(^12) – SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2019 everythingzoomer.com
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as chief executives rather than firsts
among equals. Whereas once legisla-
tive decisions originated in
Parliament – representing the peo-
ple – they now draw life from unelect-
ed advisers in the PMO – repre-
senting, to a voter’s perception,
lobbyists and special interests.
This shift has landed our last two
prime ministers in hot water, sim-
ilar to the abuse-of-power scandals
that have rocked the U.S. political es-
tablishment, starting with Richard
Nixon all the way up to the myriad
legal troubles faced by President
Donald Trump.
The public anger that ensued dur-
ing the SNC-Lavalin scandal was
largely because two of the main pro-
tagonists – Gerald Butts and Katie
Telford – were unelected PMO of-
ficials asserting influence over an
elected parliamentarian appoint-
ed to Cabinet. (Ironically, Trudeau’s
father is often cited as the first prime
minister to start the practice of mov-
ing power away from his Cabinet and
into the PMO.)
Stephen Harper was another PM
who famously neutered his Cabinet
and backbenchers, opting to cen-
tralize decision-making in his all-
powerful PMO. Like Trudeau later,
this blew up in Harper’s face after it
was revealed that Nigel Wright, the
prime minister’s chief of staff, had
paid off a debt owed by Tory Senator
Mike Duffy to avoid embarrassing
the party. During the scandal, MP
Brent Rathgeber quit the Tory cau-
cus, claiming the PMO was pressur-
ing them to vote “like trained seals”
adding that his boss had upended
parliamentary democracy: “MPs
don’t represent their constituents in
Ottawa. They represent the govern-
ment to their constituents.”
The Americanization of our pol-
itical system isn’t limited to the in-
creasing power of appointed seal
trainers. Aping their U.S. counter-
parts, election strategists try to
shine the spotlight on party lead-
ers – they have become the big stars
rather than the parties or policies.
You don’t have to look very far for a
U.S. parallel. Trump, who spent most
of his life as a registered Democrat,
became the Republican leader not
because he toed the party line but be-
cause he was a well-known celebrity
who might defeat Hillary Clinton.
The media (Zoomer included) is a
guilty party by continually pumping
up the leaders. Increasingly, we say
that legislation is passed by “Trudeau”
instead of the “Lib-erals” or the “gov-
ernment.” The Conservatives’ web-
site goes so far as to trumpet “Andrew
Scheer’s Immigration Plan” instead
of calling it by its rightful name: “The
Conservative Party’s Immigration
Plan.”
HIS hyper-focus
on the leader also
helps explain the
rise of dynasties
in Canadian pol-
itics. In the U.S.
political star system, the Kennedy
and Bush families have always
enjoyed a polling advantage simply
because their names are instantly
recognizable.
Sensing a similar opportunity up
here, party strategists have wel-
comed Trudeau, Mulroney and
Ford offspring or siblings into their
folds, realizing that it never hurts
to have a brand-name politician on
the ballot.
It’s even better if you can play
name-association with triumphant
American presidents – a Trudeau
will always be seen as Kennedy-
esque, a Mulroney (who eulogized
both Ronald and Nancy Reagan and
George H.W. Bush) will be forever
linked to those families and a Ford,
with their similar rabble-rousing
styles, will inevitably draw compari-
sons to Trump.
Whether American hegemony
in our political system is a good or
bad trend is irrelevant. It’s not the
way our system is meant to operate.
Parliamentary democracy works
best when the MPs and Cabinet gov-
ern the nation, not some shadowy,
untouchable characters in the PMO.
So when you vote in this election,
do so with this in mind. Learn the
platforms that each party is pro-
moting. Understand where your lo-
cal candidate stands on issues that
are important to you. And when
you cast your ballot, do so with
the understanding that you’re vot-
ing directly for your local mem-
ber of Parliament, not for Trudeau,
Scheer, Singh, May or Bernier.
Politics
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