Canadian Conservative Coward

8 Random Items for 12/5/2008 #6

Basically, Canada's Prime Minister, Stephen Harper, is a raging a-hole. After ascending to the prime minister following elections about two months ago, he attempted to accomplish two things. First, he tried to cut off all public funds for members of opposition parties (the conservatives in Canada don't rely on public funds as much because they receive much dough from the rich and corporations) and he is attempting to be the Herbert Hoover to their recession.

So, three of the other major parties, the Liberals, the New Democrats, and the Bloc Québécois have agreed to a no confidence vote on the conservatives in power that they were hoping to have on Monday. This would allow these three parties to form a coalition government and take over executive responsibilities or, less likely, would force new elections.

Showing the respect that conservatives all over the world have for democracy, Harper appealed to the Governor General, Canada's representative of Queen Elizabeth II as head of state, to suspend parliament until January. The Governor General is, of course, appointed by the Queen on advice from the prime minister. Yes, an appointed individual has the ability to suspend parliament in Canada.

What happens now? Nobody knows for sure. I expect that Harper will try and take action on the economy to quell the movement against him. However, as a conservative, I think it's safe to say that whatever action he takes on the economy will not be to the benefit of most Canadians.