However, one of the players front and centre in the drive to use parliamentary democracy to gain power is the same political party that has long advocated for the dismantling of the system that has governed our country since confederation.

The NDP, led by Jack Layton, is in no position to argue for the respect of parliamentary democracy in the quest to take power from the Conservatives in an alliance with the Liberals and separatist Bloc.

In its 2008 election campaign, the NDP election platform called for radical changes to Canada’s system of government.

If elected, the NDP promised to abolish key components of our parliamentary democracy.

These measures included:

House of Commons: change the electoral system to ensure that every vote counts. We will implement a proportional representation system that mixes constituency representation with party representation. This will result in fairer representation in Parliament, fewer regional differences, and more women in elected office.

Senate: abolish the undemocratic and unnecessary Senate, following the lead of Canadian provinces and other jurisdictions that have abolished their upper houses. A referendum on Senate abolition will be held to put the final decision in the hands of all Canadians.

Now, it’s easy to argue that the NDP have every right to work within the current system, and take advantage of its historic rules. Fair enough. However, it’s important to recognize that the NDP in power will represent an agenda to destroy Canada’s parliamentary democracy and twist it away from the traditions of the Westminster system.

Among the parties that have endorsed and are active players in the coalition that threatens to seize power using tools within our parliamentary democracy, only the Liberals can claim to honour the system that governs our country.

The Bloc, which holds the balance of power in the coalition proposal, does not respect Canadian federalism let alone parliamentary democracy. Green Party leader Elizabeth May has also advocated for a departure from our current system and would like to see the country governed in radically different ways than our traditional rules. Both the NDP and Greens want to abandon the current first-past-the-post rules to help bolster their numbers in parliament. Unable to make major advances in the current system, the NDP and Green Party are willing to abandon tradition in an effort to gain more power.

Now they are using the current system as a defence for their motives to seize control of government. How can anyone take them seriously?

* * *

It’s economic stimulus, stupid

The fiscal update issued by the Stephen Harper Conservatives last week has led to a political crisis in Ottawa.

The arrogance of using a fiscal update to include partisan jabs was a major miscalculation for the Prime Minster. It was, quite simply, stupid.

However, one thing most people have ignored as they dream of reversing the results of the October federal election, is the economic stimulus the Conservatives have infused into the Canadian economy, as well as other measures announced in the economic statement.

To date, the government has committed $50 billion in stimulus for the Canadian banking sector. By taking over bank-held mortgages, the government has made a strong move to ease the growing credit crunch faced by the country’s financial institutions. This represents two per cent of Canada’s GDP, and a larger infusion of cash per capita into the financial sector than both the United States and England.

While it wasn’t enough, the fiscal update also offered some temporary relief for pensioners and private pension-fund providers. Additional response was promised as the government awaits a plan from the auto industry.

How this isn’t economic stimulus is baffling?