Viva La Coalition!
Looks like things are about to turn upside down in the House of Commons here in the great white north. I had a feeling that Stephen Harper would do something to piss off the other parties, but I didn’t think he’d do it this soon. How pissed are they? The Liberals, NDP and the Bloc Québécois (yes, the separatists!) are forming a coalition to remove Harper from power and create a new government. As early as next week, a non-confidence motion is going ahead and with the consent of the Governor General will oversee the change of power, which I think is likely since she probably doesn’t want to send Canucks back to the polls if there is a Coalition ‘majority’ ready to take over. And if the Coalition does take power, because they do hold a majority of the seats they control when we go back to the polls. If this groups sticks together, they can prevent the PC from taking us back to the booths for the next five years cause we just had an election.
Some Canadians are fuming over this, espcially the 35%-40% of them who voted for Harper and his Conservatives. Well, tough luck people… becuase what the other parties are doing is constitutionally legal. This will not be the first we’ve had a coalition government, but it will be the first one since the first World War so it has been a while. Coalitions work in europe just fine, so before people get their knickers in a knot… they should appreciate the fact that the alternate is to vote in the freezing cold. Personally, something I don’t wish to repeat anytime soon.
With a week before we can expect a non-confidence vote, there is already a campaign underway online. Support is being rallied for on the internet, through websites and facebook. The opposition parties released the following letter online. Basically it says they’re going to take over, and the Governor General has already been informed of their intentions. In other words its no bluff, the PM and his minority government is going down. There are online petitions and a whole wack of other stuff being run but the opposition parties to try to muster support going into next week. Smart idea, and I’ve already signed everything I can to show my support.
As you can see, I’m all for this coalition. I’m personally hoping to see some real action from the new coalition rather than the inaction we’ve been seeing from Stephen Harper and his Conservatives. When nations around the world have been scrambling to fight off what they all call is an impending global economic crisis, Harper has been sticking his head in the sand with what looks like a John McCain ‘our economy is still strong’ denial and done nothing to prepare. We have a budget surplus to work with so it’s not like we don’t have the change lying around to not do something about it. It’s this inaction and their blatant unwillingness to work with the other parties that really forced the other side to take action so early. They don’t want to wait for the disaster to arrive to take over, which I think is the best move.
Personally, this really isn’t a surprise. I wished this happened on election night as it would have been sweeter if these three parties went to the Governor General just after the election and said, “We have the seats… we’re in charge.” and Harper would have been shit out of luck, and likely will be this time next week. When I spoke with the bloke who ran for the NDP in my area (I actually got a hold of him) I made it clear that I wanted him to support a coalition with the Liberals. I think this is a great idea because most of the scandals that have occurred in our nation is when only one party had complete control. With a coalition government, one party isn’t in control and the other party (or parties in this case) holding you up will keep everyone well grounded and on the up and up. No bills get through unless all three parties agree, which prevents one side from trying to do something for someone without the other two catching on. In the end, a coalition government is really good for the people… we are the winners.
Coalition governments have worked in europe and in nations like New Zealand with great success and results. So to Canucks who think this is a bloodless coup, build a bridge and get over it. Every member of the house of commons can leave their party anytime they choose, thus changing the government at any time if they so choose. If the Prime Minister tried to do or pass something complete stupid or against the interests of the nation, even his own party can turn against him and submarine the government and sent it back to the polls. It’s always been that way but it was just never done that often likely because we’ve rarely had a minority government. Just because you don’t like it doesn’t change that fact or the legality of it.
Regardless of what you think of the issue, one thing is for sure… the next two weeks are going to be very interesting as one way or another some piece of history might be made. The Coalition might rise, we might have to vote again, and even the GG might stand up to the PM and refuse to follow his requests. In other words, a whole ton of interesting things are gonna happen. Can’t wait to see how it all turns out.
Peter
The weird thing is, I’ve seen a lot of people against this, who claim to be against Harper. They blame the Opposition for this, but if they paid any attention at all they’d see Harpo Marx started it, AND most of the country voted for these coalition parties anyway!
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First, 4 years. A law was passed in 2005, I believe, setting elections every 4 years (though they can be called early, obviously). Second, the opposition parties are seizing power without being democratically elected to leadership. This is basically a bloodless coup, and it’s spitting in the face of our democracy.
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If the opposition doesn’t like what Harper’s doing, fine. Make him change his plans. They’re not even giving him the chance to do that. They’ve so convinced themselves of Conservative evil that they refuse to even work with the Conservatives, and prefer to form their own government, ignoring a significant number of Canadians in the process.
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All 3 of the opposition parties are liberal. They’re basically forcing Conservative voices out, despite the Conservatives getting more votes than any of them. There’s now functionally no opposition party. How is that going to be good for Canada? They could threaten this in order to force the Conservatives to meet their demands. But to go straight to it is a load of shit.
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And that’s why I will continue to call it a bloodless coup.
