Electoral reform - we need it - how to make it happen

I still think there is hope for electoral change. The Green Party has to work to win with the rules the way they are.

It is telling that we don't hold referendums on going to war, changing tax structures, creating or changing the constitution, adjusting federal / provincial powers or any of the contentious issues of the last few years - capital punishment, abortion, gay rights. The government chooses not to be encumbered by the people in making its decision, claiming that the electoral system has imbued it with the will of the people.

Then, instead of asking people, "should we make the electoral system more proportional or not", and then leaving the details to experts at Elections Canada and parliamentary committees, we instead task uninformed citizens to form an assembly and make a complex recommendation which most people don't understand. Then we ask them to vote on something which resembles legislation. If people had to vote on legislation, such as the last budget, for example, most (a) wouldn't bother or (b) reject it because it was too complicated.

The referendum is simply a process to stall change and continue to entrench the power of the two parties that have ruled this country since Confederation. They know a good thing when they see it.

My suggestion: Just do it. The government is empowered to do everything else, why don't they just do it. Answer: They don't wish to bite the hand that feeds them with our money and our power.

It won't change until we make it change. We need to push and push and push until the voices of the people are truly heard in the corridors of government.

Meet the new boss, same as the old boss

I still don't understand why so many people ponder this question: should I vote Liberal or Conservative next time?

I say, it doesn't matter. They are basically the same party. Both leaders wanted Canada to join the war in Iraq. Both leaders think that giving our sovereignty to multinational corporations through the security and prosperity agreement is a good idea (never heard about it? I wonder where our media was for the last few years .. google it to find out). The Conservatives campaigned on no deficit, and when they were backed into a corner, they came to love the deficit. Of course, in the budget bill, they decimated the navigable waterways act, rendering useless the consideration of the impact of dams and hydro projects on the people who live up river. Similarly, the elimination of environmental assessments, which are painted as being impediments to the necessary investment in infrastructure that will save our economy. Suddenly, it would seem that protecting the environment that protects us is suddenly out of fashion. I fear that we will choke to death on the decisions that are being made today. The Liberals supported this, and they agree with it. Each the same as the other.

In the entire history of Canada, we can look to alternating Liberal and Conservative governments to see the evolution of our democratic systems, our government and institutions. It is time that they were held to account for the abysmal management of our natural resources (where did the cod go, anyway?), for the continued repression of aboriginal minorities, for decimating the water tables in what we euphamistically call the Athabasca Tar Sands (as if there was nothing else there).

Liberal, Tory, same old story. If we continue to vote the way that we always have, we will continue to get the same results we have always gotten. Isn't it time for a change?

Glimpse of an image

I happen to catch a glimpse of the Prime Minister last Friday when he was at Fanshawe College to make an announcement about a $2B in job retraining and other infrastucture investment. With him were the Conservative MPs from the surrounding regions, as far away as Haldimand-Norfolk. Notably absent from the stage was Irene Mathyson, the MP whose riding Fanshawe College is in.

This makes sense if the event is a partisan event. But an announcement from our government about spending $2 billion of our tax dollars (which we don't have and will have to borrow and eventually pay back with interest) seems to me to be an event which should include the local dignitaries, even if they are with other parties.

Of course, the Prime Minister does not want anyone to think that anybody in Parliament does anything for the people except the Conservative party. If only that were true ....

In person, the PM looks much like he does on television. His hair is perfect. His government, not so much.

Update on a government

Wow, how time flies!

Since my last post the government asked the Governor General to prorogue parliament for six weeks, presumably to let things cool down. She granted this adjournment and in the meantime, the Liberals quickly eliminated Dion and replaced him with Ignatieff. He then decided that it would be better to have a coalition with the Conservatives than with the other two parties, as that would appear to make him look more statesmanlike, ie. improve the chances of electability. In the meantime, the Conservatives suddenly realized that their strategy of ignoring the economic crisis was not playing well (ie. reducing their electability), and suddenly turned into Liberals and introduced the largest deficit budget in the history of Canada.

