Canadian Politics! Now 12% less boring!

[pyat]

So, a former pastor of mine, the man who married velvetpage and I, is using Facebook to organize a political protest at Bob Rae's office. The text of the invite is as follows:

"Join the protest this Friday, December at 12:00 noon in front of Bob Rae's Cabbagetown office, 514 Parliament Street, Toronto. Join those who want to tell Mr. Rae that no Canadian voted for a government that seeks the support of separatists. Tell Mr. Rae that our economy can not afford these kinds of games right now."

Well, first off, a rather large number of Canadians voted for a government that seeks the support of separatists. We call those Canadians "Quebecois." But, that aside, I am still not sure what I think of my former Pastor inviting me to a political protest. I'm not one who thinks that separation of church and state extends to forbidding pastors from expressing any politics publicly or engaging in political activism. So, that doesn't bother me too much.

That said, I am frankly uncomfortable with the idea of a mass-invite to any kind of protest when there is no clear moral imperative or danger. It's simply more political gaming. ("Oh no! Canada might have a short-lived coalition government, just like any number of other democracies have had! Doom!)" I generally approve of political arrangements that force cooperation and compromise - governance according to a single political creed or philosophy is a mistake.

If the coalition is created and does poorly, the public backlash will be pretty strong. They will be punished or rewarded by the electorate. I am not terribly happy with the possible concessions that may be offered to the separatist element, but presumably the NDP and Liberals would recognize that handing over too much would be bad for them in the next election.

Then again, I'm also one of those people who thinks that Quebec independence would basically be a historical blip. And also rather silly that people regularly accuse Separatists of treason.

Comments

[mrs-dm.livejournal.com]

I think Joe Clark's government lasted only 9 months. That number sticks in my mind as the minimum amount of time needed to gestate an election.

[neosis.livejournal.com]

Yeah, it was 273 days. According to Wikipedia, it was NDP MP Bob Rae who attached the rider "This government has lost the confidence of parliament" that brought the government down.

Interesting side note: If the Governor General hadn't prorogued parliament, Harper would have gone down in the history books for the shortest Canadian government ever.