Underestimated

Others have already noted how refreshing it is to have an Official Opposition which is willing to take a stand on issues of substance. But it's also worth highlighting another important factor in the NDP's strategy for this week.

One of the main blind spots of the Harper Cons has long been their tendency to underestimate the NDP's commitment to positive policy outcomes.

When they first took office, the Cons tried to strongarm the NDP into supporting them in exchange for continuing funding already promised by the Libs. Instead, they were met with a blizzard of protest that resulted in the NDP getting effectively all of the funding in exchange for nothing.

When they unveiled their 2008 fiscal update, the Cons hoped the NDP would be willing to support a long list of disastrous policies in exchange for the prospect that cutting off the per-vote subsidy would hurt the Libs. That miscalculation would have cost Harper his government if the NDP's response hadn't required the Libs to show a similar amount of backbone.

And now, the Cons seem to have assumed that the NDP would be willing to abandon workers across Canada in order to allow its new Quebec caucus to celebrate St-Jean-Baptiste Day. But instead, the NDP is standing firm - and looks to be on such solid ground in doing so that even the Bloc echoing its position that the Cons deserve the blame for intruding on the holiday.

Of course, it remains to be seen how much the filibuster will be able to do to influence the outcome of the Canada Post labour dispute. But at the very least, there should be no doubt that the NDP's rise to Official Opposition hasn't changed its commitment to putting policy ahead of symbolism. And the more Harper continues to guess wrong on that point, the better the chances of minimizing the damage he's able to do.