“While we have been working on the economy, the opposition has been working on a backroom deal to overturn the results of the last election without seeking the consent of voters. They want to take power, not earn it,” Harper said.
Harper moves to avoid political showdown
Last Updated: Friday, November 28, 2008 | 10:00 PM ET
CBC.ca
Is it any surprise that Stephen Harper tried “to take power without an election” in 2004? The same scenario in reverse, is playing out now and it’s not to Prime Minister Harper’s liking!
According to a recent CBC report by Keith Boag, Stephen Harper wrote to the Governor General in 2004, when the then Martin minority government was about to dissolve into an election. He asked her to consider “all of her options,” before calling an election. And now, the tides have turned, and it’s his minority government being called into question by the Opposition. Funny, how what comes around, goes around.
The difference here is that the Opposition appears likely to succeed now, where Stephen Harper failed in 2004. If only he’d governed like a true leader, and collaborated with the Opposition a little in a time of crisis, we might not be facing a constitutional crisis as well as an economic one.
We listened to The Sunday Edition on CBC radio this morning. It was quite a depressing, and scary reality check about what’s going on in Ontario as a result of the automakers financial disaster. It gave Len and I both pause to consider how lucky we are to even have job prospects, and enough youth to adapt quickly to something new. As much as it pains me to go back to work and leave the kids in someone else’s care, at least we have a chance to keep our house, and feed our family.
The people in the automaker industry in the East, as we’ve seen in the logging industry here, are going to really suffer, if they aren’t already. And the retail and food industries that rely on their good wages? Well, it just means everyone is going to struggle.
This whole idea of struggle has never really hit home for me. I am of a generation that has never really seen hard times. I was in University when we had our economic slowdown. Yes, I had to compete with hundreds of applicants for a job in the mail room, fresh out of University, but that seems like a cake walk compared to what we’re facing now.
Let’s hope that this constitutional crisis brings about a government, and a Prime Minister that understands what this kind of economic crisis really means! Let’s hope they are ready to do whatever it takes to help families get through this mess, and ensure that we don’t end up with the lasting effects of poverty dismantling the progress Canada has made over the last few decades. Here’s hoping…
You might