- Mr. Harper, Tear Down Your Wall !

If there was any mandate to Harper and the Conservatives in the last election it was to put partisanship aside and work with the Opposition Parties to protect us from economic ruin, as he ought. He has failed precisely in this 'trust'. Instead he has put aside any pretense of co-operating with the Opposition to protect us against economic ruin in order to promote partisan self interest. It is Harper who has failed to live up to the mandate of the people in this last election.

In so doing he has lost the trust of Parliament and its confidence.

And, in so doing he has wasted the very precious time required to take swift and effective steps to address these very serious and quickly deteriorating economic conditions.

Rather, Harper is doing everything he can to show his contempt and distain for the duly elected Parliament, despite deriving his authority and position of Prime Minister thru its Confidence. He has, and is, showing no respect for the time honoured Institutions that are Canadian Democracy and has deluded himself into thinking that he has somehow been anointed King as opposed to obtaining a minority. If allowed to continue he may well irreversibly harm or destroy these Institutions. One wonders if, indeed, he is taking advantage of these difficult and turbulent economic times to forward such a plan.

The Liberal-NDP coalition has the trust of Parliament and its confidence. Further it will bring stability during these very serious economic times.


Harper’s claim that this is a separatist coalition is, obviously, hyperbola, designed to scare those who blindly put their trust in the office of Prime Minister. Mr. Dion, given his past dedication to keeping Canada together in the face of real separatist threats, is amply qualified to keep any separatists at bay.

Harper is disenfranchising a very large percentage of the people of Canada and in particular, Quebec. 1,379,565 people in Quebec voted for Block candidates and 50 Block Candidates were duly elected.

That is, by saying that the Liberal-NDP coalition ought not to listen to the Block and the Block ought not to support the coalition, Harper is marginalizing these duly elected representatives of the people and effectively denying 38.1% of the Quebec voters the right to be heard in Parliament.

We are not talking about whether someone “voted for Harper or Dion to be Prime Minister”, which is not applicable in our Democratic Parliamentary System . (In our Parliamentary System, as it now stands, and has through many generations, citizens vote for the person they want to represent them in Parliament.) We are talking about denying their duly elected representatives from a voice in Parliament. This goes to the very heart of our Democratic Institutions and Principals. It is totally within Harper’s modus operandi to marginalize the Block since he is attempting to marginalize all the Opposition Parties, and, indeed Parliament itself. That Harper made a very similar agreement with the Block whilst in Opposition during the Martin minority a very short time ago goes to the questioning of Harper’s motives and intent.

The way to heel the wounds caused by past spasms of separation is not through marginalizing but by inclusion. Whether there is a coalition or not all MP from Quebec must be heard, they have the right to be heard. If they are marginalized it can only go towards feeding the flames of separation which could rent our country asunder.


Now Harper is organizing ‘rallies’ to demonstrate his support. If every single person in each of these centres that voted for the Conservative candidate in the last election (approx. 2.5 million) attended there would be no more than 18% of all voters. In other words, even if 2.5 million people attended, no reasonable conclusion could be drawn as to how Canadians, generally, are feeling about Harper and what he has done or the Liberal-NDP coalition. It would only reliably indicate how Harper loyalists are feeling and we already know that. Thus, one may only wonder what is the real purpose of these ‘rallies’.

The Governor General’s decision is not simply choosing a person to run this Country this is taking the necessary steps to protect our Democracy and save our country.

The Governor General’s primary purpose is to preserve our Democratic Institutions and protect our country. This cannot be done by granting a request by Stephen Harper to suspend, or prorogue, Parliament. Nor can we waste any more precious time, or overburden the Canadian people, in calling another election. Harper has wasted more than we have. Further, Mr. Harper’s contempt and distain for Parliament shows that even if he gave a return date, it could not be relied upon.

I shudder to have to peer into our future and the future of Canada as we know it.