Call the Spade a Spade: The Grits Invoked Closure on the Budget Debate

Well the media is all over the Opposition Tories this morning for getting "bushwhacked" and "outmanoeuvered" by the conniving forces of the Grits, Bloc Quebecois, and the NDP, who all voted to end debate on the 1970's-style NDP Budget late last evening. The budget subsequently passed with little fanfare.

I find it ironic that Paul Martin came to power promising to eliminate the "democratic deficit", one of the symptoms of which was the frequent invocation of closure to end debates in the House before they had run their course--a tactic elevated to an art by PM emeritus Jean Chretien.

Whether last evening's machinations were procedurally different than "closure" or not, the outcome was the same. No debate, no amendments, just a vote.

If it smells like closure, looks like closure, and stifles dialogue like closure, then, dammit, it's closure.

It's unfortunate that Canada's complacent media won't call the spade appropriately.