Politics and Water

Two days ago, Conservative MP Garth Turner was expelled from the Tory Caucus. His crime? Criticizing the Conservative government's environmental plan.

"Climate change is the greatest all-round threat this country faces, and...my nation's government should not let us down with half-measures, a curtsy to junk sciences or a sellout to the tar sands," he wrote, as reported in today's Globe and Mail (p. A5), which goes on to note the controversy resulting from this decision: "One caucus member said the party's leadership has created an environment where MPs feel muzzled."

According to Conservative Senator Anne Cools, "Members of Parlaiment are supposed to hold the leadership accountable." No kidding! "What we have now is the reverse of that, where if a leader doesn't like what you're saying, boom, and axe descends."

From turning an ethical blind eye away from David Emerson when he crossed the floor to join the Conservatives last Spring to expelling members who have the audicity to hold our government accountable, the Tories have proven one thing: They don't want to be held accountable. So much for democracy.

On another note, the last issue of Looseleaf my fellow Print Futures editors and I were in charge of is on the web: The Water issue.