Dion & Layton - The Destruction of Canada’s Economy at the Hands of Opportunists

Markets do not love uncertainty. They do not gravitate toward it. In fact, they abhor it. At the beginning of this decade, the Western world watched on in horror as Argentina collapsed under a series what seemed to be Governments of the Week. When stability returned, so did much of the Argentine economy, though of course the previous instability still took its toll. Now, as we head toward the close of this decade, Canada's economy may well become undone, not because of underlying economic factors (as was partially the case with Argentina), but because of a climate of political instability brought about by a small group of power hungry individuals who in the past week have shown just how little they care for the welfare of the nation.

Canada’s economy is diverse and heavily bolstered by natural resources that are true staples of economic activity. Canada, as a nation, has the potential to be resilient even in times of worldwide economic crises. Diverse regions of the country are, in turn, an energy powerhouse, a prime resource of pulp and paper, a plentiful bastion of vital food supplies and a warehouse of precious metals. If political stability continues, Canada can be a rare light during what may be dark financial years for the West. That’s if other countries have faith in the stability of the government that they are trading and negotiating with.

The Liberals, NDP and the Bloc originally spoke of establishing their proposed junta for a minimum of two and a half years. The Bloc then decided to sign on for only 18 months. If history is to provide any true indicators, as history so invariably does, of such a coalition’s longevity, six months should be considered an optimistic stretch. After all, it won’t take much for the Liberals to resort to the arrogant tactics that so alienated the NDP from them in the past, Jack Layton is hardly a bedrock of stability and the Bloc may last mere weeks, if not days, with Dion before it decides that his Maytime replacement can’t come soon enough.

At the height of absurdity is he Liberals’ claim that the Conservatives ignored the demands of the economy. How? By asking all federal parties to forego taxpayer subsidies, a move that would have hurt their own party the most?! And in case anyone has any doubt as to the nature of this blatantly Machiavellian grab at power, the Conservatives were willing to meet all of the Liberal economic demands to avoid what will no doubt be the ensuing economic chaos. The answer they received: “Sorry, no thanks, we’re power hungry!”

Political turmoil doesn’t bolster the value of a nation's currency, it ruins it, causing mass inflation at home. Political turmoil isn’t conducive to the negotiation of needed treaties, it precludes them from coming about. Political turmoil doesn’t strengthen Canada’s voice in international affairs, it all but renders it impotent on the world stage. And as is always the case during an economic meltdown, the damage will be most felt by the middle class. Canadians must ask themselves: Is all this worth going through just to give Dion his coveted title of Prime Minister and Liberals their coveted “entitlement” to power?

Stephane Dion has been openly musing about bringing down the government since Oct. 14th and Jack Layton spent part of this summer attending dirty trick seminars hosted by Howard Dean, a fact that we were recently reminded of in a piece by Judi McLeod. Their plans are not in Canada’s interest and Canadians should not be forced to pay the price.

Today, Judi McLeod and Arthur Weinreb wrote a Canada Free Press op-ed on why the Tories must call an election. They make a compelling case. It is also vital to Canada’s economic interest that this suggestion be acted upon.

Please Write to The Governor General and your MP

(Canada Free Press, Dec. 2)

Rescuing Democracy While Standing Up to Liberal Fraud Artists

In case anyone’s forgotten why the Liberal Party of Canada is so despised, to the point that its campaign airplane was dubbed “Air-o-gant” during the their most recent era of dominance by the usually sympathetic and ideologically paired media, Jean Chretien is back to remind us. What’s more, he’s brought along Michael Ignatieff and Bob Rae to boot, in a move that will forever tarnish, if not altogether ruin, their political reputations.

There was no doubt that Stephane Dion was up to something right after the election. When he heard that he’d lost it actually came as a surprise to him. The fact that his defeat was as much of a surprise as that of Joe Clark (or Jimmy Carter’s for US readers) in 1980 did nothing to soften the blow. He may have been the only one in the country to be dumbfounded, but he was dumbfounded nonetheless.

