On the Harper Party
I do not feel that “the Conservative Party of Canada” is a very apt name anymore. Since they insist that the very government of Canada be referred to as “the Harper Government”¹, surely the party is very definitively “the Harper Party”. (Unofficially, of course, it’s GOPNorth.)
In the wake of the disastrous election that perversely gave this Harper Party a majority of seats in Parliament, and so a majority government (in spite of ‘only’ 40% of the popular vote), I feel a need to reiterate just why I feel that the Harper Party is such a terrible choice. It’s certainly true that I do not lean Conservative: I feel that gay people are human beings and should be treated as such, I think that even poor people deserve health care, I think that women should be allowed to decide what goes on with their own bodies, &c., all of which are positions that Conservatives traditionally oppose. But all this is incidental: Even if I agreed with their policies, I would still oppose them.
The reason why the Harper Party is so abominable, you see, is not because of its position on any issues at all, but because it spits on democracy generally. Consider:
- Harper faced a vote of confidence that he knew he would lose, which would have spelled an end to his government and forced a re-election that he might lose. So he had the Governor General (representative of the Crown) prorogue Parliament, i.e. temporarily suspend them. That is—as I understand it—when the Harper Party was faced with a majority of the democratically elected representatives of the people of Canada wanting to vote them out of office…then they temporarily suspended voting.
- Harper, in fact, then did this again.
- The Harper Party did away with the long-form national census used to collect detailed demographic data on the people of Canada. This means that they ensured that the data necessary to formulate policies that benefit people optimally is unavailable. This has no conceivable benefit except perhaps plausible deniability in the event that they treat people poorly and need to claim that they had no idea.
- The Harper Party, qua government, was the first government in the history of Canada ever to be found in contempt of Parliament. (They withheld information. This was what forced the recent election. And after this, people still voted for them.)
This is not the full list of evils committed by the Harper Government. Some are arguably worse.² But the above are what incense me as attacks on the Canadian institution of democracy: Silencing Parliament, the representatives of the people, when they threatened Harper’s power; treating them generally as an obstacle to ruling the country rather than a vital part of the system. This should be troubling to anyone: Even if you (unaccountably) agree with the Harper Party’s policies, you should still recognise that a threat to the democratic institution is a threat to your country; that any legal precedent that allows this government to steamroll over Parliament will similarly allow future governments to do the same—governments you may not like.
I find it difficult to express how offensive this is to me. True, comparing this to fascist regimes like Nazis or the actual Italian Fascists is hyperbole—Harper’s steps in that direction are very tiny indeed. Nonetheless the direction of those steps is against democracy, and no one should support that, no matter their policies. It is for exactly the same reason why we should not (on the subject of hyperbole!) advocate assassination of Harper: The country would be better off without him, but it would set a precedent whose cost would far outweigh the good.
I don’t even know if there’s anything to hope for over the next four years. With a majority government, Harper and the Harper Party are finally free to start wrecking Canada properly, in ways that a minority position has previously prevented. Maybe if they proceed so egregiously awfully that they’re found in contempt of Parliament again, once or twice, people will finally get sick of them and vote against them—but my limited knowledge of Canadian politics suggests that the best we can hope for is that the Harper Party only ruins Canada moderately.
What do you reckon we’ll see first? Attacks on gay rights, on women’s rights, on public health care?
I should add that my knowledge of Canadian politics is very limited. I didn’t bother educating myself very closely for the simple reason that there’s nothing I can do about it: I’m not a citizen yet so I can’t vote, and I’m not personable so I can’t change anyone’s mind. Nonetheless I do care, as the preceeding angry screed testifies. If any of the above is based on misconception, feel abundantly free to correct me.
¹ On some level, it may be comforting for future governments composed of saner men and women to know that they will not be blamed: It wasn’t the Canadian government’s fault, it was the Harper government’s.
² Strong candidates: Illegal campaign funding, allowing a Canadian citizen to be tortured at Guantanamo Bay, lying, lying again, lying some more, killing science and climate protection, taking money from women and the poor in order to give to the rich, and so on. See also here and here.