The duty of an opposition is to oppose. Not to obstruct, not to stymie, not to thwart unnecessarily, but to oppose -- in the constructive sense of challenging government to demonstrate that its policy initiatives are in the best interests of the public that both serve.
Effectiveness and integrity in holding government to account is how those in opposition are able to show the voters their fitness for eventually governing in place of those they criticize.
So when Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition participates in a backroom deal to assist the reigning government in evading the very scrutiny that the opposition is duty-bound to apply, a corruption of the democratic process and a profound betrayal of democratic principle occur.
Recently, the Conservative MPs who make up the official Opposition in the House of Commons, conspired with members of the NDP and the Bloc Quebecois to assist the Liberal government in sneaking through a bill that substantially enriches their collective health benefits package.
Stumble It!