With voter turnout now teetering dangerously close to the 50 percent mark, and where majority governments can be elected with barely one-third support of those who bothered to cast a ballot, there’s no question our political system is not perfect.
But why this growing fascination with the American system as the miracle cure for our woes?
First has come the push for fixed election dates, both federally and provincially, with the rationale being this will prevent governing parties from triggering an election when it is most advantageous to them. Sounds good—on the surface. In reality, the year of the election, the governing party has the ability to unveil a glowing budget that offers something for everyone in hopes a jubilant electorate hands them another mandate.
So much for negating “home field” advantage.
Besides, Prime Minister Stephen Harper already has shown fixed election date legislation isn’t worth the paper it is written on in the case of minority governments which, as we have seen in the last three elections, is a very real scenario. Canadians may not like the constant threat of an election, and the annoying sabre-rattling it produces, but expecting a minority government to survive for four years is a pipe dream.
Then there’s Senate reform. Mr. Harper has long pushed for an elected upper chamber, as is the case in the U.S., so political parties can’t stack the upper chamber with their cronies in order to rubber-stamp legislation when they are in power—and obstruct it when in Opposition.
Again, sounds good on the surface. But as we are seeing right now in Washington, where a victory by one Republican from Massachusetts threatens to derail health care reform, an elected Senate is just as prone—if not moreso—to bitter partisan bickering that spawns legislative gridlock rather than “sobre second thought.”
And the latest love-in with the American system? Mr. Harper’s apparent newfound affinity for wanting to turn throne speeches into some kind of annual “State of the Union” address, as occurs each January south of the border. He may tout the benefits of “recalibrating,” but bringing Parliament to a screeching halt every year, wiping out unfinished work and basically starting from square one, is too high a price to pay.
Canada will celebrate 150 years as a successful parliamentary democracy in 2017. Let’s look to our own solutions to maintain this proud tradition instead of gazing jealously at a U.S.-style system as the answer.
Fort Frances Times
Local News from Across the Rainy River District
