- by Jake Bates

Oh, the optimism of Conservatives! Seems to be rivalled only by that exhibited by Leafs’ fans at the start of every season. Now that there is a new leader in Erin O’Toole, those on the right can almost taste power again. How long he can hold the collation on that side of the political spectrum is anyone’s guess; for now, happy days — although not here — are closer than they’ve been since Stephen Harper.

It won’t last. The problem isn’t because Conservatives are closet Nazis and wannabe MAGA supporters who will take away a woman’s right to choose, give everyone a gun to tote down the middle of the street, and stand by while widows and orphans freeze to death in a snowstorm for want of support (and, yes, this is sarcasm). No, it won’t last because of a fundamental flaw in our ‘first past the post’ electoral system; a system that makes the ‘big tent party’ a necessity.

Full disclosure: my own political leanings are to the left of the Liberals. These Liberals that have managed to hold on to power for most of the the last 150 years of Confederation. They’ve done so by not having any ideology; in effect, becoming the natural governing party by not allowing themselves to be tied down to any overriding philosophy. And to help them in this task, they’ve stuck firm to the idea of ‘first past the post’ voting.

Oh, yes, they’ve promised (at both the provincial and federal levels) to end this highly discriminatory voting practice. But, when you can get 100% of the power with just 38% of the vote … why would you give that up? Just so the house of the common people can actually represent all their diverse views? To help them with this, fear has been their most important weapon. Fear of the scary Conservative (like Andrew Scheer) will force those of us on the left to vote Liberal.

Conservatives, too, have drunk this kool-aid. Stephen Harper’s best showing was the aforementioned 38%; Doug Ford had 60% of Ontarians reject him and his government. Remember that the next time someone spouts about the ‘minority of Canadians that voted for Trudeau’: with the exception of Brian Mulroney’s squeak-by 50% in 1984, every government in the last fifty years has been supported by a minority of Canadians.

Those on the right, like those of us on the left, represent a wide range of philosophies and views, both economical and social. And the House of Commons — historically the place where the common people could raise their collective voices — should represent all of these. Instead it has become a place where political parties are able to censor what is said through fear mongering and shaming. For the Liberals, it’s easier to keep everyone in their tent because most are just interested in managing the country, not enacting anything new and bold. For Conservatives, it’s a bit trickier. To get people into the tent, Mr. O’Toole needs to entice them with a juggling act worthy of Cirque du Soleil. When those in the tent start clambering to be heard, it’s only a matter of time ’til he drops the balls. And the Liberals will be there to pick them up and run with them.

Now, imagine a House of Commons with three different political parties on the right. Let’s call them the Conservative Party, the Progressive Party, and the Heritage Party (or maybe Heritage Parties: each representing a particular viewpoint). The Conservative Party is generally socially and economically conservative. The Progressive Party, while believing in smaller government and lower taxes, has no social agenda. And the Heritage Party represents particular social issues built around a community — the Christian Heritage Party comes to mind. Voters for these parties were able to choose which best reflected their viewpoints; they did not have to vote strategically. That is because their votes are counted proportionally. If 20% of Canadians vote for the Progressives, they get 20% of the seats in the House of Commons.

In this model House of Commons, minority governments will become the norm. Instability? Not necessarily. Much ink is being expended on our current situation, where Justin Trudeau was able to use the threat of an election in order to hide embarrassing skeletons in his closet. But it doesn’t have to be this way. There is no law that says there has to be an election … only tradition. The Governor General is in charge of deciding. While she can allow Mr. Trudeau to follow through on his threats, she can just as easily go to Parliament and say, “There are 340 of you, 170 decide on someone you can support.” And then leave them to it; there’ll be another election in three years.

This would return power to the people through their elected representatives. As long as at least 170 MPs supported a bill, it would go through and become law. Alliances would be built around an individual issue, then change for another. Gone would be omnibus bills, with completely unrelated items being cobbled together in order to get things passed: electoral changes to municipalities mixed in with pandemic relief bills come to mind. We might see the Progressives and the Greens pair up to end spending taxpayers’ dollars on fossil fuel subsidies to oil corporations; then Conservatives and Progressives revamp the tax system; with the Bloc Quebecois and the Heritage Parties reaffirming provincial rights to decide policy. Who knows? What would be true is anything going through Parliament would need at least half of Canadians supporting it.

And what about ‘fringe viewpoints’? Well, in an open and democratic society, these are still valid. Should the Communist Party want to raise the issue of abolishing private property, we would need to respectfully listen — then vote it down, should the majority of Canadians not want it. But, by banning different viewpoints through party censorship, we alienate those Canadians who hold those views. And, as Brigitte Pellerin noted in her article (Sun Times, September 17): “The way to deal with disaffected fellow citizens isn't to wait until they start threatening political leaders. It's to engage in real dialogue — online or in person — with them before it's too late. We need to listen to one another, and hear one another, a lot more.” And where better a place for this than the common people’s house?

It would mean party machines would have to surrender power. Gone would be the days of ‘official party status’ meaning only those voices from a party are given access to resources, others allowed to wither. It could very well mean that Ministers of the Crown (including the Prime Minister) are not chosen by the head of a party, but are elected by their fellow MPs — and can just as easily be fired by them, should a majority decide their performance is inadequate. (Remembering that it’s not the job of the Cabinet to create laws, just enact them. Ministers can — and do — come and go).

So, dear Conservatives, you can use this minority parliament to force Mr. Trudeau to act on his 2015 promise to end ‘first past the post’ and bring in an era where the government enacts laws the majority of Canadians support. Or you can just wait ’til it’s your time to be in charge, and undemocratically ram through your agenda. Just don’t be surprised when it all flies apart.