Just what we needed in the hallowed halls of Parliament. More cheap political theatre better suited to a skit at a university frat house than to the chamber were laws are made and matters of substance debated. In yet one more sign that our highly paid members of Parliament are totally out of touch with reality, a New Democrat has taken to yakking non-stop to keep the House from voting on the softwood lumber deal brokered between Canada and the U.
S. He calls it a filibuster. We'd call it a full o' bluster.
MP Peter Julian's brilliant flight of oratory so far has seen him trot out dictionary definitions of words such as "the" and "and," followed by debate on their usage. Just when we thought the subject of softwood lumber couldn't get any more eye-glazing! We suggest that Julian, while he has the dictionary on his desk, look up the word "nonsense" and the phrase "waste of time.
" Then he could pull out a mirror and see the meaning of both. It's fair game for a political party to state its disagreement with any government proposal, and to outline for Canadians how it would have handled the situation. That, after all, is a longstanding tradition of Parliament.
But acting like the class clown simply to get your mug on the evening news has worn thin with most Canadians, who are sick and tired of the continuing degeneration of what passes for debate in the House of Commons. It has become embarrassing for Joe and Jane Taxpayer to sit in the public galleries and listen to the hoots and jeers and catcalls that erupt from all sides in Parliament. Enough already.
It's time to put an end to the foolishness and get down to the serious business of Parliament. Last time we checked, there was still no end to the medical care crisis in Canada. There was still angst over the military mission to Afghanistan.
The government was still taking in more tax money than it needs to run its programs. Let's focus on the real issues, and leave the silliness to the late-night talk show hosts. They're getting paid for it, and not by us.
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