It is amazing to hear the Liberals voice their moral outrage at the unparliamentarily language uttered by the opposition members in the House of Commons. There is no doubt that in the lead up to the budget vote, the House of Commons’ Question Period resembled more a raucous madhouse that an arena of dignified debate. However, the opposition is hardly to blame for the current state of affairs of this parliament.
Even on a good day, Question Period is barely a place of peaceful coexistence between the parties. It is during this time that Members of Parliament get a chance to supposedly hold the government accountable for its actions. Accepted consensuses are of course deceiving. The Liberal government rarely ever answers questions nor has been accountable to parliament. Questions posed are treated by the Liberal government as contemptible and answers are simply taunts and glib remarks hurled at the opposition. The performance is for the benefit of media which feeds the public’s appetite for discord and conflict.
In an attempt to keep the cacophony in the House of Commons civilized we ended up having parliamentary rules. These are parliamentary protocols are supported by a century of customs and traditions. You cannot call a thief a thief, a crook a crook or liar a liar. Not in parliament at least. It just happens to be undignified to call a spade a spade. Politically correct language is therefore the norm in the House of Commons. Even dishonorable degenerates are known as honorable members in the House of Commons. Those running afoul of such parliamentary insensibilities incur various forms of penalties and censure. Calling a Liberal a thief, crook or a liar outside parliament might soon earn you the threat of libel or slander suit.
The Liberal government in due course blames the opposition for the circus like atmosphere in the House of Commons. After all if the opposition parties did not pose all those intrusive questions there would be no reason for the disparaging remarks from the raucous Liberal caucus. If not for the opposition parties’ questions the House of Commons would be a Garden of Eden, or so Paul Martin would have us believe. Paul Martin knows that without any opposition it would be smooth sailing for the steamship Liberianos.
Paul Martin’s plea calling for civility in parliament and his admonishment of the Conservative Party for the tone of the debate in the House of Commons was incredulous. The Liberals for their part engaged in the slinging of mud, obstruction and obfuscation on occasion of every opposition question. The boisterous nature of the House of Commons is simply a reflection of the frustration of the opposition and Canadians inability to obtain truthful answers in regard to the numerous high crimes and misdemeanors perpetrated on Canadian public by the Liberal government. Paul Martin would have us believe that nothing was amiss aboard the Liberal’s good ship Liberianos.
The underlying theme of Paul Martin’s rambling complaint to the Canadians is that the opposition should aid and abet the government and turn a blind eye to its misdeeds. Opposing the government creates disharmony and disagreement. If the opposition stopped asking questions and opposing the government and just started agreeing it would promote peace and harmony. Can’t we just get along?
Rather than being a commendable act, the prime minister’s plea to Canadians for the return of civility in parliament is self-serving, dishonest and ultimately undemocratic. The opposition plays an important role by holding the government accountable for their actions or negligence. By appealing directly to the Canadian people, Paul Martin connived to curtail the opposition’s duty to oppose the government and hold the Liberal government accountable. Not merely content with dismissing opposition questions with the usual disparaging remarks, he seeks to banish all opposition to his government. He hopes public opinion would sway the opposition into providing him a cakewalk for the remainder of his reign as prime minister.
Paul Martin is not new at playing the victim game. While Jean ChrÃ
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