Our Dysfunctional National Parliament

By Jim Gerwing

Here are some ideas we might chew on:

In a two-party system the electoral process of first past the post works out reasonably well.  In a multi-party system where more parties are offering credible choices for the electorate, the system breaks down if the desired object is a majority government.

I sincerely hope that Canada will never again have a majority government and that we follow the law in our country, a new law that was broken at the first opportunity by the very party leader who brought in the legislation, for a fixed election date every four years.

The culture of parliament, however, has to change for a minority government to work.  Legislation has to be debated, compromises have to be made, cooperation has to be the natural and normal way to get things done.

The people of Canada have spoken loud and clear:  we want none of the current leaders or their parties to have a majority.  We cannot trust them with that kind of power.  So, Mr. Harper, Mr. Ignatieff, Mr. Layton, Mr. Duceppe, stop your political posturing.  We want you to work hard for your pet projects, but only is so far as you can convince each other that they are in the best interests of Canadians.  Parliamentarians, stop your inane schoolboy wrangling and act like people truly dedicated to this country instead of blindly committed to the narrow interests of your own parties.

We do not want another election this fall, and believe me, we will make any politician pay a big price for foisting it upon us.