We elect legislatures, not governments

My latest from the Guelph Mercury.

Political junkies have had a good ride these last months, there’s no doubt.

The Oct. 14 federal election produced another less-than-stable House of Commons, only to have the new government’s policy proposals give rise to a less-than-stable parliamentary coalition, which fittingly was to be led by a less-than-stable troika of anti-Conservatives.

It’s been an emotional time, too. Partisans and pundits from all different persuasions have lamented the heresies of their political opponents, each complaint invariably featuring the supposedly undemocratic nature of the other side’s misdeeds.

And it has been interesting to note the rallies — both pro-coalition and pro-government — that have taken place across the land. We Canadians are such a muted lot, and so infrequently rattled by the vicissitudes of the nation’s capital, that recent demonstrations have marked the ongoing political turmoil with a certain sense of urgency.

It’s that sense of urgency or crisis that is most upsetting about the current goings-on.

It is upsetting because the daring and drama of the present political protestations is neither new nor extraordinary. This is simply the stuff of parliamentary democracy, and things are working just fine.

The crisis narrative that has emerged in the media — that Canada’s very democracy has been in jeopardy these last weeks — has been fed by a pernicious myth, from which the voting public should disabuse itself immediately. The myth is that on Oct. 14, Canadians elected a government.

We’ve done no such thing. We elect legislatures in this country, not governments.

Though the Liberal-NDP-Bloc Québécois coalition may or may not be ill-timed and politically untenable, it is most certainly not unconstitutional. And it is most certainly not undemocratic.

Canada elected 308 legislators in October, and it is their responsibility to fashion a government they can live with. That is the constitutional and parliamentary reality, and we do one another a disservice to pretend otherwise.

The underemphasized fact is that Canada’s constitution and parliamentary heritage is fundamentally at odds with a populist or republican prescription for democratic purity.

Perhaps there are perfectly good arguments in favour of direct democracy, where governments are directly elected by the people instead of being formed by the will of the people’s representatives.

Just as many see an unelected senate as an abomination in the 21st century, so too do many hold in contempt the idea that an opposition party can form a government without a so-called democratic mandate.

These are valid ideas and those who hold them are free to work for their adoption. But they are contrary to Canada’s constitutional and parliamentary arrangements. To try framing Ottawa’s ongoing political mess as an affront to democracy is not a valid understanding of the facts, and represents a vulgar attempt to shove republican democratic ideals into British parliamentary wineskins. They just don’t fit.

With Parliament now suspended, Canadians have time to digest the relevant facts.

First, Prime Minister Stephen Harper was wise to request that the Governor General prorogue Parliament. It has forced the anti-Conservative coalition to do some soul searching and allotted time for graceful and mutual retreats from the brink.

Second, the suspension of parliamentary activities has given the Liberals an opportunity to knight a new leader — Michael Ignatieff — who will neither rush to form a leftist coalition nor tempt the big blue machine with weakness.

And finally, Canadians should absorb the moral of the story: it was the coalition’s constitutional, democratic and parliamentary right to replace the Tories, which has driven the government to compromise.

Partisan talking points notwithstanding, the quality of Canada’s democracy has been showcased these last weeks — not diminished.

As Harper and Ignatieff navigate the trail that leads to détente, skirting political landmines along the way, Canadians deserve to know — and responsible politicians ought to remind them — that Canada’s democracy is working just fine, thank you very much.

In fact, the only affront to the spirit of Canadian democracy has been the assertion by both sides that the other has tried to thwart it.

Enough already. Out with the crisis narrative, and in with a viable budget.