Financial Crisis

It is no secret. Countries in the world are scrambling to turn around the recession.

In Canada, we have been told that the way we regulate our financial institutions has left us better off than many, including the United States. However, I don’t believe for one moment that we are doing all that we can.

During World War II, England formed a war cabinet that was made up of representatives of all parties. Why aren’t we doing the same to tackle the foe?

What has happened in the past couple of weeks in Canada has done little to give confidence to Canadians that our elected members of Parliament are doing their best to solve the financial crisis.

To start, the Conservative government, which doesn’t have a majority, proposed some budgetary measures without testing the waters first. This caused a revolt in Parliament. The opposition parties ganged up and have talked of asking the Governor General to let them lead the country. Under ordinary circumstances, I would have no problem with this. Unfortunately, Canada is anything but an ordinary country.

To start, the coalition that plans on overthrowing the Conservatives requires the support of the Bloc Quebecois, a political party with the sole intent of having Quebec leave the country. In fact, the one part of the Conservative budget that irritated the other parties so much was doling out money to all the party coffers based on the votes they received in the last election. Yes, in Canada we actually pay a political party that wants to destroy the country. We are so accommodating and fair that we spend taxpayer’s money to work against ourselves. Amazing!

The other interesting fact is that until yesterday, the person who was destined to lead the country as Prime Minister was Stephane Dion, the Liberal leader who was rejected by most Canadians. The plan was to have him as the chief for a period of six months or so until a new leader of the Liberal Party is chosen. Pinch me! Does this sound like a strong plan to defeat the economic woes of the country?

The reality is that this is more about the hatred the opposition parties have for Stephen Harper than their love of Canada. Unfortunately, Harper has offered few olive branches to them, unlike President Elect Barack Obama who appears to be getting the best people to do the job regardless of whether they are former foes.

So what do we do? Do we allow the coalition to form the government and divide Canadians? Don’t forget there are many who voted for the Conservatives, particularly in provinces like Alberta, which has hinted at times it might be better off outside our confederation.

To me, the only solution is for all parties to seize the moment and work together and attack the problem, not the people. We elected a Parliament. Now get together and start working. Let’s quit the politics and roll up our sleeves and get cracking.