Editorials not kind to the coalition, Western premiers not happy

While Warren Kinsella has pointed out that several columnists are calling on Stephen Harper to resign, virtually all except the usual suspects (Toronto’s Liberal Star) are calling this idea of a coalition a terrible idea and undemocratic. Again, I think the Governor General has no choice but to call an election. Canada should not be allowed to be governed by a rejected party headed by a lame duck rejected leader that is relying on the socialists for advice on the economy and a party that does not support Canada as part of the coalition. Harper may have made a major mistake that caused all this, but Dion who damaged the Liberal brand badly in the past campaign has now killed any shred of principle, integrity or pride left for grassroots Liberals with this move. The party is now firmly on the left and has proven willing to sell out Canada for a couple of months in power. Canadians deserve a chance to vote in a new government with consideration of these new revelations from yesterday. Disenfranchised “blue” Liberals can apply for Conservative membership here.

-Darryl

***

Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall

"If any coalition requires formal support from separatists, it's wrong,"

“I do not think what the country needs right now is an unelected government that’s dependent formally on separatists who will have a list of requests that they will have made already for more investment, for some treatment from the federal government ... that’s not in the interests of Canada, that’s not in the interests of Saskatchewan.

“I am still hopeful that heads can come out of their kilts and that the right decisions can be made for the country,”

Alberta Premier Ed Stelmach

"put Canada first and stop the nonsense."

Canada right now needs "sane, prudent leadership dealing with the bigger elephant in the room, which is the global economic crisis,"

***

Led by a loser, bound by the Bloc

It's a personal putsch, not a rational rebellion

Don Martin, National Post Published: Tuesday, December 02, 2008

OTTAWAThe biggest Liberal loser in the party's electoral history, a self-admitted campaign failure who advocated carbon taxes as sound economy policy and lacks significant Western Canada representation, seems set to become prime minister next week.

Forgive them. They know not what they've done.

Giddy opposition party leaders have decreed nothing will stop them from toppling this government next Monday to create the first governing coalition in almost 100 years, a 30-month, three-headed, Liberal-led monster bonded to New Democrats and Quebec separatists by four pages of policy duct tape.

The government's defeat can now only be avoided if Stephen Harper prematurely pulls the plug on the barely started session of Parliament this week. That seems a desperate and shameless tactic that would merely delay the inevitable until early next year and give the fledgling coalition time to solidify.

This means an electorate that cast a third of its votes for the Conservatives will have their representation replaced by a hodge-podge of lowest-common-denominator policies produced almost overnight by parties leaning left and toward leaving.

An election no longer seems to be an option. The coalition, despite lacking any modern precedent, has done an admirable job of building the case for securing the Governor-General's blessing to try to govern until June, 2011, subject to change without notice.

That will put the keys to 24 Sussex Drive in the hands of Stephane Dion, an Official Opposition leader who has already announced his resignation and set May 2, 2009, as the date to crown his replacement.

The three MPs bidding to replace him will be senior ministers in the new Cabinet. Michael Ignatieff, Bob Rae and Dominic LeBlanc will divide their time between governing a country at perilous risk from recession while campaigning hard to win the prime minister's job.

This move is clearly payback for years of facing a Stephen Harper who lay awake at night scheming on ways to eliminate or embarrass the Liberal party without fearing his own vulnerable state as a minority government leader.

That ensures there will be a fury in the land, particularly in the West and specifically in Alberta. Even if New Democrat rookie Linda Duncan of Edmonton becomes the province's token Cabinet minister, replacing the five Alberta Conservatives in power now, the frustration of seeing electorally legitimized power seized by Toronto-based Liberals partnered with separatist forces in Quebec will be revolt-worthy in the West.

While the discipline of power may keep the coalition together, more or less flying in loose formation for perhaps a year or even longer, this is not a system of sustainable government as much as it is a power grab minus a compelling reason to exist.

It circumvents the public's Oct. 14 election verdict for no good reason, given the government has capitulated on every grievance its opponents spotted in the fiscal update. This makes it a personal putsch, not a rational rebellion.

It puts Canada on an uncertain track under leadership that will change again within months. In the meantime, Stephen Harper may well join Stephane Dion as a former prime minister, the price for boneheadedly browbeating his opponents in dangerous times.

