It has been said that the best type of government is that headed by a benevolent dictator. The idea is that a benevolent dictator will understand the needs of his people, and satisfy those needs, while at the same time ensuring that the country is well protected from attack both from without and from within. At the moment, such an entity does not exist, at least not in the world that most of us have access to. What do exist, however, are various variations on what is euphemistically referred to as democracy.
Some have said that a dictator governs Canada but not a benevolent dictator. Some have said that Canada is a democracy but not a very good example of a democracy. Some have said that Canada cannot protect itself from attack both from without and from within. Some have said that Canada needs to rid itself of its non-benevolent dictator in order to become an upstanding example of a democratic country that can protect itself from attack both from without and from within.
When those gentlemen who later were identified as the "Fathers of Confederation," along with their advisers, cobbled together what eventually became The British North America Act of 1867, they could not have envisioned the division that their separation of power [federal, provincial] would bring a century or so later. In this country's infancy, it was pretty much the region that today is Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. The remainder of what is now Canada was a wasteland, little inhabited by white settlers but a wasteland that Ottawa wanted to add to its total landmass; therefore, the idea of Canada was rather limited.
The BNA Act at VI article 91 sets out the "Powers of the Parliament" while at article 92 the "Exclusive Powers of Provincial Legislatures" are listed. This brings us to two topical items: health care and defence.
Listed under article 91 is subsection 7 "Militia, military and naval service, and defence." While, subsection 7 of article 92 states, clearly, "The establishment, maintenance, and management of hospitals, asylums, charities, and eleemosynary institutions in and for the province, other than marine hospitals."
From current accounts, it is evident that Ottawa has failed miserably to uphold the wording of 91:7 and has imposed its position - via the Canada Health Act of 1967 - on the provinces in violation of 92:7.
Regardless of one's position vis-à-vis either or both of the aforementioned topics, Canadians are not well served by their federal government under its non-benevolent dictator. This is especially so when that dictator appears to countenance cronyism rather than democracy. Moreover, this country's dictator is dead set on leaving a legacy of his own choosing rather than allowing Canadians to determine which was his greatest accomplishment. Were any Canadian to compile a list of our current dictator's "greatest accomplishments" to date, the list would be mighty short.
Others, who see Canada not through the rose coloured glasses Ottawa's resident dictator does, would compile a lengthy list that would number among its items the dismantling of Canada's military and the deep division that exists currently between the provinces and Ottawa on health care.
Let our dictator's legacy be that he left Canada, period!
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 
