Here's a column I wrote which appears in today's Sun Media chain.
In it, I wonder if it would be such a good idea to send Canadian MPs to Afghanistan to teach the locals there about our brand of democracy.
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- Gerry Nicholls
- Gerry Nicholls is a communications consultant and writer who has been called a “political warrior” a “brilliant strategist” and one of the “canniest political observers in Canada.” He has worked as a consultant in both the United States and Canada and was formerly a senior officer in the National Citizens Coalition. A regular columnist with the Ottawa Hill Times, his work has also appeared in the Globe and Mail, the National Post and in the Sun Media chain; and he has appeared on countless TV and radio public affairs programs. He is the author of the book, Loyal to the Core, Harper, Me and the NCC.
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2 comments:
Are you suggesting that we are still living in a friendly dictatorship? lol
I'm glad this article was written tongue-in-cheek b/c taken seriously, it's APPALLING.
1) Your suggestion that MPs have to parrot the leader. The fact is that every mature democracy has political parties in order to further the interests of their voters and the public at large (NDP - more socialism, Cons - the five priorities, Libs - more "social progress", BQ - more Quebec) and party discipline is important. The work of parliamentary committees often features large disagreements between individual MPS.
2) Yes, I agree the Senate should be elected but most democracies throughout history(19th century US, GB are two examples) which have started out with an appointed 2nd chamber. These examples are clearly more inspiring than being run by the Taliban.
3) The Supreme Court is restricting to interpreting the law in the Westminster tradition. But Trudeau's "constitution" moved us to a more politicized American-style one. In the latter case, I believe judges should be elected; in the former - the Supreme Court is nothing more than another govt. bureaucrat and can be appointed.
Bottom line: I'd rather have an elected Prime Minister choosing a party bagman rather than a mullah choosing a fellow imam to be judge, jury and executioner.
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