Canada=America

We Canadians love to think that we’re different than Americans. Yet judging by the partisan tactics that our government getting away with, Canadians are only getting closer to Americans.

Take a look:

The speech from the Throne: Traditionally, the speech from the throne was read in the House at midday by the Governor General, with only MPs and the press present. This year though, the PM told Michaëlle Jean to read it at prime-time, and brought in “average citizens” to sit behind Her Excellency and add the human touch to the TV shot.

Leaving Parliament: All important announcements used to be made in the House. Prime Ministers would never even think of saying anything meaningful away from Parliament Hill. Now though, even if it is to announce two million dollars in aid to Inuit fisherman, the PM will fly over to Iqualuit with his band of ministers to beautify the photo-up.

Anti-conservative media: The Prime Minister exerts draconian control over the press: sets which reporters get to ask him questions in press conferences, bars cameras from filming the coffins of dead Canadian soldiers returning home from Afghanistan, cancels his appearance at the Press Gallery dinner and bans MPs from attending it.

And why? Because the media is, to quote our Prime Minster: “anti-conservative”.

Terrorist target: In a televised speech, the Prime Minister says: “we are a target because of who we are, and how we live: our society, our diversity and our values. Values such as freedom, democracy and the rule of law.” I thought that was Dubya’s line…

God Bless Canada: Yes, God Bless Canada… just like God Bless America. In our secular Canada, which we thought different than the USA, our Prime Minister now ends most of his speeches with “God Bless Canada”.

None of this would have been permitted ten years ago. Canadians would simply have put their foot down and said: “This is not the government we want”. Yet today, the PM gets away with it.

So all that nonsense about Canadians being different than Americans, I’ll only buy into it when Harper leaves office.