Remember when Liberals were ridiculed for accusing Conservatives of putting “soldiers in our streets”?
Indeed, not long after the ads were released, one that claimed Harper would would put more Canadian “soldiers with guns” in Canadian cities was yanked.
Liberal MP Shawn Murphy seems to be suggesting the same…
We have to ask ourselves: what is the next logical extension of this thinking? Doing away with Parliament altogether? To instruct the military to bring political order to our system of government and maintain acceptable behaviour by this country’s citizens?
What’s next, photos on the Liberal website depicting Harper being assassinated? Oh, yeah…
Advertisement
Immature community activists posing as statesmen and politicians.
Grade school antics.
Conservative MP Brent Rathgeber in the January 6 issue of St. Albert Gazette
“Democracy and Parliament are not being sidestepped — they are only being suspended.”
To my knowledge of Canadian history it was the Liberal Party under Trudeau who invoked the War Measure Act on a small threat in Quebec by some separtists.
To not be undone the Liberals again suspended our democracy by rounding up Canadian students on university campus (UBC) so a dictator would not be offended by our democracy.
The Pepper Spraying them, having a CBC reporter suspended…another proud Liberal moment
http://canadiansense.blogspot.com/2010/01/memories-of-liberal-democracy.html
The Liberals and the MSM used to take great pleasure in jumping on the Reform Party and The Reform Alliance when one of their people made some ridiculous, or in many cases not so ridiculous, statement. I wonder where the loons have migrated to? Of course, this idiocy will not be front page news in the the Red Star or the lead story on the evening news. In fact, I will be surprised if it gets any coverage at all.
The N.D.P. in the election had extreme ads in French about Harper and the Conservatives leading us to some fascist state presumably with our military going along with it. Didn’t get much coverage in the ROC because they were in French, I presume. 1984 Harper version.
CTV Reporter: “How far are you prepared to go with that Prime Minister (Trudeau)”
PM Trudeau: “Just watch me.”
(October ’70)
’cause showing contempt for human rights when responding to a kidnapping and an assassination is the same thing as showing contempt for democracy when the opposition wants to ask you questions. Yeah, I see the parallel.
’cause showing contempt for human rights when responding to a kidnapping and an assassination by a terrorist group attempting to split up the country is the same thing as showing contempt for democracy when the opposition wants to ask you questions. Yeah, I see the parallel.
Ted are you really that dumb? How old are you?
During the 1970 October Crisis of 1970 Douglas refused to support Trudeau’s use of the War Measures Act in Quebec. The decision to vote against the motion (which passed with a majority vote) was not viewed favourably; the NDP’s approval rating dropped to seven per cent in public opinion polls. Still, Douglas maintained that the Trudeau was going too far: “The government, I submit, is using a sledgehammer to crack a peanut.” 465 people were arrested and held without being charged during the time the Act was in effect.
Tommy Douglas WAS RIGHT back than.
List the convictions regarding this National Suspension of Democracy in Canada.
How many people were charged and convicted?
As usual, I have no idea what your point is, CS, do you?
Trudeau was wrong then and Harper is wrong now. That parallel I see.
Trudeau was wrong then, even though the security of the nation and Canadian lives were literally at stake.
Harper has far less grounds to “suspend democracy” as one of his MPs so eloquently put it yesterday, and Canadians not only don’t like the Harper Holiday, they see right through him and know he’s only done this to avoid tough accountable questions.
The Prime Minister does not get to pick and choose when and on what subjects he will be accountable.
We elected 308 MPs, let them do their job and, if we don’t like what they are doing, we the Canadian people will kick them out of Parliament. That is not for Mr. Harper to decide.
Do you seriously believe what your type?
You sound like Dick Cheney. Al Gore, Heather Malllick morphed into one Big Government take away freedoms evil everywhere power monger!
“…the security of the nation and Canadian lives were literally at stake.”
Look it UP how many were convicted?
Learn some history, it might help with your delusional rants about our democratic “crisis” next time.
Again, CS, do you have any idea what you are writing?
Yes, lives and security were at stake. You really don’t know much if you are trying to say they were not. Several people were kidnapped. An MPP was actually killed. Bombs were going off. Many were injured. It was difficult and trying time. And yet, in my view, that was not enough to justify Trudeau’s suspending rights temporarily.
Today, Harper is refusing to answer some questions and that justifies suspending democracy temporarily?????
