Canada: Committee finds Harper government in contempt of Parliament over undisclosed costs - Polidicks

Source - [url=http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/957379--committee-report-finds-government-in-contempt?bn=1]The Star[/url] [quote]OTTAWA—A Commons committee recommended the government be found in contempt of Parliament, but the Conservatives could still avoid the historic censure if a vote on the budget or other confidence motion launches an election first. [b]The Commons procedure and house affairs committee tabled a majority report Monday concluding the government is in contempt for refusing to disclose enough information about the cost of several big-ticket items.[/b] Those would be documents about the price tags for its law-and-order agenda, corporate tax cuts and the plan to buy stealth combat jets, with all the opposition MPs on the committee voting to condemn the government for withholding requested documents without giving adequate reasons why. “This is an unprecedented cascade of abuse,” Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff said during Question Period on Monday after describing recent scandals involving allegations of influence peddling and election fraud in addition to contempt. “The issue here is one of trust. How can Canadians remain trusting of a government guilty of such flagrant abuse of power?”[/quote] [quote][b]The penalty for such a finding could involve, in theory, jail time[/b], although on March 10 Prime Minister Stephen Harper dismissed the rebukes from House Speaker Peter Milliken that led to three days of contempt hearings as just part of “the game of democratic politics.” [/quote] As it stands, it seems like we're looking at one of two things in Canada: A historic ruling resulting in certain members of the Conservative government being prosecuted, or an election in the near future. Regardless of what happens, drama like this is never good for the ruling party. Not being open about the cost of certain items may not seem like that big of a deal, but opposition parties are definitely going to be using this to their advantage.

Well, I can't say I feel like Harper has done us much good in the long run either way, so maybe an election would be an okay thing. However, I have no idea who should be elected in his stead because Ignatieff doesn't seem right and god forbid we actually elect the NDP. As much as I love what they stand for, they're not capable of governing.

I think the NDP would make a very good minority government. If they got a majority they'd just walk around parliament bumping into chairs randomly and moving the desk lamps to the floor and back up to the desks again

Nothing gets done because nobody lets it get done. Parliament right now is at a standstill because the Conservatives don't want to give too many concessions in their bills/budget to the opposition, and the opposition don't want to let the Conservatives do anything that isn't their (the opposition's) policy. AFAIK Iggy is down in the polls, but this may change things. However, if the election comes 'round by the time I'm 18, I'm probably voting Cons. A useless gesture in Toronto, but I don't really agree with the policies of the Liberals or the NDP. That, and the provincial Liberals have been fucking Ontario over for a while, and nobody in Ontario is ever letting the NDP get any form of power ever again, after Bob Rae. That, and in Toronto, we just elected a Right-wing mayor due to the self-proclaimed NDP mayor before him being a dumbass. Things in Ontario are shaping up in favour of the right at the moment, and all Harper would need to do for a majority is not piss off Quebec. Whether or not another Conservative government is a good thing I don't know, especially a Conservative majority, but one thing is certain, we need a government that will actually be able to DO SOMETHING. Also, I don't see arrests being made, they'll just call an election.

Im tired of the conservatives

Please let us have an election.

k

I'm probably not voting Liberal or Conservative at this point. Though, I have to wait and see on the stance of the BC liberal party then see where I stand.

My first year where I'm eligible to vote, and I have no clue who to vote for if election time comes soon. I've never been a fan of Harper at all, or really any conservative, but I don't know really jack shit about the other parties.

Liberal for me. My MP is a pretty nice guy, and does his job well, so I'll vote for him. [editline]22nd March 2011[/editline] [QUOTE=HawkeyeTy;28758191]My first year where I'm eligible to vote, and I have no clue who to vote for if election time comes soon. I've never been a fan of Harper at all, or really any conservative, but I don't know really jack shit about the other parties.[/QUOTE] Liberal has a unproven leader that has a really good education. NDP : it's Jack Layton, can't say much more than that. Green has zero experiance.

Jail time would be too much drama for Canada. This isn't America for gods sake. There will be an election, and I will vote for Liberals, because I see Ignatieff as having a lot of potential to make a difference. Only time will tell though.

