Sunday, December 07, 2008

Dear Mr. Kenney:

Let's chat for a moment about your comments yesterday, shall we?

"It says to me that the people of Canada want democracy respected. They just voted for a Conservative government six or seven weeks ago. They don't appreciate Opposition politicians trying to overturn election results and make a deal with the Separatists six weeks later."


This is a blatant lie on so many levels it's ridiculous.

Six or seven weeks ago, a majority of Canadians did not vote conservative. Let's be absolutely clear about this. The Conservatives got just over 30% of the popular vote - which means that about 22% of the eligible voters actually voted for you and Mr. Harper.

Second, I think you need a little remedial education in the form and structure of Canada's government - apparently you have forgotten some basics that you should have been taught back in grade school.

In Canada, we elect a Parliament - and we give a mandate to that parliament to govern the country. It is by convention that the party with the most seats is asked to form the government. In reality, it is in fact the party (or group of parties) that can control the majority of the seats that forms the government. The Conservatives are quite some distance from forming a majority in this situation.

Second, you don't get to squawk about a coalition being "anti democratic" when your party has gone after the same gambit. You know damn well that it is both legal, and a legitimate expression of democracy in Canada.

Third, it is the Conservative party that is behaving in a manner that is deeply offensive to the democracy in Canada. This is not the first time, but the third time that Mr. Harper has shut down parliament to avoid debate and to avoid being held accountable for his government's actions and policies. Instead of facing his opposition, or trying to work with the opposition, he tries to skewer them at every turn. When challenged in a serious manner, he folds like a cheap tent.

By shutting down parliament to avoid a confidence vote, Mr. Harper has done far worse damage to Canada's democracy than a coalition government would have. Why do I say this? Because in doing so, the Prime Minister of a Minority Government has silenced the voices of our duly elected representatives - including yourself Mr. Kenney. He has stifled debate solely because he cannot defend his actions as anything other than vicious partisan politics, and he is afraid to be accountable for them.

Your statements, Mr. Kenney, merely demonstrate that you are a toadie to Mr. Harper's will and whim. (Not that you've ever even attempted be anything other than a partisan politician - heaven forbid that you might actually have to deal with a constituent who isn't of like mind to yourself)

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

In the original movie 'Gremlins' there was a particularly gory kitchen scene. (Many will remember the gremlins in the microwave and the blender.....)

Now put Harper, Kenny, and a few other ReichWing nut faces on those gremlins........ >>grin<<

SB

VĂ©ro B said...

I'm hoping you actually sent that letter to Jason Kenney. Either he and Harper are seriously ignorant of the Westminster system and Canadian tradition, or they're lying and counting on the fact that not enough Canadians paid attention to civics in school.

Anonymous said...

Veronique: They ARE lying, and the mere fact that you follow this blog indicates that you DID pay attention in school. Unfortunately what has occurred over a fairly long time has been a concerted effort to disengage the electorate from politics, this has been accomplished by the reduction (at the provincial level) of proper funding for the public school system and a systemic reduction/change to what is studied in Social Studies (or whatever passes for that course nowadays). The average high school graduate today knows far more about the American political system then they know of the Westminster Parliamentary System. This leads to a lot of people assuming that the two systems are fairly close. Harper & Toadies take advantage of this sort of misunderstanding by using the time honored tradition of propagandists everywhere----tell a lie, tell it big, and repeat it often-----

SB

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