In reflecting upon the actions and antics of our federal politicians these past few months, one cannot help lament the loss of hope Canadians held when after years of witnessing Ottawa bicker it's way through two successive minority Parliaments, they elected a majority government. They did so, due in large part to a belief that a majority could bring about a "truce".....that the divisive, hyper-partisan electioneering and rhetoric trotted out as "governance" since 2006, would lower the temperature in Ottawa; cooler heads would prevail and MPs could finally get down to the business of seriously addressing the economic and social challenges Canada continues to battle.

Sadly, those hopes have been systematically dashed by our 41st Parliament. Not only has the temperature increased, the mean-spirited silliness, secrecy and yes, at times downright lying has been torqued up to new heights. I can't recall the last time I tuned into the news or even a political broadcast where the issue of job creation was being seriously discussed/debated, how best to stimulate economic growth and stability in a defintive way that Canadians could understand, ideas on how to tackle the issue of the growing disparity between the wealthy and working poor in this country. No, instead we appear to be focusing attention and energy on perpetuating an atmosphere of anxiety, fear and anger:  Bill C-30 and Public Safety Minister's "You"re either for it or you're with the child pornographers", backlash against the Minister by the creation of Vikileaks detailing the private details of his divorce, motions to further cloak government in a veil of secrecy by proposing increased number of committee meeting hearings in-camera, party-planning by the government for a post-vote celebration of the demise of the long-gun registry, personal obscenities and insults increasingly hurled across the floor of the House of Commons, time allocation and debate closure motions at an all time high, fake televised citizenship ceremonies....and on goes the list of absurdities.

The only comic relief in this whole ugly debacle came in the past two days when MP Tom Lukiwski turned his sights on the burning issue of making TV coverage of HoC procedings better by controlling the cameras and eliminating wide angle lens shots. The overarching concern is that Canadians are getting the wrong impression of their Parliament.....wide angle lenses are revealing too many empty seats in the HoC, that could beg the question by those of us in TV Land, "Is there an MP in the House?"

I confess I never once heard a constituent or any other Canadian for that matter, question or comment on "empty seats" in the House. On the contrary their concerns were always about the seats that were filled.

So, the latest revelation of more "scripted" government propoganda unfolded today when it was reported that SunTV aired a SSF (Staged, Scripted and Fake) Canadian citizenship ceremony. In and of itself, one could simply write the episode off to what amounts to elementary school hijinks....hilarious if it weren't so sad. Hilarious, in that in a country that hosts many of these ceremonies nation-wide each and every month, this had to be staged? Even Scotiabank, in newly released ads, feature REAL people, facing REAL economic challenges (rather refreshing, I'd say). Sad in that when Stephen Harper vowed to change the "direction" into which Canada was headed, we all likely assumed he meant economic, or heaven help us, ideological. One could  safely say there weren"t many of us that concluded he positioned himself to become the "director" of a carefully orchestrated and scripted production where we (Canadians) were cast as mere extras. I found this latest "trick" demeaning to what it means, as an immigrant, to becoming a Canadian...... a ritual now relegated to one small act in the Prime Minister's "production". 

Let's take stock....... a fake citizenship swearing- in ceremony, taking place by the light of a fake lighthouse, on the shores of Fake Lake, shadowed only by a mega-prison filled with prisoners convicted of unreported and or/decreasing crime. The fly-by by our F-35s is impressive if it weren't for the fact the fact it helped bankrupt our nation......small consolation, but there nonetheless.

Oh how I long for the "good old days".....when like it or not, reality was reality. Firey, but REAL verbal jousting in the House of Commons ( not scripts so tightly adhered to the ministers look and sound like stooges), REAL people facing REAL challenges, putting our REAL noses to the grindstone to overcome those challenges, sharing the REAL pain (and the gain), but ultimately prevailing.

All but two words escape me......FUDDLE DUDDLE!

Welcome to Michelle's Blog!