We knew it couldn’t last forever. For six months the House of Commons had mostly exhibited an atmosphere of civility and good will. Debate had been respectful and cordial much of the time. Tempers had been fraying in recent weeks, particularly as the Liberal government pushed ahead on several fronts, including assisted dying legislation and electoral reform. The former posed a particular challenge because of the June 6 deadline for a legislated response imposed by the Supreme Court. The government tried extending sittings and imposing closure on stages of the debate in an attempt to meet this deadline. The opposition parties pushed back and claimed that the Liberals were showing the kind of contempt for Parliament that they had so criticized in former Prime Minister Harper.
Another Black Eye for Politicians
The public view of politicians and politics has long been negative and cynical. Most people expect politicians to make promises they know they can’t keep and to take decisions that are short-sighted but currently popular (or less unpopular than the alternatives). They believe that governments are inherently inefficient (compared to the private sector) and often corrupt. While I don’t share these sentiments, I can understand why some people have embraced these views. But the more the public loses faith in our elected representatives, the more our democratic system loses credibility and legitimacy.
The Threat to Democracy
So what, you might argue. This system is all we have, whether we like – or trust it – or not. There isn’t any alternative. Sadly, there is – as is evident from events unfolding in the U.S. presidential race. I argued in an earlier blog, that Donald Trump’s popularity arises from the fact that so many Americans are fed up with their politicians and their dysfunctional political system. Many are worried about their diminished economic opportunities in a global economy and very resentful of the increasing concentration of wealth in American society. Seeing no solution forthcoming from their established political system, a shocking – and growing – number of Americans are prepared to try something radically different. Unless fairly long established trends reverse, there is a real possibility that Americans will consign their fate to a candidate whose utterings on a wide variety of topics suggest an ill-informed authoritative figure who has little knowledge of, or interest, the exercise of democracy.
Only in America, you shrug, with a touch of pity or condescension. Actually, that is not the case. A recent in depth analysis of the Trump phenomenon in The Guardian, describes – much more thoroughly than my blog – the way that Trump has tapped into the anger felt by so many in the USA. But it goes on to point out that a similar pattern is evident in many countries. Public anger and despair leave a nation vulnerable to the promises of a strong man, a dictator. “Elect me, and I will get things done. I will make our country great again. I will take no prisoners (and observe no legal niceties) in eradicating our enemies.”
I’d like to think that Canada is one of the most stable democracies in the world. I believe that there is still a fairly solid attachment to the democratic institutions in this country, even if we are often disillusioned with some of these who serve these institutions. It is also the case that we have not had some of the experiences that have scarred American citizens – notably having to deal with a completed deadlocked and dysfunctional governing system that seems incapable of getting beyond party rancour and making necessary decisions.
Nonetheless, I worry every time our governing institutions and participants fall into disrepute. The biggest threat to Canadian democracy, in my view, is if a large proportion of the population give up on it. If politicians want to have the respect (and support) of the Canadian people, they have to earn it. They were doing so for most of the first six months of the current government. One can only hope that the incident in the House earlier this week (henceforth to be known as “Wacky Wednesday”), was a brief aberration and not a return to the bad old days.