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I have to ask. Is Canada competing with Italy for the title of most messed up parliament? RYN: Not sure at this moment in time if I’m doing Frenzy again next year as I’m not sure what I’m going to be doing/where I’m going to be. But, if I am, I’ll happily accept you as a buddy on the website.
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Tia, the opposition parties, now that they’re united, have every legitimate right to the government. That’s in Canadian law. Harper could have worked with them, as well as helped the Canadian people, but chose not to. If a leader has to be threatened before doing anything about a dying economy, then he’s not fit for office. Period.
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Tiamatty: Every member of the house of commons was elected by the people, and from there they can choose to form whatever government they want. The coalition is constitutionally legal, especially when there is a minority present. Even if there was a majority, people have every right to cross to the other side and turn the tables and remove the government from power if enough seats do it. Just because it hasn’t happened in a while doesn’t mean it shouldn’t. The Parliamentary system was made this way specficially for this reason. If the Prime Minister tried to do or pass something complete off track or stupid, every member of the house had the right to turn on him and vote it down and thus overturn the power of the government if they want with a vote of no confidence. That’s not a bloodless coup, that’s our system and how it works! Canada has had a coalition government before, so this wouldn’t be a first and I doubt it will ever be the last. they work for other nations with good results for the people. I’d recommend giving them a chance, if they fail the people can roast them at the polls in a few years.
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The truth is Harper’s arrogance led to this happening as allowed by the Parliamentary rules of the house. Had he not included the motion to eliminate public donations to political parties in an attempt to bancrupt the other parties… he wouldn’t have put himself, his party and Canadians in this situation. If Harper wants to find the person to blame for this fiasco, he needs to consult a mirror. <P> I didn’t vote for Harper in the last election, and neither did my riding which went NDP. Neither did 62% of the rest of Canada… so this Coalition will actually represent more of Canada than the Conservatives ever could. And the last time I checked the Conservative party is the product of a coalition as well between the PC and Reform parties, so they have no right to whine about parties getting together to grab for power…
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Crap, Harper suspended Parliament (apparently Michaelle Jean couldn’t be bothered to read that part of the job description, about enforcing the will of Parliament). What next, police state?
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this will be horrible for canada. this will be horrible for liberals. i’m saying this as a passionate liberal. this coalition is the worst idea i’ve heard of in ages. whether it’s legal or not is not the point. of course it’s legal. this is a parliament. my problem is that none of this has anything to do with harper’s policies. it’s only about a power-grab. with one of canada’s biggest political morons at the top of the pile. read my lips. the backlash that arises out of this is going to cripple the liberals and the NDP in the long run. perhaps even as soon as a couple of months from now, should the GG follow the will of the canadian public and call another election.
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Fiction: In a recent poll, over 68% of Canucks don’t want to have another election so soon. And if this really was nothing more than a power grab, why didn’t they do it several months ago before the last election was called? The answer is simple, because this is about Harper taking a swipe at the opposition and they have had enough of his ‘power grabs’ which is what the purposed bill was.<P> Cutting funding off for opposition was a desperate attempt to rig the next election since Conservatives get more private donations out of all parties. That’s clearly unacceptable and the reason why I want the coalition to toss that arrogant PM out on his arse. The PM has lost the confidence of the house, and it’s perfectly legal for them to seek a coalition if one is to be had. If they have enough seats to form a government, that is fine as well and legal in a parlimentary system. They spent the last 18 months trying to work with Harper’s minority government, and he clearly doesn’t want to work with the opposition and prefers to act like he has a majority when he doesn’t. He’s unfit to lead and deserves to lose this confidence vote and be replaced.
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“my problem is that none of this has anything to do with harper’s policies. it’s only about a power-grab.” Ummm… if they don’t stand up to him, they die off. I don’t doubt there’s self-interest in there, but they’d still be stupid to just lay low.
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Some of the criticisms truly boggle my mind. I can’t fathom how it could possibly be “democratic” to insist a party representing 36 pct of Canadians must remain in power while calling it “undemocratic” for a coalition representing 63 pct of Canadians to ascend to power. I have a math degree and I can state pretty confidently that 1/3 is less than 2/3 not greater than.
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And critics need to remember that Canadians elect MPs, not a government or prime minister. The only people that elected Stephen Harper were the voters in his riding (constituency). The only people he has an absolute right to represent for the next several years are the people of Calgary Southwest. He was elected prime minister by his fellow MPs and according to Canadian law, he can also be removed
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by said MPs. The government is directly accountable to parliament. That’s how the Canadian system works. Tiamatty is dead wrong. The government is democratically elected to leadership by the parliament. So if the parliament chooses to install in govt the legally elected MPs from the Coalition, then it will be democratically elected according to Canadian law.
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I think it’s a little offensive to characterize the ascension to power of legally elected officials through legal means in accordance with the rules of the jurisidiction and legislative body in question with a negatively connoted phrase as bloodless coup.
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