why yes, I am an idealist, thanks for asking.

[primroseburrows]

So. At 3 p.m. today (in about twenty minutes), Parliament will be voting on whether to allow U.S. war resisters stay in Canada. I remember reading last year that their petition had been denied. I hadn't realised that the case was still open.

The thing is, even if the vote DOES pass, it might not mean anything, since the resolution is non-binding and the Harper government can ignore it. Which? They probably will.

My opinion doesn't matter a bit, but I'm definitely keeping my fingers crossed for these guys.


If you're interested in watching the vote live (or if you just like to watch politicians yelling at each other in two languages), go here at 3 PM EST (anytime after that you'll still get stuff, but it'll be other stuff). Don't everyone all rush at once. ;)

N.B.: I wholeheartedly support the troops in Iraq (and hope they come home ASAP), but I equally support those who make a conscientious choice not to fight in an illegal war.


ETA: Well, the vote passed, so now it's up to the government. *sigh*

Comments

[meresy.livejournal.com]

I suspect they're ignore it. But maybe they'll ignore the resisters, too.

[primroseburrows.livejournal.com]

I'd bet money that they'll ignore it. Jury's still out on the resisters.

Also? House votes R boring, even on Important Matters. I'd rather see them yell at each other. Congressional votes are probably also boring, only without the added fun and verbage beforehand.

[meresy.livejournal.com]

Damn right it's boring. That's why we wait for the post-game analysis. Was the vote along party lines?

The hollering is fun times.

[primroseburrows.livejournal.com]

I don't know the names of every. single. MP (is there actually anyone THAT dorky?), but the ones I did recognise (Dion, Flaherty, Baird, Layton, yadda) were definitely along party lines.

[meresy.livejournal.com]

Ah, were you watching or just listening? You can tell y which side of the floor they're on...

I assume it was Opposition vs. Tories. That's the way most thing's get passed.

[primroseburrows.livejournal.com]

Hmm. Apparently I didn't think of that while I was watching. Also, Olivia Chow, who sponsored the vote, is NDP and I did notice a giant cluster of Yes voters in her section.

So the official Opposition and the government sit on opposite sides--I knew that part, but where do the other parties sit, with the Opposition? Or is it like Gilligan's Island and there's this "...And the Rest" section? I can never tell from looking at the visuals because I suck at visualising things. Which is why my sense of direction also sucks.

[meresy.livejournal.com]

All the non-ruling parties are on the right, AFAIK. The NDP sit up near the throne, the Libs in the middle and the Bloc nearest the door, I think. I'm only sure about the NDP, though. I'm sure there's a seating chart somewhere. I could be wrong. This is only my impression from cursory watching.

Google is your FRIEND.

[primroseburrows.livejournal.com]

This makes my brain hurt. This is a little better but doesn't give specifics.

[meresy.livejournal.com]

Here we go. I was sort of close. There are some other categories I didn't know.

[primroseburrows.livejournal.com]

See above. :)