Canada - Politics & You
With the Government of Canada defeated in a confidence vote, and a January election fast approaching, I would like to broach the subject of politics.When this topic came up recently with my peers, the vast majority of them indicated that they are disinterested in the current campaigning, and do not intend to vote in the coming Federal Election. They say they just don't care enough to bother. Even I must admit that I did not vote in the last election, I have an array of excuses, but the real reason is apathy.
So why are we so apathetic? Are we so disinterested in the fate of our own country that we are happy to let others guide its course without any input from ourselves? Or are we so busy with our careers or personal lives that we just can't spare any time to follow the election and make an informed choice? No, I think that the explanation to our disinterest is that we do not feel empowered.
Sure, we know we can follow the campaign and debates, and choose the party that best matches our own ideologies. We can vote for the party that promises to do what we want the next Government of Canada to do. The problem is that we feel that our vote is impotent.
We "know" from experience that governments often capriciously change their minds once they are safely locked into the seats of power for the next four years. So, our mind ponders, "If I vote based on what they say they are going to do, but then there is nothing forcing them to actually do what they promised to do once they do get in power, how does my vote accomplish anything?", essentially we think that our choice comes down to who do we want to be in power doing whatever the hell they want to. That doesn't seem like a very motivating choice to me, and obviously that resonates with the majority of Canadians that stated in a recent poll (I tried to find the source on Google but could not at the time of this article) that they distrust politicians.
Even one of the questions posed in the French debate on Dec 15, 2005 directly addressed this issue: a lady asked in essence "Will you swear on The Bible or whatever is most dear to you, that you will keep your election promises?". Of course all four of the party leaders in the debate affirmed their commitment to keep their promises. The unfortunate truth however is that politicians are not held accountable for the promises that they make. The only theoretical punishment is that four years later, if the public can stay pissed off long enough, they can punish the offending party by not voting for them. The reason why this does not work is that generally the public cannot stay pissed off long enough -- see above rant on apathy -- and it does not preclude the party next in line from breaking their own promises. What we need is some firm accountability and strict enforcement of penalties for breaking promises.From the CBC: "All the leaders hastened to insist they would keep their promises ... however, none actually promised to swear on a Bible." and "An interesting note: Only one jurisdiction in Canada holds politicians truly accountable. B.C. politicians can actually be charged if they don't tell the truth." -> source <-
In a long conversation with MistaLobo, we discussed the root causes of apathy, identified the issue of accountability and the public's perception of all politicians being dishonest. We thought: why don't we force parties and their leaders to enter into public contracts when they create their election platform? On penalty of **insert large fine, jail time, or public humiliation of choice here**, they will swear to follow through on their promises. We could even allow them to make the distinction of weak promises that would be classified as intentions. We would be able to compare between what various parties intend to do, and what they promise to do. To be fair, I have to give credit to MistaLobo for the public humiliation penalty option.
There were other issues and ideas that came when MistaLobo and I were holding our podcast (unfortunately corrupted), and I would like to briefly mention one of them. I hope that when we get podcast #2 done we can elaborate on them a little more. Hopefully by then we will have both watched the English language debate.
We thought about the need for a free vote by all MPs. If each MP is unable to vote as directed by their constiuents (the ones that elected the MP to represent them), how exactly can the voters feel that they are being represented? We pondered having anonymous votes mid year, to be attributed at year end in order to protect MPs that don't toe the party line. Or some other method to protect dissenting MPs. An MP should be able to vote against his party, and with his constituents without fear of being sent to the backbench. End of story.
Look for another political article and perhaps podcast in the near future. Meanwhile if you're interested in learning about the Federal election process in Canada, you can learn by reading, or learn by doing. You can see a transcript of the French language debate here. The interesting thing is that I called Elections Canada to find out if they knew where a transcript of the official debate was, but I was told that Elections Canada does not involve itself in the debates at all, and that I should talk to my local MP. Anyway, you should also check out Sirdar's political blog that discusses some other interesting issues pertaining to this election.
posted by Blight @ 1:30 AM
18 Comments:
Although many people are disappointed by all the ineffectual bickering, gesticulating and general grandstanding during this parliment, I am ernestly looking forward to another minority government. Early last spring it was Jan Wong who I recal expressing uter disgust at the prospect another minority government. But its exactly what we need.
