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I have been rolling this around in my head for a while and I am still not sure how I feel about it.
1) What the opposition parties are doing is perfectly legal. This is not a coup. It's not even a new idea. In fact, Harper signed onto an agreement a few year's ago to run a coalition with the support of the NDP and the Bloc should they have have toppled Martin's Liberal government of the day (this is the non-confidence vote that ended with one vote in favour of confidence).
The members of Parliament are servants of the Crown (embodied by the GG). They lead only at the behest of the Crown. If a ruling party does not have the confidence of the house, the Crown can either call an election or ask someone else to form the government. The latter is increasingly likely in the face of a recent election.
While some may say this sucks and is undemocratic... it is is the system we have. If you don't like it, lobby for a Republic, lobby for a system other than one based on Westminster.
2) The Conservatives' stimulus plan. What Finance Minister Flaherty tabled last week was the most partisan document that I've seen come out of the Canadian Parliament in my memory. While Flaherty was the bad man, this was Harper's doing and I place the blame for this current crisis squarely at his feet.
Yes, he's backed down on the some of the more odious bits of legislation BUT he has shown incredibly bad judgement. This sort of behaviour leads to loss of confidence in the house (see: Joe Clarke's short term as PM and the gas tax bill that he put forth that brought him down).
This is the thing. If you are running a minority government, you can't pull these sorts of stunts. You must rule with an ear to the other parties. You cannot rule like a majority government.
3) To the question of democracy. In Canada, we do not vote for the leader of our country. We also do not vote for the party that will rule our country. We vote for local representation... a member of Parliament. It is the party with the most seats that, generally, gets to form the government. But coalitions have formed in the past under Trudeau and Borden. The point here is that *nobody* voted for a Conservative government. Nobody voted for a Liberal government. Nobody voted for an NDP government. You all voted for a representative.
If you don't like this system, lobby to change it.
4) The Bloc. This is the part that makes the coalition hard to stomach. On the one hand, the Bloc is a progressive party. They share many values with the Centre-Left so the fit is reasonable. On the other hand, the Bloc are a separatist party. They would like to see Quebec leave Canada. I personally don't think this is a reality today. The separatists have lost. What the Bloc is today, despite what they say, is a regional party with the interests of one province only (not unlike what the Reform party was at one time).
While I don't see the coalition as an ideal situation, I don't think Harper has shown that he is worthy of the confidence of the house. I say let the coalition take power. Then let the Conservatives elect a new leader. Hopefully their dormant Progressive Conservatives (remember them?) will rise up and shake some sense into the reformists...
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"My hands are on fire. Hands are on fire. Ain't got no more time for all you charlatans and liars."
- Old Man Luedecke
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