EDITOR:
It is now two months since the Island went through a provincial election. The results were tabulated, and the Progressive Conservatives won with the Greens and Liberals in as the opposition parties. There were the usual statements from the parties of how hard they are going to work for Islanders, and so on. What is slightly different is this notion that there will be a love-in at the legislature among all the MLAs instead of the terrible relationships that have taken place among the MLAs since Confederation.
I know that the debating in the legislature can be, and has been, heated in the past, but all parties are supposed to be different in their policies and beliefs and they are expected to try and promote them. Yes, it is true that this government is a minority one. We all know that neither of the other two parties are in any hurry to go to the polls, so there is no fear of an election happening anytime soon. I have seen the break away from the traditional by the Green’s Peter Bevan-Baker when he proposed that all the parties sign a prenuptial before they move in together in the legislature.
The reaction from other parties was, of course, understandable, and I can see why they were reluctant to sign on. It takes time to develop a relationship in any union – well, at least it does in a marriage. When the MLAs took the oath of office, it was something like the vows when one gets married. A relationship based on what is on paper, is not sincere – just like a prenuptial would be. The only people MLAs have an obligation to is Islanders. So’ I would ask the members of the legislature to get on with the business of being MLAs and leave the decision of a long-term relationship up to the voters. There is an old saying, "Actions speak louder than words."
J. Bruce MacIsaac,
Charlottetown