Crowds ticked off over Tory tactic

James Miller and Ron Seymour 2010-01-24
Democracy is endangered by the prolonged shutdown of Parliament as the Conservative government shows its contempt for notions of responsible government, protesters said Saturday at three Okanagan rallies. More than 200 people turned out at demonstrations in Penticton, Kelowna and Vernon to denounce Prime Minister Stephen Harper‘s decision to prorogue Parliament until early March. Opposition politicians, community activists and ordinary citizens joined together to condemn what they said was the federal government‘s attempt to mute criticism on contentious issues. “I believe this proroguing measure is very anti-democratic,” said Judy Komar, a 55-year-old Penticton woman at the Kelowna rally. “Harper has suspended Parliament, but he can‘t suspend democracy,” shouted university student Scott Ross, who was one of those who clambered up on the lowered tailgate of a pickup truck to address the crowd. Protesters carried signs with slogans such as Get Back to Work; Dude, Where‘s My Democracy?; and Harper Quit, Just Quit!

All three Okanagan rallies were held outside the offices of Conservative members of Parliament – Stockwell Day for Okanagan-Coquihalla, Ron Cannan in Kelowna-Lake Country and Colin Mayes in Okanagan-Shuswap. Turnout was approximately 100 people in Kelowna, 80 in Penticton and 50 in Vernon.

In Penticton, Liberal candidate and former Olympian Ross Rebagliati termed Harper‘s defence of prorogation as a time for the government to focus on economic matters “laughable.” “His proroguing of Parliament will cost the Canadian taxpayer $50 million so that he and his friends can go to the Olympics instead of doing the job that Canadians elected him to do,” Rebagliati said to thunderous applause. All three Okanagan MPs have won recent elections by wide margins, and Summerland community activist Vicki Lightfoot told the Penticton rally that the only way Day could be defeated in the next election is for the Greens, Liberals and NDP to amalgamate and run one candidate. Her suggestion drew mixed reaction from the crowd. In Kelowna, Chris Olson, 25, said the shutdown of Parliament was “a very scary situation,” and Chad Pratch, 26, said he thought the Conservative government was dodging its responsibility to the people. “I‘m pissed off that the government doesn‘t want to work,” Pratch said. His friend, Cory Dixon, acknowledged that the protests may not have the desired result of convincing the government to recall Parliament, but he said it was still important to send a message that many Canadians object to the long shutdown. “If we did nothing, that would guarantee that the government would think we don‘t care,” Dixon said.

Harper has now prorogued Parliament twice in just over a year, observed Tish Lakes, a former NDP candidate. The first time was in December 2008 to avoid a confidence vote the government was set to lose. This time, she said, it was in part to avoid continued questioning over the treatment of detainees in Afghanistan. “In Stephen Harper,” Lakes said, “we‘ve got someone here who just runs and hides every time he gets into trouble.” Penticton rally co-organizer Brigid Kemp said the Penticton peace organization would be re-formed, and she called for the government “to support our troops and bring them home from Afghanistan now.”