The Governor General, in granting a prorogue of Parliament to the Prime Minister, appeased alienation in the West, made a happy Christmas for the Harpers, but at the same time set a dangerous precedent which chips away at our parliamentary democracy, paving the way for other Harper-likes.
The House of Commons is supposed to vote. That’s why we elected them. It has no confidence in the Prime Minister – and for good reason. Harper tried to veto the voters just after an election by cutting party funding. This is akin to creating a government with no opposition. Now we have a government with no sitting House.
I would like to suggest to the opposition leaders that they meet somewhere else. A Tennis Court, perhaps. All the elected opposition need is a meeting place, even the official residence of the Leader of the Opposition will do. Maybe they can swear an oath, too, never to abuse the process of Parliament, as has our rogue Prime Minister. Some people take the high road and only Stephen Harper takes the prorogue road to avoid certain defeat.
The Conservative party machine – and certainly the Prime Minister – has demonized the “separatists,” known in French as “sovereigntists,” depending on your familiarity with Orwellian doublespeak. They are a threat like “terrorists,” the FLQ perhaps, our very own El Quaida, and here Harper is reminiscent of Bush and his fear mongering. The rumour is these separatists were practicing witches in pre-Confederation times.
Harper does not want a Canadian government “beholden” to these voters. Well, by that standard, should we have a Conservative government beholden to right-wing Christian fundamentalists? Is one vote better than another in a democracy? The answer, it seems, depends on the advice the Prime Minister gets from the Fraser Institute, and on the opportune moment in his never-ending game.
The Prime Minister has played politics as if the floor of the Commons were a hockey rink. He has skated all over Parliament. He is Big Bobby Clobber, with no sophistication and no balance in his team, and it’s got all the broadcast time he wants. He’s damaged a Canadian institution.
I say we body check Harper by teaching our kids the Magna Carta. “World history” has its place, indeed, but it is incumbent on us to understand our three founding cultures and its historical traditions: English, French and indigenous. Parliament has a history and traditions that deserve our respect, and democracy is hard work. It takes vigilance. He slipped us another fast one, but never again.
Responding to this event, it is striking how surveys on this question show that Canadians don't know how their own political system works, suggesting that many of them believe that they directly elect the prime minister. This gives a good idea of voting motivations in the polling booth. But what is also striking is the suggestion that Canadians don't want to know about their political system, don't want to be involved, and don't want to be bothered. If we go by the surveys of voters, the rules of a constitutional monarchy don't have any purchase on popular politics and we could see a sharp change one day if the population's sense of how the system works is asserted.
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