This is not how democracy works

1337hax0r.com » Harper does not have confidence of the house.

This is not how a democracy works; this is how a dictatorship works. This is how monarchs have historically enforced their will. In England, France, and throughout Europe, a common tactic to maintain power against a legislature which does not support the executive is to simply shut down said legislature. I had hoped the Canadian government would show its robustness and strength against this direct attack on our democracy. I had hoped that the office of the Governor General would perform the one check that it seems to have — Ensure the democratic will of the people and their duly elected representatives.

I hate to say this, but today, our democracy failed. A minority in our country, both parliamentary and democratic, has forcefully taken power from the democratically elected parliament and the will of 60%+ of the population.

Since Harper was opposed by a majority of the house, since Harper had lost the confidence of the house, he effectively locked the doors to the House of Commons, shutting down any parliamentary democratic dissent in order to maintain his power over the executive.

Think about that for a moment — Harper shut down the legislature of Canada so he can remain in power. He shut down our system because he lost the confidence of the house. Harper shut down our representative democracy in order to save his own ass. Harper has established the unitary executive in Canada. This time it’s official, since none of the opposing elected representatives will have any recourse against him due to the shut down of parliament.

I strongly encourage all non-Conservative MPs to continue meeting in a public parliament setting. If the House will not hear the will of the people, then the will of the people must meet somewhere else. We cannot have a majority of our elected representatives shut out simply because Harper wants to stay in power. It may sounds absurd, but it is vital that the legislature keeps on meeting regularly. It would be wise for the coalition and the Bloc (and any Conservative MPs who want to come) to set up a provisional parliament which will continue to meet regardless of the will of the PM who does not have the confidence of the house. This is especially important considering we are heading towards a recession and we need the legislature.