IT SURELY must be one of the most confusion-inducing short walks in all of Canada, that stroll across the House of Commons aisle from the Speaker’s left to his right, from opposition to government.
Sometime during the short walk – a distance of two sword lengths historically established in the British Parliament to keep the bloodshed to a minimum – things that were clear become unclear, things that were in focus become fuzzy, things that were said are forgotten, things that had an answer now require more study.
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It is the political equivalent of getting a whack on the head that induces a bout of amnesia and at least temporarily, scrambled thoughts that produce indecision.
Last week, for example, the Ottawa streets outside the Parliament buildings were once again clogged with farm tractors and Parliament Hill hallways echoed with farm leader demands for billions of dollars in immediate farm aid.
The Conservatives said their answer will come in the May 2 budget but farm leaders are already practicing their “too little, too late” response.
What a difference six months makes. There is no question what the Conservatives would be saying now if they were still on the opposition benches.
Where’s the money? Deliver it yesterday!
Listen to voices from the recent past.
On Sept. 30, 2005, Regina-Qu’Appelle MP Andrew Scheer was in the House of Commons demanding that the Liberals immediately change the rules of the Canadian Agricultural Income Stabilization program to fix the problem of declining margins.
“The minister must listen to Saskatchewan farmers on this,” said the MP. “Will he change the averaging system or will he continue to ignore producers?”
It was a clear call for immediate action. But on that walk across the aisle, the Conservatives discovered there are federal-provincial agreements that require much negotiation before changes can be made.
Of course, “will he commit to negotiate with other governments to try to have the averaging system changed sometime in the future?” doesn’t have quite the same ring.
Then there were former agriculture critics Diane Finley and Manitoba MP James Bezan on their feet Nov. 15, 2005, berating the Liberals for not including immediate farm funding in a pre-election mini-budget.
“Our farmers are in terrible straits and they need help now,” said Finley, now minister of social development. “Why has the government ignored farmers…?”
Bezan found allies among farm leaders. He quoted Canadian Federation of Agriculture president Bob Friesen accusing the Liberals of abandoning farmers.
“Why are the Liberals ignoring the facts and ignoring our farmers?” asked the MP.
These days, that same Bob Friesen is questioning the Conservative commitment to rural Canada and demanding that federal help flow immediately. And in much larger dollops than the Conservatives plan.
Suddenly, it is the Liberals who are citing Friesen and demanding instant answers.
And the walk across the aisle seems to have changed the Conservative view of farm leadership, converting them from astute critics to negative Nellies making unrealistic demands about money and timing. There are limits to what governments can do, don’t you know?
This apparently was knowledge picked up on the stroll across the aisle.
