- The Halifax Chronicle Herald pushes back against the Cons' and Libs' anti-Bloc witch-hunt:
For partisan reasons, involvement with the Bloc has become a game of political football. The Tories and Grits feel like they’ve scored a touchdown because Ms. Turmel’s cancellation of her Bloc membership was so recent. The NDP have responded with a field goal. After all, Mr. Lebel did quit the Bloc 10 years ago. Even if the man had ever been a sovereigntist, surely he’d be entitled to change his mind.- Yes, it's noteworthy that Jim Prentice at least hinted at a cap-and-trade system in dealing with Alberta's provincial government. But far more significant than the tentative behind-the-scenes discussion is the fact that even one of the Cons' supposed star ministers couldn't get the job done - and since his departure, the Cons are now running as far as possible from any attempt to deal with greenhouse gas emissions.
The only reason the Grits haven’t been scored on since this controversy began is because they don’t have a current MP whose federalist credentials are questionable. But for all their grandstanding, they too have welcomed bloquistes back into the fold — and not just any bloquiste, either.
The Liberals’ former MP Jean Lapierre, now a broadcaster, is the prototype of a federalist coming full circle. He quit the Grits after Jean Chrétien became leader, became a founding member of the Bloc, then was welcomed back years later as Paul Martin’s Quebec lieutenant.
It’s time to call off this game on account of hypocrisy. The last message we should be sending Quebecers, now that they have opted back in to federalist politics, is this: "Once a sovereigntist, always a sovereigntist, even if you were never really a sovereigntist."
- And speaking of policies the Cons want to send down the memory hole, Alison catches the Cons disappearing their previous bragging about Canadian oil investment in Syria.
- Finally, Tim Harper points out that the Cons' secrecy in negotiating yet another security deal with the U.S. is only fuelling Canadian suspicions about what they want to give up. But it's well worth noting that the public apparently isn't seen as an "important stakeholder" in the process:
Toews says his government is not going to negotiate in public.
Important stakeholders have been consulted, and the government is grappling with the question of at what point to bring the broader public into the discussion.
The signs are not encouraging.
Toews has already set up the NDP as the enemy, predicting they would merely “politicize” any public hearings because they are philosophically against any trade deals and are mired in an outdated protectionist mindset.
But, in fact, the only NDP criticism so far has centred on the secretive nature of the process.
If the Harper government is not prepared to come into the daylight at some point and tell Canadians specifically what it may be negotiating away, the NDP criticism will be the predominant Canadian point of view.
For those paying attention, it likely already is.
Ugh. I wish Conservative supporters would realize that when Con MPs say that they don't care what the public has to say, that the supporters are included in that very same public.
ReplyDeleteAnd we can't discuss major government policy in Canada, because, heaven forbid, the NDP might say something?! It's too dangerous to let the facts out, because <span>Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition might do the job they're being paid to do? I think the following quote is disturbingly relevant:
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"Ideas are more powerful than guns. We would not let our enemies have guns, why should we let them have ideas?" -- Stalin
John, they know. They don’t care. It’s part of the unique charm of the right-wing authoritarian personality. Ratchet up the fear-mongering and they’ll beg to lick your boots AND give you the sharp sticks to blind them with.
ReplyDeleteJon, they know. They just don’t care. It’s part of the unique charm of the right-wing authoritarian personality. Ratchet up the fear-mongering and they’ll beg to lick your boots. Insisting that Big Daddy knows best kind of goes with the territory.
ReplyDeleteOf course, the NDP's job is to point out just how ridiculous that effort to prevent any non-Con voices from being heard actually is. And I'd think they're making some progress on that front (see e.g. the Canada Post filibuster), even if there's still a long way to go.
ReplyDelete