Is Harper a liar or illiterate?
So we have Elections Canada allowing Muslim women to keep their faces covered while they vote. Ever on the lookout to pick up a vote, our illustrious Prime Minister has waded in by stated that "We just adopted this past sitting in the spring, Bill C-31, a law designed to have the visual identification of voters. That's the purpose of the law. That was the law adopted, I think virtually unanimously by Parliament, and I think this decision goes in an entirely different direction." This begs the question, did Harper actually read the law that he voted for not once, but twice? Now, no where in Section 143 of the act is there a requirement to show a face. In fact, there is a provision in Section 143 paragraph 2 that allows for two non-photo ID's to be used, which would preclude needing to see the person's face. Further, paragraph 3 allows that a third person, who has been shown to be an elector can vouch for the person. This all would support Elections Canada's interpretation of the act. Not to mention the fact that 27 members voted against the Act; so much for virtual unanimity. It totally flies in the face of what Harper said.
This means one of two things. Either Harper is lying about the act as what he stated is demonstrably false. This wouldn't be the first time that Harper has fibbed for political gain. This is a plausible explanation in that Harper and his party's actions to date seem to be solely aimed at getting and keeping power. If it is indeed the explanation for Harper's statement, then all the bluster put forward by him and his party about accountability is just that, bluster. Given the lack of accountability for most things that Harper's government has done, this is really just another nail in the coffin of Conservative credibility.
The other possibility is that Harper didn't actually read the bill when it was working its way through parliament. If this is the case then Harper has some explaining to do to his constituents as he's not doing his job as an MP by evaluating the impact of legislation that has been put before him. In fact, it was his government that proposed the current form of the Canada Election act. With this possibility, Harper isn't a liar, but he is incompetent. Legislation like this just doesn't pop into existence in the micro managerial world of Stephen Harper. The changes would have had to been vetted by the PMO so Harper should have at least been in on the loop.
Liar or incompetent, either way it doesn't reflect well on the Prime Minister. The question is, will the MSM pick up on this or will they just take Harper at his word? Odds are they'll swallow the Tory Kool-Aid and just publish whatever lies the PMO spews out on the topic. No wonder Harper's desperate to keep himself out of parliament and question period. Stuff like this would blow up in his face if another voice could be heard by the MSM. Pity for Canada that our PM can't be bothered to either check his facts (or is lying through his teeth) and can't take responsibility for an act he allegedly read then actually voted for twice.