Give Justin a Break!

I'm not a big fan of Justin Trudeau.  I have always thought that the guy needed more time in the House of Commons, first as a backbencher then as a cabinet minister, before moving into  being party leader and Prime Minister.

However, after watching it on TV and reading about it in the paper, I think this little kafuffle in the House of Commons the other day has been blown all out of proportion!  I say let's give Justin a break,  put this whole thing to rest and get on with the more serious problems which face Canada.

It was quite clear that young Justin was very frustrated with how the Opposition was stalling on the business of the House.  Many opposition members appeared to be refusing to return to their desks so a vote could proceed.

The Prime Minister crossed the floor in anger (not a good move) and physically confronted the Opposition Members (another bad move).  Some physical pushing, shoving and bad language resulted.  There were no physical injuries as far as I could see. 

Parliament is something like the game of volleyball.  Things get batted back and forth over the net (or in the case of Parliament-over the Hansard Table and Mace).  There is to be no physical contact! The ref controls the volleyball game and the Speaker of The House controls Parliament.

In this case were the actions of the Prime Minister un-parliamentary?  Yes, they were, but so were the actions of several members of the Opposition! 

Let's stop wasting time, effort and money running around this one and get on with running the country!  I think it would very difficult to explain to a fire evacuee from Fort McMurray why this silliness in the House of Commons would be more important than their plight!

Horrible Day for Canada

I am still reeling over yesterday's attack in Ottawa.  Wednesday, October 22, 2014 will be a date Canada is not likely to ever forget. 

A couple of years ago, my wife and I visited our Member of Parliament Kevin Sorenson at the Centre Block on Parliament Hill.  He was able to give us a short "behind-the-scenes" tour of the Centre Block which we enjoyed immensely.  I was horrified to see those same hallways as a backdrop for a shoot-out between police & security staff and a deranged gunman!

I was also appalled to hear that a Canadian soldier, guarding the tomb of Canada's Unknown Soldier at the National War Memorial was gunned down by presumably that same gunman finally stopped in the Parliament Buildings. 

Beiseker is a long way from Ottawa, but I am still very much upset by yesterday's events.  I feel that my rights-our rights-as Canadians have been trampled upon.  I've had a knot in my stomach ever since the news started to trickle in yesterday morning. Thousands of men and women have made the supreme sacrifice to give us those rights and protect them. We must never lose them.   We must never give in to these terrorists!

My most sincere sympathies go to the family of Cpl. Nathan Cirillo who lost his life yesterday and to the family of Warrant Officer Patrice Vincent who was struck and killed on Monday by car driven by another terrorist.  The sacrifice of these two brave Canadian soldiers will never be forgotten. 

Hooray for Scotland!

I was pleased to hear that the Scottish voters decided to stay within the United Kingdom.  The British Prime Minister, David Cameron, has promised to give them some more control over their own affairs.

I understand that will have to go through their Parliament in London so may not be as easy as all that.  We'll have to wait and see.

The United Kingdom without Scotland would be like having a car with one wheel missing.  It would look OK from one side but would be difficult to do anything.  A few hundred years ago Scotland, England, and Wales quit fighting among themselves, joined together a became the most powerful nation in the world. 

They may have lost that status to nations like China, but I think they are much stronger and more successful together.