Hey Stephen!

Hello Blog,

I know it's been a while since I've written, sorry I've been busy...and I'm a slacker lol. I literally have six classes left, so two more weeks until I'm officially done 4th year! I graduate in June! Ahhhhhhh! I just have three papers, an exam and a short story left...so I need to focus and get to work. But it's hard with so much happening in the world right now! Plus the recent drama and craziness in my model UN club. Some of these kids are politicians in the making, but not in a good way...but I think they're accepting what's happened and dealing with it, but people will have a hard time being friends (not that they ever were friends in the conventional sense exactly, maybe just "model UN friends"). So we'll see how our elections unfold next week.

Speaking of elections, Canada will be having an election in May!! I'M SOOOO EXCITED! For the past few weeks Parliament has been dealing with various issues, so it's no surprise the Harper government has fallen. They were either going to fall over the budget or the "Contempt of Parliament" issue this week. Let me break it all down. On Monday, a Parliamentary Committee on Procedure and House Affairs found the Conservative government in contempt of Parliament, and Tuesday the Conservative budget was realeased.

The Committee found that several occurrences of obstruction and secrecy were perpetrated by the Harper Conservatives. The government failed to provide financial information and other documentation on the costs of corporate tax cuts, their proposed crime legislation and the purchase of F-35 fighter jets.

So, after the Committee's report was tabled in the House of Commons, any one of the opposition parties are able to bring forward a motion of non-confidence, which means the House does support the governing party and Prime Minister Harper if passed. And of course the Liberal Party did just that when they were given a chance to set the agenda this week.

Today (Friday) the MPs voted 156 to 145 in favour of the Liberal motion, citing Stephen Harper's minority Tories for contempt of Parliament and expressing non-confidence in the government.

The contempt charge marks a first for a national government anywhere in the Commonwealth. It's the first time in Canadian history. I think it's a big deal. Contempt of Parliament is the crime of obstructing the parliament in the carrying out of its functions, or of hindering any Member of Parliament in the performance of his or her duties. Furthermore, there have been other shady issues, such as Conservative MP Bev Oda changing the wording in a document recently, which is another contempt of Parliament issue.

If the motion of non-confidence had not been brought up, the Conservative budget would have been debated and voted on, and it most likely would not have passed either. And since a budget is considered a confidence matter, the government would have fallen as well. Mr. Harper had met with the opposition leaders in recent weeks to discuss the budget, and I know Jack Layton told him what the NDP wanted to see in it. However, the Conservatives failed to meet their requests in the final budget released Tuesday. Of course the opposition parties couldn't support it.

What bothers me is Harper is blaming the calling of this election on the opposition parties, when clearly it's his fault too. As a minority government, it is his job to ensure the needs of all Canadians are met, not just Conservatives.He had the chance to include in the budget what the other parties were asking for, but he refused. He even refused to ammend it once it the other parties stated they would not support it Tuesday. He blew his chance to appease the opposition.

As well, Mr. Harper actually said that the opposition didn't even look at the budget since no debate or question and answer period occured in the House of Commons over it. Instead the Liberals set the agaenda to a vote of non-confidence over the contempt of Parliament issue. Well Stephen, they did review your budget. Their critics met with your minions and they spent 2-3 hours Tuesday going over it before deciding to state publically they rejected it and wanted ammendtments. You just love using bullshit rhetoric to make yourself look good and the opposition look bad, even if you're lying. But it's not like you haven't lied before.

Now I'm well aware there have been shady issues in government before, it happens. The Liberals screwed up in the early 2000s, and that's the main reason why the Conservatives came into power. But now Mr. Harper is being a hypocrite because he's doing the exact same thing. And what matters is what's happening NOW. The Liberals are a different party, they have a different leader, so please people stop using that whole "Liberal scandal" as an excuse in 2011. If anything, Michael Ignatieff is the main reason why the Liberals will fail to win, he's just not very charasmatic and he's spent a lot of time in the USA, which makes us question his intentions.

I know that campaigns will be huge this time. Bigger than ever. The Liberals will be smart in playing up how Harper is in contempt of Parliament, and all the shady things the Conservatives have done. The Conservatives will definately use their "we fixed the economy" plan and "the other parties forced an election" bullshit too. The NDP would be smart to let those two beat each other up and focus on stealing the votes of left-leaning Liberals. The Bloc will of course focus on how Harper doesn't want to help Quebec, but their main opponent is the Liberal Party which tends to win ridings in urban cities such as Montreal. The Green Party has to step up their game. They don't have as much funding, but Elizabeth May needs to run in a riding where she can foster concentrated support, such as in British Columbia or even in urban Ontario. I'm hoping the NDP can win some seats in the Maritimes this time since Nove Scotia voted in a NDP government provinically. The Maritimes tend to stick with Liberals or Conservatives, so it will be a challenge. They won one seat in Alberta in 2008, so hopefully they can continue to gain support in the Tory-loving province.

Now I know everyone is thinking "Why an election now?" And it is the fourth one in seven years. And with current world events such as the Japan earthquake/tsunami and the crisis in Libya, it seems like an awful time to have an election. But this is the price we pay for democracy. In 2008, Harper prorogued Parliament to stop the Liberal-NDP coalition backed by the Bloc. Thus the Conseratives maintained power. Well, they didn't really deserve it. Many Canadians do not support him, yet he acts as if he has a majority government. Not cool. If a minority government can't appease other parties which means accepting other views, then they shouldn't be in power.

What's really going to piss me off are people who don't vote. Last election, voter turn out was only 59%, incredibly low. If the people who didn't vote actually voted, the turn out would be very different I imagine. If you're pissed off at the government, then show it. Say you want a change and cast your ballot. Take the time to look at each party and the candidates, look at their platforms. You are sure to find something you like and you agree with. Don't be apathetic. There are countries like Libya, Egypt, Yemen and Tunisia where people are literally dying for the right to choose their own government. Egypt finally held it's first election in over 40 years a week ago. That's pretty amazing. One story I read was of a man carrying his elderly father to the voting station since he couldn't walk, just so he could vote. I wanted to cry, it was so moving. These people are fighting for democracy. We are taking advantage of what we are so fortunate to have in Canada.

One last point I find interesting is how Canada is assisting with the UN/NATO mission in Libya right now. Our F-18s are over there trying to stop the Gadhafi supporters from killing rebels. Tomorrow, Parliament will officially be dissolved by the Governor General. So, who exactly will be running the show over there? Will Harper still be in charge of Canada's mission in Libya?

Anyway, campaigns will start rolling out tomorrow. Attack ads are so funny, especially the recent ones. Some are such bullshit. I really wish people didn't believe everything they hear. I'm very excited to watch the debates, last election candidates all ganged up on Harper. This time it should be even more entertaining. I plan on volunteering to help the party I support too, just in time as I finish classes in two weeks! This could be the beginning of my political career!

ps. Leafs won last night, three in a row! We technically need 4 points to get into the 8th spot, but we play Buffalo next week who are currently in 8th, so we could do it if we win that game! Reimer is a human wall (and a transformer lol)! Go Leafs!!

+ Lorelie