Democracy and Party Politics In Canada
We are in election mode. Many people don’t care and won’t participate. This is a mistake. People don’t participate because they feel their vote doesn’t matter. They are cynical. They feel that they matter so little that they feel that their vote is a waste of time.
The purpose of this short article is to argue that the problem is the party monopolization of the democratic process in Canada.
Furthermore, this article will argue that:
1. If you want to guarantee that you waste your vote, then vote for a party candidate.
2. If you want a chance that you don’t waste your vote, then vote for an independent.
In case you don’t want to read the entire article, I have divided this into the following five parts:
Part I – Whatever Democracy Is – It’s Simply The Best
Part II – What Is Democracy – This Thing That Is Simply The Best?
Part III – The Reality – Is Canada Behaving Like A Democracy?
Part IV – Does Your Vote Matter Or Is Your Vote Wasted?
Part V – Make Your Vote Matter – Vote Independent!
Part I – Whatever Democracy Is – It’s Simply The Best!
Democracy – The “Feel Good” Approach To Government
“It has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except all the others that have been tried.”
– Sir Winston Churchill
British politician (1874 – 1965)
This means that there is no form of government that is better. School children in Canada and the United States are taught how lucky they are to live in democracies. The word “democracy” is now a code for:
“Everything is perfect, because, as we are told, we have the best form of government (or at least there is none that is better).
In fact, many countries have been anxious to promote their virtues by calling themselves democracies. Examples include:
The Former East Germany – DDR
According to Wikipedia:
“The German Democratic Republic (GDR; German: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, DDR; commonly known in English as East Germany) was a Communist state created in the Soviet Zone of occupied Germany by the Soviet Union. East Germany existed from 1949 until 1990, when its states acceded to the adjacent capitalist and democratic Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany), thus producing the current form of the state of Germany.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_Germany
How can this be? A Communist dictatorship calling itself a democracy?
Canada recognizes the democratic nature of Canadian society by noting that:
“1. The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantees the rights and freedoms set out in it subject only to such reasonable limits prescribed by law as can be demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society.”
http://laws.justice.gc.ca/en/charter/
http://www.charterofrights.ca
How can this be? A democracy behaving like a Communist dictatorship (relax, just read on)
Two points are worth noting:
1. That a country calls itself a democracy doesn’t mean it is (East Germany).
2. That a country is technically a democracy doesn’t mean that it can’t have a dictatorial government (dare I say, Canada).
To say that democracy is the best, is not to define democracy. (But who cares, as long as we know that democracy is the best?)
Part II – What Is Democracy – This Thing That Is Simply The Best?
Let’s start with the Oxford dictionary. According to Oxford, democracy is:
democracy
/dimokrsi/
• noun (pl. democracies) 1 a form of government in which the people have a voice in the exercise of power, typically through elected representatives. 2 a state governed in such a way. 3 control of a group by the majority of its members.
— ORIGIN Greek demokratia, from demos ‘the people’ + -kratia ‘power, rule’.
http://www.askoxford.com/concise_oed/democracy?view=uk
Note that this definition focuses on those who are governed (the people) and not on who govern (the government).
This is not the only possible definition. But, it is a start. We see that democracy is a form of government (that word “government” is a horrible word). Government is an institution that although necessary, does exist to exercise the coercive power of the state. “Government” is usually the antithesis of “freedom” (more on that later).
The word “democracy” tells you WHO exercises the coercive power of government. Or to put it another way: who has the power to restrain freedom.
Let’s break the Oxford definition of government into its components:
Component 1 – a form of government in which the people have a voice in the exercise of power, typically through elected representatives.
Component 2 – a state governed in such a way (people have a voice in the exercise of power, typically through elected representatives)
Component 3 – control of a group by the majority of its members.
Does this definition of “democracy” apply in Canada? Let’s analyze each component.
Component 1 – Does Canada have a form of government in which people have a voice in the exercise of power, typically through elected representatives?
In order to analyze this question we must consider:
First – Is The Government of Canada Comprised Of Elected Representatives?
Second – If Canada has elected representatives, do people have a voice in the exercise of power through them?
Let’s consider each question in turn.
First – Is The Government of Canada Comprised Of Elected Representatives?
The Constitution Act (an Act of the British Parliament) says that:
There shall be One Parliament for Canada, consisting of the Queen, an Upper House styled the Senate, and the House of Commons.
http://laws.justice.gc.ca/en/const/c1867_e.html#legislative
The Queen is not elected and is not Canadian. The Senate is not elected but is appointed. The Governor General is not elected but is appointed. (The current Governor General is a citizen of France.) These positions are largely ceremonial.
Members of the House Of Commons are elected. Hence, we can say that the primary institution of the Government of Canada is elected.
So far so good. The representatives of Parliament that really matter are elected.
The more interesting question is:
Second – If Canada has elected representatives, do people have a voice in the exercise of power through them?
