Dear Editor;
In response to your latest attempt to teach Albertans the evils of their right wing ways and the true definition of democracy, I feel the need to point a few things out to you and slip in a few more definitions for good measure.
First, if there is anything Albertans do understand about Canada’s democratic system, it is the fact that Ontario has the country’s largest population and that Quebec is second in size. I would venture to say that all of the western provinces are well versed in this fact and its effects on democracy in Canada. We absolutely recognize mob rule concepts and vividly recall how corrupt and unfair a one party system can get.
Because of this clear understanding, most Albertans vote for this Conservative Party and we campaign nation-wide for this Conservative Party in hopes that someday Canada will truly able to coalesce (grow together - unite).
Second, to say that the coalition (a temporary alliance) had no deal with the Bloc is a stretch even for your most vivid of imaginations. On national television Stephan Dion and Jack Layton signed the document and then Gilles Duceppe, smiling like the cat who swallowed the canary, committed the Bloc’s support for 18-months. Then they all shook hands to seal the deal. Without the “deal”, the coalition would have been a minor minority led by the resigning biggest loser of the last election and a guy obsessed with kitchen tables.
So, this whole debacle in the Canadian Parliament was indeed democracy. All of it up to and including the Governor General sending everyone home for a time out (a period of isolation during which naughty children reconsider their behavior, then promise to behave appropriately).
What will this appropriate behavior look like? Well hopefully, an elected PM who refrains from deliberately antagonizing his opponents, a newly appointed Liberal leader who has the sense to play nice until the economy stabilizes, an NDP that represents the environment (?) and poor Gilles Duceppe spitting out that bird. Bad Puddytat!
Erin Wall
Bluffton, Alberta