Harper Proroguing Parliament again

[Second_in_pie]

If the governor was not there could parliament be closed?

What would it take to get rid of the governor?, this remnant of colonialism...

Umm "get rid of the governor?" Truth be told, all our heads of state and ultimate holders of power don't do anything. Theoretically, the Governor General could totally disregard the PM's wishes and destroy the current government, but it's not happening. Hell, she could stay home and eat ice cream while Parliament waits to be opened in the morning, but she doesn't do that. People should stop talking about stuff like this as though the PM pleads the Governor General to allow Parliament to be ended. It's more like "Ok, I'm closing Parliament, so now your job is to wave a stick and make it happen."

 

[GraphicMatt]

We'd still need some kind of Head of State, unless we adopted a U.S.-style presidential republic system, which is a terrible idea for many reasons.

I don't think Michaelle Jean has any blame here. The PM was well within his rights to prorogue. It's still a dick move, though, and one Canadians should be rightly pissed off about. The thing that sucks most is that there's no reasonable opposition to the CPC at the moment so an election will only benefit Harper.

An effective opposition leader would use this, and about a dozen other terrible things Harper and his party have done in the last few months, gain support, call an election, and finally put a bullet in this lame excuse for a governing party.

Edit: Though the GG is blameless here, I don't think the same is true for her decision to accept Harper's prorogue last year. That was the wrong move.

 

[LAz]

Have some sort of speaker could replace the governor, I think.


I don't think that the conservatives would win much by a new election... they might gain or lose a few seats. The thing that it would do is hurt the liberal party.




I really wish that old progressive conservative existed again.

I also wish that there was proportional representation everywhere but in quebec.

 

[Second_in_pie]

Have some sort of speaker could replace the governor, I think.

Umm so what's the Governor General now? Right now, the Governor General is our official unofficial international representative. Technically, she's supposed to be flying the Canadian colours at things like international summits, visiting the troops and as a parle-er with foreign countries to boost cooperation and other stuff. IMO, she should actually have more of that unofficial, showy power. The PM has enough to worry about, and if our head of state could sort of bulldoze the way ahead, it'd make it a lot easier for a (responsible,) PM to sow the seeds of progress, or trade, or whatever.

I also wish that there was proportional representation everywhere but in quebec.

How bout as exact proportional representation as possible? Merge some smaller rural ridings, and make new urban ones. Right now, the average Canadian riding contains about 130k people. The average GGH riding has over 200k people. Considering that the cities have the highest concentrations of Liberal and NDP voters, that creates a big inequality.
But I think it all comes down to the fragmentation of the political system. If each party worked together for progress through the entire country based on a certain ideology, things would be getting done. Instead, it's one party for one thing (Conservatives currently clinging to resource development in the West, Liberals Quebec-Windsor-centric, Bloc Quebecois obvoius.) The NDP are really the only party that's evenly spread out their agenda, but they're too far left and supporters are too mixed in in ridings dominated by other parties that they're currently a poor choice.

And why don't you want proportional representation in Quebec? That sounds kind of unfair and undemocratic, if you ask me. Giving them less of a vote is only going to make the wound deeper.

 

[old boy]

This is what happens when Canadians accept default governments like the Reformers, a party which has focused, but very limited core support. Which is all well and good if you believe God has chosen the US and Israel and little wee Canada as his picks. Damn the torpedoes. The GG is a joke for heaven's sake. We got an Olympics goin on here , don't yuh know !

 

[Admiral Beez]

Were you a-ok with the prospect of the NDP-LPC-BQ coalition becoming the government last year?

I certainly was, from a parliamentary point of view. Coalitions are okay by me. Now, this one would have been a disaster for the Liberals, but that's their decision.

 

[LAz]

And why don't you want proportional representation in Quebec? That sounds kind of unfair and undemocratic, if you ask me. Giving them less of a vote is only going to make the wound deeper.

I figure that quebec is in a way like an ethnic homeland, while the rest of canada is much mixed up with various different groups.
Since the french percent in canada has been falling steadily for many many decades, I think that they should not be pressured to have proportional representation through which their % of the population, and thus percent of parliament, is bound to decrease. Keeping them under the status quo would ensure that their political party, BQ, stays around and thrives, and that their voice will not diminish as national policy continues to increase the population in the western provinces.


If you want I could try to dig up some data from the last 100 er so years of the french percent in canada continually declining. I think it's in some geography of US&Canada book...



edit:
Is it anyhow possible to revive the old progressive conservative party? I think that would be the ideal way to crush harper.

