As I write this the Liberal Party has just allowed passage of a confidence vote on Bill C-50, (Budget Supplementaries) when only 11 of 101 Liberal Members bothered to show up and vote on legislation they repeatedly and vehemently said they would vote against.

It marked the 28th dubious time the Liberals have either skipped or abstained from voting to allow legislation to pass. This from a Party, that for more than a year, has accused the Government of being incompetent, uncaring and in the case of the Prime Minister of Canada – a criminal. In doing so, I believe they demonstrate a total disregard of Canadians and their constituents. If they truly believe what they say, i.e: that this government is corrupt, then in my view they have a duty to vote the Government out of office, which in a Parliamentary system of Government is their obligation to do. And if they do not, perhaps in the future you may want to weigh their motives and what they say against what they actually believe.

The Leader of the Liberal Party has said on many occasions that he “will pick the time when he chooses” for an election and obviously what he is referring to is a time that is not necessarily best for Canadians, but rather a time which is best for the Liberal Party. It was for this very cynical approach to elections that the Government passed legislation to establish fixed election dates every four years. What this legislation means is that the Government cannot pick and choose the time for an election according to its political fortunes as has been the practice of governments in the past. The date established for the next election is October of 2009. Only the opposition parties in a Minority Parliament, such as is now the case, can vote no confidence in the Government and trigger an election.

In 22 years of elected office at the local and Federal levels, my view has been consistent – responsibility comes first, and in the last two and one half years as the Federal Member of Parliament for Lambton Kent Middlesex, it is a belief that still trumps partisanship. For those who have followed my career they know it has been my practice to advance ideas and what I believe, rather than denigrating those who do not agree with me. And so in writing this it is my purpose that everyone reading it will encourage all Members of the Liberal Party to take their elected responsibilities seriously and to vote when called upon to do so. For me there is no greater responsibility as Member of Parliament than to do what I was elected to do which is to represent my constituents by voting on legislation presented in the House of Commons.

Yours truly,
Bev Shipley, M.P.
Lambton Kent Middlesex