Haste Makes Waste

“Opposition parties accuse the Harper government of stooping to a petty, new low in the muzzling of dissent.”

Note that says a “new low”, an acknowledgement that accountability is already at a low point.

Rae cited the incident as one of many examples that Canadians are “now living in a democracy with dictatorial tendencies.”

Garneau wouldn’t discuss what Van Loan said to him, citing the confidentiality of House leaders’ meetings. But he did say he believes the choice of May 18 for the party’s next opposition day was deliberate.

“I think there’s a message being sent,” Garneau said.

And the message is: “Behave yourself. (If not,) they have some ways of making things difficult.”

As the NDP discovered this week when it was apparently penalized for tying the Commons in procedural knots in a bid to compel the government to split up its massive, omnibus budget implementation bill into manageable chunks.

The NDP had been scheduled to have an opposition day on Thursday but that was abruptly cancelled and shifted to next Wednesday. Wednesdays, like Fridays, are short parliamentary days that allow for only two hours of debate.

“Did they give us a short day as a punishment? Whatever. You now, they’re in the bubble,” shrugged NDP House leader Nathan Cullen.

Elizabeth May spoke about the bill the NDP have tried to split apart from the budget, to improve debate over the irresponsible environmental law changes in it. The Environmental Destruction Act is a more descriptive wording of the Budget Implementation Act.

As the Westray disaster was a built “bomb” where 26 men were put into it, and died as a result of effective government safety assessments, so too is the present bill a giant carbon bomb where we’re all inside.

—

Meanwhile, there are shocking claims of police state actions, from LaRue today. I look forward to reading his tell-all expose’ book he’s promising now.

—

The government is isolating itself from valid criticism. Very worrying, but not surprising.

—

Here’s another’s perspective on development at any cost.