Do ordinary citizens (people like you and me) have a voice in our government though elected representatives? The argument for the “yes” side would proceed as follows:
1. The House of Commons makes the laws.
2. The House of Commons consists of MPs which were elected by citizens somewhere in Canada.
Therefore, citizens elected somewhere in Canada make laws through their MPs.
Conclusion: Canadians have a voice in their government through elected representatives. These representatives may be far removed from our ridings and the realities of our lives. But, somebody in Canada elected them. Hence, Canadians do have a voice in their government (wink, wink).
Component 2 – a state governed in such a way (people have a voice in the exercise of power, typically through elected representatives)
Conclusion: Since the laws of Canada are made by somebody who was elected somewhere, in some riding, we have a voice in our government through this person or persons. It matters not that our personal preferences are irrelevant and that we are not consulted. (Or – wink, wink – maybe you don’t believe this)
Component 3 – control of a group by the majority of its members.
In this context the word “group” must mean “country” (or political entity). Canada is not controlled by a majority of its members.
First, most people don’t vote.
Second, a party doesn’t need a majority of the popular vote to have a majority government. A party could receive the largest number of votes, but not win the largest number of seats. It is common for Canada to NOT have majority governments.
The party with the largest number of seats (which is often not a majority) will become the government.
Conclusion: Canada is not run by a majority of its members no matter how the word “majority” is defined. Does this fact by itself mean that it is not democratic?
As the song goes, “Two out of through ain’t bad.”
Democracy must be viewed from the perspective of the people. Do we – we the people – have a voice in our government through our elected representatives?
Part III – The Reality – Is Canada Behaving Like A Democracy?
Many (possibly the majority of Canadians) do not think that they have a voice in government through their own (or any) elected representatives. The reason is simple.
Governments are formed by political parties that are in no way responsive to the ordinary (or extraordinary) people who (supposedly) elected them.
Examples Of Party Non-Responsiveness And Arrogance
1. The Parties Want To Monopolize The Political Process – They and Only They Can Play In The Sandbox
Once elected, the concern of parties is to stay elected. Other than for votes, parties have no interest in the electorate. Political Parties behave as though:
The business of the public is none of the publics’ business!
The parties apparently believe that politics is a game in which they should be the only participants.
Here are some examples of this principle:
The Parties Work Hard To Keep Their Club Closed – Excluding Others From The Political Process
The parties apparently believe that they should be able to exclude people from the electoral process. As I write, the major parties are working hard to keep Green Party leader Elizabeth May out of the debates.
2. Party Interference With The Selection Of Local Candidates
Party interference with the selection of local candidates is becoming more and more common and a greater and greater concern! I note that the Conservative Party has disallowed two candidates selected by local riding associations. In both cases the reasons were related to whether these candidate’s were compatible with who the party wanted. In the 2006 election Liberal Leader Paul Martin, installed Michael Ignatieff in a Toronto riding against the wishes of a the local riding association.
3. Party Interference With Elected MPs
Although Stephen Harper campaigned on a platform of a more representative democracy, both Garth Turner and Bill Casey were expelled from the Conservative caucus over disagreements with the conservative central command. The Conservative Party did not elect either Mr. Turner or Mr. Casey. Why should it have the right to fire them?
4. Individual MP Lack Of Responsiveness To Those Who Elected Them
Parties are comprised of individual MPs
If MPs are elected by local ridings, they should be responsive to their riding constituents. It appears that many think that they are not.
Take the election and run …. All the way to the other side of the floor. Examples include:
David Emerson – elected as Liberal and immediately crosses the floor to the Conservative Party in exchange for a cabinet position.
Belinda Stronach – elected as a Conservative and crosses the floor to the Liberals in exchange for a cabinet position.
Clearly for David and Belinda it’s all about – well, David and Belinda. It never occurred to either of them (or maybe they just ignored it) that they were elected as representatives of their local ridings and as representatives of specific political parties. At the very least, they should have asked the permission of their constituents before engaging in their respective acts of treachery.
Clearly neither the Parties nor the Candidates, think that they have obligations to the good folks who elected them.
Part IV – Does Your Vote Matter Or Is Your Vote Wasted?
If you want to guarantee a situation where your vote doesn’t matter, your interests are irrelevant and the only purpose you have is to finance (through your taxes) the party in power, then:
Vote for a party candidate
If you want a chance that you will be listened to, that your interests matter and that your welfare will be considered, then do NOT vote for the candidate of any political party.
Vote for an independent.
I live in the Toronto- Danforth riding. The Conservative Candidate (and this is true for all party candidates) is the Candidate for the Conservative Party. Think of him or her as nothing more than the “Harper Automotan” in your riding. He or she is the Party Candidate and not your candidate.
Part V – Make Your Vote Matter – Vote Independent!
If you think that the democratic process is about us – “us (sorry we) the people” – then vote for a candidate that is not affiliated with a Party. That kind of candidate is called an Independent.
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