It’s a rare sight to see every single seat in the House of Commons filled, but that was the case for the historic 152-152 stalemate that saved the skin of Paul Martin’s Liberal government. Unfortunately for him, he had to make a deal with Jack Layton and his socialists, and then with Belinda Stronach, the former Conservative, in order to stay standing.
This raises the question of what Paul Martin, or the Liberals, actually stand for. Apparently just for winning. Or in this case, merely surviving.
So, no election. But that is not necessarily a bad thing right now. Many Canadians felt they were being railroaded into a vote. Others don’t like the idea of an election in June or July. And there are lots of people who want to see the final report on the Liberal adscam before they make up their minds. Fair enough. Now we have a few months to prepare.
In Halton, we will put away those shiny new election signs that arrived on Friday, but not the campaign! In fact, I relish the thought of having time now to get into every corner of the riding, speak to every group and association and truly get our message out. Instead of flying on adrenalin through a 36-day campaign, we have an entire season to talk about the issues, about what people here want in their next MP, and how to heal this messed-up political system that has evolved.
It’s only a matter of time before Paul Martin and the Liberals lose a confidence vote. If they do manage to survive through more back-room deals and horse-trading, then we will have an election a month after the sponsorship scandal report is tabled – roughly a year from now.
In that period of time, will our local Liberal MP Gary Carr become a changed man? Will he start holding Town Hall meetings across the riding to see what the people are thinking? Will he stop telling us about all the “accomplishments” of the government and begin asking us what we want? Will he speak out against his government spending $25 billion in less than a month, and throwing us back on the road to deficits and higher mortgage rates? We will stop replacing us, and start representing us?
Those would be smart moves. They might make people reconsider.
But in case he does not, I am here. Day and night, week after week, in every corner of the community – listening, observing, speaking and sharing, It’s time we did better, achieved more and were once again proud of our country and the men and women who lead it.
That will take a little time, in a campaign that started this morning.
Please take a moment to send me your thoughts: electgarth@garth.ca
