The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Pomp and Circumstance It was all pomp and circumstance at the reading of Speech from the Throne to re-open parliament last week. A marching honour guard helped with the occasion and the delivery of the speech was carried out extremely well by Governor General Michaelle Jean. The government changed the time of the event from the usual early afternoon time slot to prime time, and obviously obtained more viewers. The Liberals were not happy that their leader got a late time to give his one-sentence statement, but they are not happy in general with the unpopular Stephane Dion. With his party in single polling digits in Quebec outside of Montreal, the non-leader leader still wanted to defeat the government on the Throne Speech, according to leaks from the Liberal Caucus, but was voted down by a majority who fear an election. It's so bad for the Liberals that there is talk of them winning only three or four seats in Quebec, as they have been replaced by the Tories as the Bloc's main threat outside of Montreal. Apparently Dion still thinks he can win or perhaps thinks it is better now than later, or maybe he wants to lose and get out. The day after the speech, Dion made an impassioned 45-minute speech attacking the Conservatives' plans but refuses to defeat them for obvious reasons. Prime Minister Stephen Harper quipped that Dion is reminiscent of a university professor who writes negative comments all over your term paper but then passes you anyway. Dion was urged by the irresponsible NDP and Bloc to join them in defeating the government, but they are really only after Liberal blood and hope to make gains at Dion's expense. Why the Bloc is acting this way is amazing to observers, as the real danger to them outside Montreal is certainly the Harper government. NDP leader Jack Layton is the same old Jack, demanding we pull out of Afghanistan, bring in policies for the poor, etc., and becoming more and more critical of the government. He has been emboldened by his recent by-election win in Montreal and by the Liberals' demise. Layton is also looking over his shoulder at the Green party, who may be poised to steal his votes. Refused The Liberals, as expected, refused to vote against the Harper plan, even though they are opposed to his environmental proposals and keep harping back to the now dead Kyoto pact. They haughtily claim that they know the Canadian public does not want an election. Translation: We can't win! Recent polling certainly confirms Dion's distaste for an election. Nationally, polls show the Liberals are at 27 per cent support and are eight points behind even in Liberal-friendly Ontario. With Harper at over 40 per cent support, it could be majority time, but it is highly unlikely an election will be called. After all, the Tories can now govern as if they have one. The Throne Speech itself was really a rehash of Conservative plans and no surprise to the Opposition or anyone else. The speech emphasizes a renewed attack on crime and criminals, which most voters favour and the Opposition dares not defeat. As well, there are more tax cuts, support for the Armed Forces, an assertion of Canada's Arctic sovereignty, human rights protection for aboriginals, and a different approach to the greenhouse gas issue. One aspect of the speech that everyone can support is the honourary citizenship to Burma's embattled opposition leader - a slap in the face to the brutal leadership in that country. The speech was really not that radical, despite of the Opposition's rants, and seems to have earned the support of the voting public, if one can believe the polls. The Liberals say they will not vote on the measures, which many feel is an abrogation of their responsibility as Opposition. In any case, Harper is in a win-win situation, at least in the short term. Roger's Right Corner runs Wednesdays.
