Harper Using "Coalition" To Hide Lack of Ideas

Taken from my blog at: http://progressforcanada.blogspot.com/:

The Coalition's coming!! Quick, tell all Canadians to be on the look out for those nasty parties who want to take down the government. No, this isn't hyperbole. Actually, it's the message that the Harper government has been relentlessly pounding away at over the summer and looks to use with increased vigor in this new session of Parliament.

You see, a few years ago, an election has just ended and Stephen Harper was given another minority government. The Liberal party was handed it's worst showing ever and the NDP had increased it's seat count. The Bloc hadn't done too poorly either. Well, not long after this election, the Finance Minister released his once annual Fall Economic Update. In it, the Minister informed Canadians that we would not go into deficit and that the economic meltdown that was happening in the U.S. would likely not touch Canada. Attached to this update were several motions that the Opposition Parties could not support; one being the elimination of party subsidies. You see, each party that runs in a Federal Election and garners above 2% support received $1.95 for each vote. This ensures that the kind of big money that gets thrown at parties, the same way it does in the states, does not effect a parties ability to reach out to voters. The Conservatives have long since had huge stores of capital and were looking to cripple the others parties abilities to compete.

A crisis was born. The parties revolt, joined forces and signed an agreement that would see the Liberals and the NDP share power and cabinet positions, and also be supported by the Bloc, as the previous two parties didn't have enough seats to maintain confidence. Herein begins the Coalition propaganda. The Conservatives hit out at the "illegality" of the Coalition with the Bloc (something that the Conservatives themselves had done numerous times in the past) and warned Canadians that an illegitimate government would be formed. Many Canadians were tricked by the minority government into believing this to be true. The fact remains, however, that this coalition was completely legal and was constitutionally valid. Coalitions have taken place in Canada's history and as long as the party/ies maintain the confidence of the house, everything is gravy.

The rest, as they say, is history. The PM convinced the Governor General to prorogue Parliament and we were left without any government as a result of something the Conservatives themselves had started. Upon returning the Conservatives, long time Lassie-fare capitalists, became Keynesian's and started throwing money into infrastructure projects and the like to stop the recession they said would never come. Since then, Harper and the Conservatives have brought up the "Coalition" every time they are questioned about a policy decision. The fact remains that the government has no direction. No plan. No ideas for Canada. Instead, they will spend billions on airplanes, prisons and meetings in order to stage elaborate photo-ops for the PM, all of which are designed to convince Canadians that the Conservatives are good economic managers.

Sorry, but I don't buy it. A good economic manager is someone who looks at the problems facing the country and tries to deal with them so that people can go back to work. A good economic manager is someone who doesn't snipe opposition parties who are trying to make parliament work while simultaneously making huge purchases that do nothing but show people how out of touch you are. The Conservatives are not good economic managers. They are fiscally irresponsible and will continue to use the "Coalition" to distract people from the real problems that face us today. Enough already Stephen. Get down to business and stop trying to scare Canadians with your tired rhetoric. We aren't buying it.