Minority governments engender cooperation and generally lead to more accountable government. In Canada, unfortunately, minority governments are such a rarety that rather than cooperate we find the politians eagerly chomping at the bit to trigger another election so that they can have their kick at the can. If we had back to back minority governments, then perhaps this infantile behaviour would abate.
For all the rhetoric I hear from Stephen Harper about government reform I am dismayed by his complete unwillingness to do anything about it! He is elected (and paid) to be a legistlator. Legistlate damn it! Draft some policy reform and present it in the house. Had he done this, and if it had been even remotely amenable it would have easily passed. Imagine how bad it would look if the liberals voted against policy reform? This would have been a master stroke for the conservatives and Harper, but instead he took the low road, greedly hoping to be the next emperor of Canada so they can collectively put us over the barrel and give us whatever they got.
Here's hoping we end up with another liberal minority.
I don't know if a minority govt is the answer... sure, they are definitely accountable to the electorate, but the other parties just start rubbing their hands in glee.
This is in response to Mistalobo's comment on Warren's last post, but I'll put it here, since this is where the political debate is:
I find it hard to believe that the Bloc is still arguing for seperation. Is that still a big issue in Quebec? It's no wonder that so many people hate French Canadians, when there is such a determination to make a move that could only end up hurting both parties. Quebec is certainly not hurting right now, at least not in how the federal government deals with issues, or hands out money. If they separate then they'll end up being much weaker economically and politically, plus they'll cause Canada to lose an important part of our culture. What's the deal? I thought this separation thing was a thing of the past. It's like separation is the only platform that the Bloc runs on.
It's stuff like this that makes me dislike politics. Each party has their set platforms, which are very narrow in scope. Conservatives will be good for business, but are too reactionary. NDP will foster good social programs, but will overspend. All the other minor parties are played off as freaks. The only party that really seems to have a decent platform are the Liberals.
You know that the Bloc isn't really running on separation, they are running on "punish the Liberals for their scandal" and "we will vote for anything that benefits Quebec".
The funniest part of the last debate (English) was when Duceppe was saying to Harper in regards to a free vote on Same-Sex Marriage, "Why do we need another vote on that? We already voted on that, we don't need to bring it up again." Hello, referendum anyone? The majority of people in Quebec voted against breaking away from Canada... so... according to Duceppe if it has already been decided, they don't need another vote right?
The thing I don't understand is, if you vote Liberal, what incentive will the Liberals have to stop the corrupt kickbacks? None. How could they get much worse than the adscam and gun registry fiasco?
Ohi, politics. I've been keeping tabs on Canadian, US and British politics. I’ve worked in the Legislature for three years. And let me tell you, if you think that things can't get much worse than the gun registry fiasco and sponsorship scandal, than you've got another thing coming.
Just take a look at what's going on in the US right now to see what I mean. Now that’s crooks in action.
I'm not trying to justify the misuse of Canadian funds, but I just want to put the recent "scandals" into perspective. You'll have to do a lot better than that to dissuade me from voting for the Liberals. The economy is strong (the Canadian dollar is stupidly high against the British Pound), we're standing up to the Bush administration, we didn't sign up for that stupid missile defense plan (if you are worried about wasted money), and I think we've been doing the right thing on the social issues as well (gay marriage and decriminalization of marijuana).
I’d like to think my vote would count no matter whom I vote for, but to be realistic; there are only 2 choices in my riding. I’m sure as shit not voting for Harper. I’m convinced he will fuck Canada. And he won’t even have the common courtesy to give us a reach-around.
Aw man, how could Mistalobo steer me wrong? I guess I should read up more on what's actually going on ...
Yes, really, what alternative do you have in Canadian politics?
If you're living in Canada, you should vote, I think. But looking at the different platforms, I can only see the Liberals as an acceptable choice.
Although, the last time I voted, I voted for the Green Party.
Colour me uninformed, but what makes you scared of the Conservative platform other than the bogeyman that the media makes Harper out to be? It seems to be all hype to me.