 

[Admiral Beez]

Is it anyhow possible to revive the old progressive conservative party? I think that would be the ideal way to crush harper.

There is only one way to crush Harper. And that is through a merger of the Liberals and the NDP, to create a new left-of-centre party. If this new party is progressive and welcoming enough to Quebec, much of the Bloc support may go its way. Otherwise, you have a united conservative vote against a scattered opposition of two or three parties fighting for the same voter. Really, Canada would be best served in the UK model, wherein the Liberals vanished, while the Conservatives and Labour, offering clear alternatives to each other continue to thrive.

 

[afransen]

That's not the only way. I see two others:

-After another four or five years of Harper (say he wins another minority in the next election), people will begin to tire of his shenanigans and his style of politics. Canadians might get serious about climate change. The centrist voters that have so far defected to the Conservatives could quite easily switch back to the Liberals, and we could see a Liberal minority with as little as a 5% swing from CPC to LPC. Even larger, or with a disillusioned Tory base, and we could easily have a Liberal majority.

-Quebeckers get tired of the current state of play and switch from BQ to Liberal or NDP. Similarly, the LPC makes a comeback in BC due to NDP stupidity (perhaps the NDP replaces the Campbell government in three years).

 

[picard102]

The only way we'll get rid of Harper is if the opposition get's some worthwhile leaders.

 

[Benc7]

Canadians Against Proroguing Parliament-Rally

Protests are being organized across the country.


http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=227662474562&ref=nf

 

[toraerach]

If the governor was not there could parliament be closed?

What would it take to get rid of the governor?, this remnant of colonialism...

If the Governor General was not there, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court takes on her responsibilities. If she's gone too, there's someone to take over for her, etc.

To get rid of the position of the Governor General, you would need a constitutional amendment. A constitutional amendment that would affect the position of the monarchy requires all ten provinces to sign off on it - getting the all of the provinces to agree on anything is hard to begin with, but amending the constitution is particularly difficult. They would demand concessions, they would disagree, would try to compromise, etc. By the time the amendment package was complete, it would have very little to do with the monarchy. Even then, a referendum would probably have to be called (although not required by our written constitution, a referendum has been written into our unwritten constitution if that makes sense). Basically, you'd be opening up a whole can of worms, trample on a bunch of people's toes, and probably not accomplish anything but rile up regional antagonisms (see the Meech Lake or Charlottetown disasters).

I doubt you fully understand Canada's system of goverment (as evidenced by you not even knowing the GG's title). I also doubt you have any background whatsoever in Canadian constitutional theory or history. What you see as a remnant of colonialism, many Canadians see as part of our heritage. And even if the monarchy was replaced, the position of the Governor General wouldn't really change all that much. She might have a new title and she would officially become head of state, but she'd still have to do whatever the PM said unless we completely abandonned the Westminister system of government and moved to a presidential (i.e. American) or semi-presidential system (i.e. French).

 

[Roy G Biv]

Nope. Even though I voted Liberal and have consistently done so Federally.

But it was completely democratic, and a shining example of the parliamentary system at work....

 

[Second_in_pie]

The only way we'll get rid of Harper is if the opposition get's some worthwhile leaders.

Even if the Liberals had a half competent leader, I'm sure they'd be able to call and win an election before September.

Right now, the party is in by far the best position of all the Canadian parties. Their policy is for a rocketing growth of infrastructure for economic possibilities, a diversified economy, and a huge greenifying of the nation, all at a national and multiregional level. The only problem is that their past 2 leaders have been rather unpopular, with Ignatieff totally destroying the party's chances at what could have been an easy coalition at least. IMO, Dion could have done much better, and would have actually made a not half bad, forward and nationally thinking PM. That's not to say he wasn't without his flaws, but as long as a better leader came along within a couple of years, he would've done well to get us back on our feet.

 

[Roy G Biv]

Right now, the party is in by far the best position of all the Canadian parties.

? They have fundraising problems and nobody know what they stand for. Perhaps you're saying they have nowhere to go but up?

Their policy is for a rocketing growth of infrastructure for economic possibilities, a diversified economy, and a huge greenifying of the nation, all at a national and multiregional level.

Perhaps they should tell people outside the party.... Canadians cannot distinguish between Harper's economic policies, and those of the Liberals, and it has nothing to do with being ignorant.