Why I support a Liberal-NDP coalition

Most of the people I've talked to, or seen in an interview on the 6:00 news oppose a Liberal-NDP coalition because they believe it's undemocratic. It's so disheartening because quite frankly nothing could be further from the truth. I wonder when people are going to wake up and stop buying what Stephen Harper is selling because they're buying a lemon and they don't even realize it.

FACT: A coaliton would not overturn the results of the last election because every single elected MP would retain his or her seat in Parliament.

FACT: Contrary to what the Conservatives have said to strike fear in the hearts of Canadians, the Bloc is not part of the coalition, would not have any cabinet seats, and has merely agreed not to topple a coalition government for 12 months.

FACT: Although Stephen Harper has adopted a conciliatory tone over the last week, the reason we had an election in October is because the opposition refused to let him govern as if he had a majority government. He refused to work with an opposition that wouldn't give him carte blance to do whatever he wanted to do, period. Kind of dictator-like, non?

FACT: The Conservatives announced that part of their economic strategy would be to cut the per-vote funding each party receives. Until we have proportional representation the only thing you can be sure your vote is doing is providing just over a dollar to the party of your choice.

Rick Mercer said it best:

"Stephen Harper decided Canada doesn't need a stimulus package; all we needed to do was cancel the subsidy that political parties get.

Which would have saved the government about $26-million. That's about the same amount Harper spends on bodyguards every year when he visits danger zones like Thunder Bay or Nunavut.

But the real upside for Harper, of course, is that the entire opposition would have been crippled or destroyed. It gives me great faith to know that as our economy crumbles Harper is on the case trying to come up with new an innovative ways to cutback the Green Party's office budget and bankrupt the Liberals. And then the world will be a better place.

Maybe he has a point. Maybe that's why Canada keeps refusing to give the man a majority. It's not because he's a mean little man obsessed with revenge, but because we just have too many choices. We go to the voting booth and get confused. Like that first trip to Baskin Robbins. Maybe we'd all just be better off if Conservative was the only flavour on the menu.
Well we almost found out. Because if Stephen Harper got his way on this, democracy would have changed forever. And not a single citizen will have gotten to vote on the matter."

The Liberal-NDP coalition led by Michael Ignatieff may not topple the Conservative government. But no matter who you voted for you should thank the stars they're willing to, if need be, because if the opposition had sat back and done nothing there would be no democracy in this country at all.