Will Stephen Harper prorogue the parliament to avoid losing a vote of confidence? If he does he takes the coward’s route out and he needs to consider the consequences of such an action. I do not suffer cowards gladly at any time and even less in our leadership. The cowardice of Stephane Dion and the Liberal party in the last parliament contributed to the situation we find ourselves in today. Mr. Harper has proved incapable of responsible leadership and should face the music. If Stephen Harper believes in his position. If he believes he did what was right and responsible in tabling that economic update. Then he should stand and face the opposition head on and make his argument, not run away with his tail between his legs.
In the event that Mr. Harper lacks character and chooses to cut and run, I suggest the opposition coalition consider a preemptive strike. Today, as every day there will be a debate on adjournment. During that time any member of the House may rise to speak on an issue she/he feels has not be adequately addressed during the day’s proceedings. The coalition could use this opportunity to bring down the government. The agreement is in place. Everything seems prepared to move ahead. So why wait until Monday?
I am sure someone is going to scream ‘Where’s the precedent?’. In 1940, on the day that France surrendered to the Nazis, the British House of Commons at Westminster entertained a motion to adjourn for the day. The ensuing debate ended up lasting a couple of days as MPs made the argument that the House should not adjourn when faced with the loss of their largest ally on the European continent. When the vote was finally called Prime Minister Chamberlain did indeed win but the vote was so close that he realized that a large number of his own MPs had voted against him. The next day he visited the King to resign and the King called on Winston Churchill to form a government. The rest as they say is history.
Canada is facing a crisis. We may be on the edge of a new Great Depression. Hundreds of thousands have lost their jobs in the manufacturing sector while the government boasts of the creation of low paying part time jobs in the service sector. Even the restructuring bail out being considered in Washington for North American automakers contains further job losses which they euphemistically call downsizing to increase profitability. Heaven help us if we call a spade a spade anymore. We need these sweet sounding phrases so as not to think about the fact that we are destroying people’s lives. We are mired in a foreign war which is draining wealth from our economy while providing no positive return for Canada or Afghanistan. None of our allies are dumb enough to take over and relieve us. Maybe that alone should tell us something.
So enough. Stand up like a man Mr. Harper and take your medicine. Better to go down in flames than linger on a pathetic weasel. If you don’t have the stomach for it then the opposition coalition should put you out of your misery. Mr. Dion, Mr. Layton and Mr. Duceppe act now before the vermin slips the trap.
