The View of the National Horizon Sucks From Here

We're now 15 days into the suspension of parliament.
Every day, we hear about further job losses and corporate woes as the worldwide recession worsens.

The Prime Minister has said that Canada is facing the possibility of a depression, (http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20081216.wflaherty16/BNStory/politics/home?cid=al_gam_mostemail) not just a recession. Not sure what a depression is? We had a pretty Great one back in the '20s. Still not ringing a bell? Google it. See all the destitute workers? Notice how many there are? That's a depression. Not pretty, right?

I find it extremely angering to think that, had it not been for foolish partisan politics and less-than-benign policy proposals, something might have been done to try and prevent job losses. I may not be much of an economist, but I do know that if your bleeding, and you put a band-aid on the cut, it closes over and heals faster. If I can carry that analogy one step further, I'll point out that something like 71,000 jobs bled out nationwide last month alone. Don't believe that number? I wish I was lying. I didn't believe it myself. But it's found HERE (http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1866360,00.html) HERE (http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idUSN0525370520081205) and HERE (http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/calgarybusiness/story.html?id=43455d98-9ee9-440c-b049-a0aa05960b31) I still haven't seen even a feeble band-aid applied. Where's the government?! Why won't they DO something?!?!?!

Oh, wait, that's right. Stevie & Pals suspended the government. Well, that was a brilliant move, wasn't it?

I can't wait to see the Tory budget. Really, I'm interested in seeing just how much the rotten buggers will spend. I remember in November, when Steve said "it may well be necessary to take unprecedented fiscal stimulus." (Steven Harper on the economy, Nov. 23)
What was his idea of stimulus?
Budget cuts. Remember those? Oh, also, how about that proposed ban on public workers going on strike, hmm? Remember those issues now? The ones that kicked off the political crisis?
The ones proposed by Mr. Harper's government?!

This guy is great, isn't he? I'm so glad he was elected. He's doing wonders for us now. Just as long, that is, as your civil liberties aren't important to you. Oh, or the economic well-being of the nation. If you ignore those two issues things are just... rosy.

This government really isn't as astute as I figured it to be. I used to have faith in the Conservative Party. Mr. Flaherty's apparent ineptitude to see the coming economic crisis coupled with Harper's partisan stance and refusal to apologize for damn near anything, actually, pretty much everything I've been seeing from Team Harper lately, has forced me to reconsider. That's why a coalition government continues to look like a very good idea to myself. Remember in 1993, when former Liberal Finance Minister Paul Martin basically erased that 42 billion dollar deficit? Well, I don't, I was only one at the time, but, hey, I read about it, which is, well, almost the same...
Anyways, point is, bring the Liberals back. They got rid of that silly leader they had (what was his name again? He failed to make much of an impression on me) and what the NDP and the Liberal Party are proposing as a coalition government is an awful lot more democratic then banning strikes, right?

This whole situation would be almost comedic if it wasn't for all the jobs of our Canadian workers being on the line. Let's consider some more numbers for a minute. Let's assume you wake up tomorrow to the horrifying news that the Big Three (GM, Ford, and Chrysler) have all gone out of business overnight. Right away, Canada has just lost 323,000 jobs. (stat from Reuters, http://uk.reuters.com/article/consumerProducts/idUKN16359520081217) fast forward five years, and 582,000 Canadians are out of work (again, Reuters stat. See above URL).
Thanks to Harper and the Governer-General, "Her Excellency" Michaelle Jean, we're stuck with a paralyzed house of commons right when we go into a recession that is possibly the worst we've seen since the Great Depression in The Dirty Thirties, and who loses, in the end? Not the government! Not our MPs! They're salaries are paid from our tax dollars! The ultimate losers are the rest of us: the average hardworking Canadian, the GM/Ford/Chrysler worker who's been laid off, the lumberjack who's out of work, the tar sands people out in Alberta, the teens that can't find work either, the families that have to rely on welfare and unemployment insurance, or the poor souls who are turned out into the streets because they can't find money to pay rent or a mortgage, all of us. The working folk.

I, for one, seriously doubt that Michaelle Jean would have suspended anything had her job or her hubbie's job depended on the economy staying strong. But that's the advantage of the top job. It tends to disconnect you from the needs of the rest of the country, but hey, what does she care, right?

Mme Jean, Your "Excellency", by suspending parliament per Stephen Harper's request, you have not done anything good to prevent this crisis from occuring. You ought to be ashamed of yourself for having failed the Canadian people in such a way.
Oh, that's right, your appointed. You don't answer to us. So my opinion, in all likelihood, means nothing to you, oui?

I continue to advocate support for a coalition government. Steven Harper's government had a chance to head off this crisis, and to act in Canada's interests, instead, they have not only failed us, they have suspended parliament with the help of our embarrassing, clueless, uncaring, and aloof head of state, which prevents any action from being taken, and they have fanned the flames of separatism through their constant attacks on the BQ and Quebec as a whole in an attempt at saving their worthless hides. These men are criminals for doing such injustice to our people. It's time they were replaced. They can obviously not be trusted, it's time to find more suitable candidates for the job. Canada, it's up to you to voice your opinions. Email your local MPs. Write angry blogs like yours truly. Make your voice heard. Inspire change for the better, not change for the betterment of Stephen Harper, but change for the betterment of Canada.
It's up to you.