The Flag Flaps and Flaps

Witness one of the saddest displays of politicking in Canada. Nevermind that this tactic will bring no benefits to the task at hand and can only serve as an electioneering stunt with a high likelihood of backfiring, it is just poor leadership.

By placing himself in the Red Rag Club, Premier Williams is directly attacking Canada as an institution, not the institution of the Federal Government nor the current Liberal Government. What does the Canada Flag represent? Canada, plain and simple. However you conceive of it, wherever you draw its physical and emotional borders, whether you like, love, or hate it, a country is represented by its flag, and Premier Williams has taken down the flag of our country.

He could have taken an entirely different stance. If he really felt betrayed, Premier Williams could have claimed that this is an example of the current Liberal Government betraying the principles of Canada, rather than Canada betraying Newfoundland and Labrador. He could have demanded that the Prime Minister take down his flag, being such a poor representative for such an important national symbol, a symbol of honest and open cooperation.

Perhaps he was distracted by the recent Canada Wordmark Wars and the Sponsorship Scandal and started to believe that the Liberal Party really is Canada. Most governing parties wrap themselves in their country’s flag, and when they govern long enough, maybe the colour transfers a bit to the casual observer. Premier Williams should know political observation decks at his elevation have a dress code, and regardless of the colour, it ain’t casual.

Let’s be frank, he does know. He knows that the Canada Flag is not the symbol of the Liberal Government. He knows that he has contributed to feelings of difference, alienation, and resentment. He knows that he has pitted the rest of Canada against N&L, and that the rest of Canada doesn’t vote for Premier of N&L. He knows that what he has done is not smart negotiation, it is crass electioneering or over-hasty anger response, neither laudable.

So here’s an appeal to all politicians who would like Canada to remain strong as a country: control the bullfight impulses, when you see red, check whether it’s in the shape of a big “L” or a Maple Leaf. The real Canada, the one we feel in our hearts, is greater than the government of today or tomorrow or next week. Liberal Prime Ministers may come and go, Canada is here to stay for as long as it is welcome. Premier Williams, are we welcome?