proroguation – This Magazine

As Middle East citizens reclaim their countries, democracy weakens at home

victoria salvas — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 19:25:51 +0000

February 4 anti-Mubarak protest in Alexandria, Egypt. Creative Commons photo by Al Jazeera English

In Egypt, Libya, Bahrain, even Italy, citizens are rising up, risking their lives to protest their corrupt governments. Egyptians, in a historical event, have proven they can be successful in overthrowing years of dictatorial leadership. Canadians were mostly cheering along (though our government wasn’t), but’s hard to put ourselves in their place—Canada, flawed though it is, is simply not Egypt. Corruption here is less pervasive; the military less present in our everyday lives; we have a functional political opposition. But since freedom, democracy, and human rights are on everyone’s mind right now, perhaps it’s time for a little self-evaluation session.

The uprisings in the Middle East should prompt Canadians to take a closer look at the state of our own politics. For just one recent example, see the recent KAIROS “not” scandal and assess how democratic our government’s behaviour truly is. Murray Dobbin on Rabble stopped just short of comparing Steven Harper to ousted Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak, and called Harper’s Conservative cabinet a squad of “hit men.”

But would Canadians ever reach the point where we just couldn’t take it anymore? Could we rebel in Egypt-like protests? Would our rants to friends or angry blog comments ever manifest as rebellion in the street?

Stereotypically, Canadians are polite and retiring; unconfrontational if you’re being nice about it, apathetic if you’re not. But there’s data to prove that we really don’t like things to get politically messy. Besides our dismal-and-getting-worse voter turnout rate, A 2000 General Social Survey by Statistics Canada found that only 9 percent of Canadians (age 15 and up) had participated in a public debate that year (things like calling radio talkback shows or writing letters to the editor). Half of those individuals researched information on political issues, and 10 percent volunteered for a political party. We also seem naturally more inclined to express our opinions with a group that we know will share or agree with our own opinions.

Historically, if Canadians take the time to understand a politcal issue, then get mad about it, we will find a way to express it. Like the time time the Conservative government decided prorogue parliament; a 63 day break while 36 government bills lay untouched. While plenty of us apparently didn’t know what the heck that meant, 200,000 Canadians got angry, logged onto Facebook and joined a group called Canadians Against Proroguing Parliament. Many attended actual rallies across the country.

If you were in Toronto in the summer of 2010, you witnessed Canadians in a more traditional form of protest during the G20 conference. Over 300 people were arrested and the images of Toronto streets seemed almost unrecognizable, as if it were a different country altogether.

The erosion of Western democracy seems to be everywhere you turn lately. Paul Krugman identified the union-busting tactics of Wisconsin governor Scott Walker as just the latest example of a hemisphere-wide push by anti-democratic forces: “What Mr. Walker and his backers are trying to do is to make Wisconsin — and eventually, America — less of a functioning democracy and more of a third-world-style oligarchy,” Krugman wrote.

Dobbin’s Rabble column sounds the same alarm for Canada: He calls Minister of International Cooperation Bev Oda’s corrections of the CIDA report “political thuggery worthy of a dictatorship.” This seems to be just one example of our democracy moving backwards while citizens of Italy, Libya, Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen are actively involved in taking back control of their respective countries.

The most notable moments from Michaëlle Jean's time as Governor General

simon wallace — Fri, 01 Oct 2010 20:50:17 +0000

Today, David Johnston became the Governor General of Canada, and he’s got big shoes to fill — Michaëlle Jean’s time as the Queen’s representative in Canada was quite a trip, after all. On the occasion of her retirement, we decided to look back at some of the bumps along the way (and don’t worry, we only mention prorogation once).

1) She’s a separatist!
Not long after Paul Martin announced that Michaëlle Jean would be the country’s next GG did the rumours, allegations, hearsay and, um, videotapes that implied Jean was/is a separatist or married a separatist begin to emerge. The clincher: footage surfaced showing her talking with some separatists saying “Independence can’t be given, it must be taken.” (She said she was talking about Haiti.) It got ugly quick. At the first Remembrance Day ceremony that Jean participated in as GG some vets turned their backs on her, chattering classes chattered, hand wringers wrung hands, etc. Either way, the controversy died down but it clearly left an impression on the new viceroy: the motto on her new coat of arms was a none too thinly veiled “breaking down the solitudes” and in her first major speech (which happened to be at her swearing in ceremony) she declared the time of the two solitudes in Canadian history had passed.

