Harper's on a roll

Here goes Harper again, always one step ahead of the pack.

Hébert: Stephen Harper's Supreme Court manoeuvre a bid to woo Ontario

By seeking the advice of the Supreme Court on the constitutionality of his plan to create a national securities regulator, Prime Minister Stephen Harper is really asking the country's top court to affirm the federal leadership of Canada's economic union.

 The move has profound implications for the future functioning of the federation. It is also revealing of Harper's vision of federalism and of his ambitions for his party.

The reference sets the Prime Minister on a collision course with Quebec and Alberta, his party's home base. But in Ontario, the concept of a single national regulator inspires a consensus that stretches from the boardrooms of Bay Street to Queen's Park.

On a strictly partisan level, it is another significant part of Harper's bid to turn the Conservatives into Canada's natural governing party. Brian Mulroney's Tories learned the hard way of the perils of counting on a volatile Alberta-Quebec alliance to ensure electoral success. In any event, the continued presence of the Bloc Québécois on the federal scene makes a reconstitution of that defunct alliance highly unlikely.

If Harper's Conservative party is to become the dominant political force on the federal landscape, it needs to dig deeper roots within the establishment of Ontario, the last standing Liberal fortress. This reference is a significant step towards that goal.

http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/713404--h-eacute-bert-stephen...