I have been thinking about C-38 and whipped votes. I find this situation disturbing on so many levels. C-38 passed in the House of Commons without one single amendment!
This happened because the Conservative MPs voted en masse against every one of the 871 amendments brought forward (suggested) by opposition MPs. While I understand the frustration our leaders must feel with some of the tactics of the minority opposition, clearly frustration shouldn’t be the governing emotion when it comes to governing Canada! The very idea that a more than 400-page document could not be improved upon by even one single, solitary comma is absolutely ludicrous!
It follows, then, that what we are witnessing is a complete breakdown in the democratic process, which was established to prevent a single authoritarian figure from dominating and bullying everyone into straight manageable rows!
The whipped vote, not allowing anyone to vote according to the dictates of his own conscience ... or for that matter the wishes of his own constituents, makes a complete mockery of democracy all by itself.
Then, the contempt displayed publicly by the prime minister in refusing to consider any other opinion other than his own is frankly shocking! I am sure that he is doing what he believes to be the best thing for the economy, hence the people of Canada, and there is a time for a steady hand on the tiller, but allowing a few minor adjustments to such a ponderous document would have sent the welcome signal that we are not all about to embark on a voyage into one man’s dream!
And even if future history books prove Mr. Harper’s vision to be the correct one for the country, just what exactly is in place to prevent a future dictator with less admirable intentions from using the same tactics for less noble purposes? Apparently not a single bloody thing!
Doug Martens
Teslin