First of all, I’m writing this blog post from Microsoft Word 2007… I just found out I could blog directly from it! Another way Microsoft is slowly taking over my life.

Is anyone else sick of Harper and the Conservatives suing everyone? I’ve been quite busy lately, graduating from college, but it seems every time I turn on the TV I hear about a Conservative suing or giving legal notice over an allegation.

It started with Brian Mulroney suing a Liberal MP over the Schrieber affair. Then Harper serves legal notice to the Liberal Party over the Cadman affair. And now the Conservatives are suing Elections Canada. Next thing I know, I will be sued for writing this post.

Is anyone else concerned about what this means to our democratic institutions?

Parties should not be using our courts to settle political debates. Not only is it a waste of taxpayers money, but it also allows a party with a lot of money to scare other parties into being silent.

When you enter politics, you should expect your actions to be scrutinized. And you should expect to be accused of many different things, by many different groups. I’m not suggesting that baseless accusations are a good thing, but it’s not out of the norm in politics and you should be ready to defend yourself. Instead of suing, the Conservatives should be defending themselves to the public. Imagine if the Liberals sued the Conservative party over initial allegations of AdScam… we may have never gotten to the bottom of it.

We live in a democracy. Yes, when you make an allegation against somebody else you should have your facts straight. But you shouldn’t have to fear a lawsuit when you question authority.

Questioning authority is a right in a democracy.