Bambi was a Buck! I think thumper was a dude too.
Still I'm glad my parents didn't name me Bambi.
Congratulations to Belinda on taking the plunge. She certainly has not been shy in adopting positions on some issues and I commend her for that.
I have two concerns however concerning statements that she has made over the past couple of days. Her stands seem to indicate a lack of understanding for the issues at hand.
1. Ms. Stronach has declared that she opposes the decriminalization of marijuana use. When asked if she has every tried the substance she admitted to using in high school. Does Belinda believe that she should have a criminal record? How about all of her peers who undoubtedly pressured her into this criminal act? If not, why does she believe that other people who are caught doing what she admits to doing should? I suspect that Ms. Stronach really means to say that she is against legalizing marijuana. This is a position that I would be comfortable with. There is a difference between the positions of opposing decriminalization and legalizing. I am left wondering if Ms. Stronach is a hypocrite or simply does not know the difference. I am giving her the benefit of the doubt and assuming the latter.
2. Ms. Stronach took the bold stand of declaring same sex unions a "human rights issue". I agree and so do the courts. She then indicated that such divisive issues should be open to a free vote. Does Belinda recognize that such a vote, if it were to go against the supreme court rulings, would require invoking the notwithstanding clause? Although this has been done by Quebec in relation to their language laws, the idea of our federal government doing so is unthinkable. Does she have any understanding of the way that our political and judicial systems work? Human rights are protected from popular opinion. That was the whole point of adopting a charter. If you believe that something is a human right, you are by definition opposed to allowing others (even if it’s a majority) to interfere with that right.
Ms. Stronach no doubt possesses great knowledge about the inner workings of the corporate world. She is no doubt business savvy and intelligent. It is becoming quickly apparent however that she has never studied Canadian politics or law, and lacks any depth of knowledge related to the ways that these issues are actually dealt with by our parliament and the courts.
My first immpression as an Atlantic Canadian Tory was to support Ms. Stronach, but I cannot ignore these shortcomings. I suspect that I am not the only one who recognized these points.
