People's Voice Editorial, Nov. 1-15, 2007
Beset with internal strife, Stephane Dion's Liberals decided not to bring down the Harper government during the October Throne Speech debates. Many Canadians heaved a sigh of relief that the country will probably not be plunged into an early winter federal election, the third campaign in three years.
But it's hard to rejoice about several more months of Conservative government in Ottawa. Despite their minority status in Parliament and the lack of any popular mandate, Harper is pushing ahead with his dangerous, far-right agenda. Nobody should be fooled when the corporate media regurgitates the tired lie that the Tories have learned to be moderate and mainstream.
The Throne Speech left no room for doubt. Harper and Co. are determined to lock us into at least four more years of war in Afghanistan. They have gutted Canada's commitment to serious reductions of greenhouse gas emissions. They aim to remove any federal role in new social programs. Their "law and order" bill is a fresh assault on our legal and civil rights. They keep pressing "deep integration" with the United States.
As long as the opposition parties fail to bring down the government, this aggressive agenda will move ahead. PM Harper will keep bullying Parliament and the Canadian people, heedless of angry speeches in the Commons. Meanwhile, the partisan NDP tactic of continuing to aim most of their fire at the Liberals will unfortunately help Harper get off the hook for his unpopular policies.
The way out of this impasse is to mobilize Canadians to drive out the Tories. Building a powerful, united resistance movement right now can ensure that the election - whenever it comes - will be fought on the crucial issues of jobs, Medicare and other social programs, the environment, war and peace, and Canadian sovereignty. This is the best guarantee that the outcome will be a defeat for the Tory agenda.