While political leaders around the world are working around the clock trying to stop a devastating global fiscal and economic tsunami, Canadian political leaders are preoccupied developing attack ads, in preparation for an election that by law will not be held for another year and a half.
Politicians have a Constitutional obligation to provide law, order and good government. To arbitrarily use a confidence vote to force an election goes beyond the bizarre.
A confidence vote serves only one purpose, and that is to undermine the stability of governments, and to insist it is their prerogative to do that defies logic.
The basic function of politicians is to review, debate and support or defeat any and all pieces of legislation on its own merits, and that includes the annual budget.
Whether or not politicians have confidence in the government is irrelevant. The real issue is whether the people have confidence in governments, and that confidence is expressed during elections.
Nothing is more coercive and political hard core than arbitrarily using confidence votes to deep six the government of the day.
Add that to the fact that party discipline has destroyed the democratic process and removed accountability, and it’s no wonder that we have entered a state of anarchy, where the people have lost control of the politicians, and governments have become dysfunctional.
Andy Thomsen
Summerland
