Steven Harper Divides a Country

The fiasco in Ottawa that the Harper Minority Government initiated last week has insulted a majority of Canadians while having the effect of tearing our country apart from a name calling session in which Medicare supporters were called socialists in league with separatists to destroy Canada. What the Hell were you thinking Mr. Harper? This type of fear mongering and labeling has divided our Country at a time when unity is called for.

For those who might not be aware, Canada’s Prime Minister Steven Harper and his Conservative Party were faced with a determined Coalition of political representatives elected by the majority of Canadians. Harper panicked after a vicious name calling session with uncalled for labeling that would have made US Republican Senator Joseph Raymond McCarthy smile in his Grave. The Conservatives grasped at the one thing that they thought could save their government, to “Prorogue” Parliament. The outcome has caused an immediate rift and division in this country, which may not heal for a long time. Was the name calling intended Mr. Steven Harper, or was it your genuine feelings of the Canadian people?

The Lead Up to Division:

Over the past 2 1/2 years, Steven Harper’s minority government has bullied the opposition into accepting Conservative legislation in the House of Commons. Some would say that weak opposition leaders failed to take advantage and were not able to agree on tactics to stop the Conservatives from railroading their agenda into law. That is a debate on its own, however, as a Canadian, I am not happy about the way Liberal leader Stephan Dion handled the Conservative legislation because, I was taught that when faced with confrontation you stand up for your principals while keeping an open mind. You then VOTE on them to show your character and moral stance if that is the situation as was Dion’s. You do NOT stand up, turn your back, stick your fingers in your ears and act as children. The consequences of those actions have now come to fruition.

If the Opposition Parties were afraid of the consequences that an election might have on their future, then an immediate change in leadership should have been the remedy. Looking back, Stephan Dion did not show a quality of character that people could admire and the Conservatives knew it when they called an election for last October 15th.

A word of advice to all politicians, when representing the people who voted for you, at the very least, you must show that you have moral values and backbone by opposing legislation that is pointed against the principals of your constituents and VOTE!

Advice to the Liberals:

The Liberals need to look at the immediate future and their options with the prospects of a dictatorial budget imposed on the Canadian people by a Conservative party that does not believe in Social Programs. On January 26th, not only will this be a confidence vote but a crucial point in Canadian History. If the Liberal Party does NOT replace Dion before this date and bring the Harper Government down on a non-confidence vote, the Conservatives will push their agenda forward against the majority of the people, and the wounds will deepen. The results will be disastrous and Canada will have a renewed Constitutional crisis during an economic tsunami that will most definitely cause hardship and political determination.

It is imperative that the Conservative government is brought down on the division issue, however, without a new Liberal leader, the month of May is a long time away and a non confidence vote in January would surely bring about the possibility of an election before May. In this situation, the Liberals are not ready to face the House with strength because with Dion at the helm, the Canadian people will not vote for a party, which has a leader that did not demonstrate backbone on fundamental principals that should have been demonstrated long ago. Liberals who turn their back, put their hands in their pockets, or simply do not vote on important issues do not get to stay on as Leader of the Opposition. Nor do they gain the respect of the Canadian people. The Stephan Dion Liberals embarrassed Canadians, and that is something the Conservatives know all too well.

On the other hand, if the Liberals choose a new leader before January 26th 2009, they will go into Parliament ready for what ever is thrown at them weather it is an election, or a coalition government. The Liberals may not get the full backing of Quebec voters, but it is even more likely that the Conservatives will lose all their backing in Quebec. A Majority government will then depend on the voters in Ontario; so don’t be surprised if the Conservatives focus their interests there.

Moving Forward?

The Harper Conservatives have decided that this is the time to pick on the Canadian people and create division in our nation, which in my mind is a treasonable offence on the Canadian People! Harper has demonstrated once again that dictators do indeed live in Canada and that his panicky response to “Prorogue” Parliament when faced with a determined opposition has divided the Country. The decision by Canada’s Governor General’s “Michaelle Jean”, to grant Stephen Harper his wish to “Prorogue Parliament” leaves a distasteful burning question as to the function of a position that is redundant and has ties to an overseeing monarchy from another Country.

The aftermath of this should be troubling to the Conservatives because they have just lost all their Federal votes in Quebec in the next election. The barometer in this fiasco will be the outcome of the Quebec Provincial election in mid December 2008. Some people may not remember that Quebec Provincial Premier Jean Charest was a Conservative under Brian Mulrooney in the 80’s and 90’s before he switched his focus to Provincial Politics and changed parties to become a Liberal. The timing of Harpers outburst against social program supporters and French Canadians stinks of dictatorial division wrapped up in an “I told you so” excuse to the Canadian people about Quebec separation.

Jean Charest will most assuredly loose the Provincial Election in Quebec on December 8th in large part to his own shortcomings, but now guaranteed due to Harpers outburst and finger pointing to the Quebec Separatists as nation killers. Harpers accusations have the French majority in Quebec furious with this perceived attack on their identity.

The wrath of Quebec’s francophone speaking majority will unfold with their choice of political parties in the coming Quebec Provincial election to make a point of their displeasure at Harper’s words. The ensuing focus of those political parties will be on the continued eradication of the English speaking community within Quebec.

The Anglophone community has been brutally attacked and nearly destroyed by apartheid type laws, which have set the standards in attitudes of the majority francophone citizens. Harpers comments will most assuredly put the final nails in a community’s coffin by an eager population that needs to focus blame.

The unrest does not just stop there. Out west in Alberta there is also talk about Separation and how the East doesn’t care about their interests. Are those people talking about politicians from the east or the people that live there when they focus their anger? It seems that Steven Harper is intent on creating division in this country and you have to wonder why.

The solution to this quagmire of political BS is for the Canadian people to call for Steven Harper's resignation, and for Mr. Dion, to CALL FOR A LIBERAL LEADERSHIP CONVENTION in early January!

To all political wannabee’s, if you want to see what the real majority of Canadians want or who the Harper Conservatives are? Please click on the link below and view the video taken at the Conservative convention in Winnipeg last November 15th. You have to wonder what they conspired about in their private convention that no one outside their party was allowed to attend.

Canadian Protest Nov. 15th 2008 Winnipeg Manitoba
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p8rrAdMqqoE&eurl=http://www.youtube.com/user/minstral2

Block Harper Rally Nov 15th 2008 (Winnipeg)
http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=block+harper+winnipeg+november+15&emb=0&aq=f#

Sincerely,
Stewart Brennan
(Former Irish Anglophone Resident from Quebec)