The threshold keeps getting lower and lower.
Poor Ted Chaney,
can’t back up with facts and numbers so apologizes for the Liberals trampling democracy again. No links, where are the details? Trying to scare us with tales of bombs, explosions and how many killed?
hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm…….
Just like APEC.
Sorry Ted the cover up won’t work. The “alternative” coalition are a clear and present danger to democracy. Their agreement does not expire until June 30, 2011.
You really do have a reading comprehension problem don’t you CS. I’m curious how your brain works: when I say Trudeau was wrong to do that, how does that get converted into apologizing for Liberals? I am really very curious. No wonder you support the Conservatives.
But you can keep trying to change the subject. Canadians see through you and Harper. We don’t like this Harper Holiday. Harper doesn’t get to pick and choose when and on what matters he will be accountable to us and when he won’t be.
Ted,
still can’t find facts, figures to back up your lack of perspective?
Clearly the Liberals have suspended our democracy without just cause.
I only listed two examples.
War Measures Act and APEC.
Ted keep chanting dictator despot Harper for the 22 day delay!
Man, CS, you and reality just don’t get along very well, do you?
When have I called Harper a dictator for temporarily suspending democracy and running from accountability?
Please re-join us in the real world. It is not wholly-unfriendly to conservatives (nutjobs who make things up? that’s another story).
Poor Ted Chaney
You can’t provide any perspective. As I have said before and will again. The angry left don’t like people, they like policy.
They have no problem restricting freedom and favouring big government for state control.
Clearly the Chavez, Castro, Mugabe leadership style is a dream for the coalition supporters like yourself.
So keep visiting as spreading leftist propoganda for the angry left.
Hey moron: who is Chaney?
“Harper doesn’t get to pick and choose when and on what matters he will be accountable to us and when he won’t be.”
Right now? Actually HE DOES. He’s the PM so if you don’t like his decisions – tough. When he is no longer PM THEN you can do something. Right now? – Sux 2 B U.
Ted I have a question, two actually.
First one.
Do you feel the act of prorogation is undemocratic?
Second question (if the answer to the first is yes).
Do you think its worth amending the constitution so the GG can’t grant prorogation to the PM?
Gimbol
Andrew Coyne put it well the other day: there is nothing wrong with deleting an email; but if you are under investigation or subpoena there is something very wrong.
In short: on balance yes and not sure.
In length:
Our Constitution includes the written Constitution, court interpretations of the Constitution, basic concepts of “natural law” and certain vague constitutional conventions. The Constitutional conventions reflect a Canadian/British deference to government that is not in, for example, the American approach to government and allows our government a lot of flexibility. The ability to call an election on a whim when it is politically advantageous as Harper did in 2008 is similar.
There are certainly advantages to it. When a legislative agenda has been completed – not nearly the case here despite what Harper says – it is a good thing. If a Parliamentary session has been going on for a long time and there is a sense – no technical or legal way to describe it – of it being “tired” or spinning its wheels or bogged down – again, not nearly the case here – there is probably no real harm and clearly some benefit. When the legislative agenda isn’t even half done and there are accountability questions, outstanding subpoenas and the like, then proroguing seriously undermines our democracy no matter who does it.
Similarly, nothing too undemocratic of allowing the PM to call elections since we all know Parliaments usually go 4 and a max of 5 years and a few weeks surprise doesn’t make that much of a difference (especially when no amount of pre-planning escapes the media’s attention). There are certainly some advantages (like the very expensive constant campaigning in the US). But it is obviously ripe for abuse as it was by Peterson in 1990 and Chretien in 2000.
Do the occasional advantages outweigh the occasional abuses? I think, in a democracy, you try to get rid of clear abuses if the advantages are not very clear and significant. To give leave that kind of power and potential for abuse in the hands of the government is too much in a modern democracy.
So on balance, yes it is undemocratic.
I think there are a lot of anachonisms in the Constitutions that need to be modernized, the senate biggest among those issues. But it isn’t easy to amend the Constitution. It can be done, like putting an age limit on senators (which is what is so frustrating with Harper’s unconstitutional tinkering with senate reform – the ideas are all right, the execution all wrong).
Would I change the Constitution to rule out prorogation? Like to if I could, but I don’t know enough of the non-Constitutional alternatives to really say if it is the best way to go.
Sorry for the longwinded answer, but you asked and I am a bit of a history/constitutional law nerd.