It's Saturday morning and I'm sitting at home in peace, pondering the coffee in my hands and the future of Canada. This morning Stephen Harper visited the governor general to (legitimately, this time) dissolve Parliament, having fallen in a vote of non-confidence. We get to vote in May and I must say I am grateful for this one remaining vestige of a beaten and abused democratic process.
For the first time in the history of our country a government has been held in contempt of Parliament. Harper has steadfastly refused to provide fiscal estimates, estimates only he has, that are necessary for Parliamentarians to be able to govern responsibly and make decisions in the public interest. It is not the first time this despot has shown contempt for democracy and it quite possibly won't be the last.
Despite a mammoth federal government debt of over $560 billion that looms ominously over the Canadian economy and a record setting deficit of $56 billion last year, polls still show the Harper Conservatives have a good chance of returning to power. If that happens, his agenda will continue with unfathomable billions in cost overruns for foreign-made fighter jets we don't need, billions going into prisons to curb crime waves that don't exist and tax breaks for some of the wealthiest corporations in the world.
What are Canadians thinking? Or are they? I wish I knew.
Dave Burkhart, St. Albert
