On January 30, 1649, King Charles I of England was beheaded. People from all ranks of society were shocked. The king, chosen by God, was killed by men.Charles believed in the divine right of kings and felt no deep connection to Magna Carta, first signed in 1215. And he certainly was not fond of the institution spawned by that odious document — Parliament. He should have kept his thoughts to himself. The High Court of Justice declared that Charles was guilty of “…attempting to uphold in himself an unlimited and tyrannical power to rule according to his will, and to overthrow the rights and liberties of the people.”Goodness! What was his deep and abiding sin? Charles wanted to have a go at scooping up some land in Europe by fighting in the 30 Years War. But to fight a war he needed to raise taxes to finance the war. And to raise taxes he needed to recall Parliament. And he hated Parliament. He was the king after all. Chosen by God.I thought of this over the weekend as our prime minister puffed out his chest, put his underwear over his pants and declared that he was, by God, ready to take on the evil Orange Man. “Pull together me mateys and we mice will overcome the thick-maned lion to the south!”It made for a good children’s bedtime story, but it was nevertheless a fairy tale. Now that Mr. Trump has spanked Mr. Trudeau into submission with a promise of more to come, we have the small issue of Parliament to deal with. On February 13, Chief Justice Paul Crampton will hear the application filed by David MacKinnon and Aris Lavranos of Nova Scotia to determine whether Parliament was unconstitutionally prorogued. I suppose the Chief Justice will determine whether Mr. Trudeau is guilty of “…attempting to uphold in himself an unlimited and tyrannical power to rule according to his will, and to overthrow the rights and liberties of the people.”So, let’s review this. Our prime minister wants to fight a war (a trade war at least) with the leader of another country. To do so he needs to raise some money because this war will be frightfully expensive according to Professor Ian Lee of the Sprott School of Business. To supply this money, he needs to have the approval of Parliament. But he is Captain Canada, and he doesn’t want to recall Parliament — that odious institution. He wants to act alone, put his underpants over his pants, pound on his chest and play the hero. For his legacy I suppose, but who knows.I am starting to see a rhyme in history. Surely beheading is too far but I hope the Chief Justice rules against Mr. Trudeau’s tyrannical abuse of power and causes Parliament to be re-opened. I think the rest of us should have a say in this tariff and trade nonsense as well. Tough trade negotiations are on the horizon, and I don’t trust our sui socked, ersatz, black faced sultan from handling it without adult supervision.
On January 30, 1649, King Charles I of England was beheaded. People from all ranks of society were shocked. The king, chosen by God, was killed by men.Charles believed in the divine right of kings and felt no deep connection to Magna Carta, first signed in 1215. And he certainly was not fond of the institution spawned by that odious document — Parliament. He should have kept his thoughts to himself. The High Court of Justice declared that Charles was guilty of “…attempting to uphold in himself an unlimited and tyrannical power to rule according to his will, and to overthrow the rights and liberties of the people.”Goodness! What was his deep and abiding sin? Charles wanted to have a go at scooping up some land in Europe by fighting in the 30 Years War. But to fight a war he needed to raise taxes to finance the war. And to raise taxes he needed to recall Parliament. And he hated Parliament. He was the king after all. Chosen by God.I thought of this over the weekend as our prime minister puffed out his chest, put his underwear over his pants and declared that he was, by God, ready to take on the evil Orange Man. “Pull together me mateys and we mice will overcome the thick-maned lion to the south!”It made for a good children’s bedtime story, but it was nevertheless a fairy tale. Now that Mr. Trump has spanked Mr. Trudeau into submission with a promise of more to come, we have the small issue of Parliament to deal with. On February 13, Chief Justice Paul Crampton will hear the application filed by David MacKinnon and Aris Lavranos of Nova Scotia to determine whether Parliament was unconstitutionally prorogued. I suppose the Chief Justice will determine whether Mr. Trudeau is guilty of “…attempting to uphold in himself an unlimited and tyrannical power to rule according to his will, and to overthrow the rights and liberties of the people.”So, let’s review this. Our prime minister wants to fight a war (a trade war at least) with the leader of another country. To do so he needs to raise some money because this war will be frightfully expensive according to Professor Ian Lee of the Sprott School of Business. To supply this money, he needs to have the approval of Parliament. But he is Captain Canada, and he doesn’t want to recall Parliament — that odious institution. He wants to act alone, put his underpants over his pants, pound on his chest and play the hero. For his legacy I suppose, but who knows.I am starting to see a rhyme in history. Surely beheading is too far but I hope the Chief Justice rules against Mr. Trudeau’s tyrannical abuse of power and causes Parliament to be re-opened. I think the rest of us should have a say in this tariff and trade nonsense as well. Tough trade negotiations are on the horizon, and I don’t trust our sui socked, ersatz, black faced sultan from handling it without adult supervision.
