Either she should have dissolved Parliament and called an election, or she should have given the coalition, which holds a majority of the seats in the House, the chance to govern.

I disagree with this for the following reason: she’s not elected by anyone. She has never stood for election and has received not a single vote by any Canadian.

So: she has this sinecure. Fine.

But don’t think. She is not paid to think. Her opinions are of interest only to the same extent anyone else’s are…any attempt to actually use the power she has on paper is illegitimate.

So, while Harper says that she followed his “advice”, what it comes down to is that she has to do what she is told.

Imagine if you will if these professors were confronted with a situation in which their favorite Party, the NDP, had won more than 140 seats in the House of Commons. Imagine if the NDP had double the seat total of the Conservatives. Imagine what would happen if the Conservatives had then gotten together with two other parties, one of them being an Alberta Only party and then perhaps the Christian Heritage Party, one that would be supporting Capital Punishment and Opposing Abortion. Imagine if the Conservative Party with their right of centre coalition partners including a party dedicated to the Independence of Alberta. Imagine if the Conservatives signed a document with these smaller parties and presented that to the Governor General and said, “We have ourselves a legitimate, constitutional, coalition of elected members who have lost confidence in the government led by Jack Layton. He must face the house. He must face defeat, and we must now come to you Governor General, your excellency and pick up the keys to a new government.”

I wasn’t there on 9/11 but have no doubt that the general population was in the ‘they deserved it’ camp. Canadians are some of the most virulent anti-Americans you will ever meet

This is idiotic. Canada is one of the few countries to be taking real casualties and killing the real bad guys in the war in Afghanistan. I was in Canada on 9/11 (and still am) and opinion was overwhelmingly in favour on the U.S. Canada is not anti-American, but idiotic, uninformed, uneducated, ignorant and moronic comments like yours will be sure to change a few minds.

I wasn’t there on 9/11 but have no doubt that the general population was in the ‘they deserved it’ camp. Canadians are some of the most virulent anti-Americans you will ever meet

Yeah, it’s always a good idea to base an idiotic opinion on here say.

What a slap in the face to those who have supported you during these last 8 years.

Fuck you.

Should read – I would also say look at the crap which goes on the with American elections. Each state having its own rules, not that there is anything particularly wrong woth thi but it does lead to inconsistencies. The right to vote mitigating the most basic requirement to check eligibility.

Some of the practices`found in the USA would be attacked as vote rigging in less advanced societies.

Isn’t the expression “outfoxes” the opposition?

keep the change on December 4, 2008 at 2:07 PM

Not when you’re trading punches in the ring and the other guy clocks you right between the eyes. Or three guys ambush you and you use your muscle to fend them off.

Ed’s use of “Checkmate” nothwithstanding…

Next thing to ponder.. what about MP’s.?? how many got 50% +1??

What about Ujal “Landslide” Dosanjh.. how is he legitimate with his 22 vote win .. what if the losing candidates form a coalition, pool their votes, does he lose his seat???

Points to ponder lefties …

BTW, MrX is full of it re. not having a government for the next two months. 1) the Parliamentary Christmas break begins next week (Friday, I think), so they wouldn’t be sitting from then until late January anyway; 2) the Harper government is still the government with the PM and his cabinet still entitled to make decisions; 3) the 2008 budget runs to May (or April?) 1st using the business calendar and not the ordinary calendar year-end (BTW, it has surplus) so the country isn’t floundering around without a budget or the like; and, “Yes, Prime Minister”, our impartial civil service actually does the work, so no one is going to be going without e.g. a passport or getting pay to the civil service or pensioners or troops in the field or anything else because “there’s no one running the government” (which, in point of fact, there still is anyway–see point 2, above).

MrX
I hear that Canada will not have a Government for the next two months. Good Job! How did you do that? Will you tell your cousins in the lower 48 what we can do to get rid of our government for at least that long. That is a consummation devoutly to be wished!

Plus, jordy2009, get rid of that queen. You are Canada, for crying out loud, and this is almost 2009!

Entelechy on December 4, 2008 at 7:15 PM

The monarchy is one of those checks and balances necessary to prevent tyranny.

If you look at a list of the freest, most prosperous, most democratic nations, they are mostly constitutional monarchies. America is one of the rare exceptions.

But if you look at the bottom of the list, and check out the least free, least prosperous, least democratic nations, you mostly find republics.

And you want us to give up the queen in order to be modern?

Don’t be silly.

Thank Goodness I don’t live in America’s Hat. Parliament is crazy.

Please, Canadians take great offense to that!

They like to call themselves America’s tuque.

I hesitate to call the governor general, Michaëlle Jean, a coward, but her decision, I think, was a poor one. Either she should have dissolved Parliament and called an election, or she should have given the coalition, which holds a majority of the seats in the House, the chance to govern. Instead, in granting Harper’s request, she has gone along with what the Conservatives want, parliamentary democracy be damned, and given them the upper hand in terms of the campaign to come. Basically, she has saved Harper’s sorry bacon, evidently putting his interests before the interests of the country.

The above comment is ludicrous. Canadians just held a national election 6-7 weeks ago and voted Stephen Harper to be their Prime Minister. A national election ended literally, only a few weeks ago! What we have here is a Socialist (Jack Layton) a Separatist (Gilles Duceppe) and a Liberal leader Stephane Dion, who’s own party wants to replace him in a couple months because of his innefectiveness, attempting to overide Canadian voters with a back-room coup d’état! Why did Canadians even bother to vote?? This is nothing more than a communistic political coup/scam by the Three Stooges.

It is a sad day for Canada.

Sure it is. When a nations citizens vote and a few weeks later 3 disgruntled politicians can overturn that vote on a whim it is a sad day for Canada. People should be pouring out on the streets in protest! Unbelievable. Harper should stand firm and fight this all the way!!

THE worst part was when Bush did not mention Canada in his Sept 20 2001 speech to Congress. Even though only a handful of countries were included in the speech, most in Canada took it as an insult. Yet, no one from France, Germany, Italy, Australia, Spain, etc, etc, etc, complained.

Canada is one seriously messed up country. I hope Alberta secedes and takes its rightful place as the 51st State in the Union.

at least…… unlike the USA….. our elections only last 5 weeks……..

jordy2009 on December 4, 2008 at 5:46 PM

Great point. You get no brake on the others, but on this one, you win. Too bad you have so many, though.

Isn’t Drywall a liberal Canadian? I wonder if he works with the Dion media team on speech presentation. Somehow, his name just came to mind.

a capella on December 4, 2008 at 2:31 PM

Same here. I read ‘Queen of Britain, Canadian, no one cares’.

I didn’t say it was. It’s not unconstitutional, just slimy and bad for the country, but those considerations don’t stop politicians….

I agree with you. I don’t want them either.

Seems to me this episode is a huge argument against proportional representation, which was floated in BC a while ago.

The government is formed by the party(parties) that can hold the support of a majority of MPs. No vote required on our part. On their part, the Governor-General just saved the government from facing one.

I do not want the coalition in power or Dion as PM but it’s not unconstitutional in any way, shape or form.

This is not unprecedented. It happens occasionally specifically because they are parliamentary democracies. If a group of parliamentarians from different parties form an alliance which exceeds the numbers of the party with the most votes in an election then the party cannot govern. The new group has a governing majority and in this case Harper’s party is unable to govern.