FOR CANADA DAY, KUDOS TO ... THE BQ?
Respect for parliamentary process an example its rivals should follow
There are as many ways to mark Canada Day as there are Canadians, so I hope you'll indulge this take. I promise to sip a Creemore when I'm done. Meanwhile, maybe you'll join me as I award this year's Canada Day trophy to … the Bloc Québécois for its enduring respect for the institutions that make this country what it is.
I'm not into flags or nationalisms (yes, plural), and jingoism does nothing except rattle my chain. I find pride in a country to be a misplaced feeling. Whatever is great about the place isn't due to any particular individual.
But gratitude? You bet. We who were born here can sometimes be guilty of taking this incredible stroke of luck for granted, but being a citizen of Canada is infinitely better than being a citizen of, well, many other places on the planet.
Not that we don't have our faults and some pretty ridiculous blind spots, but overall it's fair to say we live in a country where individuals have protected rights; where laws apply to everyone; where there is peace, access to health care and education; and a great deal of prosperity. Life here is far from perfect but it's pretty good.
The reason is our institutions. Perhaps the most underrated benefit of living in a country like Canada is the peaceful transition of power between different governments. We vote freely, in a system managed competently by Elections Canada. Nobody seriously thinks our elections are rigged. Or at least, nobody serious thinks that.
In this country, the rule of law is paramount. The same laws apply to everyone. Police forces and Crown prosecutors operate without interference from the government and cases are decided by judges who are independent from everyone.
As a rule, people in Canada know and trust that their disputes will be settled by impartial and independent judges according to the law and nothing else.
This is what allows us to enter into contracts with one another and build, invent or innovate, with the help of investors who know there are laws in place to protect them against fraud. We may complain about productivity levels or the unequal distribution of wealth, but without widespread public trust in our institutions of governance, there'd be no prosperity at all.
But you want to know what this has to do with the Bloc Québécois.
Joël-denis Bellavance, astute political observer that he is, reminded his readers in La Presse recently that the Bloc has always done a good job of working within the rules of parliamentary democracy.
“Canadians think we'll show up in question period like a bunch of ruffians, anarchists and crazies,” the late Michel Gauthier, the first Bloc House leader and later party leader, told his freshly elected MPS in 1993. “We'll stand up for ourselves with strength and conviction, as sovereignty's mercenaries. But we will be smart and unimpeachable parliamentarians and make Quebecers proud.” (My translation.)
They did, and as Bellavance wrote, this respect is part of the Bloc's DNA to this day. You won't see its MPS playing games with the media or getting kicked out of proceedings for unparliamentary behaviour. They show up at committee and do serious work. They know their files. When they send press releases, it's about something substantive. Agree with them or not, they do politics dans les règles de l'art.
The best thing about this is that it shows the political centre of this country is strong enough to accommodate a party founded on the notion that Quebec ought to be separate from Canada. The Bloc has always appreciated this. MPS from other parties we don't need to name could spend a few minutes asking themselves whether they could perhaps follow that example more often.
Our institutions are what makes Canada what it is. They are worth celebrating, along with the finest Ontario craft beer.