PINDER: Can Canada's institutions hold?

During a presentation in Dallas almost a year ago, George W. Bush made a comment that has stayed with me. Referencing the 2008 credit crisis that threatened the world's financial system, Bush said the US survived because “our institutions held.” This leads to a question — are Canada’s institutions failing? These pages have often expressed the view that our unbalanced federal structure threatens the future stability of our country. This is in addition to ongoing questions about Quebec’s future in our federation.Our House of Commons was adopted holus bolus from the magnificent British parliamentary system that evolved over centuries — a foundation of our freedom. Yet as many elections are determined before the Manitoba border, the House primarily reflects the majority population of Ontario and Quebec. On the surface this rep by pop is democratic, but for others, inadequate for our federation. The House was inherited from Britain, a unitary state, and without a meaningful Senate role. This is a significant but often overlooked distinction.The world’s enduring democracy, the United States approaching 250 years, is also a federal state, but provides balance and stability with an empowered Senate. It is as factual as it is disturbing that if any Western province became a state of the US, even among 360 million people, it would have more political power there than here in Canada today. The House of Commons provides no democratic comfort. Rather, it facilitates repeated central Canadian attacks on the industries, prosperity, culture and freedom of Western Canadians, defenceless in our supposed democracy. This institution is failing about 25% of the population and a larger component of Canada’s geography.The Laurentian Elite is comprised of the undefined aggregation of the federal Liberals (the Natural Governing Party,) Quebec, the bilingual federal civil service (guess as to its pedigree,) much of corporate Canada (headquartered in Toronto,) media acolytes (including the CBC, the Globe, and most other subsidized publications,) academics and intellectuals and other elites in the Montreal/Ottawa/Toronto triangle.With no disrespect to individual jurists, we are all influenced by our families, schools, neighbourhoods and dominant culture, where our values are formed. This includes judges. Qualified appointees notwithstanding, the West is significantly underrepresented on the Supreme Court and other federal appointments. One of the maxims of a justice system is the need for justice “to be seen to be done.”Our claim as a democracy is threatened by aggressive and malicious federal policies that trample over provinces with legislation, regulation, and utilizing superior taxation powers to impose policies by providing funding, even when clearly within provincial jurisdiction and/or anathema to regional values or elected provincial government policies. Yet pipelines so denied are suddenly in vogue and now recognized as critical for energy security and diversity of export destinations.Who knew? Well certainly, Westerners and those elsewhere who disbelieve the pretentious notion that our often freezing country should be a “climate crisis leader.” We knew but had no say or political power. Ottawa made us into an enemy, even as it was the aggressor.Depending on the next election, there could be transformational constitutional legal actions determined by those who by background, do not fully understand Western imperatives. We cannot rely on the next Donald Trump to enlighten our masters from Central Canada to understand critical national infrastructure needs such as pipelines. Much of the above would be remediated by a functional Senate with equal representation from all provinces large, small, east, west and centre. Just imagine what real “sober second thought” and dispersed power could have prevented in the last almost decade of destructive economic policies, damaging ideology, divisiveness, and eliminating whatever trust existed between western provinces and the federal government/Laurentian Elite.Another fundamental principle of our country, also an institution, is bilingualism and biculturalism. It has become silly as Quebec continues to demonstrate no interest in bilingualism, imposing French wherever possible, and pushing English people elsewhere. A personal view, Quebec is indeed a nation and prefers French as its language, understandable even if short-sighted. Ottawa turns a blind eye, but what principle enables different treatment for the West?Why do we continue to make announcements in French in airports and on airplanes, and pretend that French remains sensible for bilingual signage and visitor communications in national parks? No one in Quebec cares, but it is a chronic irritant in the West because it highlights the asymmetry of our confederation, invariably granting Quebec special rights, while the West continues to be outvoted in the House.Many in the West, back to Preston Manning and his slogan “the West wants in,” have pushed relentlessly for a meaningful Senate and other institutional balance. After almost 10 years of the second Trudeau/Central Canada/Laurentian Elite attack on our primary industries, our tone is evolving from ineffective supplicants for fairness, to a deep resentment and legitimate questions about our future in Canada. Defiance may be next.My wife constantly reminds me that if a counterparty cannot be influenced, change can only come from oneself. This is what is happening in the West, and explains the Saskatchewan First and Alberta’s Sovereignty Acts, early steps towards replacement of another tarnished institution, the RCMP, and as we are seeing today, proactive provincial engagement outside the country – Premier Smith is everywhere explaining the industry and protecting it and other Western interests. Premier Moe has made several trips to Washington.So much time, money, and brainpower just to survive internal tensions instead of much needed nation building and focus on our mounting economic challenges.We in the West have tried to gently make our case for full engagement in our country with the same prerogatives, opportunities, and political influence as every other province. We have been supplicants, at times issuing threats, and helped elect a prime minister from the West. All failed to influence the Laurentian Elite to share its power and make our country fully democratic by way of a representative Senate and judicial appointments.Sadly, coming to terms with asymmetrical distribution of political power, the West is now exercising its economic power, a default outcome. This includes the potential repatriation of Alberta's contribution to the Canada Pension Plan and a renegotiation of our equalization formula. Among other shortcomings and its sneaky renewal buried in a budget omnibus bill, equalization is biased in favor of provinces powered by hydroelectricity versus fossil fuels. There will be other opportunities for economic advantage to replace political disadvantage.How can we have a great country with such an attitude you may ask? Perhaps direct that question to those of the Laurentian Elite who refuse every approach from the West to fully engage and contribute to policy and strategy formulation, rather than the current inordinate, but necessary Western fixation on protecting ourselves from de jure, but not de facto, fellow citizens.In a federation trust may not be an institution, but it is the foundation of governments and citizens joining hands and minds to create common goals and respected institutions. Trust in Canada, badly broken by prolonged Laurentian Elite intransigence, may now be very difficult to reestablish.

PINDER: Can Canada's institutions hold?

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