The Crisis Upon Us

Whether you claim to have seen it coming or not, the suddenness of Belinda Stronach’s departure to the Liberal benches will overshadow the very serious situation which still persists in Parliament.

I will step out of my partisan shoes for a moment. I will not, for example, make any judgment about the particular policies that have been proposed and implemented by the Liberals, since coming to power in 1993.

In addition, let’s set aside what many consider tactics of dubious honor, in attacking their opponents, in the name of electoral gain. Chalk those up, for the moment, to ‘superior” campaign tactics, and the political know-how to win.

Focus solely on the allegations which have come to light over the years - as a result of investigations by the Ethics Counsellor, the Auditor General, and as a result of the Gomery inquiry. We know that money was wasted. We know that money was stolen. We know that it was funneled into the pockets of the Liberal Party.

We know that Liberals have, in many cases, exchanged favours – money, queue jumping – for political support. We know that they have on two occasions enticed opposition members to join their ranks on the promise of a cabinet position. We are broadly familiar, in other words, with the way they run government.

Yet the public remains, at best, slightly annoyed, at worst, completely indifferent. There are two possible ways to explain this. One is that, this scandal is really not a big deal, the case is overstated, mistakes were made, and Paul Martin is cleaning it up. The other is that, while the public is angry, they are unsure about the opposition, and, operating on the assumption that all politicians are the same, and that changing parties will not stop the inevitable corruption, opt for the Liberals on policy grounds.

Either explanation is troubling. Not because I am a Conservative, but because I am a Canadian. Both the level of political awareness, and the content of political discourse in the country has sunk to an all time low. I don’t just mean voter participation, or actual political involvement, although those are symptoms. I mean the fact that the majority of Canadians seem indifferent to this sort of behaviour. They don’t bother reading the news, because they don’t really believe it. They don’t bother to investigate or contemplate what a politician says, because they never mean what they say. And while the Liberals are the primary culprits – after all, it is they who have been in the position to either fulfill or break promises for the past 12 years – neither the NDP nor the Tories are entirely guilt-free. The NDP demonstrated that they are willing to look the other way, for the right price. Meanwhile, the Conservatives have abandoned most attempts to present distinct policy differences and elected only to attack the sleaze.

But to return to my original point, the question is: why do Canadians tolerate this kind of behaviour? Have our democratic institutions devolved into such a state that any pretence of honour and personal integrity is just for show? Are elections just a sham – because if everybody’s lying, why even vote? Do we not care that individuals, elected under one affiliation, switch to another – or change from one policy to another – and no one bats an eyelash at this staggering affront to democracy? And are we not concerned that a government, on the brink of collapse, employs the public purse to nakedly, blatantly, shamelessly shower the country in its own money, in the interests of consolidating power?

I emphasize that this is not a partisan view. In any other country, this would not be tolerated. Nor would those who still support the Liberals tolerate it, if the impugned party was not the Liberal Party. But because the primary argument for supporting the Liberals has become: “all the parties are corrupt and opportunistic, so let’s pick the least objectionable”, the Liberals still have a fighting chance to win an election.

Belinda Stronach’s defection is a major abuse of power on the part of the government. We may now be faced with a situation where a government will only stay in power – that is, pass the budget - because it has effectively bribed an opposition member into jumping ship. Again: if this had happened in a third world country, we would be appalled. But because it happens here, no one even blinks.

I can understand that some Canadians are skeptical about all political parties. But the moment that we fall into the mental trap of assuming that all politicians are liars, and nothing – no matter what, no matter from whom – could possibly be honest, principled, and true, we defeat the entire purpose of having elections, and indeed, of living in a democracy. Without judgment, there can be no punishment. Without punishment, there is no incentive to refrain from unsavory or even illegal behaviour. And that lack of punishment is exactly what has precipitated the situation we are now in.

If for no other reason than to prove that Canada is still a functioning democracy which does not tolerate abuse of power, the Liberals must be removed from office.