'Coup d'etat' in Canada

Canada has been in political turmoil since the beginning of December, precipitated by a cynical move by Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper, a strong Bush ally, to hold onto power at any cost. In the last week of November, Harper presented his financial policy to parliament and basically asked them to take it or leave it.

The bill is atrocious. While it had no provisions to address the economic crisis facing Canada, it does contain two riders which are ideological sucker punches directed at the Liberal, New Democratic, and Bloc Quebecois parties: the abolition of electoral reform, long fought for in Canada, and the abolition of the right to strike for all government employees.

Despite their vast differences, these three opposition parties met and announced their formation as a coalition. They called for a vote of no confidence in Harper, who was just recently re-elected as a minority Prime Minister. The vote was to be held on Dec. 8, the same day as the Quebec provincial election. On Dec. 3, Harper went to Michaelle Jean, the Governor-General who is Queen Elizabeth's Viceroy, and asked her to adjourn the parliament until Jan. 27, 2009. She did, vastly overstepping her authority.

Since then, the crisis has had a cascading effect and has thrown the government into disarray. At a time of severe economic emergency, the governing body is not allowed to meet. It is widely being called a "coup d'etat in reverse."

The deep divisions in Canadian society have now surfaced full-blown, a deeply divided society with no principled leadership. The cascading effect of this crisis continues and anything could happen.

Two unintended consequences of Harper's attempt to destroy Canadian democracy are: the Crown, though it has the authority to do so "on paper," does not actually have the right to intervene in Canada's political affairs, as Michaelle Jean did, and this may be the beginning of the end of Canada's status as a "Constitutional Monarchy"; the unambiguous re-appearance of deep racism, including Stephen Harper's, against French-speaking Canadians in vast areas of English-speaking Canada, has led to significant gains for the pro-independence Parti Quebecois in the Quebec provincial election in December. Whatever the old Canada was, it is no longer adequate to meet the urgency of the times.

--Former Montrealer

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