The deficit, already accepted as necessary to fight job losses and auto-sector failure, is bound to be larger than expected as the coalition unleashes hefty infrastructure relief, industrial bailouts and unspecified housing construction and retrofitting. No projected price tag was attached to the plan yesterday.

Under coalition control, the government's size likely will bloat to deal with social issues, environmental policy will be hardened against the energy sector, the large number of Senate vacancies will be restacked with mostly Liberal partisans and Quebec appeasement moves will be even more rampant than currently exist.

It must be acknowledged the coalition's organization is more advanced than anyone could have expected, given that the precipitating move, the botched fiscal update, was less than 100 hours old when the accord was signed yesterday afternoon.

There comes a time where an aura descends on political leaders. Stephen Harper always projected confident, unflappable leadership. That changed yesterday when his sagging shoulders and lack-lustre performance gave him the look of a lost cause trying to come to mental grips with his six-week squandering of the largest minority mandate in Canadian history.

It's still an awful hard squint to see Mr. Dion as a prime minister power-sharing with Jack Layton, but it seems likely to become a reality.

Stephane Dion is about to get the ultimate do-over to answer this question:Who actually won the last election?

***

National Post editorial board: The Liberal party's gift to Quebec's separatists

http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/fullcomment/archive/2008/12/02/national-post-editorial-board-the-liberal-party-s-gift-to-quebec-s-separatists.aspx

“What appalls us most about a left-of-centre coalition seizing power in Ottawa is the tacit admission by the coalition partners — the Liberals and New Democrats — that they would pander to the Bloc Québécois to keep themselves in power. Since the Bloc’s stated purpose is the breakup of Canada, any deal that brings it even one inch closer to that goal is an outrageous betrayal of the country.”

“The Bloc’s stature in Quebec can only grow as a result. They will be able to campaign in future elections on all the great advantages and subsidies they have brought to the province. Meanwhile, the special attention raining down on Quebec could exacerbate tensions in the rest of the country. As Michael Bliss notes elsewhere, we are dealing with a political powder keg.

The coalition could be the greatest gift the separatists have ever received. That alone is reason enough to stop it before it begins.”

David Frum: Only the losers will survive Ottawa's game of competitive suicide

http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/fullcomment/archive/2008/12/01/david-frum-only-the-losers-will-survive-ottawa-s-game-of-competitive-suicide.aspx

Imagine Canada 6 months on. There’s a Liberal prime minister. He will head an unstable coalition of Liberals and socialists aligned with separatists. To appease the socialists, he will have to raise taxes. To appease the separatists, he will have to direct disproportionate money and attention to the province of Quebec.

He will have zero democratic legitimacy. He will never be able to use the words, “That’s the job the Canadian people elected me to do.” His government will contain almost no representatives from the west. Everyone will understand that the only issue uniting this government was its members’ eagerness for public money for their own party funds.

“Sooner or later, this government will collapse. Probably sooner. When it does, and faces the people, it will have to bear responsibility for unemployment and budget deficits. It will look desperate and selfish and cynical verging on crooked. It’s hard to imagine any result other than a crushing once-in-a-generation defeat: another 1958 or 1984.”

George Jonas: Coalition may be legal, but also undesireable

http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/fullcomment/archive/2008/12/02/george-jonas-coalition-may-be-legal-but-also-undesireable.aspx

Needless to say, the mere fact that something is legal doesn’t make it either right or desirable. If the endorsement of the Conservatives in the 2008 elections was far from unequivocal, the rejection of the Liberals in general, and their leader, Stéphane Dion, in particular, certainly was. Whatever Canadians wanted six weeks ago when they went to the polls, what they clearly did not want was a Liberal prime minister, especially Stéphane Dion. If this is what they end up getting, constitutional as it may be, it will be a mockery of democracy.

The accord that Jack built

http://www.nationalpost.com/opinion/columnists/story.html?id=2f59c9c7-fac7-47fd-a761-1be09bc20e04

“A small point, perhaps, but a pretty good indicator of where this accord is taking the government of Canada. Under this agreement, Jack Layton and Gilles Duceppe, leader of the Bloc Quebecois, would have their fingers on the policy triggers of the government of Canada. Anyone who thinks they do not intend to squeeze or threaten to pull that trigger now, sending the Liberals scurrying, doesn't appreciate the hardball wing-nuttiness of Mr. Layton and Mr. Duceppe.”

