Quebec denounces, Western premiers praise plan to enlarge House of Commons

Article


The Harper government’s plan to enlarge the House of Commons has touched a raw nerve with Jean Charest’s Quebec government, even as Western premiers praise the idea.

With Quebec marginalized within the federal Conservative caucus, and with the Quebec government also vowing to take the Conservatives’ plans for Senate reform to the Supreme Court, the risk is increasing of French Canada becoming more estranged both from Ottawa and from provinces to its west.

Umm... you didn't vote conservative, and they got to form the government. What precisely do you expect. Besides , your share by population is 23% , and you seem to be demanding 25% , according to this artical. Thats hardly "marginalized", thats "over represented".


But the new legislation could see Quebec’s share of the total seats in the House of Commons drop below its current level of 24 per cent, which is slightly above the 23 per cent that is province’s share of the national population.
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Veteran NDP MP Joe Comartin argued that any redistribution must ensure that Quebec receives a minimum 25 per cent of the seats in that House, its traditional share. The NDP is now the dominant party in Quebec at the federal level.



This is a fairly slanted article by the globe and mail, that doesn't seem to depend much on facts, just on people shouting I WANT I WANT I WANT ...at the top of their lungs.

If I was a cynical man , I'd examine NDP MP Joe Comartin 's demands under a microscope, noticing that he seems to be saying Quebecers are special and need to be treated as such. I'm sure that will go over well in other provinces where the NDP is trying to get elected. I'd point out that if he gets his 25% , he'll say it was because of his hard work and you should elect him. Or if he doesn't get it , he will blame the conservatives for failing to agree with him that Quebecers are so special. Better people than those in any other province, apparently. Either way , there's no upside for the conservatives, no reason why they should give him what he wants. And thus he isn't really working for the benifit of Quebec, he's just slinging mud. Oh wait ... I am a cynical man. Maybe I will say that.

Let me tell you the truth about growing the house of parliament , as the Liberals (now out of power) have lead this time honored practice.

What they do is they find some riding's with a large population and a history of consistently voting Liberal , and they cut it in half and now it has two MP's. Both of which are most likely to vote Liberal.

It's one of the many many dirty tricks the Liberals used to insure their domination. The so called natural governing party used a bag full of dirty tricks , it seems.

You can bet the Conservatives are going to balance that out by splitting up large riding's with a history of voting conservative. And you can bet is going to be left out in the cold for the next few years, another time honored liberal trick. You don't vote for them, they don't give you crud. No shipping contracts. No representation above the 23% minimum required by population, no nothing.