2) She eats baby seal hearts!
It’s no secret that the European Parliament (not to mention many Europeans and, yes, Canadians) have issues with the seal hunt. Large issues. Shortly after the EU imposed an import ban on seal products, Jean caused a stir when she ate a piece of raw seal heart at an Inuit ceremony. When asked whether there was any political significance to her culinary decisions she replied “Take from that what you will.”

3) She’s all about the war in Afghanistan!
If anyone thought Jean was going to be a peacenik as GG they were, well, wrong. Very wrong. Jean was the first Governor-General to wear a military uniform in over 15 years, despite the fact that, after Adrienne Clarkson, she was only the second not to have have been either a politician or formally connected in some way to the military. She made a habit of visiting troops in Afghanistan and, making a connection between the occupation and the advancement of women’s rights, was a strong advocate for the mission. In the last few days of her tenure she was photographed more than once obviously upset at military ceremonies.

4) She’s political (when she shouldn’t be)!
Shortly after Stephen Harper became Prime Minister he was having a conversation with the country’s top civil servant, Alex Himelfarb, about enacting the newly elected government’s agenda. The discussion turned to barriers and, then, to the GG. “Prime Minister,” Himelfarb is alleged to have said, “your biggest problem is in Rideau Hall.” In this post-census/torture world we know he was being hyperbolic but back in the halcyon days of early 2006 when we worried about little things like daycare and sponsorship scandals it may have seemed that he had a point. Later, in 2007, Jean made a speech that contained a thinly-veiled attack against the decision to cut the Court Challenges Program and, of course, her vocal support for the Afghan war made more than a few legislators unhappy. But, of course, it was her involvement a very political procedural matter for which she will most be remembered: prorogation. ‘Nuff said.

Liveblogging the post-prorogue Throne Speech

Graham F. Scott — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 19:15:47 +0000

Full text of the liveblog:

2:18 PM: We’re watching the Throne Speech online here: bit.ly

2:19 PM: At the moment the Governor General has arrived outside Parliament and is doing various martial duties.

2:20 PM: Please feel free to comment and add your thoughts as things go along.

2:21 PM: CTV is reporting that the Throne Speech’s title is cribbed from Australia: www.ctv.ca

2:22 PM: … though titling your political document “A Stronger Economy. A Stronger [YOUR COUNTRY HERE]” isn’t exactly rocket science.

2:22 PM: CBC also has some pre-speech roundup going on: www.cbc.ca

2:24 PM: Still waiting for the GG to arrive in the house.

2:28 PM: Still a few minutes to go here.

2:28 PM: Globe and Mail is reporting that the speech will freeze MP salaries: www.theglobeandmail.com

2:31 PM: CPAC Voice of Doom says things are running about 20 minutes behind.

2:33 PM: Just a note: please comment by clicking “Make a comment” at the top of the liveblog window, and not by commenting on the blog post below. Our commenting system is screwed up at the moment. (should be fixed soon).

2:34 PM: “Throne Speech” is trending on Twitter right now in Canada. So that’s something, right?

2:36 PM: The Bearer of the Black Rod is on the move.

2:37 PM: Trumpets blare. GG has entered the Senate chamber.

2:38 PM: If you’re just joining, we’re watching the live stream of the throne speech on CPAC: bit.ly

2:38 PM: Sorry, that’s USHER of the black rod.

2:39 PM: More on the Usher and his duties: en.wikipedia.org

2:42 PM: Usher has just knocked on the doors of the lower house.

2:43 PM: Bowing, nodding, ceremonial hats.

2:44 PM: Someone just shushed everyone. Rowdy crowd.

2:44 PM: “Hey everyone, party at the GG’s house!”

2:45 PM: Now there will be a long period of getting 300+ MPs etc. to shuffle back the way the usher came.

2:47 PM: WALK FASTER

2:48 PM: OK: UoBR is back in the Senate Chamber, the Mace holder is waiting at the door.

2:49 PM: Kind of like vampires having to be invited in.

2:49 PM: The PM sits in a chair to the GG’s right. And we’re on!

2:51 PM: Canadians’ “sense of solidarity” will persist amid economic problems.

2:51 PM: “Our country has weathered the storm better than most”

2:52 PM: Conservative agenda from last year is “largely in place.”

2:52 PM: Top priorities: “jobs and growth”

2:53 PM: “Canada poised to exit recession with one of the strongest economies in the industrialized world.”

2:54 PM: Canadians meet problems with “pragmatism, resourcefulness”

2:54 PM: “Workers have shared their jobs to spare colleagues from layoff.”

2:55 PM: Stockwell Day looks sad about something.

2:56 PM: The recession is not behind us. Newsflash!