There, that should show the voters that we care, they thought. And perhaps it did. Most voters are tired of all these games, and are finally happy that the elected officials are doing what they were elected to do, rather than spend all of their time repositioning themselves for the next election. But, the budget fails to make any significant investment in the kind of infrastructure Canada needs for the future. Instead, there is money for carbon capture rather than conservation, preservation of an auto industry which invented and remains trapped in obsolescence, and a pile of money targetted to cash-strapped provinces and municipalities which must provide matching funds. If you are going to provide an economic stimulus, then at least build the foundation for long term, sustainable industry.

Now, there is a flap over whether or not these extra billions of spending can be effectively controlled or not. The government appears to be saying no, we have to spend this money so fast that we know that mistakes will be made, and don't blame us for it. Rick Mercer has a great blog post at http://www.rickmercer.com/blog/index.cfm/2009/3/3/Forgive-Us--We-Know-Not-What-We-Do . Once again, conservative values appear to have been tossed out the window.

There is a great blog post at http://kirbycairo.blogspot.com/2009/03/harper-and-history.html which summarizes Stephen Harper's serendipitous rise to power, and the inevitability of his fall. It is great reading.

Canada, I hope your next government is deserving of your support.

On coalitions

As I write this, the three opposition parties have said that they do not have confidence in the government, and that they will vote down the economic update. They have further asked the Governor General to consider installing a coalition government rather than have another election after two short months. The government does not like this one bit, and is fighting tooth and nail to prevent the vote and to prevent the coalition.

Canada is a parliamentary democracy. That is, the voters elect a parliament, and from that election, the Governor General appoints the leader of the party with the most seats as Prime Minister. The authority of the government comes from the House. When the government loses the confidence of the house, then the Prime Minister resigns. Normally, a new election is then called, and we start over again.

However, twice in Canadian history, the Governor General has asked the leader of party who came second to govern the country, usually because it is simply too soon after an election, which would likely achieve similiar results (much as the 2008 election results look a lot like the 2006 election results). So, the Liberals, NDP and Bloc Quebecois are most certainly within their rights to point out that they can form a government, since between them, they have the majority of seats in the house, and they have agreed on a legislative agenda.

Could the government have avoided this? Of course. After the election, the Prime Minister talked about a more cooperative approach to governing. Then, he immediately turned around and, without consultation with any of the other parties, hit them with a number of budget incentives which were not even part of their election platform. His response was take it or leave it. The opposition parties all immediately said, we will leave it, and vote against it. At that moment in time, the government lost the confidence of the house. Suddenly, the budget was revised and now, may be scrapped and replaced if Parliament is recessed. However, the problem now is that nobody in the coalition trusts the government any more, and for good reason.

Steven Harper rolled the dice and lost. Remember back in September, when he asked the Governor General to call an election because he did not have the confidence of house? (Even though all of his confidence motions were passed, primarily because of a weak and divided opposition). Or harken back to 2004, when the Liberals formed the governement, and Steven Harper, as leader of the opposition, sent a letter to the governor general, signed by the NDP and the Bloc, urging her to consider allowing them to form the government. Now, he suddenly claims that a coalition is somehow a devious and underhanded backroom plot. Bull feathers.

Mr. Harper, you are done. It is time for you to leave gracefully.

As to the new coalition, I fully support their right to form the government. However, I am deeply concerned that they will not sufficiently address the issues of the day. They deserve a shot, and an opportunity to make this Parliament work. I hope they will address the true economic issues, the need for electoral reform, the issues facing aboriginals, farmers and the growing ranks of the unemployed. And whether it is carbon tax or cap-and-trade, please, please do something about global climate change.

Our children are counting on us to be the adults here.

The need for change

Very few people choose to change for no reason. Change is uncomfortable and awkward. There are new behaviours and ways of thinking to work out. It is outside of our comfort zone.

