Conservative Lies

 
The Conservative Party under Stephen Harper has been spreading false information about how our parliamentary system works. They have been claiming that the transfer of power from the Conservative Party to the coalition under Stéphane Dion is a "coup" and that Dion does not have the right to lead a government.

Why are the Conservatives doing this? There are two possible explanations ...

• They believe what they are saying, in which case they are stupid and ignorant about how parliament works. They don't deserve to be the government.


• They know they are lying but they hope to convince Canadians that they're telling the truth. Because they are liars and because they have such a low opinion of the average Canadian, they don't deserve to lead a government.

Here's the problem. Harper and his Conservatives are doing great harm to the country by spreading lies. They are trying to convince Canadians that we have a US Presidential style of democracy and that he (Harper) was voted in as Prime Minister. Our young people are confused enough about politics without having this kind of false information spread by our Prime Minister.

Peter Russell is a Professor Emeritus in the Dept. of Political Science at the University of Toronto. We have tangled on a number of issues but always with mutual respect (I hope). He is a very smart man and you don't want him to catch you spreading lies about politics. Here's part of his column in today's Toronto Star [Constitution and precedent are on coalition's side].

If there is an alternative government available that has a reasonable prospect of being supported for a period of time by a majority in the House of Commons, she would have reason to decline Harper's request. Harper would then have to resign, and the Governor General would commission Dion to form a government.

If this happens, again there would be no "usurpation" of power but a proper application of the rules and principles of parliamentary democracy. It has been very disturbing to hear over the last few days, from people who should know better, wild unparliamentary theories about our system of government. Elections are not simple popularity contests in which the leader whose party garners the most votes gets all the power.

I am greatly concerned that there is so little public knowledge of the constitutional rules that govern our parliamentary system of government. These rules are not formally written down in a legal text or taught in our schools. Maybe the most important lesson to take from the situation we are now living through is to begin to codify as much as we can of this "unwritten" part of our Constitution and to ensure that it is well taught in our schools.

Harper is wrong. The only remaining question is whether he is stupid or a liar (or both).

Who is to blame for this mess? Peter has the correct answer ....

These precedents and many, many others illustrate the basic point that in parliamentary democracies we elect parliaments not prime ministers, and that the Governor General (or the presidential head of state in a republican parliamentary system) must be advised by ministers who are supported by a majority in the elected house of parliament.

Now let's apply these rules of parliamentary democracy to the situation Canada now faces. After the Oct. 14 election, Stephen Harper remained Prime Minister, formed a new government and prepared to face the House. Although his party had improved its seat total it was still in a minority position in the House. This meant that to continue in office Harper would have to win enough support from the opposition benches to secure the confidence of the House.

For a few days it appeared that Harper would reach out in a conciliatory manner and garner the parliamentary support he needs on order to have the right to govern.

But, to put it mildly, on Nov. 27 just a few days into the session, through his finance minister's economic update, he made an abrupt U-turn. Instead of seeking support from the opposition, his government presented an in-your-face, take-it-or-leave-it position.

The opposition parties – all three of them – decided not to take it. Instead, they announced that they would use their collective majority in the House to vote no confidence in the Harper government and support an alternative coalition government.

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