There is no circumstance that I can envision that would justify the swearing in of Stéphane Dion as Prime Minister of Canada and Leader of a Coalition Government.

A few days ago, I might have supported that option but his screeching performance in the House of Commons this week and his taped video presentation on Wednesday evening convinced me that he is not the man or the person to reassure Canadians, lead its economic recovery or provide leadership in times of crisis.

There is also no circumstance that I can envision that would justify the sustainability of Stephen Harper’s government and/or his re-election. He has irrevocably tarnished the office of Prime Minister. His rhetoric and the rhetoric of his Cabinet attack-dogs over the last few days and weeks have divided the Country, alienated Quebec and alienated the West. Shame on him!

The only thing that might sustain his government would be his personal resignation from the Office of Prime Minister.

Somehow, Mr. Harper convinced the Governor General to prorogue Parliament until he delivers his Budget on January 26, 2009. Without benefit of the Governor General’s counsel or rationale, I cannot comment on the merits of her decision but I can say that it sets an unfortunate precedent for the future. Next generation prime ministers will be able to avoid “confidence votes” by referring to the Governor General’s 2008 decision.

That said, I have to agree with and support the Governor General’s decision in today’s context because (a) it gives time for our elected politicians to cool out (b) it provides time for the Liberal Party to elect a new leader before Parliament reconvenes January 26th.

Here is why I feel so strongly.

Mr. Harper takes no responsibility for any of the shenanigans of the last few weeks. He is not contrite.

He offers nothing new by way of change or conciliation.

His inflammatory portrait of the Bloc Quebecois as separatists with no right to participate in the affairs of Canada is offensive. The forty nine members of the Bloc were elected by Canadians, albeit residents of Quebec.

We may not like it but they have every right to participate in the affairs of this country until such time as they prove or decide otherwise.

The Coalition is a coalition between the Liberals and the NDP. The relationship of the Coalition with the Bloc Quebecois is a voting arrangement whereby the Bloc would vote with the Coalition on matters of ‘confidence”. There was no inclusion of the Bloc in the Coalition or in a government that might be formed by the Coalition, notwithstanding the misrepresentations put forward by our Prime Minister.

To provide perspective, it’s useful to recall that in the last election (October 14, 2008) the Conservatives received 37.6% of the vote. The combined vote of the Liberals, the NDP and the Bloc was 54.4%.

Clearly, the opposition parties had a majority of the vote. The notion that a Liberal/NDP coalition, combined with a voting arrangement with the Bloc is somehow not democratic or legal is false. Under the “Westminster” model of government that Canada has employed for the last 151 years, a governing party requires the confidence of a majority of members in the House of Commons.

Clearly, Mr. Harper lost the confidence of the House over the last few weeks His earlier deferral of a confidence vote and the Governor General’s extended deferral of such vote does not preempt requirement for the vote.

Given the state of economic turbulence in the world and given the fact that the world’s leading economies are in a state of recession or near-recession, the timing of Canada’s political crisis is most unfortunate. Harper created this crisis. His mean-spirited “economic update”, his demonization of the Bloc Quebecois and by extension Quebec is not the stuff of a legitimate prime minister.

The time-out provided by the Governor General is a good thing, not because it provides opportunity for the Government or Stephen Harper to restore itself/himself but because it provides opportunity for the opposition parties to rebuild their own houses, to generate new and meaningful ideas that could spark recovery of the Canadian economy.

In my opinion, there are three things that have to happen in the next seven weeks:
(i) the Liberals have to replace their leader;
(ii) the Liberals have to demonstrate that they have the wherewithal to finance and win an election; and,
(iii) they have to develop a stimulus plan that Canadians can judge against a Conservative “deliverance” plan.

It’s not clear to me whether the Party Constitution of the Liberal Party would permit a leadership convention before January 26th but in the interests of Canada, they better figure out a way to make it happen.

W.E. (Bill) Belliveau is a Shediac resident and Moncton business consultant. He can be contacted at bill.bellstrategic@nb.aibn.com Atlantic Insight is a published Blog inventory of opinion articles published weekly in New Brunswick's print media as written by W.E. (Bill) Belliveau, who is a resident of Shediac, New Brunswick, and small business owner, operating his Moncton-based marketing consultancy, Bell Strategic. He can be reached by e-mail at mailto:bill.bellstrategic@nb.aibn.com