Playing Politics Over Crime

On Monday I blogged about Mayerthorpe and the murders of four RCMP officers.

Today, I’m reminded of why I cheered when the Liberal government was defeated.

Politics. Too much fucking politics. What else would you expect from politicians? you might wonder. And that’s when I have to shrug and admit some defeat. I mean, we now expect our governments to rob us blind and leave us on the hook to pay for it.

Oh, yeah, that was the Liberals, wasn’t it? Yes, yes, the reasons I cheered are all coming back to me… Those fuckers ever want my vote they can damn well stand up and use their money to pay the people of this country back.

I mean, make a fucking gesture. Admit you’re thieves and have the balls to say that what you did was wrong.

But no. Instead, the Liberals have now proven they don’t have a fucking backbone either. Must have lost track of that along with their morals.

Assuming they ever had either.

And this week – of all weeks – is the week to show they aren’t taking crime seriously?

”Mayerthorpe” became the most-watched Canadian drama of 2008, holding its own against the Grammy Awards.

To quote: The broadcast followed a poll released the same week by CTV and The Strategic Counsel indicating that nationally, three in four people surveyed believe the Canadian justice system is too lenient on repeat offenders, with a full 50 percent saying the justice system is "much too lenient."

You know, I’m not going to sit here and nitpick over the particulars of the bill. The point is, it takes months for the average bill to pass through parliament, if not years. I used to wonder why governments never seemed to get anything done, but then I was given an assignment when I was studying journalism.

MP profile.

I have no idea how I got the guy I did. Pig farmer from Saskatchewan turned politician. Ray Funk. What I do remember was his efforts to table a private member’s bill… the entry explains how it died on the table…

As so many bills do when the government dissolves.

And then the process starts all over again, if at all.

You know, if that’s how we ran businesses they’d all be bankrupt. But our government can fail to address things and it can take literally years for them to ever get back on the debate list, if ever.

What about the fact that the people of this country elected the Conservatives? Sure, they only have a minority government.

But they won more than the Liberals did. Which ought to tell the Liberals something.

And in the same week that Mayerthorpe hits the small screen and we have a full 50 percent of respondents to a poll saying our justice system is “much too lenient”, the Liberals walk out over a vote on the Conservative crime bill.

I mean, is it too goddamn much to ask these people to stand for something? Debate the motion, to endorse it or to vote against it?

I have more respect for the NDP, who stayed in that room and did their job and yes, voted against the crime bill.

But they had the balls to stand for something.

What did the vote do? Essentially, nothing. It was a ploy to get the Senate to move faster on the bill. The Liberals maintain the Senate hasn’t had enough time since returning from Christmas break to analyze the bill.

Well, how much fucking time do you need to do something out here in the real world?

What a joke.

And, like, why do I give a fuck about the Senate? It isn’t as though I elect them. They’re just political puppets, left over from past administrations.

Say what you will about Alberta, about our attempts at two-tiered health care, about our love of guns and hatred of Kyoto…

At least we made an effort to send an – oh my God! – elected representative to the Senate.

I mean, let the people of this country have some say in who makes the decisions for us?

Or, in the case of the Liberals, I guess that would be who robs us blind.

And then walks off the job.

(Don’t think I’m letting the Conservatives off the hook for everything they do. I’m watching the Afghanistan issue closely, and any backing down on supporting our troops and our mission there will not impress me in the slightest. We can decide to send hundreds and thousands of soldiers over there, but the moment one gets hurt we start questioning the mission. And what does that say to the soldiers who did risk their lives, or were injured? What does that say to the people who waited and worried while their husband/father/son/daughter served our country? It says their work isn’t for something this country believes in… just playing politics with people’s lives. We do not pull out because someone is killed. We pull out because our mission is fulfilled, or upon assessment it's concluded it can never be successful. What an incredible dishonour to their sacrifice, and to their service.)