Canada's Constitutional coup” and the corporate media

[Joanne98]

Canada's corporate media is either vocally supporting Thursday's "constitutional coup"—the minority Conservative government and the unelected governor-general shut down parliament so as to prevent the opposition parties from ousting the government in a non-confidence vote—or keeping a guilty silence.


Never before in Canada or any other country that follows the British parliamentary pattern has a government prorogued parliament to avoid defeat in an impending non-confidence vote.


That Stephen Harper's Conservative government had lost parliament's support and was facing defeat is incontrovertible. The three opposition parties, who together have a parliamentary majority and polled substantially more than half of the votes in an election less than eight weeks ago, had officially informed Governor-General Michaëlle Jean that they would defeat the government at the earliest opportunity. They had also formally notified her of their intention to form an alternate government, a Liberal-NDP coalition supported by the Bloc Québécois.


Since Prime Minister Harper manifestly did not have parliament's support, the governor-general, according to all constitutional precedent, had no choice but to rebuff his request that parliament be shut down till the end of January.


The anti-democratic nature of the Conservatives' attempt to cling to power in defiance of parliament was further underscored by the visceral, anti-democratic campaign they mounted in the run-up to Thursday's shutting down of parliament. The Conservatives and their supporters in the corporate media openly incited anti-Quebec chauvinism and labeled the opposition's attempt to form an alternate government "illegal," even treasonous.


But rather than telling Harper that the no-confidence vote scheduled for this coming Monday had to proceed, Governor-General Jean, bowing to the wishes of Canada's ruling class, ordered parliament shut down, thereby ensuring the survival of a government without parliament's support.

Continued>>>
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2008/dec2008/cmed-d06.shtml

We need a future project to defeat right-wing in the Northern Hemisphere. We don't need RW in power in either Canada or Mexico. Harper needs to step down.

[Amonester]

1. At this point, the GG decided to "give" a "last chance" to...

the Canadian right-wing bullies at coming up with a real budget that *would* contain *satisfactory* (to the coalition, although unlikely) measures that will deal with the actual recession-depression at the end of January 2009 (or once U.S. Democratic Legislative & Executive will be fully in charge, and presumably more "supportive" of a center-left leaning coalition that will be *Constitution-friendly* in Canada...).

What is done is done (and it's not illegal), so we'll have to wait a couple of months more. :(

[Joanne98]

4. This is an outrage. Is Canada a dictatorship now?

[TrogL]

5. Canada is a Commonwealth Parliamentary democracy

...just like it's always been.

The Parliamentary system allows considerable more flexibility in terms of forming a government (if rarely used) but also makes a minority government that much more fragile.

The Governor General is giving Harper one last chance to learn how to work a minority government (there have been plenty of "strange bedfellows" governments that have worked in the past) and if he can't do that, it's game over.

On a practical note, I really didn't want to be banging signs into snowdrifts on Christmas Eve.

[bemildred]

2. Sounds downright Bush-like in it's contempt for law and precedent. nt

[rurallib]

3. Almost makes you think he got ideas from watching Bushie