No Crisis in Parliament

The antics going on in our federal Parliament right now are very interesting. I believe that no matter the outcome this is very healthy for democracy in Canada. In this article I will attempt to explain why I hold this view. I say this from a somewhat detached viewpoint since I am not a partisan; I hold all our political parties in some degree of contempt.

First, the media is unsurprisingly playing up the events, and I will admit that these are newsworthy since our government, and in particular governance, are at stake. But we should not allow the media to cause us to conclude there is a crisis. That is, while there may be a crisis brewing, it is not our crisis. It is a crisis by and for politicians.

Second turmoil in Ottawa will hamper any federal attempts to intervene in the economy for some months, though it is questionable whether that is a bad thing. Politicians can show leadership yet it is not necessary if citizens are motivated to act on their own behalf. After all, the country's wealth is held by the people, not government, and so the recovery is ultimately up to us. Indeed any intervention the government does take could work to our disadvantage by propping up corporations that are less than viable and shuffling tax dollars from one sector to another or from our region to another. The economy is likely to recover on its own and more effeciently without government intervention.

What the government can best do is try to restore confidence in our future. Too many people left to their own will focus on the dire present, which is not healthy and can further erode the economy. The nice thing about the political crisis is that if it focuses on the economy then every political party is telling citizens that they agree this is the uppermost priority. Even if they do nothing (or if they do something it will most likely be a merely token effort) this picture of the politicians caring about peoples' predicament can raise spirits. I realize that this view sounds cynical and even insulting to those suffering in the recession, yet I believe it can work.

Now I want to remind you that economic leadership isn't really the subject this article. It is the issue of parliamentary governance in Canada as introduced in the opening paragraphs. I only spoke of the economic backdrop to allay concerns that a short-term parliamentary crisis is bad for the economy, or that it should sway us from the bigger issue.

We do not have an admirable record of parliamentary democracy in this country. When a party has a majority they rule like autocrats. When the governing party is in the minority we stumble along from one manufactured political crisis to another, sliding inevitably toward an early election. Some say that minorities work better since there is some amount of compromise required, which better represents the country's diversity of political views. I am unconvinced. Both work only moderately well, just differently.

There are experiments with minorities with which Canada has minimal experience. Coalitions? Nope, not us. Include a broader representation of political outlooks in cabinet, as Obama is now doing in the US? No, not us. Why not? Why is there this fixation in the parties (Liberal or Conservative) with governing as if they had a majority when they don't? It simply isn't effective. What we get is endless political brinksmanship and even greater attempts to discredit others, all in an attempt to stake out positions in front of an (expected) election. We deserve better.

This is why I care about the current crisis. For once there is a possibility that we'll try something different. I have no love for a possible Liberal-NDP coalition supported by the Bloc, yet it is an experiment from which the country could benefit. It's time we tried a coalition. Especially in the present age where we have a greater degree of fragmentation of seats among the parties, and so a decreased probability of majorities. Many others countries do so as standard procedure, yet we tend to implicitly admire the US two-party system and equate coalitions with instability.

A further advantage to coalitions is that elections will matter more, and can result in an engaged citizenry. When there is the possibility that a smaller party can attain even a small share of power there will be less strategic voting toward one of the larger parties and more voting on the candidates and parties individuals truly care about. I believe that's a good thing.

I have no idea what will happen in the coming days and weeks. What I do know is that for once they have my undivided attention.