A Message from Michael Ignatieff - Editorialized

Once upon a time, I bought a membership for the Liberal Party of Canada. The circumstances were simple. I worked in the federal civil service as a term employee. My boss - who happened to hold my livelyhood in their hands at the time and never ceased to remind me of it - was selling Liberal Party memberships. Naturally, I could ill afford their anomosity, so I decided to buy one. Mea culpa, I was under the delusion that Paul Martin actually might know what he was doing. When the membership expired, so did any illusions I had that the Liberal Party was turning centre-right.

Even though I never renewed that membership, I've kept receiving e-mails from them on a regular basis. Even though I have responded to some of them in a rather abrupt fashion, usually involving hockey games in Hades, I still receive them. I thought I'd share the latest one - with my own editorial comments.

Enjoy

Dear (Your Name),

Earlier today I spoke directly to Canadians about the need to replace confrontation with co-operation in the House of Commons and I laid out our party’s response to the Conservative government’s second accountability report.

(If you call a press conference where declining to provide direct answers to the media speaking directly to Canadians)

Unlike the NDP and Bloc – who rejected the report without even reading it – we’ve been a party of government and hope to be so again. So we can’t afford to behave irresponsibly.

(Damn, being in oposition is hard work. Ian PROMISED me I'd get to be king by now! Don't you peons..er..I mean, my fellow Canadian, realize that we are the Natural Governing Party(TM) and that you need us to rule over you?)

After studying the report and consulting with Canadians, we have serious questions about the government’s performance.

(So...when, exactly, did this consultation take place? I seem to recall, until very late in the weekend, the decision on this report was going to be Iggy's alone. What happened between then and now?)

There are four questions Canadians deserve to have answered:

(Actually, there are a lot of questions Canadians deserve to have answered: Can we start with when the LPC plans to make good on the Adscam money and go from there?)

1. The government needs to tell Canadians what its plans for employment insurance are – now, not in three months time. (So, what are your plans? Minimize the amount of time required to qualify, run up the deficit and create a further culture of dependence?)
   
   
2. Canadians want the facts on infrastructure: how much money was spent in the critical first 120 days? Not promised or flowing or committed – actually spent. (Anyone who has been around government for any length of time is aware that the lag between cash flowing and actual invoices showing up to back up the committment can be between 1 - 2 quarters. If a lowly civil servant such as myself, who is not a financial officer, is aware of this reality, what does that say about Ignatieff. He is either being disingenous, or is genuinely clueless. Neither of these characteristics inspire my confidence.)
   
   
3. What plan does the government have to get our finances back under control? Mr. Harper’s past commitment to get us back to balance within 5 years is noticeably absent from the accountability report. (Perhaps the good professor might explain to all of us peons how one is supposed to plan for a future event without having a good grasp of the overall picture - which would include guaging the results of the current spending, and considering them within the context of the measures being undertaken by our major trading partners. I would rather see the current government lay out a plan next March, based on empirical evidence rather than rushing in to some ill-considered social engineering scheme in the name of the greater good.)
   
   
4. Although it does not figure in the report, the health care crisis is of urgent concern to Canadians. If Chalk River can’t supply the isotopes for needed diagnostic tests, where is the government going to find the alternative supply and what plan has the government put in place to manage the health care crisis in the future? (I thought this was supposed to be about the economic report card? Getting a bit off topic, are we? Who is trying to play politics with this issue now? Not pretty. If you want to get to the heart of the matter, talk to those bureaucrats who hold up MAPLE based on a possibility only slightly greater than the moon spontaneously combusting.)
   

So where do we go from here? Canadians don’t want an election. I am not seeking an election. But doing our job means standing by our principles – standing up when the government lets Canadians down. (And exactly how has this government let Canadians down? I mean other than putting up a budget you originally liked, and only criticized because it was only the garden taps and not the firehose.)

As Liberals, we are prepared to give Mr. Harper the time he needs to answer these questions, extending this sitting of Parliament if it’s necessary to get the work done. The real question is: does Mr. Harper want Parliament to work?

He can make it work this week by responding honestly to the concerns we have raised – by giving Canadians the transparency and accountability they need from their government.(The real question is, does Ignatieff read Hansard? I think most of what he was looking for is in there already.)

Yours,
Michael