By Zile Singh
In many aspects, the executive power, anywhere in the world, is comparable to Shakespeare’s drama: “There is a world of difference between appearance and reality.” It cannot be denied that much important information about the functioning of the executive is shrouded in mystery.
Though it is not a Canadian case, but the Crossman Diaries Affairs, in which the inner workings of the British Cabinet in the late 1960s were laid bare through the posthumous publication of the daily journal of a high-ranking Cabinet Minister is an example.
A multiparty system is a sine qua non of a viable democracy. The multiparty system flourishes on the universal truth that ‘history repeats itself’. Today, one Party is in power. Tomorrow the other will win to rule. For example – Ad Scam or Sponsor Gate was a scandal in Canada that came as a result of a federal government ‘sponsorship program’ in the province of Quebec involving the Liberal Party of Canada which was in power from 1993 to 2006.
Though an ongoing affair for years, it rose to national prominence in early 2004 after the program was examined by the Auditor General, who found significant drawbacks in handling public money. A Public Inquiry revealed that the Ad Agency executives and Liberal Party officials had corruptly handled more than $300 million; $100 million of which was funneled from the government to the Liberal Party.
The overall operating cost of the Inquiry Commission was $14 million. In the national spotlight, the Scandal became a significant factor in the lead-up to the 2006 federal elections when, after more than 12 years in power, the Liberals were defeated by the Conservatives who formed a minority government that was sworn in February 2006. The Conservative Party governed under the leadership of Stephen Harper until 2015.
Then came to power the Liberals under Justine Trudeau. The stewardship of Prime Minister Trudeau has earned the wrath of a majority of Canadians on several fronts, whether it is domestic, bilateral, multilateral, or international policies. Reliable public opinion shows Conservatives’ popularity at 44% whereas the Liberals are at 24%. The emerging fissures in the New Democratic Party are not hidden from the public eye. Alberta took the lead. The disease is contagious. It will spread. The Provincial NDPs are bidding goodbye to the Federal NDP.
In another recent report, the Auditor General said that she found a “glaring disregard” for basic management practices and record keeping in the Liberal government’s ArriveCan App. The concerned departments spent about $59.5 million on outsourcing work with private contractors. The report questions why government officials approved invoices and time sheets from contractors in cases where “details of work performed were often missing.” The Scam is under investigation.
However good a leader may be, his government is susceptible if there is no accountability and answerability. In 2017, Canada’s Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO), expressed strong objection to the Liberal government’s plans to rewrite the rules empowering the spending departments. Without strong measures to control finances, any political party can succumb to favoritism and nepotism. The public has seen such cases of favoritism and in appropriation of public funds during the last several years. It is easier to make a budget than to control and use it with due care in the public interest.
Let us not break the circle. Should history repeat itself, it is the turn of the Conservatives to come to power in the next Federal Elections. As a student of Political Science, to me, it will not be a defeat of the Liberals, but a triumph of Canadian democracy.
What’s in the name? Appearance has proved deceptive. Liberals can act ill-liberal, and Conservatives can advocate for middle-class and small businesses. The face is no index to the heart. It is not the beard that makes the philosopher; if the beard were all, the goat might preach. Liberals, Conservatives or the New Democrats, all have to govern according to rules laid down in the Canadian Constitution. And the Constitution is for the welfare of all Canadians. I quote Section 15(1) of our Constitution.
“Every individual is equal before and under the law and has the right to the equal protection and equal benefit of the law without discrimination and, in particular, without discrimination based on race, national or ethnic origin, color, religion, sex, age or mental or physical disability.”
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Zile Singh is a columnist, author, poet, human rights activist, golfer and a vipassana meditator. He can be contacted at [email protected]
