Ladies and gentlemen, it’s election time! Why? Because Prime Minister Stevie said so. As expected, Prime Minister Harper asked Governor General Michaëlle Jean to dissolve parliament on September 7, 2008. Canadians will go to the polls on October 14. Usually, when a Prime Minister asks the Governor General to dissolve Parliament, he or she is the leader of either a majority government that anticipates winning another election, or a minority government that has lost the confidence of the House of Commons. In this case, the Prime Minister is neither.
Stevie does not have a majority government, even though he has governed as though he did. In 2006, Canadians voted the Conservatives in with a mandate for a minority government, which means they were supposed to work with the other parties to govern. The Prime Minister also did not lose the confidence of the House of Commons. The constitution does not state that the Prime Minister has the authority to dissolve parliament because he feels it’s dysfunctional. However, the constitution does state that upon a vote of non-confidence by the House, the Governor General has the authority to call a new election.
As much as I wanted an election, I was actually hoping that the Governor General would reject Harper’s request to dissolve Parliament. That would have been the truly democratic thing to do. The Canadian constitution gives the Governor General the right to ask opposition parties to attempt to form a functional government if another party fails. Harper has not made a sufficient claim that parliament had lost confidence in his government. Stevie may very well be correct that the parliament would have dissolved in a matter of weeks, but he is obligated to make it work until such time. He speaks of leadership and strength, but a true leader would have stood up for our parliamentary system and the Canadian constitution that we have so painstakingly developed over the decades.
Green Party not allowed at leaders’ debate
During each election, the leaders of the major parties are invited by television stations to participate in several debates. The Conservatives, Bloc Quebecois, Liberals, and NDP have all previously been included. The Green Party, reaching 8 to 12 per cent in polls, recently obtained their first seat in Parliament when West Vancouver MP Blair Wilson converted to the Green Party. This brought hope to Elizabeth May, leader of the Green Party, that her party would finally be included on the national stage. But last Monday, the Broadcasters Consortium (the group of TV stations who will televise the debates) said no. Prime Minister Stevie said he wouldn’t take part if the Greens were included, which led to the Liberals, Bloc, and NDP then refusing to participate if the Prime Minister didn’t participate. However, two days later, Harper and NDP leader Jack Layton changed their minds due to much public criticism, and the broadcasters decided to allow May into the debates. You could say they just wanted votes and gave in to public pressure. The optimist in me likes to think that this is what democracy is about, and it does sometimes work the way it’s supposed to.
Who is Kaveh voting for?
I haven’t decided yet (although you can probably tell it won’t be for Stevie), but I do think that Stéphane Dion and his Liberals should not be underestimated. Dion managed to win the Liberal leadership when no one else expected it, and I think that he’ll give Stevie a much harder campaign than expected. It may very well be that in a few weeks time, I’ll be referring to new Prime Minister Stéphi (avec l’accent français) instead of former Prime Minister Stevie. Or maybe not.
Stevie does not have a majority government, even though he has governed as though he did. In 2006, Canadians voted the Conservatives in with a mandate for a minority government, which means they were supposed to work with the other parties to govern. The Prime Minister also did not lose the confidence of the House of Commons. The constitution does not state that the Prime Minister has the authority to dissolve parliament because he feels it’s dysfunctional. However, the constitution does state that upon a vote of non-confidence by the House, the Governor General has the authority to call a new election.
As much as I wanted an election, I was actually hoping that the Governor General would reject Harper’s request to dissolve Parliament. That would have been the truly democratic thing to do. The Canadian constitution gives the Governor General the right to ask opposition parties to attempt to form a functional government if another party fails. Harper has not made a sufficient claim that parliament had lost confidence in his government. Stevie may very well be correct that the parliament would have dissolved in a matter of weeks, but he is obligated to make it work until such time. He speaks of leadership and strength, but a true leader would have stood up for our parliamentary system and the Canadian constitution that we have so painstakingly developed over the decades.
Green Party not allowed at leaders’ debate
During each election, the leaders of the major parties are invited by television stations to participate in several debates. The Conservatives, Bloc Quebecois, Liberals, and NDP have all previously been included. The Green Party, reaching 8 to 12 per cent in polls, recently obtained their first seat in Parliament when West Vancouver MP Blair Wilson converted to the Green Party. This brought hope to Elizabeth May, leader of the Green Party, that her party would finally be included on the national stage. But last Monday, the Broadcasters Consortium (the group of TV stations who will televise the debates) said no. Prime Minister Stevie said he wouldn’t take part if the Greens were included, which led to the Liberals, Bloc, and NDP then refusing to participate if the Prime Minister didn’t participate. However, two days later, Harper and NDP leader Jack Layton changed their minds due to much public criticism, and the broadcasters decided to allow May into the debates. You could say they just wanted votes and gave in to public pressure. The optimist in me likes to think that this is what democracy is about, and it does sometimes work the way it’s supposed to.
Who is Kaveh voting for?
I haven’t decided yet (although you can probably tell it won’t be for Stevie), but I do think that Stéphane Dion and his Liberals should not be underestimated. Dion managed to win the Liberal leadership when no one else expected it, and I think that he’ll give Stevie a much harder campaign than expected. It may very well be that in a few weeks time, I’ll be referring to new Prime Minister Stéphi (avec l’accent français) instead of former Prime Minister Stevie. Or maybe not.
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Comments
Alamir
2008-09-15 21:02:18
Correct me if I'm wrong, but to my understanding the debates and democracy are two separate things (although they should be the same because the debates are one of the few times we'll here most of these candidates' opinions being made in one room). But as it is, today, TV corporates can choose who they'd like to have in a debate. Furthermore, Harper-or anyone- can chose not to debate and use it as leverage against people they rather not debate with. In America, there were lots of complaints when candidates such as Ron Paul were excluded from mainstream debates. It's not in the television corps' interest to be democratic, but just to pull in ratings. So far, ratings = viewership and viewers want their candidates represented so it's been pretty democratic in Canada. But that won't mean it has to always be the case.