Velcro government: stuck with it

Public Safety Minister Vic Toews said today that all the records of the gun registry are being destroyed for one reason -- to thwart future,  more gun-registry-friendly governments.  

“We won’t have these records loose and capable then of creating a new long gun registry should they ever have the opportunity to do that,” ” said Public Safety Minister Vic Toews at a news conference at an Ottawa valley farm.

 

All day, I've been trying to figure out why this has been nagging at me. Is there anything wrong about that? Turns out I've also got the words of Stephen Harper -- yes, the Prime Minister -- stuck in my head. From last week, in the House of Commons: 

Mr. Speaker, the law of our constitutional system is extremely clear. A previous government cannot bind a future government to its policy. 

Yes, that's an argument in favour of scrapping a policy of a previous government, but it seems to me it's also an argument for not thwarting a future one. And yes, it should also remind you of Tom Flanagan's candour of a few years ago, about why it was a good idea for the Conservatives to run up deficits. It was about "tightening the screws" on successors. 

"They've gradually re-engineered the system. I'm quite impressed with it,'' said Flanagan, who ran the 2004 Conservative campaign and has been a longtime confidant and former chief of staff to Harper.

 

"They're boxing in the ability of the federal government to come up with new program ideas . . . The federal government is now more constrained, the provinces have more revenue, and conservatives should be happy.''

Guess that's good news for all of you out there who aren't crazy about voting. Elect this government, determine policy for many governments afterward. It's not democracy, or even constitutional, if I hear Harper correctly, but it is efficient. 

 

Comments

[Jim Pook]

If the government is not going to have a long-gun registry, then all the data for the registry MUST be destroyed.

Further, it should be a criminal offence for any person or state agency to have any copy of this data after it has been destroyed.

This data is too valuable to criminals and state officials who would abuse it.

[Mike Klein]

Thank you Susan! Oy! What a bargain the last election brought us!

[Jim Macdonald]

Déjà vu... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kAKpURDaIgs&t=0m26s

[basho55]

Perhaps it would be most efficient and effective if we just make Harper fearless leader for life, like Castro or Kadhafi...and he has a son who could take over as muscleman... Imagine the money we'll save... We could buy new planes and tanks...