"Only in Canada, you say?" That’s the line from the Red Rose tea commercial of yesteryear, lamenting the fact that the tea was only available in Canada. Today’s lament is somewhat different, but it still seems a uniquely Canadian state of affairs. I am talking about how Liberal politicians have become so brazen in feathering their own nests that they no longer really care about what the voters think. What they do care about is staying in office.
The most recent example of this tendency toward fluid government policy is Prime Minister Dithers’s announcement that Canada would not be participating with the U.S. in the North american Missile Defense Program. It’s not like the U.S. asked us to actually do something or even to divert a few dollars from the bribes we give to the Quebecois to help fund the program. What the americans were looking for in the missile defense scheme was the same thing they were looking for when they took Saddam out behind the woodshed: moral support.
Stupid americans! Don’t they realize that in order to find moral support you have to look to people that have morals? Certainly Canada’s political elite doesn’t have morals, or ethics, or standards, or even a modicum of courage or conviction. But I digress.
The decision not to participate in the program was made after careful political consideration about which course of action would get the Liberals the most votes in the soon to be held election. Naturally, they played to their power base in southern Ontario, particularly in the GTa, as the prevailing winds there blow fairly anti-american.
Yet rational people might ask, "what’s in Canada’s best interest?" as opposed to "what’s in the Liberals’ best interest?" Does Dithers honestly think that yet one more slap in america’s face is going to improve our lot with our single largest trading partner economically? How will this affect our export of softwood lumber or beef?
Who cares, so long as the Liberals get re-elected. Who cares about farmers and feedlot operators in alberta? They aren’t going to vote Liberal anyway. Who cares about the BC forest industry workers when the province only has 4 Liberal and 25 Conservative seats?
Ironically, the Liberals have very few seats in Quebec, yet it’s important to them to keep Quebecers happy and make sure that Quebec remains a part of Canada. Where else would we find our Prime Ministers if Quebec became a separate country? as I understand it you have to be a citizen of Canada to be Prime Minister.
and that’s what makes this government’s actions reprehensible in the extreme. all of the actions it is taking right now are geared toward one end and one end only: hanging on to power. Does Canada really need a national childcare program and wouldn’t it make a lot more sense if the government did something to encourage families to raise their own kids? Do we really need to legalize reefer, particularly in light of the recent events that took four Mounties’ lives? What about gay matrimony? Is that so pressing an issue that the government can afford to alienate 66 percent of the population? You bet! Because all of these initiatives play to the liberals’ power base, namely Southern Ontario.
It’s a good guess that getting elected to Parliament is a great job, considering the lengths through which people will go to keep getting re-elected. What’s disheartening is that we have Balkanized this country to the point where "Canadian values" happen to coincide with "Liberal values". What’s more, those values do not represent mainstream thought in this country. They represent the values of a snobbish, conceited, supercilious and morally ambiguous elite that’s centered around the GTa and surrounding areas.
In another country behaviour such as that displayed by the Liberals would result in an impeachment or recall and possibly a trial for treason. But here it’s just business as usual. Pity.