Go to article index for other editions of Bob Orrick's IN RE (In the Matter of).
Politics and Governments: a Baffling Duo
By
Bob Orrick
For years, some have argued that Canada is not a true democracy. With our 'first-past-the-post' system of determining an election winner, opponents of such a system claim -with some justification - that true democracy is thwarted. They claim that the FPTP system denies voters their say and allows governments to be elected with a minority of votes. When the number of seats won is compared to the percentage of popular votes cast, the opponents of the FPTP system have a case. Much ink has been splashed on the idea of switching from our current system to a more representational one with 'rep by pop' being the most popular among several. Although the representative by population idea gathers some support in areas, it falls down when the full implication of that system is understood. To have some idea of how mired in party representation the 'rep by pop' system can be, one needs only to look to Italy of a few years ago when governments changed frequently because a consensus could not be arrived at. Is that what Canadians want? The current system with its fragmented parliament is bad enough; surely Canada neither wants nor needs something less effective.
Another reason why some Canadians claim Canada is not a true democracy lies in the fact that for the most part any federal general election is determined at the Ontario-Manitoba border. For those voters west of Ontario, their votes seem to be of little importance; at least to them it appears that way.
Into this mix comes another 'fact' that is hard to ignore but baffling to many. First, some background. Any Canadian old enough to read or to view TV has to know that the federal Liberal government has made a hash of things these past few years. A partial list of misdeeds includes Liberal patronage, sloppy and irrelevant spending, conflicts of interest, disintegration of Canada's armed forces, and a serious lack of accountability. Now the baffling part.
A recent poll shows that the Liberals enjoy the support of 47 per cent of Canadians. This was the case among decided-voter respondents in all provinces except Alberta. In Ontario almost 60 per cent said they would support the Liberals if an election were held today.
What this suggests is that for the most part Ontario voters are happy with a sloppy, irresponsible Liberal government in Ottawa. The same comment can be directed to voters east of Ontario. With minor exception, those in the West cannot stomach Jean Chretien and his Liberal lackeys and want dearly for Chretien to go, sooner than later. It is not yet etched in stone that Paul Martin will win the Liberal leadership and with it the position of prime minister; however, were that to happen, not much will change. Remember that Martin was number two in the chain of command when many of the shenanigans were going on in Ottawa. He was part of the problem. Incidentally, the aforementioned poll showed that 51 per cent of respondents believe Martin will be a good prime minister. Martin's rivals, John Manley and Allan Rock captured 18 and 16 per cent respectively.
Is there democracy in Canada? Does the electorate in the West have a case? Should the first-past-the-post system be chucked in favour of something more representative of the electorate's wishes? Do Canadians enjoy a federal government that almost daily is caught with its hands in the cookie jar, or equivalent?
How can Canadians rally around a government that has shown time and time and time again that it does not deserve to be in charge of grass cutting little alone a country?
And a Merry Christmas to all.
Send your comments about Bob's articles to syears@senioryears.com. We will display letters at Talking Back to Bob
Bob Orrick is a private tutor of English grammar, literature, poetry and Canadian history to off-shore youngsters. His pupils hail from such places as Taiwan, China, Japan, Hong Kong, Korea and Venezuela. He was previously in international marketing, was a ministerial assistant to a provincial cabinet minister, spent a few years as a reporter then editor of a community newspaper and enjoyed a career in the Royal Canadian Navy.
Advertising Information 
