Democracy Undermined

Harper and the Conservatives govern as if they are above our parliamentary system.

It is fast becoming clear that the Harper government considers Canadian democracy an inconvenience at best. With their crude use of prorogation – apparently now on an annual basis – Harper has demonstrated how little Parliament, debate, and all the other attributes of a functioning democracy mean to him and his henchmen.

I want to be clear here. I am a progressive person, and happily admit I disagree with many of the Harper government’s policies. But at least I understand those policies. One can disagree with them while still acknowledging that there is a legitimate conservative outlook supported by a significant number of Canadians. Rather, my concern is with how the Conservatives govern.

And for the record, let me state that if a government whose policies I generally liked was similarly undermining our democracy, I would be calling for their ouster as well. It would be as appalling as if I had found out my bridge partner had been cheating.

Let’s take a moment to look at the Harper government’s stunning anti-democratic record:

• Two prorogations in just over a year – both instituted to maintain the government’s power. This is a clear abuse of parliamentary process. Sadly, Governor General Michaëlle Jean has failed in her duties by allowing Harper to shutter Parliament at will simply for his own political advantage.

• The Conservatives’ 2008 attempt to end vote subsidies was a naked effort to skew the system for their own benefit. It amounted to a direct attack on the integrity of our electoral system. The logical outcome would clearly have been an increase in corporate influence over election outcomes.

• Harper has denounced the Ottawa press gallery as the Official Opposition, and insists that he will only take questions from certain reporters. Moreover, the PMO has severely limited press photographer access to Harper, issuing “official” photos which the media, having little else, are forced to use.

• A pattern of personal attacks on critics, both inside and outside Parliament, has undermined the public discourse. Hysterical claims that critics “don’t support our troops” cheapen debate to the point of inanity. Time and again the Conservatives have resorted to these methods, revealing themselves to be allergic to meaningful policy discussions.

• The Special Committee on the Canadian Mission in Afghanistan reported “the Committee believes a serious breach of privilege has occurred and members’ rights have been violated, that the Government of Canada . . . have intimidated a witness of this Committee, and obstructed and interfered with the Committee's work and with the papers requested by this Committee.”

• Ah yes, the papers. Defying a vote in Parliament, the government has failed to produce anything but the most painfully censored documents regarding Afghan detainees to Canadian parliamentarians. By ignoring the December 10 vote, the government has placed itself in contempt of Parliament.

• Lastly, while the citizenship guide for new Canadians has been revamped (whether it was an improvement is highly debatable), the government continues previous administrations’ sin of omission as it continues to do nothing to improve general civic literacy or to consider any kind of electoral reform. While many observers note a dysfunctional system and a crisis of public disengagement, this government maintains the status quo.

So what is to be done? Back in May 2006 a couple dozen reporters, fed up with Harper’s attempts to orchestrate a press conference, simply walked out. This impromptu rejection of an imperial Prime Ministership was a welcome challenge to the PMO, and one that should be emulated by all Canadian media. A broad-based media boycott of the government would get the Conservatives’ attention pretty fast. This would be a perfectly appropriate action by the media, a key player in our democracy, which has been abused, denied access, and coerced by this government to an unprecedented degree.

And I call upon opposition parties to start working together to end this nightmare. The Opposition should pursue two parallel courses. First, they should revive coalition talks. Coalitions have a long and respectable history in parliamentary systems of government around the world. There’s absolutely no reason they cannot be realized in Canada. Upon the return of Parliament in March, a confidence vote on the budget will be the first opportunity to defeat this government. The Opposition should be able to approach the GG with a coalition already in place.

And second, should an election follow the government’s defeat, opposition parties need to campaign strategically, agreeing not to oppose each other in various ridings in order to produce an indisputable winning result. With a likely election date in mid-April, the planning and negotiations for this campaign need to start now.

Surely members of Parliament and the media were raised to believe that it is best to stand up to a bully. Well, ladies and gentlemen, now is the time. Otherwise our legacy to future generations will be a fatefully compromised democracy.