Have our legislatures become a place of theatre? Do committees away from the public view do more things than what happens in the House of Commons or Queen’s Park where our elected officials have their seats? Does the bureaucracy really change when governments fall? Do un-elected officials really run the government?
Does it matter … really? Maybe the real question is …
Do you believe in democracy?
I do.
I believe many of our democratic institutions are in danger of simply being theatre. When asked some politicians will say that the real business of government happens away from what the public sees.
Electoral reform is a topic that is frequently discussed in this country, particularly after elections. I think what is missing from many of those conversations are ways to strengthen our democracy. Electoral reform is important, but the hidden erosion of our democracy may be an even bigger concern. This erosion has taken many forms and it seems to have been lost in conversations about our government.
What follows are my opinions on how to restore more democracy to Canadian politics.
Legislatures are essential services.
In times of crisis, Canadians deserve to see their leaders working in the legislature and debating the needs of the country. Throughout the early waves of covid-19, this was missing, and even now, many times the federal and provincial governments seem to ignore the role of the legislature in the operation of the government.
There have been many lessons learned from Covid-19 and perhaps one of the best lessons has been that electronic meetings via platforms like Zoom allow instantaneous communication easily and very efficiently, I hope that future governments make more use of this technology when emergencies do not allow face-to-face meetings of legislatures.
Reduce the power of non-elected officials.
Since Stephen Harper’s government, the Office of the Prime Minister seems to have usurped more authority than ever before. Un-elected officials should advise our elected leaders, but implementation decisions should rest with those elected representatives.
Canada is not the United States.
As a parliamentary democracy, premiers should not be making unilateral announcements on policy outside of their legislatures. During the pandemic, it seemed like some premiers were making “off-the-cuff” announcements that seemed to surprise even some of their cabinet ministers. Parliamentary democracies do not pivot on just one person the way the government seems to in the United States.
Stop Omnibus bills from abusing democracy.
Recent governments seem to have made more use of omnibus bills than ever before. By overloading certain bills with unrelated and largely hidden other pieces of legislation under an omnibus label, they are forcing a wide spectrum of agenda items through the legislative process without as much scrutiny as they would have received under separate legislation. Oftentimes as well the government will limit debate on these omnibus bills to force them into law. I propose that if any government chooses to use omnibus bills then subsequent debates cannot be limited.
Elected officials should always vote according to their conscience.
Elected officials are supposed to represent their constituents; unfortunately, they seem to be tightly controlled by the government and they are forced to vote according to their party’s wishes instead. This handicaps their ability to vote according to their beliefs and for the people they represent. Political parties may argue that their members can always vote according to their conscience; however, in reality, the penalties for going against the “party-line” can be quite severe.
Confidence votes are separate.
Currently, if a government states a bill, like a proposed budget, is a “confidence” vote, it requires its elected members to vote with the government. If a government loses a confidence vote then an election is very likely the result. I propose a slight change: by allowing elected officials to vote their conscious on bills, even budgetary ones, that if a government bill is defeated, then a separate “confidence” vote should be held within 72 hours. This second vote would be what triggers an election rather than allowing a party to force its members to support a bill they cannot in good conscience support.
Attendance in legislatures.
Elected officials should have to attend 75% of the sittings in each house, with a certain percentage in person and the balance attending electronically. Each legislature tracks attendance, votes, and speeches, this information should be made more accessible to each voter either annually or before an election.
More sittings.
The legislatures are supposed to be the cornerstones of democracy. Many people believe that they are simply “theatre” and this reality needs to change, in my opinion. Not only should more of how the legislative process is more transparent, but each house should also meet more often. If more voters realized how little their respective legislatures meet, more people would be aware of the erosion of our democracy. I purpose that each legislative house should sit for a minimum of 4 hours per day for all but 16 weeks per year.
More preparation time for prospective candidates.
