Saturday, February 6, 2010

The Sanctity of Question Period

One of the principal complaints by the opposition against proroguing parliament for the Olympics was the assertion that the government was only doing it to avoid "tough questions" in the House of Commons via that precious conduit of Canadian tradition called Question Period; where our politicians from both sides of the aisle yell and scream at each other like children. I'm sure most Canadians are proud of the juvenile decorum of this pillar of our democracy and are deeply saddened that they have been deprived of this guilty pleasure for a few weeks. But don't worry people; parliament is cancelling spring break to make up for lost time.

Now, less than a week away from the Opening Ceremonies, thousands of athletes and dignitaries from around the world have begun arriving on Canadian soil, staying in Canadian hotel rooms, watching Canadian television. I know how important our international reputation is to Mike Ignatieff (given how much of his adult life he has spent living abroad), and I'm wondering how millions of eyeballs descending on Canada to watch Bob Rae accuse our soldiers of war crimes is going to help our standing in the world? That's what I really want, for Norwegian ski jumpers to go home and tell all their friends "nice place to visit that Canada, but their military personnel are complicit in torturing innocent civilians."

I don't think the Prime Minister miscalculated that normal Canadians wouldn't care; I think he miscalculated the degree to which the opposition was able to rouse their base into a fit of fury. The opposition framed the question "do you think parliament should get a paid vacation?" Instead of "should we postpone partisan bickering while we host a major international event, and we can make up for lost time in March and April?" I strongly believe that when the Olympics are over and parliament resumes, most Canadians will say to themselves”okay that actually made sense."

3 comments:

  1. If Question Period and sitting the House of Commons was so important why is Ignatieff's attendance in the last session only 47 days out of 104 days of sitting?
    And he NEVER ever attended a Friday session as he would already be off for the weekend.
    Also, observers noted often that when Ignatieff DID attend Question period he left as soon as it was over and seldom stayed for any of the working debates on bills afterwards. He was only there when the TV cameras were focussed on HIM for those first few questions.
    Also, Ignatieff has never sat on any parliamentary committees, he has NEVER developed or introduced legislation and has one of the worst voting attendance records of all MPs.
    He can't hide from his own record. Hypo-Grit.


    And, according to observers, when h

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  2. Harper's govt is what you call a fast learner.
    Next time the coalition and their media go on a co-ordinated attack, they will be prepared.

    This prorogygate, while wounding, made Harper's govt stronger and better prepared for the fight that counts.

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  3. Wouldn't you just love to see the look on everyone's face if MPs and Senators were treated to a perogy snack after the Throne Speech?

    Nothing like a little humour to put an end to Opposition whinging.

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