To the Editor:
A growing number of Canadians are questioning the legitimacy of Stephen Harper's so-called "majority" government.
Yes, in the 2011 election, Conservatives took more than half the seats in the House of Commons. But they do NOT represent a majority of Canadians. Not even close. Conservatives got just 40 per cent of the votes of the meager 60 per cent who went to the polls.
So do the math. Mr. Harper's mandate came from just 24 per cent of eligible voters. Worse still, even that modest support is now tainted by on-going revelations of deceit and incompetence on crucial, big files like the F-35 procurement fiasco.
First there was the detailed analysis provided by the Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO) last spring. That was followed by damning criticisms from the Auditor-General. And last week, we received a private sector audit by the national accounting firm of KPMG.
All of them exposed massive government bungling on the F-35s, beginning in 2006 (precisely when Stephen Harper first took power). But even more serious is the cover-up. The government deliberately low-balled the costs, and then kept two sets of figures to try to hide the truth. The whole process was irrefutably corrupted.
Add to that the Conservatives' abuse of omnibus Bills and "closure" proceedings to cut off debate and stifle scrutiny of their behavior. Add their manipulation of Parliamentary Committees to force them to do the public's business in secret. Add their interference with Access-to-Information laws.
Add the Conservatives' systematic character assassination against charities and non-governmental organizations, public servants and public interest "watchdogs" to discredit them and shut them up - from the nuclear safety commission to Elections Canada, from church groups to scientists and statisticians.
Add the Conservatives' orgy of wasteful, self-indulgent mis-spending on government advertising, a bloated Cabinet, external crony-consultants, ornamental gazebos and sidewalks-to-nowhere in Muskoka, and 30 totally unnecessary extra MPs.
Add the Conservative Party's conviction on charges of election financing fraud, serious complaints about voting irregularities in Etobicoke Centre, Peterborough and Labrador, and the massive on-going investigation of thousands of illegal telephone calls designed to confuse and suppress voters in 2011.
The government's legitimacy is called into question when there are so many reasons to doubt their integrity.
Ralph Goodale, MP, Wascana, SK.