It seems when an election is called, opposition political parties have to scramble to nominate candidates and prepare campaigns. This gives a perceived advantage to the incumbent politician. I believe political parties should be allowed to select candidates at any time before an election and allow them to be prepared for when the election is called. This is supposed to exist now; however, in reality, existing governments can make life very difficult for those seeking to run against them.
Those nominated candidates would be allowed to retain their regular jobs up until the time the writ is dropped. After the writ is dropped their employment would be protected as part of a “democratic leave” and be allowed to collect EI benefits. I believe more people would become involved and better and equitable candidates would be elected.
Government announcements should be made in the legislature.
Too often, in my opinion, major government announcements are made to press conferences with only limited questioning by reporters. Significant announcements should be made in the legislature and should be subject to debate.
“Trump Checker.”
During the Trump presidency, he blatantly uttered statements that were factually untrue regularly. To prevent a similar situation in Canada, we need an independent ombudsman department to call out any elected official who willfully attempts to mislead the public.
Some will argue that this is the role of the media. Perhaps in the past, this would have happened; however, in the age of limited media sources, there exists the need for an unbiased reporting of what President Trump called “fake news.”
Make “Buying our vote,” more accountable.
Election promises should be tracked. Many candidates promise “the world” when running for office but seldom are they held to account for delivering on those promises. Every political party issues an election platform; I believe an independent ombudsman department should update the electorate annually on the progress of those platforms as a report card on the government.
As with the previous point, this would be the role normally of the media. The reality is that our media is in trouble, the consolidation of control of local media outlets has left our ability to provide effective coverage severely limited.
“Oversight for to safeguard democracy.”
As an example, shortly after being elected, the Ontario Conservative Government arbitrarily and unilaterally halved the size of the Toronto City Council. Whenever an upper level of government changes the fundamental structure of a lower-tier government, the proceeding should be contingent on gaining a 2/3 majority in the upper tier’s legislature to ensure a broad base of support before being allowed to be implemented.
“Oversight to safeguard environmental protections.”
As with the previous point, any government that wants to lessen or remove existing environmental protections,” would require a 2/3 majority of their particular legislature. For example, the Ontario government’s desire to develop the provincially protected “green belt” would require a 2/3 majority of the provincial legislature to proceed.
“Oversight to prevent abuse of elections”.
The recent political opportunism displayed in the federal election of 2021 at a $600,000,000 cost to the electorate should not happen again. Any minority government that proposes a “snap” election should require a 2/3 majority vote of the legislature before being allowed to proceed.
Proroguing legislatures should be abolished.
If a government cannot keep the confidence of its house resorting to using proroguing as an artificial means to hold onto power, is an abuse of that power and circumvents democracy. Furthermore, if a minority government is defeated within 6 months of an election, then the party with the next highest number of seats should be allowed to form a new government before automatically calling another election. If the subsequent government is defeated then a new election will result.
Abolish the Senate.
Democracy should be lead by duly elected representatives of the people. Any unelected, non-judiciary group of appointed people has no place determining how any part of the country is governed. If people believe that the senate serves a useful function, then if not abolished, at the very least senators should be elected, not appointed.
Limit the use of the “Notwithstanding clause.”
In the case of Human Rights issues, no province should be able to circumvent rights enshrined in the constitution by just a simple majority. To proceed, legislatures would require a 2/3 majority to invoke the “notwithstanding” clause.
Wages for elected officials.
The independent body that sets the cost of living increases for all levels of elected officials should also match annual percentage increases for anyone on social assistance. Spending on employment Insurance, Provincial Welfare Programs, Old age Security, and Disability Pensions is not a political tool; it should be a right for each Canadian.
I am interested in democracy and accountability.
Integrity and responsibility as well as equitable treatment of all people, including non-citizens should be applied equally in each part of this country. We need a strong democracy that is free of theatre. Our institutions need to safeguard and prevent erosion of our democratic institutions.
Paul
By the way, I would like to thank Francesca Dobbyn for her advice on revising the original post (see October 2nd) which was similar; however, Francesca encouraged me to expand and clarify some of the points.