2:57 PM: Jobs, Jobs, Jobs, Jobs, Jobs, Families, Jobs, Jobs, Jobs

2:57 PM: Note to self: count instances of the word “Jobs” later in the text…

2:58 PM: “Canadians live within their means, and expect their governments to do the same.”

2:58 PM: “A balanced budget is not an end in itself.”

2:59 PM: Balancing books will NOT affect: Pensioners, taxes.

2:59 PM: Nor transfer payments.

3:00 PM: Salaries will be frozen.

3:00 PM: Ministers’ offices budgets also frozen.

3:01 PM: “launching review” of departments, ministries, etc., to “ensure value for money and tangible results.”

3:03 PM: Technology is baffling and fast and stuff. We have to be good at teh internets.

3:03 PM: Also: the skilled trades.

3:04 PM: On technology: government will strengthen laws on intellectual property.

3:05 PM: Canada has been a space-faring nation for almost fifty years.

3:05 PM: SPACE

3:05 PM: We’re going to invest in space stuff to…protect arctic sovereignty.

3:06 PM: Prediction: space lasers to pick off seal pups from geostationary orbit.

3:06 PM: (Also: The Russians)

3:07 PM: Live feed is stuttering, we’re missing bits and pieces. Lots of people watching.

3:08 PM: Canadian financial industry “set Canada apart” during the recession, the “strongest in the world.”

3:09 PM: We will be a “Green energy superpower”

3:09 PM: Third largest natural gas producer, and uranium and hydro electricity. Second largest for petroleum.

3:10 PM: petro+gas+uranium ≠ “Green energy superpower.”

3:11 PM: Commenter Laura says: “Green energy superpower” with the Tar Sands? “Out of his G.D. mind”

3:12 PM: Support domestic shipbuilding with “strong federal procurement.” Isn’t that the same as “we’re going to buy some boats?”

3:13 PM: Our government is in support of family, engagement, raising children. Risky positions, guys.

3:14 PM: Child subsidies to increase for single-parent families, sounds like. No numbers.

3:15 PM: Government will work with NGOs to launch national strategy on Childhood Injury Prevention.

3:16 PM: Local grassroots efforts are strangled by red tape. Government IS the problem.

3:16 PM: Srsly, Stockwell Day looks on the verge of tears.

3:17 PM: A new Prime Ministerial Award for voluntarism.

3:18 PM: Tough on crime section starts.

3:18 PM: Lock the bums up, etc. Keys thrown away, yadda yadda.

3:18 PM: Won’t somebody please think of the children?

3:19 PM: In the case of “Multiple murderers”, will ensure “life is life.” That would be the throwing away the key part.

3:20 PM: Mention of the Sisters in Spirit initiative, addressing the hundreds of missing aboriginal women across Canada.

3:20 PM: Does this mean their funding will be maintained? No dollars mentioned.

3:20 PM: Police will get “investigative powers for the 21st century.”

3:21 PM: Victims of crime will get paid leaves of absences.

3:22 PM: TERRORISTS

3:22 PM: “Our peaceful, prosperous, and pluralistic” societies is one of the safest places to live.

3:23 PM: (But: we’re going to take naked 3-d scans of you at the airport sometimes.)

3:24 PM: Huge bulge of retiring baby boomers will pressure the pension system.

3:24 PM: (We’ve got a piece on that in the March-April issue of This, by the way)

3:25 PM: We’re going to establish “Seniors’ Day.” (Just like Shoppers Drug Mart!)

3:26 PM: On to The Troops:

3:27 PM: Suddenly the cameras are zooming in on anyone in the room in uniform. All look stoic.

3:28 PM: Military familes get access to EI. They didn’t already? Can anyone confirm?

3:28 PM: More war memorials. Because there’s a huge shortage of them?

3:29 PM: Who selects the viewers in the gallery? They seem suspiciously demographically significant…

3:31 PM: Govt “recognizes contributions of aboriginal people” in Canada. Think he’s not talking about, uh, most of the real estate in the country?

3:31 PM: Just a hunch.

3:31 PM: Thanks for the “contribution,” though.

3:32 PM: More land claims will be settled.

3:32 PM: Now a bit about the Olympics. If she breaks into “I Believe,” I’m closing the window.

3:33 PM: Laura says: How about less wars instead?

3:33 PM: Laura says: A green energy superpower?? With the tar sands?? Harper is out of his G.D. mind.

3:34 PM: We’ve set up a party planning committee for the Queen’s Diamond jubilee.

3:35 PM: Did I hear that correctly? Going to make the national anthem gender neutral?

