edit: Less than an hour after I posted this, the Conservatives backed down and said they will allow Elizabeth to participate. Now they’re just trying some funny stuff about bringing McKay in.. anyway. Read below for an outline of the drama for democracy.     Read more »

I’m beginning to get some real sympathy for Jack Layton’s Dion-bashing.  I still don’t like the mocking tone, but the substance is true.  And here‘s Mr. Dion, once again letting the budget slide without much of a peep.  The funny thing is, I wouldn’t want Dion to do anything different.  I just want a better explanation.

Truth is, if we had an election today, the Conservatives would win a fresh mandate, possibly even with more seats, and we would have wasted a lot of money just to end up with the status quo or worse.  I’m assuming that’s Mr. Dion’s calculation, and he sees nothing to fight that would suddenly propel him to victory.

But if that is Mr. Dion’s calculation, I wish he would say so.  I wish he’d say “I don’t particularly agree with this budget, but I don’t see the point of dragging Canadians through an election only to end up right where we already are.”  Instead, he just seems kind of limp.

Update:  Elizabeth May disagrees with me.  She thinks the budget was a lot worse than mediocre, that it is leading to the militarization of Canada, and that Canadians deserve to be consulted on issues such as this.  She is a wise lady, and in many ways much smarter than I am.  But it’s hard for me to consider taking the risk of bringing in a Conservative majority.

Recently, I’ve received both posted and emailed messages from Jack Layton attacking Stephane Dion for abstaining from the vote on the Throne Speech.  These attack are disingenuous and dangerous.     Read more »

Well, it looks like Elizabeth May has found a way to chat with Jack Layton.

As everyone probably knows, Elizabeth May and Stéphane Dion will not be running candidates in each other’s ridings.  What everyone may not know is that Elizabeth has been trying since her election as Green Party leader to develop working relationships with any parties that support reasonable action on climate change, so that when we have some seats in Parliament, we can work with these parties. She has made no headway with Jack Layton, in spite of the fact that 85% of NDP members favour some sort of rapport between the parties. Jack Layton is your MP. He is supposed to represent you. So tell him to do the right thing. Then get two neighbours who are NDP supporters to tell him, too. Be polite but firm.

You can write to Jack at:
laytoj@parl.gc.ca
or
221 Broadview Ave, Ste 100
Toronto, ON M4M 2G3

And if it’s not too much to ask, tell me if you’ve written a letter, so that I can keep a tally of letters that have gone out.

For background, watch this CTV interview of Elizabeth May where she says “What the hell is wrong with Jack Layton that he can’t answer a phone call?”

People from outside Toronto-Danforth should also write to Jack Layton and tell him what he needs to do.