Dale Smith clearly outlines the Conservatives
contempt for parliamentary process – here is his recent post in
full.
The government introduced its fall budget
implementation bill today – while the entire Finance Committee
is currently on tour doing pre-budget consultations around the
country. What’s more galling – is that they’ve put
said bill up for debate tomorrow. You know, while the finance critics
are out doing those pre-budget consultations, and giving their staff
some 24 hours to digest 650 pages so that they can create briefs for
the other MPs who will have to debate it. Oh, and the briefing with
department officials? Won’t happen until the 18th, which is
once the finance committee members are back after the break week next
week.
Added to this, the government unveiled the Ways
and Means Motion as part of the supply cycle yesterday – and
gave the MPs six whole hours to read over all 250 pages said motion
before they had to vote on it. While the finance committee including
the critics are not in the House.
In other words, the government has decided to
thumb its nose at the fundamental basis of parliamentary democracy in
this country. Sure, they have a majority and these bills are going to
pass – but that doesn’t mean that there shouldn’t
be robust and informed debate. That’s the whole point of
Parliament. If the government is going to release budget bills and
supply motions – you know, the kinds of confidence measures
that governments live and die by – and stymie the ability of
the opposition to actually examine these bills and motions and give
them robust and informed debate, then why bother having a House of
Commons at all?
Yes, these motions will pass, but debate is
important. Informed, robust debate is important. The Ways and Means
motion passed without MPs knowing what they were actually voting on.
This budget implementation bill isn’t going to see informed
debate, but we’ll get the Conservative MPs reading prepared
statements about how the opposition needs to support the Economic
Action Plan™, the NDP saying that the government needs to
create jobs and fix pensions, and the Liberals tutting at both sides
about being “too ideological.” And the debate will not be
robust, informed, or worth the time of our august institutions.
The Conservatives are treating our parliamentary
democracy with contempt. And I fear that Canadians simply don’t
care.
Dale continues to bring
more of this
contempt to our attention in this post.
including the Parliamentary Budget Officer thoughts on the just
released costing for the 'tough on crime bill' which he calls “total
obfuscation.”
We can expect MUCH more
of this from the dictatorial Harper Regime in the coming months and
years and all we can do is watch and remember for the next election -
where much of the pubic support for alternative partys is about to be
removed in a self serving move by said regime!
Support Democracy - Recommend this Post at Progressive Bloggers
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