Yes, Prime Minister. The Grass IS Greener...

Yes, Prime Minister Harper, the grass IS greener on the other side of the fence.

Allow me to digress, right off the bat. Those of you that are unaware of, or haven't been following Canadian politics, here's a quick primer. Canada follows the Parliamentary system of government. Eligible Canadians vote for MPs (Members of Parliament) who sit in the House of Commons in Ottawa. An unelected Senate, whose members are appointed by the ruling government at the time of their appointment, sit until they are forced to retire when they turn 75, or resign their seat. When legislation is introduced by the government, or through a private member's bill, it is read and voted on by the elected MPs. It travels back and forth to the Senate (also known as the place of "sober" second thought) between readings for debate and acceptance. When the legislation is passed upon third reading, it goes to the Senate for approval (basically a rubber stamping) and then signed by the Govenor General for Royal ascension (another rubber stamp), becoming the law of the land. In effect, the real power lies with the governing party, and the leader of that party is the Prime Minister.

Canada currently has three main parties, with one that is up and coming. The current ruling party, elected Jan 23, 2006, is the Conservatives. Like their name, they occupy the right and right-of-centre of the political spectrum. The Liberals, in power since 1993, until they were voted out last month, are in the centre, with members occupying both the left and right sides of that. The NDP (New Democratic Party) are left of centre and claim unionized and other hard working Canadians as their power base. The up and coming (hey they got 6% of the popular vote during the last election, enough to get public funding for the party) Green Party manage their policies around environmental issues (no judgments). Of course their are a number of fringe parties, but they are inconsequential at the moment.

Now, to my point. The leader of the Conservatives is Stephen Harper. While as opposition leader, he criticized vociferously about the air of entitlement the Liberals enjoyed, including the patronage appointments. The straw that broke the camel's back was when during a crucial non-confidence vote (you'll have to find out about that yourself) that could have brought the Liberal government down, occurred about this time last year. Belinda Stronach, a duly elected Conservative member, crossed the floor and joined with the Liberals, becoming an instant member of cabinet (I could get into a whole rant about her motivations, but maybe another time). This allowed the Liberals to squeak through and win the vote. By the way, during the last election, she handily defeated the Conservative candidate in her riding, despite news reports at the time of her crossing the floor, that people in her riding were calling for her to step down so that a by-election could be held.

Now Mr. Harper, having won the election with a minority government (i.e. he requires the support of other parties to pass legislation), announced his cabinet last week. The cabinet included Mr. David Emerson of Vancouver (who was a member of the Liberal government and campaigned as a Liberal), and Mr. Michael Fortier of Montreal, who by the way, didn't even run in the election. More on that in a second.

This is directed at Stephen Harper (but everyone else can listen in). Mr. Prime Minister, how dare you act they way you did! When you were in opposition, it was easy to criticize, along with many members of your caucus, about patronage appointments and living the life of entitlement. However, you seemed to have had a bout of memory loss. How do you expect the Canadian public to trust politicians when it's actions like yours that make us just shake our heads in disgust. But you're not the only one at fault here.

Mr. Emerson. You campaigned as a Liberal. You made very specific statements regarding fighting the Conservatives during the campaign. Yet, two weeks later, you're in the Conservatives' cabinet. What a hypocrite you are. You say that you do this in the interest of serving your constituency and the people of BC. If that's the case, resign and run in a by-election as a Conservative. Get a mandate from your constituency and see if the majority are behind you. Hey, you never know. Look at what Belinda did. Stop waffling, hoping things will die down and do the right thing!

And last, but certainly not least, Mr. Fortier. Who are you kidding? You get into Mr. Harper's cabinet without running in an election, but rather by him appointing you to the Senate. WHAT?!?!?!!? You tell the public that the reason you didn't run in the election because you had a great job you didn't want leave. MAHUH?!?!!? If you didn't want to leave your cushy job, why are you now in Ottawa? You say that you will resign your seat at the next election, even though it could be yours until you're 75. Well, if this is all true, then why didn't you run in the election and play political Russian Roulette? Are you prepared to only sit in the Senate for the two years or less it takes for the Conservative government to fall? I'll believe it when I see it. Mr. Harper was wrong to be so presumptuous to appoint you to the Senate so that you can sit in his cabinet, but you definitely had a mental lapse when you accepted. At the very least you could have come up with a better reason to give the Canadian public for you to accept the appointment, if in fact there was one. The only thing that is saving your skin right now is that Mr. Emerson is taking a lot of heat from the media, which is taking focus off of you. You should get down on your hands and knees and thank your lucky stars that he's become the media's sacrificial lamb. Maybe you should buy Mr. Emerson a nice steak dinner. I hear they're cheap in the House of Commons dining room.

These final words go to Mr. Harper. Mr. Prime Minister, don't be so hasty to have a short memory when it comes to your view on patronage appointments and clean government. It hasn't been so long that people have forgotten what you said about the Liberals when they were in power. You do not have the advantage of a majority government, so you don't have the luxury of people's memories lapsing after 4 or 5 years. Be careful. Stick to your word because the Canadian public will be watching...and so will I...so will I...

Wings Over The World