An affront to democracy

Yesterday during the throne speech a page stood up during the middle of the speech holding up a small poster shaped like a stop sign that said 'Stop Harper'. Now, this young lady got her 5 minutes of fame, which is far more than she of got. But before this is put to rest, I want to add my comments about this event.

For those few people who follow my blog know that I do not like a Harper government. He has no hidden agenda, with his majority government he's going to implement as much of his neo-conservative values as he can get away with. He's going to get rid of the Canada Wheat Board - a market insturment which gives us a distinct advantage over the Americans when selling our grains. He's going to make life difficult for our national broadcaster, the CBC. He's going to cut social services in favor of tax cuts. He's going to do very little about the environment. I went to  the UofC when Harper was teaching there, there were a group of Neo-conservatives that were preaching exactly all that. Now Harper has tried to minimize these issues and make his platform about Canadian families and fiscal stewardship. Sure, he has some ideas to help families, but I would prefer that he would not gut the institutions that I as a Canadian value.

But Harper still won a majority in the last election. For now, Canadians want to give Mr Harper a try. It is up to the opposition parties and Canadians who oppose Mr Harper engage in the democratic discourse. If there is a neo-conservative plank he is trying to implement, then we need to make our voices heard. We need to ensure that the opposition puts itself in a position so that in 4 years Mr. Harper is running against someone else who is a viable alternative to become Prime Minister.

But what the page did was out of pure arrogance. She rejected the fact that Canadians actually want Mr Harper to govern and she pissed on the floor of the Senate. She sullied the honorable position and trust that are bestowed onto the young pages. She showed that she is a spoiled brat who who thinks she knows better than anyone else in Canada what is right for this country. Some people called her courageous. She afterall gave up a job serving the most powerful people in this country. But I see her as a spotlight stealer, using a position of trust to represent a point of view that did not win the last election. She is a sore loser.

Now, I have to admit, while I talk the talk of wanting to replace Harper, I haven't done much to make that a reality. I live in a very solid Conservative riding. I have to admit, I don't know right now what I can do in Red Deer to bring attention to any alternative to the Tories. I have this blog, but I am certainly not in any position to set myself up as a candidate in the next election. I don't even have a political party that speaks to my own values. Right now though, I want to focus on local issues. With a young family, this is what is near and dear to my heart. And over these 4 years hopefully my voice can be added to the opposition discourse.