Thoughts on Canadian Political Reformation
If the trend in Canadian politics keeps moving along its present course, the country is destined for a seismic shake-up. Most places in the world would move to an outright civil war or coup d’état but as Canadians are so ‘polite’, we will probably talk things to death.
Here are a few political ideas that should be studied for their validity and worth in order to re-engage voters and to heal the divides that are threatening our country:
- The concept of fairness within Canadian society needs to be reasserted.
Canada has always been a country of disparate regions, religions, and cultures. What used to hold us together as a nation was equality, hence the concept of Equalization payments to help the ‘have-not’ provinces. Instead we have become a fractured nation split off into this camp or another.
Representation by population is not working. Pierre Elliot Trudeau remarked during his 1982 Constitution Speech, ‘For if individuals and minorities do not feel protected against the possibility of the tyranny of the majority, if French-speaking Canadians or native peoples or new Canadians do not feel they will be treated with justice, it is useless to ask them to open their hearts and minds to their fellow Canadians.’ You might as well add Western Canadians and anyone who lives outside of a major urban center to that list in order to bring it up to date.
Canada needs a system of government where the ‘forgotten’ Canadians feel they have a voice and are not ruled by the population of the Greater Toronto Area.
- The election cycle is too short.
The terms for a sitting representative should be lengthened to at least 10 years. As it stands, a government hardly gets going before they have to start electioneering for another term. If businesses and individuals could be certain that policies would be stable and government decisions would stand for a reasonable period of time, then everyone could plan accordingly.
As a check and balance, once the representative was elected to office, they would be limited to one or maybe two terms. My leaning is towards one term only, then the elected official could put their head down and just work towards what was best for their electorate.
- Voters at all levels of governance need to be reengaged.
Turnout for Municipal elections barely reach 30%. Numbers for younger voters are low. If terms were lengthened, then the opportunity to vote would not come around that often and people would naturally want to have their say.
There could be a carrot and stick approach. All levels of government could be elected on the same day and it could easily be deemed a National Voters Day and a Stat day off. The stick would be severe penalties for eligible voters who did not at least attend a polling station. You would not be forced to vote but you would be strongly encouraged to at least show up.
Voting would at least mean something again and people would not feel as disenfranchised.
- Politicians need to be held accountable.
The reason people do not vote and feel disenfranchised is because they feel they are not listened to. ‘So what, I voted, those bastards are just going to do what they want anyways,’ is the general sentiment. It seems that politicians, regardless of party affiliation, will say and do whatever it takes to get into power. Then their hope is their foibles, missteps, or outright corruption is forgotten by an absent-minded electorate during the next campaign cycle.
Here is an example of where a politician should have been locked up instead of being lauded for having her picture hung up in the Ontario Legislature. During a recent lecture in Madrid, Tom Harris of the International Climate Science Coalition, detailed the debacle of Ontario’s wind and solar power generation. It is becoming increasingly clear that wind and solar are becoming expensive boondoggles. Even Kathleen Wynne acknowledged the fact that Ontario electricity prices were going to hurt her election chances. She was right and she and her party were spectacularly tossed out.
The consequences for incompetence are literally just, ‘Ah, if they don’t like me, they can just vote me out.’ But a wily politician knows how to buy the population off or misdirect them just long enough to sneak back into power. Again, most of them seem to be untouchable.
To borrow a Navy model, in order to prevent witch hunts against politicians who were acting in good faith, Boards of Inquiry with actual teeth should be set up to police major political decisions that go sideways. Typically, with the present system, some underling falls on their sword and their sacrifice is held up as an appeasement to the masses to show that justice was done. In actual fact, the ‘sacrificial lamb’ usually just goes into purgatory for a few months then is soft parachuted to another cushy position, eg. Gerald Butts.
When a government policy goes sideways, the inquiry process needs to start at the top right at the Prime Minister if need be. Jail time and real consequences need to be on the table so that these officials are motivated to perform their best for Canadians.
There will of course have to be some checks and balances in order to not stall all government work due to a fear of making a mistake. But this type of system of accountability has worked for hundreds of years in the Royal Navy so it should be adaptable to government.
- Elected government officials should meet minimum qualifications.
Rule One should be, just because you have a famous name or celebrity status does not make you eligible for political office. Depending on the level of government you are running for, you should already have a certain amount of leadership experience.
As examples, a captain of industry, military personnel with command experience, or leaders of their fields of interest should be the ones holding the reins of Canadian political power. Looking good in selfies and a penchant for showing off designer socks are not qualifications. Even a string of educational letters behind your name should not carry much weight if you have no experience in the real world. Canada deserves the best and the brightest to lead the country and represent our positions on the world stage.
The position of being a politician should be one that a person aspires to become not one which people view with derision.
- Electoral platforms should be set at least one year in advance of the election.
Too often, such as with the last Federal Election, policies and their implications are swept aside as the narrative gets side-tracked over some inconsequential issue. It just shows our collective disdain for the political elite who are just going to do what they feel like anyways.
Instead, for the upcoming 10 year term, the proposed policies and their respective pros and cons need to be firmly and openly laid before the populace. Priorities need to be discussed, plans need to be drawn up, and deadlines need to be set. Failure to adhere to the plan will be met with consequences. As part of the consultation process, the population would have a strong say in what direction they would like the country to move in. But actual experts would also be given a say in order to blunt any populist movement that was based on misinformation, deceit, or foreign interference.
As an example, a solutions to the woes of Canadian Natives have been kicked down the road by successive Federal governments since the start of Confederation. Frankly, if real deadlines were imposed, it would deliver some motivation for some actual progress. People would have hope that they would have some real progress to look forward to.
This is not an exhaustive or perhaps even a practical list of political Canadian reforms. But if Canada does not do something soon to ease the political convulsions shaking our regions, it will possibly irreparably fracture our great country.
Blair is a personification of a ‘Jack of All Trades and Master of None’. He has held several careers and has all the T-shirts. Time to add the title Blogger to the list.