by the Bloc, I was excited, I was amazed. It was supposed to be same old, same old in Canadian politics.
I mean we all know the perils of first past the post. Harper is leading a government of Tories based on only 38% of the vote. It’s a minority government, meaning he has the most seats, but less than half (as I explained to my kids). But he acts as if he has a majority, as if he should be able to do as he wishes, as if a Canadian Prime Minister is elected King. After three plus years of a minority Tory government acting like a majority, here we go for round two. Or not?
Nope, Mr. Harper–you are not the King. You are not emperor, dictator, or fearless leader.
You won a seat. That’s it: your seat. One seat of 308. Your party elected you as their leader. And other Conservative members, 142 of them, won seats in the House of Commons. They won more than anyone else (though not more than half) and so, according to Canadian law and custom, the Conservatives were asked to form the government and therefore you, Mr. Harper, became Prime Minister as you are the leader of that party. But nobody–other than the constituents of your riding, put an X beside your name on the ballot.
Mr. Harper brought this on himself by acting as if he owns the country, making high-handed unilateral policies and attacking the established rights of Canadians. He has lost the confidence of every other party. And in Canada, the government rules by retaining the confidence of a majority of the House. Not his party, but the House, which represents us, the citizens who elected it. This is democracy. And we are seeing democracy in action.
It is completely within Canadian law and custom, and has happened before, though not often, for a government to form though a coalition. If a majority of the MP’s have confidence in a government which can be formed by working together, then they can do so.
We are the other 62% who voted for Liberal, NDP, and Bloc. True to its mandate, the Bloc is not part of the coalition, but is opting to support the coalition because the coalition’s policies are in the best interest of everyone at this time, including Quebec.
I truly believe that these parties are acting sincerely. This is not a power grab. It really is not in their interest to fight Harper. If they just let well enough be, he would cause his own and his party’s demise by his present policies. If nothing else he would be the fall guy for the recession. And in the long run the other parties would stand to gain, politically.
Instead they chose to stand up to his bullying. They stood up for their beliefs about what Canadians need in these tough times, even though it will be a rough road for these parties. They are risking a lot, both within their parties, for taking such a risk, and with public perception. Any government during a bad economy is likely to be blamed for it. One formed this way, lawfully, but uncommonly, even more so.
I can only stand with them–not knowing the future–and applaud their courage.
If you’re one of the 62%, you can sign this petition. Or you can join this group on Facebook.
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