If our institutions are insulated from public criticism and defended no matter how badly they fail, then we should stop calling ourselves a democracy.
Democracy starts with voting.
But it does not end there.
We don’t cease being a free and democratic country in between elections, or at least we shouldn’t.
Rather, the freedom to criticize those in power – including the institutions that exert immense control over our lives – and the freedom to support and elect new leaders who promise to reform failed institutions, is also essential to our society remaining free.
In authoritarian countries, institutions are held as being above public criticism.
In those countries, institutions aren’t supposed to ‘earn’ the public trust, they are supposed to be trusted and obeyed no matter what.
Canada is supposed to be the opposite of that.
We are supposed to be a country where powerful institutions are held accountable, and where they can be criticized by all Canadians.
And in particular, institutions that lose the trust of the public are supposed to earn that trust back through a combination of personnel changes and improved performance.
But lately, the political and media establishment have attempted to impose a more authoritarian-style relationship between Canada’s institutions and the Canadian People.
Our institutions have failed
Let us consider where we are as a country.
Our healthcare system is collapsing.
Our ‘justice’ system gave parole to someone with 59 criminal convictions, claiming that person was ‘low risk.’ That person is now the prime suspect in the horrific mass stabbings that took place in Saskatchewan.
The Supreme Court has repeatedly ruled in favour of coddling the most vicious criminals, while refusing to push back on federal government attacks on the rights of millions of law-abiding Canadians.
The Bank of Canada told Canadians it was safe to borrow because interest rates would remain extremely low for years – at least until 2023. They said there was no real risk of inflation, and that it would be ‘transitory.’ Having been proven wrong over and over again, and then shifting course by bringing in rapid and large rate hikes, there have been no resignations among BoC leaders. They even gave out bonuses.
And of course, let’s not forget that Canadians experienced some of the most draconian lockdowns and restrictions in the free world, which completely violated our rights. And then, when Canadians started to push back, the federal government abused the power of the Emergencies Act, a decision they are now scrambling to retroactively ‘justify’.
Given all of this, who could possibly trust our institutions?
It would be insane to trust our institutions right now.
Pointing that out isn’t ‘undermining confidence’ or ‘tearing down’ those institutions.
They have already undermined themselves and torn down their own credibility.
Pointing it out is simply acknowledging reality.
But, as I noted above, the political and media establishment would prefer to focus on demonizing those who see reality, rather than face up to that reality.
Consider what was recently written by John Ivison in the National Post:
In an article titled “Poilievre should know better than to tear down Canadian institutions,” Ivison says
“What struck me, beyond the debate about wages, was Poilievre’s continual pounding on institutions like the Bank of Canada and the Supreme Court, to the extent he is undermining their legitimacy. These institutions and others — Parliament, health authorities, police, universities and the electoral process — have rarely been under greater threat in the age of chronic rage.”
“Yet, they provide the constitutional checks that sustain our democracy and constrain the power of flawed politicians like Justin Trudeau and Poilievre,” adds Ivison.
Ivison concludes by saying “It’s a time of turmoil and confused people are being convinced by cynical politicians that the blame lies with elites and “the deep state.” But changing societies need to fall back on their traditions and customs. The purpose of conservatism should be to conserve institutions designed to reduce social conflict. Poilievre should, and indeed does, know better.”
Now, Ivison is fully entitled to his opinion, and as a supporter of free speech I support his right to share it.
With that said, focusing blame on Poilievre for supposedly trying to ‘tear down’ Canada’s institutions is the height of absurdity.
Poilievre is running to lead Canada’s largest opposition party, at a time when the sitting government is deeply unpopular.
That same sitting government has now won two elections in a row while losing the popular vote to the Conservatives.
That same sitting government presides over a country that is deeply divided and in which very little actually functions, despite immense amounts of government spending. The institutions are crumbling under the watch of – and often due to the policies of – the Liberal government.
And most importantly, Poilievre isn’t generating anger towards institutions, he is simply acknowledging it.
The anger is already there among Canadians, and the anger exists because of how profoundly our institutions are failing the nation.
Refusing to acknowledge it would actually make it worse. In fact, what Poilievre is doing – and what members of the independent media are doing when we report and comment on institutional failures – is ensuring that the democratic process is the avenue through which those failures are addressed.
A politician running for office, pointing out problems we can all see, pledging to address those problems, and then getting elected with a mandate to do so is precisely how democracy is supposed to function.
Those who refuse to see that and who blame those who point out problems rather than the institutions themselves are – perhaps unwittingly – the ones who are contributing to the authoritarianism they claim to oppose.
Spencer Fernando
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