Contributed by: evilscientist
Now a grain of salt is needed given the source, but if Garth Turner is to be believed, our suspicions about how Harper runs the government are indeed true. It would appear that the Tory caucus isn't allowed to discuss anything. Policy is presented to them as a fait-accompli and any discussion is quashed. So another nail is driven into Canada's New Government's promise to be more open and accountable. Harper doesn't even feel accountable to his own MP's, let alone party members or the people of Canada.So in Ottawa we have a PM who seems to want to be an authoritarian dictator. This is not good for Canada. I have serious concerns that Harper will even dissolve parliament should he lose a confidence motion. If what Turner says is true, then Harper is a dangerous man who shouldn't be in power in a democracy. A Conservative majority would be the WORST thing to happen to Canada as the caucus would be expected to act as a rubber stamp, not just in the house, but in the caucus room as well.
The further concern that this causes is that the Tories and their members are just fine with this arrangement. With the exception of Turner, no prominent Tory has come out to say that this is a problem. Sure some disgruntled Tories are suing the party over Rob Anders' nomination, but the vast majority of Tories are content to be spoon fed policy by the maximum leader in Ottawa.
I think that the moment the Liberals elect their new leader, it's time for the opposition to pull the plug on this government. With luck, Harper will actually take that as a sign and dissolve parliament and off to election we go. All the Tory MP's will disappear, of course, since Harper wouldn't want them to accidentally speak to a voter, must control the message you know. There's a good chance that, with the exception of Alberta, there'll be a lot less Tory MP's next time around. The sooner the better, we need to get this dictator out of power now.
Evilness
http://www.evilscientist.ca/article.php?story=20061127061231318