Coalition Government Battle Just Beginning

- By Darlene Dziewit, MFL President

On December 4, ordinary Manitobans came together in an extraordinary way. About 700 concerned citizens came out to a rally for a new kind of coalition government to replace the ethically and morally threadbare Harper Conservatives.

Speakers they heard included NDP MP Judy Wasylycia-Leis (left), co-chair of the Liberal leadership race Bobbi Ethier (below right), and retired MP Bill Blaikie (below right). (You can hear about a minute-and-a-half excerpt from each speech - and see more photos from the rally - by clicking on each person's picture. Windows Media Player or WMV compatible software required.)

I want to congratulate everyone who attended the rally. What was so heartening was the diversity of backgrounds of the people who attended - young and old, women, men, students, environmentalists, Liberals, New Democrats, poverty rights activists, labour, church groups and beyond.

You showed up at the Coalition Yes Rally, even though earlier in the day, Stephen Harper had run away from the House of Commons, because he knew he would lose his right to govern to a Coalition of parties and their allies who represented the 62 per cent of voters who did not support the Conservatives seven weeks ago. Stephen ran and hid behind the Governor General, and in the most shocking display of anti-democratic behaviour in memory, proceeded to have our elected representatives locked out of Parliament.

Way to go Steve. You've shut down democracy in Canada in the midst of the most serious global economic crisis in memory.

Well, Steve can run, but he can't hide forever. Sooner or later he will have to face the Members of parliament. And all the fear mongering, name calling and dangerously divisive rhetoric will not protect Harper from his day of reckoning.

As Bill Blaikie (speaking at the rally above right, and below at the rally with MFL President Darlene Dziewit) said at the rally, the rally was only the beginning of our fight to win a Coalition Government.

So, where do we go from here?

Over the next few weeks, we will be preparing to continue our activities. We will be updating our data base. And, we will be planning.

Stay tuned folks. We will take back this country. Together, through a coalition, we will successfully forge an economic stimulus package that will help Canadians during this recession. We're on our way.