Editor, The News:
The federal Conservatives are making out that to form a coalition is a dirty underhanded thing to do, and by re-electing themselves is the only way to avoid this happening.
However, if a coalition is formed, providing more than 50 per cent of the seats in Parliament, it provides representation for more than half the population. This is better than a minority government, which only represents, say, 40 per cent of the population.
More of us would be politically represented under a coalition.
Britain is now governed by a coalition, as is B.C. The “B.C. Liberals” are made up of provincial Liberals, Conservatives and Social Crediters who banded together to defeat the NDP.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper has been reported to have tried to form a coalition with the NDP and Bloc himself in 2004 to defeat the Liberals. Now when it can be used against him, he declares it is somehow nasty and underhanded.
Lyall Holmes
Maple Ridge
Democracy at work
Editor, The News:
Re: Liberals join election race (The News, March 24).
Randy Kamp and the Conservatives, despite being part of a parliamentary democracy, seem to be very adverse to the principles of democracy.
His comments on the recent ruling of contempt against the Conservative government (“Really, all that shows is that the opposition had the majority in that committee”) only serves to highlight this.
Mr. Kamp, the fact is that the speaker of the house, Peter Milliken, ruled that your government was violating the rules of the House of Commons in refusing to hand over information relating to the costs of your new prisons and the much touted ‘corporate tax cuts.’ He also ruled that your minister for international cooperation, Bev Oda, lied to a parliamentary committee.
Also, let us not forget that on April 27, 2010 your government was also found in contempt of parliament for refusing to hand over documents related to the treatment of Afghan prisoners of war.
Your’s was a minority government, Mr. Kamp. Canadians did not vote for the Conservatives to control the House of Commons.
The opposition was the majority in the committee because Canadians voted for this majority. This is how the democracy works.
Mr. Harper’s response to the rulings of the Speaker (“you win some, you lose some”) also speaks volumes.
Your’s was a government that saw parliament and the rules of parliament as trivial, a game to be won or lost.
Mr. Kamp, parliament is the people’s House. It is where our MPs meet to pass legislation and debate issues that are in the interest of Canadians. It is the heart of our democracy and no government is above the rules that govern it.
The Conservative government is the first government in Canadian history, in the Commonwealth in fact, to be found in contempt of parliament.
It flouted the rules and precedents of our legislature, angering many Canadians who will not forgive the Conservatives for this insult to our democratic traditions come May 2.
O. Ramsoondar
Maple Ridge