Dignity? What Dignity?

One thing most Canadians could agree on during the last election was that it was time to restore some dignity to the House of Commons. The Conservatives promised to do so. Yet, on the day after bringing down their first budget they have once again illuminated the fact that their party members were the cause of the disgraceful behaviour in the house that Canadians viewed day after day during Question Period for so many years. The Conservatives need to realize that they are no longer in the opposition and, if they truly plan to fulfill their committment to restoring order, today would be a good day to start on that path.

During heated questioning in the house by Liberal leader Bill Graham, the Conservative Finance Minister flatly refused to even acknowledge that his budget had brought in a tax increase, choosing instead to play with the numbers to basically lie about that reality. It's no wonder then that members of the Conservative party felt it necessary to continually shout down opposition questions from that point on like rowdy school children who'd prefer to meet their opponents in the yard outside to settle their differences through punches and kicks. What better way to distract from the fact that their leaders are incapable of telling the truth?

When NDP leader Jack Layton had the audacity to stand up after being given the floor by the speaker, the shouting increased to the point where Layton could not be heard at all. One Conservative member actually said, "We don't want to hear what he has to say", to which the speaker responded, "tough luck" - Mr Layton has the floor.

It's obvious that the Conservatives are uncomfortable with their budget. Otherwise, they wouldn't have to gang up on the opposition members who had questions about it. If they were indeed confident about what they had proposed on Tuesday, they would have allowed their leader and ministers to respond to those questions about funding for older workers, child care, the environment, the tax increase and the ditching of the Kelowna agreement that gutted much needed help for Canada's aboriginals without having to shout down all of the opposition members.

But, this Conservative minority government apparently has yet to realize that they are now the actual governing party and they certainly have no clue when it comes to restoring anything resembling dignity to the house. They have been in bully mode for years and they clearly have no idea how to act appropriately in a house that so desperately needs it.

Perhaps, in the end, it will be this aspect of the Conservative party that will bring about its quick end. Canadians have had enough. We want our parliament to work and it's obvious that this Conservative party has no idea how to make that happen.