Coalition Talking Points

My contribution, FWIW...

* Two-thirds of Canadians voted for parties other than the Conservatives in the most recent election.

* Opposition parties form the majority in the House. As the majority, it is their right to decide who forms the government.

* The Conservative party got 170,000 fewer votes in 2008 than in 2006.

* NDP-Liberal accords have always benefited Canada. The NDP brought us universal health care, government pensions, rent controls, and (briefly) a national day care program. When Harper refers to the NDP derisively as irresponsible socialists, he means that those policies should be abolished.

* Even if Harper backtracks on the fiscal stimulus package, we can expect it will be a "trickle down" approach where all the funding goes to big business. We need a less ideological, more practical and caring government to help Canadians through the recession.

* Even though Harper has backtracked on his proposal to abolish political subsidies, we can be sure he will try to get it past us again at the earliest opportunity. He has already changed his position on this issue four times in less than a week.

* Political subsidies replace the revenue government previously lost in tax deductions for political donations; they are standard in western democracies that have reformed political financing.

* Stephen Harper staged a hostile takeover of the Progressive Conservative party and co-opted their brand. He is an ultra-right wing ideologue whose values do not reflect those of most Canadians or even most Conservatives.

* Stephen Harper is not fit to be prime minister. He is incompetent (eg firing health inspectors and the head our nuclear safety watchdog). He lies (eg fixed election dates). He cheats (eg, secret taping of NDP meeting). He shows contempt for democracy (eg trying to abolish public subsidies to political parties). He breaks the law (eg 2006 election financing fraud). And on and on. See Scandalpedia.

* Stephen Harper has poisoned the atmosphere in parliament and made it impossible for opposition parties to work with him any longer. At this point, there is no going back. It is a situation completely of Stephen Harper's making.

* Stephen Harper says that Bloc participation in the coalition is "scary." Yet he spent billions of Canadian dollars pandering to Quebec and trying to buy their votes.

* If Harper prorogues parliament, he's just like the employee who calls in sick when he knows he's going to be fired. Proroguing parliament takes away whatever little bit of legitimacy Harper has left. And it won't work... he'll have to convene parliament sometime, and then we'll defeat him.

* If we have to have another election in the near future, it would not be such a bad thing. It would provide a stimulus to the economy, including tens of thousands of temporary jobs.

Sign the petition for a progressive coaliton.

Join the Facebook group Canadians for a Progressive Coalition.

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