Will It Never End?

Once again the CPoC has tossed the confidence card on the table and I expect that, once again, the Liberals will unbuckle and bend over either sit on their hands or walk out the door – it’s really gotta hurt to be a Liberal these days.

Proposed legislation to end the Canadian Wheat Board’s monopoly on western barley sales could be a confidence motion, Canada’s agriculture minister suggested Friday after a heated rally in Regina.

Gerry Ritz said the bill will be introduced in Parliament on Monday and the federal government is looking at all options to get it passed.

“If it takes a confidence motion we’ll go there,” he said.

“Mr. (Ralph) Goodale is the house leader for the Liberals, we’ll have to wait and see how stuck he is on this issue. If they want to move a little bit as western Canadian farmers are asking for in a democracy then we won’t need to, but if we have to use a hammer we’ll get out a big one.”

All three opposition parties have said they’re prepared for a political fight if the government brings in legislation to change the Canadian Wheat Board Act.

All three parties? Reread the 4^th paragraph, they’ve just announced their intention.

The Bloc and the NDP, neither having any significant electoral worries on their desks, will do what they say they are going to do and the Liberals will do what the Conservative Party of Canada tells them to do – because to ignore instructions means an election they know they cannot win, and are therefore afraid to fight.

My advice to rank and file Liberals is to do the right thing, and to put as much pressure on their party to bring down the government as they can; and then get on with the leadership review/change process that is bound to follow their defeat.

The alternative is a continuing downward spiral (is there anything lower than spineless?) that will ultimately do them more harm than good in the long run.