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Wednesday, December 03, 2008
Ed Schreyer, former governor general, says that the coalition is legitimate
Here's some breaking news from Maclean's:
The [Bloc-]Liberal-NDP coalition should get a chance to govern if the Conservatives are defeated in the House of Commons, former governor general Ed Schreyer said Wednesday.
He told the CBC that the system requires that a government have the confidence of Parliament.
"The ground rules of fair play, constitutional fair play and propriety are clear," he said.
He said the coalition, which is poised to defeat Stephen Harper and his Conservatives on Monday, would then have a legitimate claim to power.
"We are a parliamentary democracy," Schreyer said. "And governments are elected according to whether or not they have and are able to maintain the confidence of a majority in Parliament.
"And if we are to remain a parliamentary democracy, then the parliamentary will must not be ignored, nor must it be avoided or evaded."
I've gotten into the habit of calling it the Bloc-NDP-Liberal coalition for one simple reason -- that's what it is. It is a coalition not between "two parties and with the backing of a third," it is a coalition between the separatist Bloc, the socialist NDP, and the stumbling-bumbling Liberals.
It is dishonest to call it just an NDP-Liberal coalition. The Bloc is part of the agreement. The Bloc will prop up the coalition. The Bloc is part and parcel of the coalition. And of course the Grits and Dippers will try to distance themselves from having forged formal ties with a separatist party, but they shouldn't get away with this P.R. move. Which is why I'll continue to call it what it is, a Bloc-NDP-Liberal coalition.
As for Schreyer -- he's probably right. The coalition is legally legitimate. But that's not the question. The question isn't whether or not the coalition is legal -- it most certainly is -- the question is whether or not the coalition is morally legitimate or has the foul stench of deplorable brinksmanship. Unfortunately for Dion, Layton, and Duceppe, it is the latter, and not the former.
Posted by P.M. Jaworski on December 3, 2008 in Canadian Politics | Permalink
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Comments
Legally legitimate is an interesting turn of phrase. The first problem was this is that the Bloc was ever allowed to sit in Parliament. Yes, I know it is past history but that never made it legally legitimate. So to claim that a coalition with the same is legally legitimate is ludicrous.
Posted by: Alain | 2008-12-03 6:14:43 PM
Is there any remote chance that Queen Elizabeth II could come to Ottawa and say / do something about this mess? I'm guessing probably not.
(Yes, I am related to Ed. I was only about two years old when he became the Governor General.)
Posted by: Cory D. Schreyer | 2008-12-03 6:17:20 PM
Legitimacy is one thing - necessity is another.
Posted by: Zebulon Pike | 2008-12-03 6:23:14 PM
well may be she talk about this. If this happen again.
Posted by: Ed Halbert | 2008-12-05 2:08:41 PM
So I guess this must mean that members of the Bloc Separatist Party must have sworn loyalty to the Queen? How else could they sit in Parliament?
If they did not, are they still a legitimate part of the legitimate coalition?
This system is so flawed...we really should trash it and come up with an administration that works.
Posted by: JC | 2008-12-05 2:36:12 PM
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