don't shoot the pianist
he is doing the best he can

It was thirty years ago today, in the midst of the American embassy hostage crisis, that six American diplomats were successfully exfiltrated from Iran. In would become known as the “Canadian caper”, the escapees had been sheltered at the official residences of Canadian ambassador Kenneth Taylor and immigration officer John Sheardown.

The caper was a wonderful piece of cooperation between everybody involved, from the Canadian embassy staff to the Cabinet, which issued its first secret order-in-council since World War II to issue authentic Canadian passports to the American diplomats. The CIA was also involved, although their role in providing a cover story—which involved a fake movie production, of all things—wouldn’t be made public for over a decade after the operation.

It all makes me wonder whether we could pull this off again today. I’m not so sure.

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There’s an amusing story in the Toronto Star from yesterday suggesting that three Liberals are considering crossing the floor to join the governing Conservatives. As speculation goes, one of them may be Brampton—Springdale MP Ruby Dhalla, bringing the number of Dhalla-joins-Tories rumours to about forty-seven over the last five years.

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There’s lots to write about, but one thing in particular is irritating me to no end: the notion that in order to avoid a confidence vote, Harper has shut down the Canadian government for the next fifty-two days. The claim is being made mostly by backers of the coalition, including a certain party that still, despite its claims of relevancy, hasn’t won any seats in Parliament:

… Canadians are now saddled with a government who … now plans to take an extended break in order to dodge democracy.

Is Harper requesting prorogation at least partially to delay a vote of confidence? Of course he is. But what’s particularly noticeable is that the Greens appear to be completely clueless about the distinction between the executive branch and the legislative branch.

In case the Greens skipped their civics classes, here’s a crash course: Her Majesty’s Government forms the executive branch of the country. The Parliament of Canada, on the other hand, is the legislative body of the country. Parliament, the legislative body, is being prorogued. The government, on the other hand, is still functioning.

In other words, if the Canada Revenue Agency is reviewing your tax return, you will continue to hear from them at their usual slow-as-molasses pace.

Say what you want about Harper suspending an elected body in order to continue governing, but at least to accuse him of being a dictator is to be more accurate than to make the ridiculous assertion that the government itself is being shut down.

I can’t take credit for that pun, but I’ve unabashedly stolen it anyway.

The big news out of Ottawa—and it seems like there’s another item every five minutes all of the sudden—is that all three opposition parties are in talks to form a coalition and force Harper’s Conservatives out of power. The talks involve political giants of yesteryear such as former prime minister Jean Chrétien and former NDP leader Ed Broadbent, and with today comes word that the NDP and Bloc Québécois were in coalition talks “a long time ago”.

It sounds more exciting than it actually is, mostly because chances are remote that such talks will succeed, and even more remote that they will result in a long-term victory against the Conservatives. Ignoring the curious prospect of a self-avowed separatist party holding the controlling stake in a coalition government, one has to wonder if the opposition parties—the Liberals in particular—haven’t erred in discounting the possibility of this plan backfiring.

What’s lost in all this is that the Conservatives still hold 143 seats in Ottawa. With the Tories able to count on the regular support of André Arthur and still ideologically aligned, if not politically affiliated, with Bill Casey, that leaves the Tories ten seats short of a parliamentary majority—nine, de facto, if Peter Milliken remains the speaker. And that means the opposition parties may be playing with fire here.

Because it’s hard to believe that there won’t be at least a handful of blue Liberals crossing the floor if this plan comes to fruition, just like plenty of red Tories went the other way when the Progressive Conservatives merged with the Canadian Alliance. Bottom line: if I’m Harper, and the Liberals ally with the New Democrats, I know exactly what I’m doing first: calling Alliance-turned-Liberal MP Keith Martin, and offering him the Veterans Affairs portfolio.

Every federal leaders’ debate, much ado is made about “knockout punches”—the critical one-liner or moment that leaves an opponent not scrambling for words, but completely defeated. Brian Mulroney’s famous “You had a choice” attack on John Turner in the 1984 debate is invoked as an example of a debate which had a massive effect on public opinion.

Yet the fact is that such knockout punches haven’t happened in the twenty-four years since. Party leaders these days spend too much time on debate preparation for that to happen. So while it promises to be a good show and there may even be plenty of fireworks, don’t expect anybody’s political career to end tonight.

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After a few days of public wrangling that included threats of a lawsuit, the Green Party yesterday won its fight with the consortium of Canadian broadcast networks that produce the federal party leaders’ debates. Green leader Elizabeth May will be participating.

To me, that’s unfortunate. Make a few threats to the right people, with a few able lawyers to back you up, and you’ll generally get what you want. But enough about the Green Party’s tactics. Significantly more relevant are the arguments the Greens have used to justify a place at the debates.

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The main story on the Canadian federal election on the CBC yesterday featured a large picture of Conservative leader Stephen Harper visiting a family’s home in Richmond. Surprised? You shouldn’t be. Already, British Columbia looks to be a major battleground for all three federalist parties—Harper and NDP leader Jack Layton both spent yesterday in the Vancouver area—and Richmond is a shining example.

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