just how different is this harper government?

Wmtc reader Lisa sent me this scathing piece from Paul Wells, which I also saw at Idealistic Pragmatist. I've had some trouble following the Federal Government Hates Ontario campaign, and even more difficulty understanding why Harper wants to go this route. To my mind, alienating Ontario can only backfire. Voters will not remember the details. They will just remember that the Harper government dissed us.

In our emails, Lisa had this to say about what we've been witnessing, reprinted here with her permission.
...I think Harper's style is finally wearing thin. Thank god. His pettiness, intense focus on partisanship rather than focusing on governing, permanent negative campaigning, and utter disregard of the conventions of cdn federal political culture were/are driving me slowly insane. I've NEVER seen a federal govt like this one. He's completely debasing the political discourse. It used to be different...really! You know, the major political parties used to actually get along. They really did.

And later:
[Paul Wells' piece is] also sort of a "demonstration" that Harper et al is not politics as usual here in Canada (which I imagine you've gathered), esp the way he treats the media at such arms length. And it's pissing people off. . . . Their approach to governing is really at odds with how things are usually done. Slipping immigration bills through by attaching them to other ones, federal ministers interfering in provincial affairs (in a really partisan way), the micromanaging of Cabinet ministers, picking partisan fights with civil servants, the constant negative ads about the Liberals outside of election time etc. It's just not the way things are done here.

Reporters in Ottawa, who've been following govts for years are definitely noticing this.

You (like me and everyone else) probably have no sense at of the Harper cabinet for example (other than Flaherty), because they're never in the media. This is really really unusual. In the past, even if you only followed federal politics in passing, you'de be able to name and visualize most Cabinet ministers.

This is really interesting to me! I am sick to death of Stephen Harper and can't wait to see the end of this government. (And I'm sick of the Liberals for handing him a de facto majority!)

But Lisa's email made me think: perhaps I don't realize just how different this Government is from previous Governments, because I have nothing to compare it to. We moved here at the end of August, 2005; the Martin government fell in late November, and Harper was elected in January 2006.

Your thoughts and observations are welcome.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

sharia

This morning I see that Dalton McGuinty, Premier of Ontario, is banning the Muslim religious court known as sharia . This ends months of debate about whether sharia would be legal and binding in Ontario. I'm quoting at length from the story in today's Toronto Star because many US readers are likely not up on this. In a surprise announcement that caught both supporters and opponents of sharia law off guard, Premier Dalton McGuinty says he will move quickly to ban all religious arbitration in the province. McGuinty made the announcement in a telephone interview with The Canadian Press yesterday after months of debate and controversy surrounding use of Islamic sharia law in family arbitration. "I've come to the conclusion that the debate has gone on long enough," the premier told the news agency. "There will be no sharia law in Ontario. There will be no religious arbitration in Ontario. There will be one law for all Ontarians." The announcement prompted t...
Read more

can of worms

I'm opening a sticky subject here, my need to understand causing me to throw caution to the wind. It's about Alberta. Alberta vs. the rest of the Canada. The Globe And Mail runs something about Alberta's gripes every day, and I try to follow along. If it weren't for wmtc's resident Albertan , and the ensuing arguments in comments, I would've had no warning. It's not something Americans know about. As is, observing for more than a year, I have only the smallest of clues. Here's what I know. Please pardon my ignorance and oversimplification, but I have to start somewhere. The province of Alberta is rich, because it has oil. The province of Alberta is conservative, relative to the rest of Canada. Hmm. Funny how those two go together. Because of its great oil wealth, Alberta revenue helps fund services in the rest of Canada. (These are transfer payments?) Apparently many Albertans resent this. They want to keep Alberta's money in Alberta. They don't...
Read more

low confidence

I'm excited about today's no-confidence vote . Only three months after moving here, we'll get to see a government fall, a campaign, and an election, in a system very different from what we're accustomed to. Even the expression "the government will fall" strikes us as oddly dramatic and revolutionary. My sense of current Canadian politics, for what it's worth, tells me that very little will change from the upcoming election. I'd be surprised if the Liberals didn't win. So it's kind of cool to see this happening without a lot at stake. On a semi-tangential note, have I mentioned I'm completely down with "Corner Gas"? Excellent show; I love the deadpan humour. (Great website, too; check it out .) So was that really Finance Minister Ralph Goodale ragging on Brent Butt's camera last Saturday night?
Read more