To the Editor:
We are two weeks into an election, and Harper and members of the Conservative government who were just found in contempt of Parliament are campaigning as if they have done nothing wrong.
No penalties have been awarded so it may seem as a non-issue, but something is very wrong with this election, and just because no penalties have been awarded, does not mean that everything is OK.
The government should have fallen by virtue of having been found in contempt of Parliament, and all members of that government should automatically have been disqualified to run in the subsequent election.
We are in uncharted waters with a government having been found in contempt and we must address this issue in a timely and responsible manner to be sure the consequence for such actions truly reflect the serious nature of this issue.
Prime Minister Harper and the Conservative government were not only defying their fellow parliamentarians and the democratic process, their actions were so disruptive that our parliament ceased to function as a democratic institution.
Because our Parliaments are the institutions where laws are written, and because Parliamentarians also are Trustees of the public, penalties for contempt should at the very least be as severe as criminal contempt of Court.
Penalties should include being permanently barred from holding public office, and the prospect of spending time in jail.
Considering that Harper and his gang having just performed an unprecedented assault on our most treasured democratic institution it’s incomprehensible that they should be eligible to become Members of the next government.
Andy Thomsen, Summerland