For all their apparent corruption you can thank the liberals (under Chretien) for some electoral reform, that appears to empower the voter. (And should provide the apathetic with further incentive)
In particular, political donations by corporations and unions are effectively abolished (capped at $1000, individual contributions are capped too at $10k in case you were contemplating work-arounds).
Grass roots fund raising has become more important than ever for political parties. To some extent you might consider voting with your money in the form of direct donation -- if you want to participate in the political machine.
More importantly however, your mere vote translates into money for the party you voted for -- so every vote counts. Even if your candidate doesn't get in, their party will receive $1.50 for every vote cast in their favour. This adds up over 30 million people (60% of whom will vote).
So go vote -- put your money where your month is (because the $1.50 was your money in the first place).
Hey, that does sound like a good reason to vote.
There are quite a few reasons I'm not a big fan of Harper - the big ones in my mind were his stance on the Iraq war (and yes, I know that he's come out with some statement saying that he wouldn't have comitted Canada militarily - I don't buy it) and not supporting gay marriage. I recall him being very quiet on the missle defence issue, so I can't call him on it.
This child care issue has me worried as well. 1,200$ a year is nice (for kids under six), no doubt, but how is 250 million in new corprate tax cuts going to cover the loss of an 11 billion dollar child care program?
I've seen this happen before, where a conservative government takes something that is public (and belongs to all of us), and basicly squaders it. Sure, the public gets a nice chunck of the pie, but it'll get'ya in the long run.
Good stuff beav...
I might just try and vote from over here...
I see the Liberal Media machine has hit the right chords. Forget the platforms, lets put doubt in the voters minds and show them that the other guys have a 'hidden agenda'. That ought to scare a few people into voting for the Liberals.
Do you realize that the child care program the Liberals are proposing are only going to benefit the people who put their kids in the 'government' run centres? What about people who would rather have the choice to put their children into the care of someone they know...like grandparents or day homes? I guess they are out of luck...or they will waste the money on beer and popcorn as were too stupid to make choices with our kids. I don't know how many people in these comments have kids but my guess is not many.
Canadianattackbeaver...exactly how will Harper fuck Canada? Do you actually think that a party is going to come into power to purposely screw it? I think the Liberals have show what they can do with our money and I don't like what they do with our money. Martin can't play the 'fear factor' this time. Even the media have said that they aren't falling for that one any more.
Lets look at the Liberals record. Gun registry, Adscam, scraping the GST, NEP(ok...that's old but I lived through it), Bombardier, Air Canada, and all the other places our money is better spent than on the citizens of the country.
Actually, I got a lot of my information from the Conservative Party's website. I had to change some of the figures as the ones on the site were inaccurate regarding the Liberal's child care plan.
"Liberal Media Machine" indedd.
I also fail to see how anyone here has "forgotten the platforms". It seems that what we are doing is discussing what parties are planning to do if elected.
And yes, I think that a party could be very interested in getting into power in order to use or disintegrate public institutions for private gain. I used the child care issue as an example of this, but other institutions would be affected as well, such as health care and the military. The US's use of their military in Iraq is a prime example as well, and I think that Harper would have had Canada follow Bush's lead into Iraq.
And I think that would have "fucked" us.
Yeah, we've already sent a bunch of troops to Iraq, though.
And Afghanistan.
Actually C.A.B I think elections now are just to get the parties into power. Once in, the 'promises' are forgotten...unfortunately by too many. There is no real accountability. They say that is what elections are for but reality is that the government is formed before it gets across the Ontario/Manitoba border. Regional representation is lost. That is why I think there needs to be a change in the political system in Canada. I've heard murmurs of that thought in the media the past few years so maybe there is some hope. Of course the question is will it do any good. The status quo works for one part of the country...
yes, no accountability. And us Canadians, we're too short-sighted to remember if the promises were kept.
I think that our media is partially to blame for that. They hype it up on overdrive for so long that people get sick of it, then they don't mention it again. It would be nice to have a running scorecard kept by an apolitical group to let people stay up on the various promises made and kept/broken.
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