Get Fitted For Snowshoes
With tonight's non-confidence vote in the House of Commons, Canada's 38th Parliament is no more. The vote will go into the books as 171-133, and while expected, it is still historically significant. Paul Martin's government is the fifth in Canada to be defeated on a vote of no confidence, but the first on a motion presented by the opposition. Congratulations, Paul.
The whole spectacle was somewhat surreal. Procedurally, it was anti-climactic. After the opposition parties registered their Yea votes and the resolution had passed, we got to see the Liberals go through the motions of standing up to be counted for their Nays. And they tried to milk every second out of it, paying special tribute to their MP's who won't be running this time around. The loudest ovation was for Jean Augustine, the first black woman ever elected to the Canadian Parliament, who is stepping aside to allow Michael Ignatieff to run in Etobicoke-Lakeshore. (That's a curious move from the party of multi-culturalism, unless they consider it ethnically diverse to have American, anti-Ukranian, pro-torture war hawks in their caucus.) Then, after the vote, both of the major party leaders addressed their caucuses in scenes that resembled part post-election party, part Hitler Youth rally. (Relax, Tories. I'm referring to both parties.)
There will be lots of time to anticipate the election, analyze the campaign and ridicule the parties as they fall over each other to get an edge. But right now, I think it's important to note what happened immediately after tonight's vote in Parliament. Members of all parties crossed the floor to shake hands with their opponents. Even after all the harsh rhetoric leading up to this moment, and before it would continue as the campaign kicks off, there was still time for our politicians to recognize each others' humanity and commiserate over the tough campaign to come. Good night, Ralph. Good night, Sam. That should serve as a reminder of the kind of country we want, and of the minor miracle that it is.
posted by Jaymeister at 11/28/2005 11:55:00 p.m.
6 Comments:
Yep... and Harper's at it already.
Why doesn't he call his campaign "Back to the 50's"?
OTTAWA (CP) _ Conservative Leader Stephen Harper would try to reinstate the traditional definition of marriage if Parliament supported the move in a free vote.
Harper says he would not rein in cabinet ministers as Paul Martin did last summer when Parliament legalized same-sex weddings.
The Tories would restore the traditional definition of marriage _ between one man and one woman _ if that's what MPs decide.
I see this as an attempt to shore up the conservative base. Nobody has ever made a compelling argument for why this is so vital to the country or how it would protect or enhance the marriages of heterosexual couples. But it's probably a no-lose for Harper, because this isn't a critical issue for most Canadians who are tolerant of gay marriage. They see other things as higher priorities. Meanwhile, the people who want "traditional" marriage will be motivated, and they will still be motivated after the vote is defeated by most members of the other three parties. Harper could then say, "At least I tried."
I was very happy to see the two whips shake hands on their way in. Kinda like seeing a handshake before a UFC bout.
Did you guys see who's on the cover of the latest Macleans Magazine?
And he's billed as the "most powerful man in Canada."
http://www.macleans.ca/
By the way, Macleans is now edited by Ken Whyte, a conservative!
And he will continue to be the most powerful as long as there is a minority government situation.
I would agree with that assumption. If we project a Conservative minority his place at or near the top will continue for quite a while.
The only reservations I have to the moniker is that his much hearalded budget with the Libs only produced monies far on into the future which we can all assume the Libs were going to quash, just like the corporate tax cut.
Good on him though. He has done a really good job with what he has. As the Dippers move out of the treehouse and into the big boy world, he is going to have a lot more trouble at it. (eg: unionized factory is threatened by environment standards that are going to prove to be untenable, what will he do? that kinda thing).
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