There is a disconnect between government, citizens, and their elected representatives. Low voting rates, social media, Idle-No-More, Occupy Wall Street, and anti-pipeline protesters on BC’s Burnaby Mountain indicate that many of us believe that our Government is unresponsive to its citizens and to the welfare of society.
Parliamentary democracy was established on the principle that members of parliament represent their electors and are responsible for calling government, i.e., the prime minister or provincial premier and his or her cabinet, to account. Thus they are to act independently in choosing a leader. Changes in the past century have resulted in leaders being elected by their political parties and being thus perceived as responsible to the party, not to members of their caucus. Increasingly power has been centered in the leader on whom members rely for nomination, promotion, recognition, or continued membership in the caucus. Brent Rathgeber was compelled to resign from the Conservative Party for refusing to amend his private member’s bill on public salary disclosures. Bill Casey was expelled from this same caucus in 2007 when he opposed a bill which violated the Atlantic Accord regarding the rights of Nova Scotia and Newfoundland to oil and gas revenues. Mr. Casey has criticized the Conservatives for actions such as instructing members how they are to vote in committees or having staff bureaucrats script “responses” in Question Period which are not answers but simply attacks on the opposition. Mr. Casey is now the new Liberal nominee in a Nova Scotia riding for the coming federal election.
Back benchers speak from “talking points” rather than conviction; aware of their lack of power, they avoid honest debate or even attendance in Parliament. Many politicians leave Ottawa on Thursday or early Friday to spend time with constituents, tending to requests, concerns and complaints because the power of constituents to re-elect them outweighs fruitless efforts to make a difference in governing our nation. Powerful corporations and lobby groups rather than ordinary MPs influence policy and governance. Is it any wonder that cynicism has replaced respect for politicians and that our most qualified citizens are reluctant to enter politics.
And yet, recent events portend hope of a return to a situation in which leaders are accountable to elected representatives rather than MPs or MPPs being accountable to the leader. MP Michael Chong has received support from all political parties with his private member’s bill which posits new rules for riding nominations and provision for MP’s to remove a leader by secret ballot. In Manitoba where Premier Greg Selinger’s conflict with his cabinet led to resignation of several ministers, Mr. Selinger has been forced to back down with a promise to hold a leadership convention in March, 2015. All of us need to support a return to democracy by using our voices and pens to hold our elected representatives accountable for their actions on our behalf. If we want our most ethical and capable citizens to govern Canada we have to demand changes that will restore the rightful place of those whom we choose to represent us.
Pat McKeon CSJ