Take my country ... please

The best Christmas gift the Conservatives could get is to lose

“The Liberals will heretofore be known as the party willing to jump in bed with separatists to get their grubby hands on power. Don't you think that will be an interesting talking point to bring into the next election? This will cement the Tories' status as the federalist alternative in Quebec, and the guardian of national integrity in the rest of the country.”

http://www.nationalpost.com/opinion/columnists/story.html?id=f099adf3-c265-4300-b65e-dd0a1a6f10d9

Harper, Dion put politics before national interest

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20081201.weCoalition02/BNStory/politics/home

“It is debatable which is a more dangerous prospect: to place members of a left-wing, labour-beholden party that has never tasted the discipline of power in charge of major economic portfolios, or to hand a gun to a separatist party with the singular goal of advancing the interests of Quebec, and not of Canada. Either scenario would be intriguing for political scientists, and might make for good spectator sport. But a time of economic uncertainty, in which Canadians' jobs, homes and life savings are all in peril, is no time for political games or experiments.”

“It is also necessary to consider the message that Mr. Dion's sudden ascent to the office of prime minister could send to much of the country. Contrary to silly Conservative claims of a coup d'état, coalition-making is entirely within the boundaries of parliamentary democracy. There is no constitutional impropriety here. But there certainly would be a political one. Owing in large part to his now defunct “Green Shift,” Mr. Dion has proved highly unpopular in Western Canada – particularly in resource-laden Alberta and Saskatchewan. What would voters in those provinces make of his elevation to the prime ministership less than two months after they overwhelmingly rejected him? Expect the Conservatives to pour fuel on the resulting regional resentment.”

Monstrous result of an ill-conceived political coupling

http://www.calgaryherald.com/opinion/monstrous+result+conceived+political+coupling/1020723/story.html

“Nevertheless, a government reliant upon the support of a party conceived for no other purpose than to facilitate Quebec's exit from Confederation has the legitimacy of a police force maintaining public order with the assistance of a biker gang under contract. For this reason alone, the Governor General should reject the coalition proposal.”

It's the economy, stupid. Cooler heads must prevail in Ottawa for everyone's sake

http://www.vancouversun.com/opinion/economy+stupid+cooler+heads+must+prevail+ottawa+everyone+sake/1010010/story.html

“The Liberal party, which sees itself as the "natural governing party of Canada," needs to give its collective head a shake and back off from its arrogant attempt to grasp power from the duly elected Conservative government.”

Coalition calamity

http://www.theprovince.com/opinion/coalition+calamity/1019607/story.html

“What is going on in Ottawa is disgusting. If the Liberal Party of Canada and the New Democratic Party get their way, our country will be run by a coalition government that not one Canadian supported in an election.”

Premier speaks for angry nation

http://www.leaderpost.com/opinion/premier+speaks+angry+nation/1020193/story.html

“Wall then added that what Canada absolutely doesn't need right now is "an unelected government that depends on separatists for support." In fact, his most pointed words were aimed at a Liberal-NDP coalition deal that could only function if it were propped up by the Bloc Quebecois.

"If any coalition requires formal support from separatists, it's wrong," Wall said, in response to the lunacy of a NDP and Liberal coalition requiring the Bloc's support and the sanctimony of the Conservatives, who are conveniently forgetting that Harper was every bit as eager to get in bed with separatists and form a coalition to bring down Paul Martin's minority Liberal government.”

Governor General can just say 'No'

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/opinion/westview/35357989.html

“Fortunately, there is a third way, and one that has a good deal of constitutional precedent. The Governor General could simply refuse to accept Harper's resignation, just as prime ministers and premiers in the past have often refused to accept letters of resignation from cabinet ministers. The Governor General could say that accepting Harper's resignation is not in the best interests of the country because it would set in motion a choice between two unacceptable alternatives.

In effect, the Governor General would send Harper back to negotiate an economic package that could secure majority support in the House. She would implicitly instruct the opposition parties to make this Parliament work. She would exercise the discretionary power that the Constitution has wisely placed in her hands. She would just say no.”

