I have to admit that I am much less interested in Canadian politics than I am in american politics. It is obvious to me that hope for the survival of western civilization lies in what happens in the United States more so than it does in Canada, Europe or anywhere else for that matter. Sure we like to fool ourselves with the conceit that we as Canadians make a difference in world affairs that somehow the whole world is keeping its eyes on that glorified sheep farm called Ottawa and as such we disport ourselves in a manner that belies our insignificance.
However, occasionally I am tweaked by the farce that passes for democracy in this country, not so much for the audacity displayed by our ruling class in committing their outrages, but in the lack of caring displayed by the citizenry as a whole. I have never encountered a people prouder of its ignorance than that displayed by the average Canadian voter and I say this as someone who has resided in a number of countries other than Canada.
The past 12 years have been remarkable in that we have learned that our government has robbed us blind, literally stealing millions of taxpayer dollars to further their own political future and to reward their supporters. We have seen billions of dollars disappear into programs that yield little or no results and no one is held accountable for the outcome. We have seen our healthcare system decline to the point that patients are actually dying because the waiting times between diagnosis and treatment have grown from weeks to months and will likely stretch into years at the current pace.
The government has collected so much in taxes over the last decade that year in and year out the Ministry of Finance is showing an annual surplus in the $10 billion range, which belies its own forecasts of $2 billion. Surplus monies are not returned to the taxpayers in the form of tax cuts nor are they used to retire the national debt. Instead they are funneled into government controlled foundations that are outside the scope of parliament and do not fall under the authority of the auditor general, meaning that currently the government has somewhere on the order of $50-60 billion squirreled away in these foundations and we have no say in what is to be done with the money.
Last spring Parliament passed a "non-confidence" motion against the government and under parliamentary rules, the prime minister was obligated to dissolve his government and call an election. Yet he refused to do so, arguing that the non-confidence vote didn’t count, based on a point of procedure. Then he topped the cake by bribing an overly ambitious, naïve opposition member into crossing the floor and joining his caucus as a cabinet minister, despite her obvious shortcomings. as a final insult he stalled off defeat of his government by waiting until two opposition members were unable to attend a budget vote because of cancer surgery, which ensured that the budget passed by one vote.
Finally, he has appointed as Governor General of Canada a non-entity from Quebec who holds dual citizenship in France (!) as well as Canada and who through evidence on film has expressed separatists sympathies. So the Queen’s representative in Canada is a French citizen with Marxists leanings who isn’t too keen on Canada remaining a united country.
I could go on, but I am sure I’ve made my point: THE GOVERNMENT IS OUT OF CONTROL! I am not surprised at this, as most governments, if not kept in check, do have a tendency to grab as much power as its citizens allow them to. What surprises me is the fact that the approval rating of the current government is as high as it is and that there doesn’t appear to be any indication that the voters are prepared to make a change. That’s a scary phenomenon which will very likely result in even more outrageous behavior on the part of the government.
Historically, leftists and socialists account for substantially more totalitarian measures (including deaths) than fascists. I would not put it past the likes of Paul Martin and the rest of the felony section of parliament to someday find the need for elections to be redundant. It seems to me that their progressively more undemocratic actions over the past year or so could be a dress rehearsal for a complete Soviet-style takeover. and the way this country’s voters are behaving is one of the main ingredients that could make it possible.
We would all be well advised to remember that famous quote ascribed to Edmund Burke: "all that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing".