In 2008: Canada has been a Troubled Democracy

(this post appears on rabble.ca)

Among the G 7 countries, Canada can make a good claim to being the longest continuous democracy. Germany, Italy, Japan and France are all knocked out of the running as a result of having been fascist or militarist dictatorships or as a result of being occupied by the Nazis during the Second World War. The United States lapsed into a vicious Civil War during the 1860s, only eliminating slavery at its close. And the power of the largely hereditary House of Lords reduced the United Kingdom to the position of a quasi democracy until the eve of the First World War. That leaves the British North American colonies, later to become Canada, as functioning democracies since they achieved Responsible Government in the late 1840s. They too had their limitations: no control over foreign and defence policy until well into the 20th century and, along with all the others, no votes for women, also until well into the 20th century.

While I have no doubt that Canada will survive as democracy, it is at present, a troubled one.

The proud achievement of Responsible Government---meaning that ministries had to win the confidence of the majority of members of the elected legislature or parliament to remain in office---was traduced in unprecedented fashion when Stephen Harper asked for parliament to be prorogued solely to avoid the defeat of his government in the House of Commons. No former prime minister and his party have ever set out deliberately to mislead Canadians about the very nature of the Westminster system of parliamentary government which is our heritage. To provide a flimsy cover for his betrayal of the system, Stephen Harper resorted to calling into question the legitimacy of the majority of members of parliament from Quebec. He challenged their right to fully participate in providing or withholding confidence from a ministry. That shameful and divisive act has made his record a double betrayal.

While a letter from a majority of MPs expressing a lack of confidence in the government sits on the desk of the Governor General, Harper’s appointment of 18 Senators during the hiatus of prorogation further compromises democratic rule in Canada. One can only wonder at the ethical standards of those who would accept an appointment to the Upper Chamber under such circumstances.

Although Stephen Harper and the Conservatives are overwhelmingly responsible for the departure from the norms of Canadian democracy, the Liberals have also contributed to the malaise in which we find ourselves. Whether or not Michael Ignatieff has the diamond stuff of leadership the country needs in these perilous times, the way he was chosen as Liberal leader bestowed no honour on the party. It would have been so much better had the Liberals opted to have all party members vote by phone or on-line to choose a leader just before the House sits in late January. That would have allowed four or five debates between Ignatieff and Bob Rae in the major regions of the country. Instead Ignatieff has popped up like Zeus, his ideas for how to cope with the economic crisis as mysterious as his sardonic smile (grimace?).

The cynicism about politics in Canada was displayed for all to see when only 59 per cent of Canadians chose to vote in the recent federal election. That suits Stephen Harper and his party just fine. Low voter turnout favours the political right. The Conservatives can win a majority seats if they manage to get slightly under a quarter of a Canadians to vote for them. That way their “coalition” of the rich, most of business, the Christian right, dyed-in-the-wool reactionaries, haters of a diverse society and suspender-wearing young clones of David Frum can rule the country.

Cynicism is eating into the very marrow of Canadian democracy and that is a dangerous thing. The fact that the party that is now in power, without the confidence of parliament, clings to an ideology that has been spectacularly discredited as responsible for the global economic crisis deepens the feeling that politics is hopeless and that all politicians are concerned with power for themselves and little else.

Our mainstream media contributes to this state of affairs. Owned and controlled by a few corporate interests, Canadian newspapers and television have never been as dismal as they are today. Our columnists and on-air analysts are infected with the cynicism that is projected by the Harper government. To them, everything is tactics to gain or to hold onto power. With very few exceptions, they don’t even have the decency to be honest about how our system of government actually works. They have become a part of the system and they shine no independent light on it. The publicly owned CBC, for years terrified of its own shadow, is as bad as the rest. I’ve mentioned the At Issue Panel previously. I do so again because it so typifies what has happened. There is no way that CNN would have such a one-sided group as its flag-ship political panel.

Where our media is concerned, let’s call this the Age of Mike Duffy.

Canadians don’t need to put up with any of this. It’s up to us to take back our political parties from the professional hacks who now run them. And we can take dead aim at the ludicrous media that so badly serves us. Let’s roast them, satirize them, and above all, let’s replace them.

A little outrage on the part of the citizenry in the world’s longest functioning democracy would not be amiss. After the holidays, let’s get on with it.