If the Conservative Party insists on continuing its confrontational approach, they're bound to engineer their own downfall.
This was the message Liberal heavyweight MP from Toronto-Centre, Bob Rae, brought to a packed Robert's Creek town hall meeting alongside West Vancouver-Sunshine Coast-Sea to Sky Country Liberal candidate Dan Veniez Monday (Aug. 9).
Several of the more than 100 attendees appeared impatient for the Liberals to bring down the Harper government, asking when that would happen, which led Rae to make his prediction.
"An election is closer today than it was yesterday. [Harper] is governing a minority government as if he has a majority. If he insists on governing that way, then there will be an election because there's no way Parliament can continue to function on a confrontational basis," he said.
Rae told the crowd the current Conservative Party is far more extreme and difficult to deal with than the Liberal's political foes of the past.
"We're talking about a very different beast in place. This is the Tea Party North that's now in government," he said, referring to the ultra right wing group that has emerged in the U.S. since President Barack Obama's election.
In a later interview, he said the likelihood of a fall election depends on what legislation the Tories bring forward when Parliament resumes.
"Nobody's rattling sabres. We'll wait and see what the government proposes. We'll take it on a case-by-case basis and deal with it as we come," he said.
Veniez and local Liberals organized the event to help get Veniez's face out to the public in the riding, knowing another election is just one confidence vote away in the current minority Parliament.
"As Liberals, we have an obligation to go beyond simply saying 'We're not Mr. Harper,' and saying very clearly what we stand for," said Rae.
In an opening speech, Rae listed a number of issues he feels the Conservative government is failing at and where the Liberals can do better, including the economy, the environment, social justice and the running of Parliament.
Rae also spoke against the government's plans to make the long-form census optional and invest $9 billion in new prisons.
On the environment, Veniez said the government has a role to play in providing incentive for private industry to step up to the task of adopting sustainable practices.
"I think it's a false dichotomy that if you are pro-environment, the economy will tank and if you're against, you won't be doing what you should to protect and sustain our environmental legacy," he said.
"Unless the private sector becomes clean, be it energy technologies or the forest industry or the mineral extraction industry including the oil and gas and tar sands, we don't have a future."
He said he would not support a streamlining or merging of the provincial and federal environmental assessments for large projects like mines or independent power projects, especially in the light of the Gulf oil spill.
Veniez also said he disagreed with treating pot users as criminals and would like to see another approach.
"My personal view is that we should at least decriminalize and maybe even legalize. First of all, it will allow the government to regulate it. Huge amounts of exploitation occur because of this underground economy. Secondly, it will jack up revenues, which we need," he said to applause.
In a later interview, Rae praised local the Liberal's choice for Veniez as the candidate for this riding.
"I think Dan is a great candidate. He's got tremendous experience in the private sector and in community service. He's very interested in politics and public policy and I think he's going to be a very strong candidate. He comes at it from a fresh perspective. He tells people what he thinks, he lets people know where he's coming from," Rae said.
Veniez accepted the local Liberal candidacy in 2009. He is a former forestry executive who lives in Vancouver, but also owns a home in Davis Bay.
