___________________________________________________
“For a government to disparage and, more dangerously,
delegitimize the vital constitutional role of the
Opposition is tantamount to high jacking the legislative
branch for its own narrow, self-serving purposes.
In doing so, the
government undermines the very essence
of parliamentary democracy. It also mocks the supremacy
of Canada’s
Constitution, the foundational law of our
democracy.”
Dr. Michael Behiels
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University
of Ottawa professor Michael
Behiels’ comments on the nasty exchange in the House of Commons between Conservative
House leader Peter Van Loan and NDP House leader Nathan Cullen speak to the further
erosion of Canadian democracy.
His column is posted in the Political Insights section of
the iPolitics.
Dr Behiels is a professor of Canadian Political and
Constitutional History and former University Research Chair in the Department
of History at the University
of Ottawa. A member of
the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies. There is not partisan political
agenda.
His comments apply as much to the House of Assembly - as
they do to the House of Commons. The Dunderdale government could learn from
this article. Most importantly the public should take heed. In Canada’s
constitutional democracy, sovereignty ultimately lies in the hands of citizens.
He discusses Samara Canada’s
most recent report, Who’s the Boss? Canadians’ Views on Their Democracy. The
Report offers some very disturbing data 45 per cent of Canadians are dissatisfied with
their democratic institutions and how they function (up from 25 per cent in
2004)
At what point do Canadians demand change?
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