3:35 PM: Anyone hear that part clearly? The feed cut out for a second.

3:36 PM: Will take steps to “strengthen francophone identity.”

3:37 PM: “Growing number of states” have given “qualified” assent to the UN declaration on rights of indigenous people.

3:37 PM: Canada will do that in a way “consistent with” Canadian values. Sounds like a hedge, no?

3:37 PM: Qualified, doing it our own way, etc.

3:37 PM: Will find ways to revoke citizenship faster from war criminals.

3:39 PM: Canada’s stance on the UN Declaration, via Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org

3:40 PM: Clare says: What about the UN declaration on rights of disabled, which was on the table before prorogation?

3:40 PM: Good question.

3:40 PM: McKenzie pipeline project review board have finished their work, commercial development will commence. Eep.

3:41 PM: “country of unparalleled natural beauty.” Adding 85,000 sq. km of protected land, marine.

3:42 PM: G20 summit this summer: Women, Children.

3:42 PM: Will “oppose trade protectionism” in all its guises.

3:44 PM: John Geddes at Maclean’s has some quibbles with some early bits of the speech: www2.macleans.ca

3:44 PM: Laura says: Pfff… I can’t believe those two things came one after another! Such hypocrisy. (re: McKenzie pipleine and protecting natural beauty)

3:45 PM: Will reduce emissions through the Canada U.S. Clean Air Dialogue. (i.e., hot air. Zing!)

3:45 PM: Is the PM getting a crick in his neck from having to sit facing straight forward and always craning his head to the left to watch the GG read?

3:46 PM: Citizenship is “more than a contract to pay taxes in exchange for government services.”

3:46 PM: (sensing a conclusion here?)

3:47 PM: “Grand visions” won’t happen without the “means to pay for them”

3:48 PM: Therefore (natch) the economy is the focus.

3:49 PM: “Hope is borne on the wings of prosperity.” Block that metaphor!

3:49 PM: That’s it! She closes the binder. Thud. It’s thick.

3:50 PM: Ack, suddenly Peter Mansbridge appears on screen. What’s happening?

3:51 PM: Well, the speech is over, but there seems to be additional ceremonial rigamarole going on. Plus they’ve cut out the sound and are playing some goofy piano music.

3:52 PM: MPs are leaving and going back to the lower house.

3:53 PM: Usher of the Black Rod leaves with everyone following.

3:54 PM: Funny hats off. Obviously time to get down to beeswax. CPAC informs me the house is waiting on the PM now.

3:55 PM: More goofy classical music in the background.

3:56 PM: If you have links to articles or anything, please leave a comment by clicking “Make a comment” at the top of the liveblog window.

3:57 PM:

3:59 PM: Globe and Mail has done a graphic “budget reality check” today: beta.images.theglobeandmail.com

4:00 PM:

4:01 PM: Also, if you haven’t seen it today, the “Canadians Against Proroguing Parliament” Facebook group has Chrysalis’ed itself into “Canadians Advocating Political Participation: canadaparticipates.ca

4:02 PM: They’ve also got a video: www.youtube.com

4:03 PM: (That’s our homie Judy Rebick all up in there.)

4:04 PM: An apt prediction of the speech from the Globe’s political cartoonist Brian Gable: beta.images.theglobeandmail.com

4:04 PM:

4:06 PM: CPAC confirms we weren’t hearing voices: gender neutral national anthem is on the table.

4:06 PM: CPAC scrums Jack Layton in the hall:

4:06 PM: “Government’s chosen to continue cutting taxes for big business…. They made the wrong choices on certain key points.”

4:08 PM: “They say climate change is their number one priority,” but plan is ending regulation and letting business police itself.

4:09 PM: House has been called to order.

4:09 PM: PM rises to speak.

4:11 PM: Iggy rises on a point of order: is asking for a committee to “conduct an immediate investigation” into the proroguement. Wants a report by middle of April.

4:12 PM: I.e., was proroguement OK, is parliament or the government supreme, etc. Motion fails. There’s shouting.

4:13 PM: “read it in its entirety, backwards!” someone shouts when Speaker Milliken asks whether he can just move on without rereading the whole thing to the house.

4:14 PM: Flaherty rises to say expect the budget tomorrow. Daddy needs a new pair of shoes.

4:14 PM: (i.e., en.wikipedia.org)

4:15 PM: All right, we’re going to pack it in here. It’s going to be procedural stuff for a while now.

4:16 PM: Thanks for watching, commenting, paying attention, and all the rest. We’ll do a short summary or link roundup this week on the finer points of the Throne Speech and the budget.