Change comes when people reach a crisis point. Change comes when the comfort zone becomes too uncomfortable.

Is there a crisis in our midst? People are concerned about the economy, jobs and their financial security. When this happens, people turn to their trusted economic advisers. Unfortunately, in the US, these are the same people who caused the problem by taking unreasonable risks, and now expect the taxpayers to help them solve their problem.

I listened to a CBC talk show a couple of days ago, Rex Murphy, I believe, as I was driving. A fellow called in and said (I paraphrase): I have a small business, and I am now under more financial pressure than ever, and the government is not going to even consider a bailout package for me. Worse than that, they will use my tax dollars to subsidize some of the least efficient industries in the country.

There is a great wisdom in pointing out this paradox. I believe that small business is the best solution to Canada's woes. They generate more jobs, more revenue and they are local, rather than multinational, in nature. Small, local solutions to local problems.

In government, perhaps we should question our trusted advisers before handing them the keys to the vault again. As Einstein said, insanity is to do the same thing over and over again and expect different results.

The morning after

This is my response to a friend who was feeling down after the election on Tuesday. What happens is that we develop higher and higher expectations during the election campaign. Then, when the results don't match our expectations, we experience a let down. Here's what I wrote:

Yes, it is normal to feel that way. During the campaign, we work hard to envision a victory. We imagine the people awakening to the same conclusions we have reached, that the system is broken and that it will take a new party like the Greens to fix it.

Then, after the votes are counted, there is a sobering reality check. It is not that we are wrong, nor that we are foolishly optimistic, nor that what we are working for is not important.

Rather, it is simply an acknowledgment that change requires time. Lifelong Liberal, Conservative and NDP voters are reluctant to change that behaviour, and all the rational argument in the world will not impact the emotional experience of voting. As you have experienced yourself, when you stand in the voting booth, you get a brief glimpse of the power of democracy. There is a mix of excitement, and a huge sense of responsibility, knowing that your X will impact the future of the country. For many people, they choose a safe alternative, out of fear of making a mistake.

So, today, tonight and tomorrow, we will sift through the results, and the emails, and the news reports and try to find some meaning for what appears to be a gap. We will analyze our own numbers to see what happened.

In the end, this is what we will find: We will find wonderful posts like John's http://www.greenparty.ca/en/node/8361 which reminds us that we have made tremendous progress nationally, and that we have achieved a level of accomplishment never seen before in the party's history. The vast majority of the candidates will find that their vote increased. Mine went from 4% to 7%, and while I wanted a much bigger number, it still represents almost double the support from 2006. No other party doubled their support in my riding.

We will find that we have made new friends and supporters who will help us the next time. We will remember the amazing contributions that people made to help us in our ridings. We will remember the times that we inspired others. We can take pride in the community we are building.

Here is a little story, whose point is that you never know what influence you will have on people. Towards the end of the 2006 campaign, we had some money left, but not enough to do flyers for the whole riding. So, we did up a small black and white flyer, printed 20,000 copies and then began to figure out how we would distribute them. Within 48 hours, most went out in bulk distribution, and some went out as unaddressed ad mail. When I saw my results at 4%, I wondered if it had all been a waste. Well, it turns out that one person saw the flyer, liked what she saw and decided to become involved in the Green Party. Mary Ann Hodge became the candidate in London North Centre in this election, and she told me this story a month ago while we were stacking signs into a truck.

You have affected many people in and around your riding, but they usually don't pick up the phone to tell you. This is our reward, and this will eventually turn into votes, just as the seeds sown in spring grow when given sustenance and time. We are, in effect, gardeners of change, and our task is a marathon rather than a sprint. We live in a world that prefers instant solutions, but there are no such quick solutions for the significant issues of our time.

So, remember that sun has no comprehension of its importance to life on earth. In that same way, we continue to shine with the things we hold true, and holding up the same vision that we began with. There is nothing more powerful than an idea whose time has come.