I suppose one should not expect rational thinking from most of those in the mob that invaded the Canadian capital recently. The lack thereof is evident in a Memorandum of Understanding that purported to outline the objectives of the protest. It called upon the Governor General and the Senate to dispose of the duly elected Liberal government or there would be a national referendum through Elections Canada to remove the government. But we don’t change governments in response to mob protests, preferring – in a democracy – to let the voters decide who governs.
Less hysterical but still well over the top has been the reaction of the federal Conservatives to the agreement reached between the Liberals and the NDP under which the latter will support the government until its term of office expires in 2025. As many have pointed out, this cooperative majority government mirrors almost exactly the just over 50% popular vote received by the Liberals and NDP in the last election. But Interim Conservative leader Candice Bergen called the agreement “backdoor socialism,” Conservative leadership candidate Patrick Brown called the agreement “a nightmare,” and candidate (and frontrunner) Pierre Poilievre called it an attack on our freedom.
Economic Anarchy
Poilievre has extended his freedom theme into an attack on the Bank of Canada and the policies it pursues to stimulate the economy or hold down inflation. One can certainly debate how well the Bank has carried out these policies over the decades, but the notion that we don’t need monetary policies to help moderate fluctuations in the economy is patently absurd. Equally foolish, and dangerous – in my view – is Poilievre’s embrace of cryptocurrencies as the path to financial freedom for the population.
I suppose it should not be surprising that populists who see government as the enemy would extend that dislike to institutions such as the Bank of Canada. Younger Canadians who despair of buying a house with today’s surging prices may be susceptible to the argument that freeing up our economy will somehow solve the problem. But the increased costs and prices that are rippling through our economy are largely the result of supply chain disruptions in the age of COVID. They won’t disappear if we dismantle the institutions responsible for our monetary policies and they certainly won’t disappear if we undermine the Canadian dollar by promoting cryptocurrencies as a new medium of exchange. I don’t believe that most Canadians are ready to abandon the dollar in favour of a tradeable digital asset that only exists online and has been subject to wild fluctuations in value in recent months.
It’s Up to Us
Much of the disillusionment with our governing institutions is understandable and arises, in part, from the increasingly polarized positions of our political parties – the current Liberal/NDP pact notwithstanding. But waiting for our political leaders to start behaving better (however you might define that) is not the answer. It is up to us to accept our responsibilities as citizens in a democracy. If we want to continue having one, we need to do our part. That means consulting a variety of sources for information on the issues of the day, reflecting on the different perspectives that are almost always evident, coming to our own conclusions about those issues and then, where appropriate, exerting pressure on government to take the desired course of action. When it comes to democracy, our mantra should be “use it or lose it.”
By teaching about democracy, our schools could be an important building block in the development of an informed citizenry. However, simply requiring students to take a single course (or half course) in civics has done little to generate ongoing interest and involvement in the operation of our governments. A former civics teacher has suggested an alternative approach which encourages students to identify issues that concern them and then to learn how to advocate for those concerns. [Opinion: Canadians get a failing grade in civics - The Globe and Mail] Students concerned about climate change – to take a current example – would find out about governments and how they operate in the process of examining ways of dealing with this global challenge. Such an issues-based approach would demonstrate the relevance and importance of government in our lives and help to foster the informed citizen participation that we need if democracy is to survive.