At the time, I expected him to try to mull over a non-confidence motion against the federal budget in February, be talked out of it by his caucus (as they’d threaten to withhold support), and move on. This would have been an insane move in and of itself, but he all but said that this was his plan, as smacking of desperation as it may be. But the stunt he pulled today is truly surprising for the magnitude of its depravity. It’s one thing to be desperate. It’s another to be clinically insane.

Now, just six weeks after garnering the lowest percentage of the vote in Liberal history, Dion is trying to unseat what is only the second Conservative government to win back to back mandates since 1962. What’s more, it’s not going to work in his favor. Even if he succeeds, the Bloc has demanded that Rae or Ignatieff be named leader before any coalition deal is executed. Thankfully for those two, Jean Chretien’s back to push through their scheme and personally anoint one of the two to take the place of Dion with or without the latter’s agreement; a sad fate for this escapade’s most notable instigator.

So the Liberals are not only willing to usurp the will of the people just six weeks after an election. (Hey, what else is new?) They’re also willing to silence the voices of their own party members, those who actually pay for the privilege, without whom the Liberal Party would be forced to apply to their Democratic cousins in the US Congress for a chunk of the bailout. The membership will not get a chance to elect their leader. Why, there’s Jean Chretien for that. It kind of reminds one of how Chretien ran the country for a decade.

And if that’s all they were doing it would be bad enough. But this is the Liberal Party of Canada we’re talking about. So wait, there’s more!

The non-confidence motion being tabled offers the following reason for the overthrow of the recently reelected Tories: “The government’s failure to recognize the seriousness of Canada’s economic situation and its failure in particular to present any credible plan to stimulate the Canadian economy.” Now that’s just Liberal-speak. Here’s the true reason. All of the opposition parties, all leftists by the way, are mad that the Tories want to cut the $1.95 per vote of the public’s money that each party gets to spend according to their political heart’s desire. It doesn’t matter that the Tories, who received the greatest share of votes, are hurting themselves first and foremost by doing so. The pampered members of the leftist elite are upset that their perks are getting cut too. That’s what happens when you try to take back a lollypop that’s been snatched by a baby, literally.

So as the Tories try to do the fiscally responsible thing, and cut back public funding to all parties, cutting more from their own coffers than from the funding of any other party, the others cry, scream and holler that it’s the Tories who don’t understand the “seriousness of Canada’s economic situation.” What exactly does that mean? That the Tories don’t understand how Liberal, NDP, Bloc and even some unelected Green politicians (yes, the Greens still get money even though they don’t have any seats) are having a harder time affording luxury yacht cruises and five course steak dinners? Oh, the horror. That’s definitely worth overturning the will of the people for. If only they knew how bad things really were.

On a serious note, here’s what Prime Minister Harper needs to do:

• Decry the usurpation of Canada’s democracy at the hands of a few greedy pols. Put them on defense. They don’t want to tarnish their brand forever, so maybe they wont act.
• Use procedural moves, even call new elections if necessary “to avoid the opposition’s usurpation of Canada’s democracy for the narrow interests of a handful of politicians.” (Use that line - It’s the truth, and it’s good for a few seats too.)
• Develop some of the suggestions outlined in Lessons for Canada’s Conservatives – Building a Lasting Base – a strong and lasting base will be needed to alert public opinion to the magnitude of the insanity now underway in the nation’s Capital. The piece also contains some crucial policy suggestions that will be needed to build a large base of reasonable voters.

As for the Liberals, what does the Ignatieff camp have to say about their leading role in the latest blatant attempt to usurp democracy and not just cancel out the votes of the Canadian public, but even take the decision making power away from grassroots members of their own party?

Well this is just a tidbit from an Ignatieff campaign email that discusses the current fiasco. It reads: “Save Canada’s Democracy - Stephen Harper is trying to undermine Canada’s fair and open political system. Take action now!” Now that’s someone on pot calling the kettle a drug addict. Either that, or it’s just more Liberal-speak.

(Canada Free Press, Nov. 28)