Stephen Harper Quotes

Oppositions are not there to get legislation through. Oppositions are there to hold the government to account.

Parliament of the country is the repository of the sovereign will of the people, and its successful functioning is a joint responsibility of both the government and the Opposition.

Government must be a transparent garment which tightly clings to the people's body.

Venezuelan interests are to be defended by Venezuela. The U.S. should defend the interests of the U.S. Where are the U.S. people, where are the intellectuals, who could put limits on their government?

Only the Liberal Democrats have probed the government's failings consistently, thoroughly and effectively.

Ask not what you can do for your country; ask what your government is doing to you.

Transparency in government, no less than transparency in choosing government, remains a vital national interest in a democracy.

No government can be long secure without a formidable opposition. It reduces their supporters to that tractable number which can be managed by the joint influences of fruition and hope. It offers vengeance to the discontented, and distinction to the ambitious; and employs the energies of aspiring spirits, who otherwise may prove traitors in a division or assassins in a debate.

All of us should remember that the federal government is not some mysterious institution comprised of buildings, files and paper. The people are the government. What we create we ought to be able to control.

There's a real danger in the way our representative government functions today. It functions properly only when paired with accountability.

People in a democracy should be satisfied with drawing the Government's attention to a mistake, if any.

He [previous President Uribe] has criticized this government for unveiling a lot of corruption: he thinks it is an attack on his government. But I have said no, it is not an attack on his government, it is an attack on the corrupt people, and I will continue to do that.

Democracy divides the population into two groups: those of us who complain about government and those of us who are complained about.

Opposition, n. In politics the party that prevents the Government from running amok by hamstringing it.

In a political sense, there is one problem that underlies all of the others. The problem is making government sufficiently responsive to the people.

Although governments will also benefit from improved access to information, increased transparency will allow people at home and abroad to better observe and critique what governments do and to hold leaders accountable for their decisions. As a result, governments will find it harder to adopt strategies that require secrecy or violate international norms.

National security needs to be priority number one and if you're willing to play politics with our national security then you have no business serving in the Senate or the House.

Anyone who believes in the essential role government can play in improving people's lives must also be the toughest critics of those who abuse the public trust.

A popular government without popular information or the means of acquiring it, is but a prologue to a farce, or a tragedy, or perhaps both.

Canadians deserve to know the difference between Mr. Trudeau and myself.

In the mother of parliaments, it is not too much to ask that our politicians stand up for all our best interests.

I prefer the Greens to remain an opposition party that's able to hold the government to account.

No one questions the right of individuals to go to the Central Lobby to explain their views to their own Member of Parliament. It is important for those in power to hear arguments in favour of policies from all sides and ought to lead to better decision-making.

The government takes the opposition day debates incredibly seriously.

Mr Corbyn, I accuse you of failing to do your duty by not opposing in any real sense our government on the most important issue of our times - Brexit.