Thursday, March 18, 2004

AN EQUAL THREAT?

The New Democrats in a coalition government would be as dangerous to Canada as the separatist Bloc Quebecois, Stephen Harper said yesterday.

What?

I understand Harper is just playing politics in response to Martin's attempts to portray the Conservatives as Bloc co-conspirators, but the NDP as dangerous to the country as the Bloc? Please.

Tommy Douglas, the founder of the precursor to the NDP, was the driving force behind the creation of national health care. Lucien Bouchard, the founder of the Bloc, has never established anything that has helped the country.

The NDP are committed to protecting and enhancing the social rights of all Canadians, incidentally they are also committed to fiscal responsibility. The Bloc, on the other hand, is not even committed to representing most Canadians on any issue.

The NDP are absolutely committed to the idea of Canada and to improving the quality of life of Canadians. The Bloc reject the idea of Canada and are committed to breaking the country apart.

I am not so naive to as say that no other party will or should ever vote with the Bloc, it's bound to happen, particularly in a minority government; as long as such a vote benefits the country more than it does the Bloc's position then that's fine.

But to say the federalist NDP and the separatist Bloc threaten the country equally is simply ridiculous.

Update: Same day, 2:00 p.m. - Pogge takes on Harper's comments as well, focusing on the other thrust of his argument, namely that the NDP are opposed to balanced budgets and generally irresponsible with tax dollars.

Posted by Matthew @ 1:03 p.m.