A rather petulant prime minister Harper says that his hand is being forced by the unwillingness of any of the three opposition parties to agree to the Tory government being able to implement their as yet unannounced policies, and therefore Parliament is dysfunctional.
So he is being forced to save Parliament, in interest of Canadians, by calling for a new election.
So be it.
Harper’s solution for the dysfunctional Parliament is to call for a Tory majority government. That way he can implement whatever policies might suit him at any time ...
We will soon be at the polls, and the Tories will be running on three things: their need for a majority government so as to cure the dysfunctional Parliament; the Liberals tax grab disguised as the Green Shift; and a rapid series of new policyettes (one a day announcements of small bits of bribery for niche voters).
The Cat’s suggestion to Stephane Dion is that he add another arrow to his election quiver, so that he takes two main thoughts to the voters next week:
- Make sure the Green Shift is in fact a comprehensive global warming program, and not just the tax shift concept; and
- Add another easily understood and highly saleable program, the Parliament for the People Program (or P3).
The Parliament for the People program will achieve two very important things.
It will enable the Liberals to counteract the guerrilla warfare policyette-a-day the Tories will be using (as they did last time), by giving voters an clear, strong and understandable alternative, easily packaged, and with benefits for all Canadians, which undercuts Harper’s ridiculous ‘give me a majority to avoid dysnfunctionality’ argument.
It will also undercut the Tory arguments that Dion is an indecisive leader, while Harper is the real man in Canada.
The Parliament for the People Program Dion should unveil later this week, when the election writ is dropped, should contain a commitment from the Liberals, and personally from Dion, that should the Liberals form the next government (whether it is a minority or a majority one), they will immediately start working on the three elements in the P3 and present implementation plans to the voters within 18 months, that is, by no later than June 30, 2010.
The Parliament for the People Program has three elements:
- Make Parliament Work (MPW);
- The Gender Equality Promise (GEP); and
- Modified Proportional Representation (MPR).
Dion should commit to striking three panels (with members from all the parties, including the Green Party) and with appropriate non-partisan members as well) which will be charged with tabling with the Liberal government within 12 months (by no later than August 2009), recommendations on proposals for each of the above initiatives, which will be subject to three separate plebiscites by no later than June 30 2010 by all voters.
If any of the three plebiscites is approved by voters, Dion is to commit to take steps to implement them asap.
The Make Parliament Work (MPW) initiative will contain proposals to prevent Parliament becoming dysfunctional, and should address issues such as restoring dignity to Parliamentary debates (with a stricter code of conduct for MPs, and greater power to the Speaker); by giving individual MPs greater power to initiate bills and to vote on certain types of bills; and by adding teeth to the lobbyist rules to shut the loopholes which Harper so cynically shoehorned into his so-called accountability laws).
The Make Parliament Work initiative will sweep Harper’s half-measures aside, and firmly place the Liberals on the side of the ordinary Canadian, who wants his or her Parliament to work properly, and for Canadians, not just special interests or for the politicians.
The Gender Equality Promise (GEP) panel will table proposals to ensure that we end up with the morally proper number of female MPs within a short period. This GEO panel should be instructed to pay particular attention to steps taken in several European states to achieve gender equality in parliament. Those countries are more advanced democratically than America and Canada are, in this area.
The Gender Equality Promise will energize women throughout the country, and is simply an extension to the federal level of certain values adopted by the Liberal Party.
The Modified Proportional Representation (MPR) panel will be tasked with coming up with such a proposal for federal elections, with the proposal being put to a plebiscite so that, if it is passed, it can be used in the next federal election.
The MPR will make Canada more democratic, and enable its Parliament to function properly by forcing every party to consider more than just its own particular narrow base of support.
Mr. Dion, these two arrows in your election quiver will enable you to seize control of the election agenda, by running hard on a reform program.
