Paint It Green

65% of Canadians may object to lib/ndp/bloc government because they aren't being presented with the real situation. So this poll isn't really valid. I agree that we don't have to come out and endorse the coalition's platform unilaterally. We shouldn't. But we do have to recognize the legal and constitutional legitimacy of the coalition government. We should be making the same demands of a coalition as we are of the conservatives. No matter who forms the government we have expectations and demands as the Green Party of Canada.

The coalition government is made up of the liberals and ndp. The bloc have stated that they will not participate in the government as this is against the bloc's purpose in parliament. They have agreed that they will not defeat the government on non-confidence motions that may be brought by the conservatives and only for the first three years of the mandate. They have not agreed to support coalition legislation. This non-confidence agreement also does not apply if the coalition uses non-confidence votes to play chicken with the opposition.

Yes you can add up the vote anyway you want except for the fact that Canadians voted for a minority government for the third time. If the conservatives cannot maintain the confidence of the house then the liberals and the ndp have the constitutional right to present themselves as a coalition alternative to form another minority government. The coalition is still lead by the liberals who would, under the coalition agreement, compose the majority of MPs and the liberal leader would be the Prime Minister. It's still a minority liberal government the same as if they had won the minority in the election. A liberal minority that cannot survive without ndp/bloc votes of support for its legislation.

The advantage of the coalition is that the liberals are forced to share power more directly with the ndp which isn't a bad thing. Having ndp MPs as Ministers in the government is not a bad thing. If the liberals had formed a minority in October they would probably have made a similar agreement with the ndp and bloc. (if they were smart that is.)

Canadians have made it clear in three elections that they don't want to give majority status to either the conservatives or liberals. Canadians have three times made it clear they don't trust Stephen Harper. Canadians have made it clear three times already that they want parliament to cooperate by voting for minority governments. Canadians have made it clear they want more action and protection on the environment. Stephen Harper has now made it clear twice, he won't act or bring in protections to the environment.

What on earth do you want? Another election that may only give Ignatieff a minority government where he will have to seek the cooperation of the ndp and bloc? They already have that opportunity now. Canadians voting for a liberal minority in an election has the same legal and constitutional legitimacy as a liberal negotiated coalition government that defeats a minority conservative government. They don't have to face the electorate as that same coalition.

In terms of the original post we need to stop worrying about whether we are close to or doing better than the ndp. Our goal is to get Green MPs into parliament. The national media is never going to give equal and fair coverage of all contending parties. The ndp in fairness also has the disadvantage of not having equal coverage. We need to get the media where we can. This can happen on the local level through EDAs and should be happening. Some do this better than others.

We should never stop endorsing proportional representation but avoid endorsing any one particular version of it.

This blog reflects my personal opinion.
It is not official Green Party Policy.

Candidate of record/Trinity-Spadina, Toronto
www.trinityspadinagreens.ca
http://stephenlafrenie.blogspot.com
www.twawareness.org