Two months ago, Canadians elected Prime Minister Stephen Harper with a strengthened mandate to address the global economic crisis. Now, a coalition of socialists, separatists and the Liberal Party has joined forces to attempt an unprecedented power grab. After the election just 6 weeks ago, when the Liberals received the lowest share of votes in Canadian history, Stéphane Dion, along with Jack Layton and Gilles Duceppe, is attempting to take power away from the Conservative Government.
 
“After the election, the Conservatives committed to a cooperative Parliament.  The Bloc Quebecois, New Democrats and the Dion Liberals have now shown that they had no intention of working together or respecting the results of the election,” said Greg Rickford, MP for Kenora.
 
“The Conservative government’s pre-emptive action on the economy a year ago has protected Canadians against the uncertainty faced by many other countries. The Canadian economy has continued to perform relatively well compared to the rest of the western nations.” he continued. “Any attempt to claim they are reacting to inaction is simply not true.  The opposition parties announced that they have been working on this power grab for some time and had planned it before any possible announcement on the economy was made.”
 
Canadians are reacting.  Across Northwestern Ontario, reaction has been a virtually unanimous NO to this coalition.  In response, organizations such as RallyForCanada.ca are planning public rallies across Canada on December 6, including Winnipeg, to protest this move by the Bloc Quebecois, New Democrats and Stéphane Dion.  Many Canadians are feeling disenfranchised by this move so closely after the 2008 election that brought a strong Conservative minority to Ottawa.
 
“I urge Canadians to Stand Up for Canada and speak.  Continue to contact the offices of the leaders of the Opposition Parties, and the Governor General.  My office has been flooded with emails and calls from Canadians expressing their frustration and fears regarding the NDP and the separatist Bloc Quebecois holding any power over Canada.”  concluded Rickford.