Concerns About the Way We Are Governed

What is bothering us?

The increasingly adversarial nature of the political discourse is polarizing our communities. This creates animosity and “us vs them” dynamics that hinder healthy cooperation in the discussions needed to resolve the complex issues that are faced by all levels of government.

What do we need?

Government, which is based on democratic principles. Democracy, by its very nature, is cooperative, inclusive and transparent.
So what does it take to change the dynamic in the political discourse from the adversarial “winner take all” to a cooperative and inclusive approach? Do we dare hope that there is a better way?

Is there a reason for optimism?

There are indeed some hopeful signs, The federal Liberals and NDP are working together in a formal agreement! We have in effect a rudimentary form of cooperative government, where more than fifty percent of the voters have a degree of representation. The MP’s involved are commenting on how much communication and cooperation has improved because of their agreement. 

Just imagine, if before the next federal election the polls show that neither of the three fed parties can hope to achieve a parliamentary majority, the Libs and NDP may up front show openness to continued cooperation, and after the election form a more formal coalition, possibly even sharing some ministerial posts!

Remember that of the last 7 Canadian governments, 5 were minority governments, but none were NDP-led. So this option will give the NDP influence they did not have before, and thereby show their capability to form a government, likely resulting in growth for their party. It provides the Liberals with a guarantee that they will be governing.    

Or, wilder yet, imagine the CPC seeing this threat of being sidelined through NDP/Lib agreements, might offer to form a coalition with the liberals in order to not be left out! 

This is not as far-fetched as it may seem, most western democracies are based on coalitions between the local centre-right and center left parties forming stable centrist governments. Think of, among others, Angela Merkel in Germany. 

Just imagine, a small beginning of cooperative federal governance may well develop in this way, just imagine, a government for the people, where all views are heard and considered before decisions are made. This is cause for guarded optimism!

What about the nay-sayers? 

Contrary to what opponents say, minority governments are not bad governments, even without a coalition or other agreements. Any minority government needs to carefully consider and heed the wishes of the opposition parties to avoid losing power through a non-confidence vote. In effect, a minority government governs with all voters’ wishes in mind!

Think of the two CPC minority governments led by Stephen Harper, before they lost power after the third majority government, also led by Harper.

So, who could ever be against having coalition governments? The sad truth is that our own major political party leaderships do not wish to cooperate and  share the political power in a coalition, as long as they see a chance to form a (false) majority government. Also, do not underestimate the push back from business interests who do not like coalitions because they are harder to influence. 

Scare tactics and misinformation will come from both these sources in order to maintain the status quo. Their argument is that it would not be good for “us”. However, their “us” does not include you, the citizen. Citizens are best served by proportional representation. The fact is that 80% of the developed world is governed by stable and cooperative coalition governments using some form of, and they fare well by it. 

So, what can we do?

Fair Vote Canada advocates for a Citizen Assembly on electoral reform, ordinary people study the issue deeply and recommend a course forward.

Because, to really get consistently cooperative politics requires an electoral system that ensures that the percent of the votes cast for a party is reflected in the percentage of the seats that party receives. The great majority of democracies use some form proportional representation.

Of course, this is all just a nice dream unless we all resolve to educate ourselves and each other as engaged citizens, and support those who are willing to do the work to help implement these improvements in our political system. 

Are you game?       

You can start by joining our newsletter mailing list and to get more informed. Just send an email to edmontonfvc@fairvote.ca .