We now have a Prime Minister that is destroying the democratic fabric of Canada for his own political gain. It's disgusting. It's horrifying. Just when you thought the Canadian political mechanisms were fail-safe to protect this country from a government similar to the Bush administration, the most power-hungry PM that I have ever seen in my lifetime goes and does this...
Gov. Gen. Michaëlle Jean has granted a request from Prime Minister Stephen Harper to suspend Parliament until late next month, a move that avoids a confidence vote set for Monday that could have toppled his minority government.
How convenient!
This has never been done in the history of this great democratic nation. Never. It is a precedent that may change the dynamics of a minority government situation in Canada forever. I will conclude by explaining how this effectively makes a minority government the equivalent of a majority in the first few months being in power. But first, let me briefly explain a minority government for those who know nothing about the parliamentary system.
A minority government is a government that does not have the majority of seats in the legislature. In Canada, this elected body is called "The House of Commons" or "the house" for short. In a minority government situation, the government must keep the confidence of the house by working with the opposition (who have the majority of the elected officials) when passing legislation. Special bills are passed which are tabled by the PM as a "confidence vote". All votes involving the budget, for example, requires a confidence vote. If the vote should fail, then parliament is dissolved until confidence can be restored. The Governor General -- an appointed representative to the Queen -- can find confidence through a coalition government, or can try to restore the confidence by calling an election.
Canada just had an election in October whereby the conservative government failed to achieve a majority government.
Merely 7 weeks into this parliamentary session -- with the Canadian economy struggling and the Canadians' desire for a friendlier more non-partisan government -- PM Harper decided to table proposals that would block public servants from being able to strike for 3 years. He also thought it would be a good idea to eliminate campaign financing at this time, which would have effectively bankrupted the opposition. In effect, the Prime Minister acted as though the opposition did not represent the majority of Canadians.
It was a bold power-hungry choice to take advantage of this situation. The left was now divided. The official opposition's leader was stepping down and the wake of an election was causing natural regrouping amongst the parties who had lost. Politically, the opposition was vulnerable, but thankfully, the Canadian system had remedies that would provide protection to these parties -- right? Well, Prime minister Harper changed all of that today.
The remedies for this abuse of minority power were the ones I described above. The option of calling for another election was suicide. An overwhelming majority of Canadians do not want to go to the polls just months after the previous election. The only real option that was left to defend themselves against this vicious attack was to become stronger by unifying. This option was the one acted upon. They were to defeat the confidence vote tabled by the PM. A man who was gambling on having them either blink or to call another election. Harper did not figure that they were organized enough to form any sort of meaningful agreement.
Well, they didn't blink. And they were more organized than was predicted.
As you can imagine, fireworks were set off all week for this tug-of-war for power. But many forget that the coalition was a defense for survival against a Prime Minister who could no longer be trusted. True to form, the PM countered by conjuring up one more crafty move. It was an unprecedented move. A cowardly action that protected only himself and his party but divided the nation. He requested that the Governor General shut parliament down for a period of almost 2 months so that the vote of confidence would not take place. He locked the doors to the house so that he could not be taken down, democratically. Unfortunately, the Governor General complied and parliament was prorogued.
Now imagine what this means for a future minority government. In the first few months after an election, this government can effectively do whatever they want. The attempt at passing extreme partisan legislation with little fear of any consequences will be less of a risk. Future oppositions are not going to call another election because that would generate a backlash against them. The opposition is now also going to think twice about forming a coalition to topple the government -- the only other coercive option they have left. Remember, they have the majority of seats in the house. The PM can simply stop parliament and wait it out. In effect, the likelihood of bad laws being passed by power-hungry undemocratic governments who do not have a mandate to do so has increased dramatically in this nation.
And I haven't even begun to describe the divisiveness that this minority government has generated in Canada. Their anti-separatist rhetoric against the opposition party that supports Quebec independence is sickening -- calling the coalition "an undemocratic deal with the devil". In fact, separatist sentiment -- which had been quelled for a number of years -- is now back on the rise. With this lock on the door of the house to keep those pesky mechanisms of a parliamentary democracy at bay -- the Harper government has almost 2 months to launch a non-stop propaganda campaign that has, so far, worked.
Shame on you Governor General for not letting democracy play itself out.
And double-shame on the Prime Minister, who has sacrificed our democracy for his unrelenting greed for power.
Our country has suffered greatly because of it. No one knows what is going to happen in 2009.