One of these things is not like the other?

Monday, 4 December 2006 at 7:41 pm (Canadian Politics, Conservative Party of Canada, Rights, Stephen Harper)

Right Hon. Stephen Harper (Prime Minister, CPC):

Mr. Speaker, in the last election we promised Canadians a genuinely free vote on the issue in the House of Commons. My party, including the cabinet of my party, will vote freely on this issue.

I know that the new Leader of the Opposition has said he will not allow a free vote by his caucus members. I hope that proves not to be the case because I think the rights of members of Parliament are some of the most important rights we have in this country.

- Hansard

In case you were wondering, the issue in question is not whether Québec is a nation. For that vote, held just over a week ago, Harper whipped his cabinet, forcing a minister to resign rather than support it. Apparently Harper doesn’t think recognizing ethnic groups as nations constitutes a moral issue. Or he’s just a hypocrite. One of those.

~Gnomes

2 Comments

Nice guys finish first

Sunday, 3 December 2006 at 12:42 am (Politics)

What a difference a day makes. Drunk on two leadership conventions and a quarter bottle of gin, Gnomes is basking in political overload. A proud two-minute-tory, I cast my vote for Ed Stelmach (or rather, against Ted Morton), and directed my goodwill towards Stéphan Dion. In the former case, it seems that I was part of a rather significant and perhaps decisive movement, while the latter effort remains purely a matter of faith. My earlier infatuation with Ignatieff, and predictions of his success, were but youthful indiscretions. I am older now, and, I hope, a little wiser.

Read the rest of this entry »

1 Comment