LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
- February 03, 2009
Dear Editor;
It was with dismay and disbelief that I read Kay Hardy’s letter to the editor of January 20th. To think that somehow I and the Leader of our party are involved in some secret plans to break up this country is totally ludicrous.
I would like to remind Ms. Hardy that if Parliament was dysfunctional prior to the October election, it was directly a result of the lack of desire by the Prime Minister to cooperate with other parties for the common good of this country. And, in spite of the partisan rhetoric and games played by the Conservatives, Parliament was actually working.
Bills were being passed and most committees were working productively. There was absolutely no need for an election.
When Parliament resumed last fall, the hope was that Harper would reach out to other political parties in a spirit of cooperation. What we saw was the complete opposite where he rejected any cooperative input from the opposition parties. As a result, the three opposition parties said, enough is enough!
As I have mentioned in my various newsletters and press releases, the formation of a coalition government is a viable option in our democratically elected Parliament. The government of the day can only function if it has the confidence of the House of Commons. If it loses this confidence, the leader of the opposition can be asked to form government.
It is as simple as that. No conspiracy. No East against West. In fact, it would be extremely interesting to know what Ms. Hardy has to say about Stephen Harper’s attempt in 2004 to form a coalition government with the NDP and Bloc.
- Alex Atamanenko, MP
BC Southern Interior
Dear Mr. Ignatieff;
I was disappointed to hear from some journalists that you are moving toward Prime Minister Harper’s policies and the coalition is just seen by you as an emergency measure.
I hope you haven’t forgotten that the 62% of the members who would be part of the coalition were also elected by their constituents and won their seats as fairly as the 38% who are Conservatives. If 62% of the Members of Parliament are willing, and have set out the guidelines, to work together for two years why would we choose to support the 38% who have refused to cooperate with the others and have tried to force them into submission? This government has shown disdain for, and sometimes even belligerence towards the opposition, parliamentary motions and popular opinion.
For me it certainly comes down to trust now. Prime Minister Harper has proven many times over that he has no qualms about saying one thing and doing another.
He’s very adamant about who’s right (him in every case) and will say whatever he needs to in order to buy time and get his own way. In my opinion whatever he puts in his budget is not worth the paper it’s written on.
I hope you’ve thought fully about this as we sat and twiddled our thumbs for the last several weeks waiting for parliament to open.
- Donna Stocker, Cawston
To The Editor;
Regarding the discussion on polygamy in Bountiful, BC, what’s the difference of having a series of wives (or husbands) as in our divorce system if one is so inclined, in rather having married the whole lot at once and get it over with?
Regards, Joe Schwarz, Princeton
