December 9, 2008
Over the past few weeks we have seen an “awakening” of the political process in our country. Everything has happened so fast that many are wondering exactly what is going on. From the coalition being painted as “being in bed with the Bloc” to Prime Minister (PM) Harper being accused of shutting down the democratic process. Canadians are being “bombarded” with many conflicting ideas.
Let me start by saying that having thought this very carefully, I firmly believe that a Liberal/NDP coalition with support from the Bloc is the best way to address the uncertainty of our times.
You are probably aware that I have never been very partisan and have always welcomed dialogue with those of other political persuasions. As we follow the events of the past few weeks, I am extremely disappointed that the Conservative Government did not make an effort to cooperate with all opposition parties prior to releasing its Economic Update. The PM could have accepted the suggestions of the other parties on how to tackle the economic crisis, and in the spirit of cooperation, proposed a workable plan representing a compromise solution.
Instead, we saw an economic update with no clear action plan and a “wait and see” attitude. While plants close, layoffs climb and the price of a family’s biggest capital asset – their home, plummets. The update attacked fundamental human rights such as pay equity and the right to strike and proposed sell-off of crown assets, many of which help define our Canadian identity. The attack on electoral spending is nothing more than an attack on a cornerstone of many western democracies to avoid political debts to “big money” and give equal voice to the diversity of parties.
I was in the House of Commons when the Liberal and NDP Finance critics and Leaders of the Bloc and NDP responded to Finance Minister Flaherty’s Economic Update. It was a moving moment for me to see the passionate speeches coming from the heart. A serious attempt has been made by the three opposition parties to address the crisis situation. An historic agreement has been struck to present a serious economic stimulus package including rapid support for those most affected. This is not an “opportunistic hand-shake” but the result of serious step-by-step negotiations. I personally heard Ed Broadbent and Allan Blakeney explain how they worked hand-in-hand with former Prime Minister, Jean Chretien and others to make this happen.
It was, and is, a very emotional moment in my life as an MP to finally see political differences put aside for the good of the country. (I have observed in the past that discussions are often made in the best interests of political parties and not the common good).
In our parliamentary democracy, the Government must have the confidence of the House of Commons to function. If it loses this confidence, the Governor General may ask the Opposition to form government or approve the PM’s request for an election. We do not elect a Prime Minister; we elect Members of Parliament who represent us. Traditionally the party with the highest number of MPs forms government. A government may also function when a number of parties get together to form a coalition. It was my hope and many others across this country, that a vote of confidence could be held as part of the democratic process. Instead, the PM chose to prorogue or stop Parliament, effectively shutting down all its work. What this means is that no help will be on the way to stimulate our economy until early in February when the big machine of government starts working again. In the meantime, we will have lost three months of work to turn the economy around, while the Obama Administration is announcing a massive infrastructure spending program.
In addition, the Conservatives have continued their “smear campaign” against party leaders which they started before the last election, and have irresponsibly ignited the national unity debate. This is nothing more than fear mongering, provocative and totally unnecessary. In fact, how can we trust a PM when, as a leader of the Opposition in 2000 and 2004, he was willing to work with the Bloc to bring down the government? At a time when many of us are building bridges with our friends in Quebec, such as the cultural exchange between Nelson and Baie St. Paul, an event that took place this year, the irresponsible statements by Stephen Harper seek to further divide our country.
I must emphasize that the Coalition Agreement is not a merging of the three parties but an agreement to govern by the Liberal and the NDP with assurances by the Bloc that they will not bring down this coalition during votes of confidence until June 30, 2010 i.e. an offer of stability for this period of time.
On December 9th, the Bank of Canada announced officially that we are in a recession. Canadians need hope. We need to feel that we can come together to tackle the issues that are facing our nation. The Campaign for Change has started and will continue over the next 1 ½ months. I invite everyone to become involved and to work with all of us who feel that we can do better to get our country back on track.
We must not give up hope for a better Canada!
Alex Atamanenko, MP
BC Southern Interior