In the Parliament
Fall Session Further Concentrates Power in Fewer Hands
The fall session
of the 44th Parliament started on September
16. In
less than two weeks, the House of Commons became a
scripted,
consultant-managed jockeying for positions of power
between the
cartel
parties. Set against a backdrop of predictions of an
"imminent
election" and non-stop polling
telling Canadians how they would vote "if an election was
called
today," the session is revealing the ongoing debasement
of
political
affairs. Canada's liberal democratic institutions have
been
destroyed
by the narrow supranational private interests which have
taken
over the
Canadian state in the
service of the Pentagon and the aggressive military
alliance
NATO which
it controls.
The Liberal government is making a flagrant show of exercising its prerogative powers in contempt of any appearance of accountability to the House of Commons, while in the House of Commons a mockery is being made of the non-confidence protocol that is said to be the guarantee of government accountability. This is done mainly by the Conservative Party which is electioneering, all arms flailing wildly, which defies accountability as well.
In the weeks preceding the fall session, the Liberals made it clear that they would forge ahead with measures in the service of the integrated U.S.-Canada economy linked with the U.S. war machine without the nuisance of the House of Commons. Their annual cabinet retreat, held in Nova Scotia August 25-27, began with a keynote speech from U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan. Former Bank of Canada and Bank of England Governor Mark Carney who is the current Chairman of Brookfield Asset Management and head of its transition investing was another keynote speaker. He was subsequently appointed to a position which is somewhere between advising the Liberal Party on its platform for the next federal election and advising the Liberal cabinet on its current policies.
Politico reported on August 25 that Sullivan said he would be discussing "a range of national security priorities in the U.S.-Canada bilateral relationship." Sullivan said he would be talking about "the immense changes taking place underneath our feet, on technology, on the clean energy transition, on geopolitics and on things that matter to ordinary citizens in both the United States and Canada." Sullivan addressed Canada's trade policy with China which is in lock step with the U.S. policy. He had the gall to say that "Canada ultimately will determine its own trade policy" and that "It's not for the U.S. to try to dictate." He then added that "The U.S. does believe that a united front, a coordinated approach on these issues benefits all of us."
Since then, outside of the House of Commons, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland confirmed that the government is in lockstep with the U.S. on Chinese EV imports, steel and aluminum, while plans are underway for further tariffs on "batteries, battery parts, semiconductors, critical minerals and metals and solar products" to bring it fully in line with the U.S. anti-China trade policies, which are being challenged by China at the World Trade Organization.
In the name of "press updates," it has become routine for the government to bypass Parliament as a focal point for its announcements. While Bill C-63, the On-Line Harms Act, was being debated on September 23, MP attendance was such that the quorum of 20 MPs was twice challenged. This bill has been broadly criticized for intrusion on freedom of speech in the name of "combatting hate." On September 24, again the Liberals chose to announce Canada's Action Plan on Combatting Hate at a photo-op press gala outside of Parliament.
For their part, other members of the party cartel are making their own self-serving contributions to undermining what are called democratic institutions. Twelve days before the resumption of the House, NDP leader Jagmeet Singh announced he was walking away from the Supply-and-Confidence Agreement with the minority Liberal government, saying that Justin Trudeau has "proven again and again he will always cave to corporate greed."
As
if the aim of cartel party government is not to serve
"corporate
greed"
and the Liberals did not do this prior to this
collaboration
to
keep the Liberals in power as well as with the
measures
prompted by the NDP. Jagmeet Singh said that henceforth,
he will
not
prop up the Liberal minority government. He dramatically
tore up
the
March 2022 Agreement which was scheduled to expire at the
end of
the
summer 2025 session of Parliament. Even his own caucus
was
caught by
surprise without mentioning NDP members.
What is
taking place in
the Parliament underscores the urgent need for democratic
renewal. The
national leader of the Communist Party of Canada
(Marxist-Leninist)
Anna Di Carlo gave an important presentation on this
topic on
September
1 at the celebrations held on the 54th anniversary of the
Mass
Party
Press. She pointed out among other things that the
debasement
of
politics by the cartel parties in both Canada and the
United
States
puts the need to raise the level of political discourse
on the
agenda
by workers, women and youth setting the example
themselves.
"CPC(M-L)
calls on workers to not permit the debasement of politics
and
nor
should they drop out in disgust. The ruling class must
not be
given
free rein to commit crimes. This is what happens when
they
manage to
disorient Canadians on matters related to the economy,
sovereignty, war
and peace or divide them on a racist basis by blaming
immigrants
for
all the social ills plaguing the capitalist society and
making
them
targets of attack," Anna said. She emphasized the
importance of
getting
together with one's peers to discuss the challenges the
country
faces
and speaking out in one's own name on all matters of
concern.
Following on the NDP announcement, Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre announced he would attempt to force an election at the earliest opportunity. On September 24, he tabled a motion "that the House has no confidence in the Prime Minister and the government." With both the NDP and the Bloc Qu b cois having announced days earlier they would not support the motion, it was defeated 211-120. The Conservatives said they would present another non-confidence motion in the coming weeks.
No sooner had the Conservative non-confidence motion been defeated, Bloc Leader Yves-Fran ois Blanchet held a press scrum telling reporters that if the Liberal government does not schedule two Bloc Qu b cois private member bills to be adopted by October 29, he would talk to the other parties, "with a view to bringing down the government." Why October 29 has not been made clear.
Bill C-319 calls for a 10 per cent increase in Old Age Security for those between 65 and 74. It is at third reading in the House of Commons. The bill would increase pensions for seniors under age 75 by 10 per cent.
Bill C-282 amends the 2013 Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Act by precluding changes to the dairy, poultry and egg supply-management system. It is at Committee stage in the Senate.
At second reading, Senator Donald Plett, leader of the opposition in the Senate, commented that if Bill C-282 is passed, it would "jeopardize our trade with our biggest export market, the United States," and that the Canadian Agri-Food Trade Alliance has said the bill would "hurt, not help," the agricultural sector. According to Plett, the legislation "contradicts Canada's commitment in recently signed declarations on food security at the G7, the G20, the World Trade Organization (WTO), and Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)."
The concerns he is citing show which interests Canada
serves.
Given
that treaties fall into the prerogative of the executive,
if the
bill
is passed by the Senate, its impact will be much like
that of
the
"fixed-date election" legislation which has preserved the
exercise of
the Royal Prerogative, as well as the "confidence of the
House"
to
determine when an election is held.
All of these developments show the untenable state
of affairs in the Parliament and the urgent need for
democratic
renewal
-- that working people provide for themselves the venues
and
means to
speak in their own name, make their views known, organize
to see
that
their demands are met and by empowering themselves
provide a
pro-social
alternative to cartel parties and the private and
supranational
interests they represent.
This article was published in
Volume 54
Number 9 - September 2024
Article Link:
https://cpcml.ca/Tmlm2024/Articles/M540091.HTM
Website: www.cpcml.ca Email: editor@cpcml.ca