I’ve written a number of times about how PM Harper is doing everything in his power to make his government less accountable and transparent than ever before. He’s a power mad control freak who knows that no one has a stomach for another election, thus he’s acting like he’s in a majority government, even though he’s had only a minority government these past two terms. Unfortunately, the Liberals and NDP have proven that they can’t even get the right person to lead them to inspire people to come back away from the dark side that is Harper’s government. Now, I’m no fan of the Liberals or NDP for what they’ve done provincially and federally (well, federally the NDP hasn’t done anything for decades and decades), and I think Jean Chretien ruled over one of the most corrupt gang of thugs ever.
But Harper is taking this thuggery to a new height. This past week, he tried to pass a bill that would basically mean that all environmental assessments would be rubber stamped by people we cannot trust. Thankfully, Lowell Murray, a Conservative Senator, has the integrity lacking in all other Conservative Senators and refused to pass this omnibus bill, which would have crammed in a whole bunch of scary shit with desperately needed measures. Of course, Harper responded by appointing yet another Conservative Senator to help tip the balance back toward his corrupt side (which is nothing new, since all PMs appoint Senators who will help their corrupt cause).
The COMMENTS section contains the Star Editorial with more details on the matter.
Bully Harper vs. senators
Lowell Murray is not a Liberal.
But the Progressive Conservative senator finds himself voting with the opposition Liberals against the Stephen Harper government these days to protest an abuse of Parliament. That it should fall to an unelected Tory senator to defend our democratic institutions shows how Canadians are being held hostage by the subterfuge of spin and cynicism that passes for federal politics in the Harper era.
A one-time Tory cabinet minister, Murray cannot stomach the government’s tactics in lumping together several complex issues into a grab-bag “omnibus bill” — tied to the budget to make it a “confidence” matter that would trigger an election if defeated.
As Canadians showed when Harper prorogued Parliament last December, they care deeply about abuses of parliamentary procedure. So too, at one time, did Harper. In 1994, Harper complained vociferously about a previous Liberal government’s omnibus bill that dumped disparate bits of government business into one piece of legislation as a way of quickly tying up loose ends.
Back then, Harper argued that “the subject matter of the bill is so diverse that a single vote on the content would put members in conflict with their own principles.” But that old Liberal bill was a mere 21 pages long. His own Conservative omnibus legislation is an unprecedented 880 pages long and contains 2,200 sections.
By bundling together vital areas of public policy — ranging from environmental assessments to the potentially unfettered privatization of Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd. — and then linking them to a budget bill, Harper is riding roughshod over legitimate debate.
Undeterred, Conservative senators lined up last month to reject Murray’s bid to separate the omnibus bill into distinct pieces of legislation on the AECL, environmental assessments, and other key issues. Disheartened, Murray sided with Liberal senators this week in a Senate committee to vote down the omnibus provisions that didn’t belong in the budget bill.
The Conservative response? Beat the war drums for an election. “Let’s dance,” taunted party campaign chief Senator Doug Finley, boasting: “I’ve got buses. I’ve got planes. I’ve got a war room.”
Harper’s response? He appointed yet another Conservative Senator Friday — Salma Ataullahjan, a defeated candidate in the 2008 election — to tilt the balance his way in a vote in the full Senate, expected early next eek.
The spin? Harper spokesperson Dimitri Soudas demanded that the Liberals — and Murray — “stop delaying passage of Canada’s Economic Action Plan.” In fact, cash for the stimulus program will flow retroactively when the budget measure is ultimately passed, and it ought never to have been held hostage by an omnibus bill.
The bottom line? Another patronage appointment to the Senate for a defeated Conservative candidate who can do Harper’s bidding.