Though I’m half the world away and have my hands full getting settled in Malawi, I am at the end of the day still a Canadian and a politics nerd: I can’t help but to be following what’s going on in the true north strong and free. [This post does meander around back to being on topic eventually, but not in a “and we all lived happily ever after” kind of way…]
Others (daveberta, albertagetrich, Chris LaBossiere and Six meetings for starters) have all said much of what I’m thinking, albeit with their own editorial slants that I don’t necessarily agree with. I’m a little horrified, a little mystified, a little intrigued, and (saddest of all) remarkably unsurprised that Canadian politics have degenerated into such a shambles in such a short amount of time.
I think the budget update/campaign finance sneakaround that the Harper government tried to ram through was absolutely shameful; to even attempt such blatant partisan hackery at a time when real vision is needed to shepherd us (Canada and humankind a bit more grandiosely) through this mess is political opportunism at its worst. To screw it up so badly is equally ridiculous. And then to scream “separatist” at an already politically alienated Quebec… Nevermind the irony of staving off such a shady “backroom deal” oust via closed door meeting with the appointed representative of the Queen of England. It boggles my mind.
Then again, the Opposition isn’t exactly rising to the occasion either. The possibility that Harper is running away from “parliament” is NOT the issue here, nor will an unstable and – let’s face it – leaderless coalition of the desperate “fix” anything. Especially not one so beholden to the interests of Quebec’s self-appointed protectors and so devoid of focus on any objective higher than sticking it to the nasty mean Prime Minister man. That’s not cooperation – it’s collusion, and it’s the kind of collusion where everyone gets cheated but no one is really deceived.
As a Canadian I’m annoyed and disappointed in all this, and, despite all prior indications, still did expect better from my duly elected representatives. As a Canadian development worker living in Malawi, however, I’m swiftly coming to the realization that, whether I can expect it or not, I require better from them in order to do what I came here to do.
The ‘why’ goes something like this:
Both of the organizations I work with (EWB Canada and Plan Malawi) rely on donors for their funding. In the current global economic climate it’s likely (read: virtually certain) that both the pool of donors and average size of individual donations is going to shrink this coming year as people in the West start bunkering down for the rough ride ahead.
Cue the vicious cycle: hard times hit people and institutions in the West (donors) who in turn start trimming away their excess expenses (donations), increasing the financial constraints facing development agencies (my employers) which decreases either the scope, the number, or the efficacy of development projects (the work I do), thus passing along the hard times to the people who would’ve benefited from the projects had agency funding remained the same and who are additionally trying to survive the same financial crisis hitting donors but from a position of poverty such that they were the intended beneficiaries of development aid in the first place (the people I see and talk to every day I’m here).
I can’t fault individual donors for making that choice. People in Canada just like people in Malawi just like people everywhere else have a lot of responsibilities and tough choices to make, and I’d have a hard time arguing against people at home making the choices that will do the most to help those nearest and dearest to them (though I can probably make a good case for it not being an either/or scenario - some other day).
That being said, the money and the commitment and the vision need to come from somewhere and that 'somewhere' is the government of Canada, opposition and majority members both; the men and women who were elected to govern on our behalf and in our best interests, with conscience and with a view to elevating the state of our nation(s) and who have a responsibility to set aside their partisan squabbles when push comes to shove so that they can get down to the business of charting a way forward.
And no, “need” is not too strong a word.
Though I have no doubt I there are grand systemic arguments about justice and our responsibility as global citizens that I could make, the “need” for this commitment that I’m feeling right now is far more personal than grand theories of humanitarianism can communicate.
If the Canadian government fails to strike the hard balance between what’s good for Canada on the surface in time for the next election and what, in principle and in light of the reality of the world around us, is actually the right thing to do, I lose out. I lose an implicit support from my fellow Canadians and from my government that the work I’m trying to do here is something that people ‘back home’ value. The work I hope to do this year loses out as the prospects for the sustainability of Canadian-funded projects dim. The people I’m living and working with and for lose out too: this financial crisis affects them in ways that might actually kill them or their children, and the diminishing capacity of development agencies to do the work that they have been established to do exacerbates those effects. In the year that I am here, the lives of Malawians living in poverty (and even those who are better off) get harder instead of the already elusive easier or maybe even better that everyone was hoping for.
This risk of ‘losing out’ always exists, and was something I came into development sort of expecting to have to face. But the events of this past month have really thrown a sharp focus on the consequences that the mix of global financial systems and national politics at home can have here. If these challenges are not navigated bravely and carefully by the people in charge in the countries with the cash, being the change I want to see won’t be enough. Without commitment from something larger than me, the work I do this year might just wash away as the organizations I work with lose the ability to carry on building on their past projects.
From what I’ve seen this past while, I don’t trust the current Parliament to figure out what would be good for Canada in the short term, nevermind to engage in a sober, probing, and ultimately inspiring dialogue about striking a just balance between those short term needs and what Canada needs to be doing to contribute to a better world and a better future for us all.
And that scares me.
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1 comment:
In a system characterized by
(1) Responsible Government (i.e. Executive membership being contingent on Parliament's wishes)
(2) Political Parties
Parliament's overriding role will _always_ be to prop up their preferred executive. Any other roles will be secondary. For example, should Parliament engage in any kind of useful debate, the side that doesn't support the executive would gain advantage—they'd have the chance to win popular opinion to their side and throw out the Executive. Meanwhile the side supporting the executive would gain no advantage—they'd have to do whatever the Executive proposes, and their opinions don't matter: whenever the executive proposes something (e.g. the economic update) the side supporting the executive MUST vote for it or lose their jobs. Responsible government and political parties are a toxic combination on our legislature that make Parliament's primary role to prop up an executive.
In a majority government, the safety of the preferred executive isn't in doubt, and so in majority governments, Parliament can move on to do other things. But not in a minority government.
The way to fix Parliament is
(1) End responsible government (e.g. by instituting separation of powers, though there are other ways this could be done without full separation)
and/or
(2) Kill the campaign, fundraising, and governing advantages of political parties so there is little incentive to join one. Campaign and fundraising advantages would be straightforward to change. Governing advantages would be much more difficult and would at the very least require ending responsible government anyway.
The problems we're seeing in Canada aren't about personalities—they're systemic. We have a system that makes political maneuvering in Parliament paramount, and makes debate on real issues useless.
The sad part of this crisis is that no one is talking about the systemic problems with our system.
- Mustafa Hirji
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