Not a Coup! (Canadian Politics)

Those of you following Canadian politics lately, know that the proposed Coalition Government between the NDP and Liberal party cannot be defined as a Coup, and it is LEGAL. The Majority of Canadians did not vote for the Conservative party. The Conservative party is running a minority government where 37 percent of Canadians voted for him. That means 63% of Canadians voted for other parties, Liberal, NDP, Bloc, or independent.

Harper's government no longer has the backing of Parliament yet he is still governing. Yes, an election occured 2 weeks ago and they won (again!), but his tabled budget faced a lot of opposition from the rest of Parliament. This budget cut spending in a time of recession, and offered little economic stimulus. If we are to break out of a recession, Canadians must be encouraged to spend. How has Harper addressed this? He has not.

The budget hoped to make striking by federal employees illegal, until 2010/2011. They tried to eliminate funding to Opposition parties, which may have bankrupt a few smaller parties. They have proposed that women should not be able to sue for pay equity... instead they pass the responsibility to the employer and unions, rather than to government and courts. The budget makes cuts on spending, but then, it proposes to use the saved money to reduce Canada's debt, rather than by investing the money to help stimulate the economy. Canada's economy needs to start moving; spending and investing is the way to get ourselves out of recession. Harper missed the mark. A surplus budget, while good, needs to be invested and used in a way that will help Canada's economy.

With this budget, the Opposition parties have decided that Harper has no idea how to stimulate the economy. Harper cannot rule anymore. The NDP and Liberal parties were to form a Coalition government, with the support and backing of the Bloc Quebecois. The Bloc were not to be part of the coalition, but they would not vote against it.

The way the media covered the proposed coalition was slanted against the coalition, mainly because of the fear that a Coalition government BACKED by the Bloc Quebecois would be the ruin of Canada as a whole. How can a Coalition NDP-Liberal government run Parliament, with the backing of the Bloc Quebecois? They are a separatist party? How can such a thing happen?

Well here is news for some of you. The Bloc have not run on a separatist platform for many many many years. They have known for some time that if they ran their platform on Quebec separatism that they would lose. What the Bloc are to the French Quebecois, are protectors of their rights and culture. They are no longer as large a threat for separatism as English Canada believes. The Conservatives have won with their scaremongering.

The Governor General, as representative of the Queen, chose to support Harper's proposal to postpone Parliament until mid-January. At Parliament's return, a new budget will be tabled. The Coalition still hopes to bring down the Conservative government. We all wait to see what will be presented, and how the Opposition will react.

I, for one, am ready to move on with an interim Coalition government. It is legal, and 63% of Canadians voted for the Opposition members. How is that undemocratic? What we are facing now, is not a coup. It is history in the making!