Michaëlle Jean cannot be complicit in deal with Bloc

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/opinion/westview/35358239.html

“I do not believe that the Governor General can possibly allow herself to be complicit in such events. If the Conservatives are brought down by a separatist party, Jean would have to accede to the prime minister's request to test the will of Canadians. To refuse to do this would be an abuse of vice-regal power, an abuse that would raise fundamental questions about Jean's loyalty to the Constitution and to Canada. I doubt there is a precedent for such a situation in the history of parliaments.”

Say no way to this power grab

http://www.winnipegsun.com/Comment/Editorial/2008/12/02/7602296-sun.html

“Seven weeks ago, Canadians rejected Stephane Dion as the leader of this nation. Now our politicians want to cast aside the will of the people.

So badly do the Liberals and NDP want to seize the reins of power, they're even willing to work with the separatist Bloc Quebecois.

This must not be allowed to happen.”

Stop selling us out to separatists

http://www.torontosun.com/comment/editorial/2008/12/01/7587161-sun.html

“Our very sovereignty is at stake.

For the first time, a party dedicated to the political destruction of Canada, operating contrary to the wishes of the majority of Canadians outside and inside Quebec, holds the balance of power between competing federalist forces in a minority Parliament. That alone could reignite western separatism and tear Canada apart.

It's un-Canadian and we must demand all these scheming federalist politicians stop selling us out to the Bloc.

They have no right to play Russian roulette with Canada.”

A power play that insults democracy

http://www.ottawacitizen.com/opinion/power+play+that+insults+democracy/1020241/story.html

“Canadian taxpayers, you are entitled to a primal scream. Three of the least credible men in Canadian politics are about to seize control of our government in a virtual coup that is perfectly legal, and perfectly wrong.

Imagine, a government run by the soon-to-be-deposed leader of the Liberals, fresh from a decisive rejection by Canadian voters. What stunning disrespect for democracy Stéphane Dion is displaying. For help, he is turning to the leader of the party that has the fewest seats in the House. Even then, they don't have the numbers to form a government, so they are reaching out to a separatist who doesn't give a damn about anything except Quebec.

It's amazing what three men can accomplish once they choose to abandon all principle. Even though Stéphane Dion, Jack Layton and Gilles Duceppe have dramatically different views on how the country should be run, or even if it should be a country, they have overcome all of that for the shot at power that none of these losers would have had in a sane world. Everyone wins, except Canadians.”

Forget coalition, let the people decide

http://www.montrealgazette.com/opinion/forget+coalition+people+decide/1019409/story.html

“The idea that two parties totalling 114 MPs can supplant a governing party with 144 seems surreal precisely because it is alien to the Canadian tradition; not illegal, but not quite the Canadian way, either. Our constitution, much of it unwritten, includes an element of tradition and practice, and nothing like this has ever happened before federally. Our only other coalition, during the First World War, arose slowly over an issue of substance, conscription, not overnight because parties feared losing their subsidies.

And the country paid a price; Quebec's alienation from Robert Borden's Unionist government rubbed salt in an old, and still-enduring, division in this country. In that context it's worth noting that in the current crisis some commentators are already speaking of damaging feelings of alienation in strongly Conservative western Canada.

So the precedent should not whet anyone's appetite for coalition. The proper way to choose a government for Canada is at the ballot box, not by cabal and closed-door deal. Yes we're all tired of elections, and yes Harper brought this on himself. But all the same, if the Liberals and New Democrats are determined to punish Harper, then Governor-General Michaëlle Jean should issue a writ for a new election. Let the people decide.”

A false pretext

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20081201.wcohartt02/BNStory/politics/home

“Neither Mr. Rae nor Michael Ignatieff should be pleased to see Stéphane Dion anointed as prime minister mere weeks after his humiliation at the polls. What if he decides he likes the job and postpones the planned leadership convention? What policy price would the leadership candidates have to pay by associating themselves with the NDP and the Bloc? What would Trudeau loyalists do when asked to cozy up with those who would destroy Canada? What about those Liberals who are centre-right supporters of our market system, now thrust into liaison with the NDP?

This would be a parody of democracy. To do it on the false pretext that stimulus can't wait when the real motive is far more self-interested, would be asking Her Excellency to participate in a mockery of our system of government.”