Letter to the editor published in the Penticton Herald - Wednesday, April 20th, 2011
Dear sir;
It’s time to take a stand. I feel so strongly that a Harper majority government would be bad for Canada that this election has brought me to several firsts: this will be the first Federal election since the mid 1980’s that I haven’t voted Conservative; it is the first time that I have made a donation to a political candidate and it is the first election in which I have put a candidate’s sign in my front lawn.
Mr. Harper seems to think that parliamentary rules and tradition apply elsewhere but not here in Canada when’s he’s the one in power. If the leader of some third-world country, including Afghanistan where Canadians are dying to bring democracy to the people, did the things that Harper’s government has done over the past few years we would probably shrug our shoulders and say something like – “what do you expect in a tribal society ruled by despots”? Well pardon me, but I expect better in Canada!
The Harper government has been chastised by the Speaker of the House who knows the rules – our representatives are supposed to be the bosses - not the minions to be cast aside and ignored like so many sheep. If Harper knew any history he would also know that coalitions are not illegal or evil, but rather have a long tradition in the British parliamentary system. Churchill served in several coalitions and led one himself. The British government right now is a coalition; Australia has had coalitions; heck, Canada has had coalitions in the past. Coalitions may not always be perfect but they are not to be feared (unless you are the one who might lose power).
Some of my friends argue that in uncertain economic times we must have a strong majority government and at the same time argue that our relatively good performance over the past two years vis a vis the rest of the world was because we had the Harper government. But that was a minority government! In fact, we didn’t have the economic meltdown of the US and Europe because for more than one hundred years Canadian governments have subjected Canadian banks to very stringent rules so they couldn’t play fast and loose with our money the way other banks could. And the recent Liberal governments, despite their shortcomings, did leave Harper a balanced budget. The only credit Harper can claim is that he didn’t undo the banking rules.
The list of things Harper has done to thumb his nose at Parliament and us (while in a minority position) is extensive. I worry that someone who ignores the rules when he’s in a minority is not going to suddenly become a law abiding citizen if he gets a majority.
I’m giving my support to John Kidder.
Sincerely,
Robert Handfield
Kaleden
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