Toronto Maple Leafs Win Stanley Cup!!!
Canada was stunned Monday when it was announced that The Stanley Cup will be awarded to the Toronto Maple Leafs, possibly as early as December 6th. The cup will be stripped from from 2008 playoff champions the Detroit Red Wings and be awarded to the Leafs, who didn't even make the playoffs.
How is this possible, Canadians ask? Well, the Leafs have formed a coalition with eastern conference semi-finalists the Montreal Canadians, and conference quarter finalists the Ottawa Senators, now outnumbering the Red Wings. According to current Leaf coach Ron Wilson "the Red Wings have lost the confidence of the league and should hand the cup over immediately to our coalition".
NHL commissioner Gary Bettman is cutting short a European trip to try to resolve the unprecedented hockey crisis that could force a second playoff series, or see an opposing team coalition take the cup.
How can this be a valid comparison? Based on your analogy, I assume you must think that the opposition is changing the rules of the game, but in fact they have not. The formation of a coalition is perfectly legal, as others have already stated. The debate should be over the legitimacy of a coalition take over, not the legality.
Personally, I think it is legitimate. As others have stated, in Canada we vote for an MP. Even though most of us base much of our decision on the leader of the party, if the opposition parties unite and form a majority and also have the majority of the popular vote then the legitimacy of our democratic system is maintained.
If people are taking issue with the opposition because they dislike the leaders, I have no argument since we are all entitled to be able to form an opinion; however, I believe it is not right translate this animosity into arguments about legitimacy simply because those leaders and their parties have taken their posts democratically. The onus is on the minority government to govern with consideration of other parties given its own status in parliament.
Some of you are probably assuming that I must be a liberal or NDP and I don't blame you for thinking so. None of you know me since I rarely post. But I'll show my cards so that you have a more accurate perspective of where I'm coming from. I am fiscally conservative, I despise laziness in the work place with a passion, and I have some reservations about the economic merits of seasonal(EI supplemented) industries. However, I did not vote Conservative simply because it's been engulfed by the values of the Reform party which come from oil rich Alberta. The issue of contention for me is not Albertan style conservatism, but that it can not work for most of the country. This is because much of Canada lacks the oil and gas revenues which make Alberta's economy stronger, taxation rates lower, less union friendly (there's not as much need to be when there is high demand for workers), and overall more business friendly.
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Topic: rally for your country!! (Read 13426 times)