Constitution

Today the Prime Minister asked the Governor General to prorogue Parliament in order to save himself from being defeated. If she grants his request, this will mean the end of responsible government in Canada as we know it. The core of our democracy is in peril and only the people can save it.

The principle of responsible government is a constitutional convention — an unwritten rule that has developed over time based on practice. But, just because it’s not in a document, doesn’t mean it’s not important. In fact, many of our political institutions aren’t written down; you won’t find the words “prime minister” in any of Canada’s constitutional documents.

Under responsible government, the executive (the prime minister and Cabinet) is accountable to the legislature. In other words, the government is accountable to the people through their elected representatives in the House of Commons. Therefore, once the executive, currently the Conservatives, loses the support of the majority of the House, it no longer has the authority to govern. It must step aside and allow the Governor General to either call an election or invite another group to take power.

Thank you, Elizabeth May. Thank you for being the only leader in last night’s debate to say unequivocally that overall crime rates — including violent crime rates — have been falling for decades and there’s absolutely no justification for adopting policies that violate the Charter rights of young offenders.

According to Statistics Canada, violent crime has been in decline since the mid-1970s. Violent crime rates in Canada’s biggest cities are also falling. And, on a per capita basis, Toronto had fewer homicides than Saskatoon, Winnipeg, Edmonton, and Calgary.

But aren’t gun crimes going up? Nope. The rate of violent crime involving a firearm has been stable for the last 4 years. In fact, knives and clubs are more than three times as likely as guns to be used in the commission of a violent crime. 

I‘m starting to think that the leaders of Canada’s progressive federal parties want to be Premier of Canada. Either that, or they don’t understand how our Constitution is supposed to work, which completely disqualifies them for the job of Prime Minister.

Canada has a federal system of government, meaning that legislative powers are divided between federal and provincial governments. Generally speaking, provinces are responsible for some issues, and the federal government is responsible for others. Neither level of government is more important than the other — each has exclusive authority in its areas of jurisdiction.