I'd like to have NDP as a minority, it would be a pretty okay party for our country.

[QUOTE=DaCommie1;28749400]That, and in Toronto, we just elected a Right-wing mayor due to the self-proclaimed NDP mayor before him being a dumbass.[/QUOTE] I remember reading about him, he's the one who hates gays, yells at homeless people, and has a DUI right

This sort of stuff irritates me. Damned conservatives trying to make a banana republic out of this country... Government keeps complaining no-one's voting when there's no one but assholes to vote for. They're essentially making us choose between vanilla, chocolate or strawberry turdcake.

[QUOTE=Killerhurtz;28759535]This sort of stuff irritates me. Damned conservatives trying to make a banana republic out of this country... Government keeps complaining no-one's voting when there's no one but assholes to vote for. They're essentially making us choose between vanilla, chocolate or strawberry turdcake.[/QUOTE] I find it funny how it's always the [i]fiscal conservatives[/i] who spend spend spend and fuck up the economy and then try to lie about it

[QUOTE=HumanAbyss;28758026]I'm probably not voting Liberal or Conservative at this point. Though, I have to wait and see on the stance of the BC liberal party then see where I stand.[/QUOTE] Is it just me or are the BC Liberals more right wing than the BC Conservatives?

[QUOTE=Wolfmatyr;28759853]Is it just me or are the BC Liberals more right wing than the BC Conservatives?[/QUOTE] they may be now, or they may swing a new direction, the new BC liberals main candidate is a little hard to call on

[QUOTE=Zeke129;28758531]I remember reading about him, he's the one who hates gays, yells at homeless people, and has a DUI right[/QUOTE] Not sure about hating gays, but other than that you're pretty much on the dot. He also wants to privatize almost everything and has it out for the city unions. The thing is, and you'll probably disagree with this because I know you're more left-leaning and probably more in-favour of unions, but the unions in the municipal government have it way too good, I think they deserve to be knocked down a few notches, after the last mayor tried to make them nearly invincible. It is nearly impossible to get fired from a Toronto City job, they have 2 weeks paid vacation that THEY CAN CARRY OVER TO THE NEXT YEAR if left unused, and they get needlessly high wages. All that, and they provide horribly shitty service and don't do their jobs properly. The 2 reasons his opposition lost were because he had an affiliation with the Provincial Liberals, and was responsible for some financial scandal they did, and (no media outlet would dare say this, but it's unfortunately true) because he was gay. Though we teach tolerance, I still believe that homophobia played a part in George Smitherman losing the election. I didn't like his policies, which is why I wouldn't have voted for him if I could have, but I unfortunately still believe that general homophobia was a factor that contributed to his loss. As for the Federal level, I also get irritated when "eco-conscience" governments pump emissions levels up over 20%, after committing to reduce them by 6% (Liberals, Chretien, 1997-2005, relating to the Kyoto Accord). Political parties can never be what we expect them to be, nor can leaders. This is why in western democracies I find you're not voting for who you think will govern the country best, you're voting for who you think will screw it up the least, and it's rather unfortunate that it's come to that.

[QUOTE=Shadowstone;28751083]Please let us have an election.[/QUOTE] I don't remember the last time a party managed to make it throught ONE complete go. I think the last time I ever heard of a party managing to get from one election to the next without being forced into it early was way the hell back when Jean Cretien was PM. For fucks sake, we don't need another fucking election.

[QUOTE=Zeke129;28759582]I find it funny how it's always the [i]fiscal conservatives[/i] who spend spend spend and fuck up the economy and then try to lie about it[/QUOTE] Think it might have to do with them using the conservative fiscal method, which dates back from before we didn't even dare saying there was a limit to resources.

Harper's a dick. I'm happy :)

[QUOTE=HumanAbyss;28758026]I'm probably not voting Liberal or Conservative at this point. Though, I have to wait and see on the stance of the BC liberal party then see where I stand.[/QUOTE] The woman they nominated as leader is basically a conservative.

[QUOTE=Habsburg;28767793]The woman they nominated as leader is basically a conservative.[/QUOTE] BC liberals are basically conservatives since we don't have an official conservative party Our new premier follows that pretty nicely