Earlier this week, former Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff gave a presentation to some law students and much of what he said about present day Canadian politics rings true. Anyone who has been involved in or reported on Canadian politics for a decade or so should be able to relate to his comments.
There is no doubt that the way politics is practiced now is much different than it was in the past. Today it is meaner and nastier and you are either on side and "right" or opposed and "wrong." You are my brother or my enemy. There is no room for compromise and no middle ground exists.
Ignatieff commented that, "We've blurred opponent with enemy." That is a fairly accurate comment. Today it is winner take all, not just during an election, but every single day. Whether it is Question Period, committee work or even rebuttals in speeches, no quarter is given. Today it is all out war between political opponents.
I can remember when from time to time an opposition critic (both NDP and Liberal) would call up to ask if my minister would be in Question Period that day and if so here was the question they were going to ask. We in turn would make sure we had an answer ready. It was win-win: They asked about something important to their riding and we got our message out in our response. Given the current atmosphere in the House of Commons can you imagine an opposition critic giving a heads up to a minister about a question they were going ask today? And even if it did happen, could a minister get permission to answer it? A minister would have to jump through all sorts of hoops to get an answer ready and that answer would have to be signed off by PMO.
Even at the committee level and in Private Member's Business, MPs have little if any freedom. Orders come from on high as to how they should act, questions are prepared for them and MPs dutifully ask them or vote as they have been ordered by their respective Leader's Office. Dissent is treated as opposition, not healthy debate.
Ignatieff also commented that today "it is more like war, with words as weapons." He should know as we used his against him so often no one could ever keep count. From the moment a new leader is chosen, he is carpet bombed with his own words or images through various attack ads.
Today everything is scripted. Ministers stand and read from prepared answers, never deviating from the script that has been approved by PMO. And while it might look ridiculous to an outside observer, it would take a brave minister to stand and give their own answer as opposed to that of the thought police in Langevin.
Focus groups are used to get the exact phrase that gives you an advantage, modern marketing tools are used to press home that advantage, and of course, you never admit you are wrong and never give your opponent a positive comment because after all they are no longer parliamentary colleagues, they are "the enemy." Ignatieff raised some valid points and such is the practice of modern day Canadian politics.
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For whatever reason, many people like to view the Canadian government as that of the American system; which simply isn't how it works. We do not elect our Prime Minster, that is decided by our MPs. Strange concept right? But that's how it works, and why confidence motions were so common under a minority government; not enough party members under the PM to ensure he stays in that role.
Problem is that MPs have become beholden to their party instead of their constituants, and this is for two reasons: People have gotten lazy with their voting, only voting for the party instead of their MP. Secondly many ridings are not contested, so opposing votes are drowned out easily.
Politics serve more as a sport than it does a practical purpose. Just as in professional sports, people do not care where the players come from; people do not really care what policies MPs support. All people care about is the colours they fly.
If people still retained pull with their MPs (regardless of political stripe) they could organize and tell them to behave better or lose their vote, or tell them to pull their support of Harper or the Conservative party and become an independent MP (or even cross the floor) Alas, that's not how it is, it's just a sport to most people. Grab a coloured flag and wave it in the air.
From what's I've seen on Huff Po, especially in its headlines, you are working hard to be part of the problem instead of part of the solution!
Then again, you apparently view SUN and FOX as your competition, instead of the real news media.
PS, his name is Michael Ignatieff!
The mistake being acted out on the Federal stage in Canada is that the interests of a powerful few are being given precedence over the needs of the whole.
It is "divide and conquer" aimed inward, and is a self destructive behaviour that is unhealthy for Canada.
For the sake of the country, Harper must go.
Meanwhile, your beloved PM is seldom in Canada anymore! Check his schedule!
As far as Harper, I believe its Can Govt Business, or does he have a villa in the south of France?
Sad for Canada.
So the idea that Harper is responsible for it all is ridiculous. Even Ignatieff admitted in his speech that the government wasn't all to blame for the current environment.
I'm glad Ignatieff admitted that, cause I didn't notice the Liberals pulling any punches last campaign.
At least the Libs pulled the ad even though the cons kept their Chretien attack running endlessly.
The relentless assault of negative attack ads against Iggy in preparation for an uncalled election, slips the minds of most con hypocrites, I see.
Regardless, Iggy is absolutely right...politics has turned nasty and I hope to see the con strategies reward them justly, with a total wipe out.
Create a two party state in Canada, have nothing but insults hurled from one side to the other, keep the population divided using Corporate Media to foster us vs them insults, which enables the Wealthy and Corporate elites to raid the Nation's natural resources and coffers from a never ending assault on the tax code with high powered tax avoidance schemes.....it is the American way!
And it obvious that the writer never read page 98/99 of Maurice Strong's book: Where On Earth Are We Going, in which he describes holding a meeting in the late sixties, when he was CEO of Power Corp., in the Laurentians for the purpose of "SPAWNING THE NEXT GENERATION OF POLITICAL LEADERSHIP". The lawyers invited had the names of Trudeau, Davis, Lougheed, Blakeney, Ryan and others.
And since Strong is run out of The Pratt House (NY), David Rockefeller, Chairman Emeritus, the financing and media control were guaranteed to put them in office.
And here is Harpo, introduced by his handler, Marie-Josée Kravis, at Pratt: http://tinyurl.com/7tm9cs9 .
Care to revise your story, sir!
It was a poison the well strategy and I for one know I will never be able to vote for a Conservative because of it.
This contempt of being educated ties in nicely with the contempt the Harperites show toward science. They fear that the facts will not dovetail with their ideology so they do not want to hear any facts. The Harperites are the 'Do not confuse me with the facts because I've already made up my mind' crowd.
The Conservatives will NEVER get my vote as long as they are led around by the current control freak, aka. Harper. We all now know for certain why the word 'Progressive' was removed from the name of the party led , no controlled, by this guy.
It's particularly fair game considering that the Liberals have historically accused Conservatives of being overly "American", a dire accusation in Canada.
Most of Canada's best and brightest will be given opportunities to work outside of this country, sometimes for long periods of time. It's the nature of a globalized world. Most want to come home at some point, bringing the knowledge and experience they gain back for our benefit.
The Conservatives spat all over Canadians who have worked hard to broaden their horizons for their benefit and the benefit of our country. I know quite a few smart and intelligent people who have decided to wait out this government in places like London and Paris. I feel hard pressed to blame them one bit.
The biggest irony is that it's Conservatives who are usually so quick to criticize the reflective anti-Americanism that runs through our culture. Yet, they certainly used it more shamelessly than any political party beforehand.
I think we call that irony.
It was an election. What did you expect - flowers and roses?