The rule of the unelected

Last month, retiring MP Keith Martin gave a heck of an interview to CBC's The Current, in which he listed all the ways in which a member of Parliament's job has been diminished.  Martin singled out for special scorn the way in which MPs have become servants to unelected, partisan staffers. Do listen to the full interview if you have a chance. 

This morning, a story in The Globe and Mail should remind us of what Martin is  lamenting. John Ibbitson is reporting that the government and opposition parties have reached a deal to scrap C-12, the bill that would have added 30 more seats to the Commons to address the under-representation of urban areas -- particularly Ontario. 

I take nothing away from Ibbitson's story -- if that deal has been reached, it's definitely worth reporting. But note how the elected folks, or their spokespersons, seem to be unaware of any deal, so much so that they actually contradict what the story asserts. The minister's office, Liberal MP Carolyn Bennett, NDP MP David Christopherson -- all of them say that the bill is still alive. But the unelected, anonymous sources seem to know better. Look at this part of the story (emphasis mine): 

Minister of State for Democratic Reform Steven Fletcher’s office said the minister was not available to be interviewed. However “our government is moving forward with the Democratic Representation Act,” said spokesperson Jessica Georgakopoulos. She added that “it is anticipated” that the bill will be brought forward for debate next year.

That supposition, however, is contradicted by higher officials within the government.

Again, taking nothing away from Ibbitson and his story, it's interesting that on the matter of a bill on democratic reform, there are "higher" people in government, who know  more than the elected people about what's going on. If that's not an argument for reform, I don't know what is. 

 

Comments

[Anne Peterson]

Proportional representation please. Save our democracy.

[Paul]

Canada under Harper becomes less democratic every day.

[marie]

Canada under Harper is nothing but a sad joke. The people he has cultivated are even more of a sad joke. We will soon be the laughing stock of the world. I could say a hell of a lot more but that would only put us, the people in the same ridiculous "Elite" group of puppet non brainers that this sham party attracts. Trolls and spinners accepting Tom Flanagan ridiculous statement of Obama should put a team on Assange and... you know the rest. These jerks Puppet supporters,actually thought his statements were funny and Flanagan stated it made him appear manly. Now that in itself is the funnies piece of crap I have ever heard from the mentor of Harper and their followers.

I do not believe that American citizens will be sewing Canadian flags on their persons or their luggage anymore. It would be too much of an embarrassment too them.

Sorry if I strayed from your message but to tell you the truth, i see red, my blood pressure is quickly rising and this meassage helps me to relax and see my blood pressure go down.

[Wilf Day]

Partisan inequities created by the first-past-the-post voting system are even worse than the under-representation of some provinces.

The results from the last federal election show the dramatic inequities for those who cast votes for the various parties.
- Bloc Quebecois: 1 seat for every 28,163 votes
- Conservatives: 1 seat for every 36,427 votes
- Liberals: 1 seat for every 47,184 votes
- NDP: 1 seat for every 67,981 votes
- Greens: 0 seats for 937,613 votes.

The weight or effect of a Bloc vote was 2.4 times that of an NDP vote. A Conservative vote was worth 1.3 times that of a Liberal vote. A Green vote had no weight at all.

Within the provinces, the inequities were even more outrageous. In Alberta, the weight of a Conservative vote was 5.3 times that of an NDP vote. In Quebec, a Bloc vote was worth 2.8 times a Conservative vote and 2.2 times a Liberal vote.

Source:
http://www.fairvote.ca/en/press-release/2010-04-01/provincial-seat-inequities-pale-in-comparison-to-voting-system-distortions