Yesterday, he put forth an "all or nothing motion to extend the expiring clauses of Canada's "anti-terrorism" legislation.
After tabling an all-or-nothing motion to extend the two clauses in question, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said the day before the vote he is open to suggestions for a compromise on new anti-terror legislation.
"The Senate has proposed a couple of things that are realistic; we want to see something. You know we are open to something, it is important to have anti-terror legislation that is effective," Harper said.
Once again, in the style of the grade school bully, Harper does something utterly ridiculous, and then turns around and tries to belittle the opposition. "Realistic" is Harper-speak for "sufficiently authoritarian to satisfy his BDSM fantasies".
Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion has said that giving only 24 hours to submit a list of about 50 recommendations before the vote is a joke.
It is a joke - but there's a reason for it. Like his idol from Alberta, Ralph Klein, Stephen Harper seems to think that the best way to run a democracy is behind closed doors. If he can't do that, he does everything he can to truncate or eliminate debate entirely.
Liberals in support of letting the laws fade away have argued the two clauses have never been used and therefore won't be missed, since they were merely an understandable reaction to fears about terrorism in the uncertainty immediately following the Sept. 11 attacks.
Which is exactly the point of having a "sunset clause" on them. If they are so blasted important, PMSH can bring forth specific legislation to reinstate them. Frankly, they are the aspects of the post-9/11 legislation that bothered me the most from the beginning, and it's time we let them go.
I would guess that short of a major change in the landscape of the house, that these clauses will quietly expire tonight, and Harper will try to play the "Tough on Crime(tm)" card, attempting to portray the opposition as "soft" on terrorism.
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