Low Level of Political Discourse and Destruction of PoliticsThe Speech from the Throne, according to the authoritative text by Senator Eugene Forsey, is supposed to provide "the government's view of the condition of the country and the policies it will follow, and the bills it will introduce to deal with that condition." The December 5 Throne Speech did not address the condition in which the country finds itself, especially the deepening crisis of the political institutions, which have lost the ability to give rise to a government that is viewed as being based on the consent of the people. Far from it, the Speech from the Throne boasted that the "parliamentary system is a bedrock of our stability." Addressing MPs and Senators, the government through its Throne Speech said their role in the democratic process is a privilege and responsibility, and expressed confidence that they, "embrace it, respecting the wishes and protecting the rights of all. Because we serve every single Canadian."
Recurring throughout the Throne Speech was the message that the government will continue with its schemes to enrich the corporations and follow the dictate of the financial oligarchs to make them competitive, expressed as "positioning Canada for success in an uncertain world." It will continue to "seek out opportunities for Canadian commerce, ingenuity and enterprise." In addition, the Speech made it clear that the government plans to continue its participation in undermining the rule of law and the sovereignty of other countries, because, it said, "Canadians expect their leaders to stand up for the values and interests that are the core of Canada's security -- democracy, human rights and respect for international law." It promised to renew its commitment to NATO, UN Peacekeeping and the rules-based international order and to continue the pursuit of a seat for Canada on the UN Security Council. The same section of the speech promotes the multilateralism said to be Canada's specialty: "As a coalition-builder, the Government will build partnerships with like-minded countries to put Canada's expertise to work on a global scale, in areas like the promotion of democracy and human rights, the fight against climate change and for environmental protection, and the development and ethical use of artificial intelligence." The appeal for parliamentarians to find the way to work together is reiterated in the conclusion of the speech: "In this 43rd Parliament, you will disagree on many things. But you will agree on a great many more. Focus on your shared purpose: making life better for the people you serve. Never forget that it is an honour to sit in this Parliament. Prove to Canadians that you are worthy holders of these seats, and worthy stewards of this place." No matter how much talk there was about parliamentarians working together to address the problems facing Canadians, the Throne Speech confirms the condition of the political process as one that can no longer perform its role of sorting out relations between electors and the elected or between rival factions of the ruling elite vying for power. After much hyperbole about Canada's Parliament being "one of the most enduring and vital institutions in the democratic world," in the end the last word came straight from the medieval era that gave rise to the process Canadians continue to be saddled with: in carrying out their duties and responsibilities, MPs and Senators are to let themselves be guided by Divine Providence. The Need for a New Political Process Fit for the TimesThe role being played by the political process is to destroy the very source of political power, the polity. This was clearly seen during the election that gave rise to the government. The competition among the members of the cartel of political parties vying to form a government lowered the level of discourse as never before. The concerns of the people, the actual conditions of work and living, were only raised and discussed by parties such as the Communist Party of Canada (Marxist-Leninist) that are intent on providing society with an aim on par with the demand of the times. This low level of discourse of the cartel parties was a mind-numbing factor contributing to the destruction of politics. The whole "campaign" served to leave the polity aimless, something no one can get on board with. Furthermore, the election saw the use of defamation and dirty ops in another unprecedented assault on the polity. CPC(M-L) does not agree with the positions of Maxime Bernier and his People's Party but the "war-room" gratuitous attacks launched by a liberal media firm paid for by a conservative third party show the sordid level to which the politics of the country have been lowered. Similarly, the endless repetition of decontextualized comments by Elizabeth May to fit her persona into a stereotype that another party's campaign clearly thought would undermine the Green Party vote is without any honour whatsoever. The duplicity and corruption of these practices is such that the party and its leader who waged this campaign claim to stand with all those who are discriminated against but have no qualms about defaming their adversaries.
Deliberation cannot take place so long as there is an executive with power over decision-making, as in Canada, which appeases the United States as the indispensable nation, with its nuclear weapons and the whole bureaucracy built around that, including elections. Canada is integrated into the U.S. war machine and NATO's Atlantic Council dictates the line of march for the government and Parliament, and has even taken over the "security" and policing of elections. In this situation, the conception of political deliberation about war and peace, crime and punishment, international trade and the national economy are blown right out of the water. Everything is centred on the rulers and their way of looking at the world, not that of the people and their concerns. An anti-war government does have a political purpose and is sustained based on politics, on informing and politicizing the people to be decision-makers. We, the people, do not want to destroy these massive human productive powers that the working class has produced. We want the working class to control them, so as to unleash that democratic personality of the New. This is the demand the times are calling for so that the path to progress is opened and the natural and social environments are humanized. Rather than try to achieve power themselves, the people are told they must do "something else." As the 43rd Parliament opens, the "something else" is said to be to scrutinize the Throne Speech and speculate as to what they can expect from the government. At other times the people are told the "something else" is to ensure the government's actions do not violate the Charter of Rights and Freedoms contained in the Constitution. Rather than empowerment of the people and organizing to achieve political power themselves, the role for the people at other times is reduced to building coalitions and advocating for whatever best new green deal package pops out of the woodwork or reducing the issues and problems facing the country to choosing between pipelines and the environment or growing the economy and protecting the environment or endorsing some new agreement with the U.S. and Mexico that promises to uphold "Canadian values." And to fight for those "values" globally, the people are egged on to applaud Canada's increasing participation in the NATO/U.S.-led wars of aggression under the hoax that those wars, interference in the sovereign affairs of others and violent regime change will bring those people to their senses to adopt "Canadian values" as their own. The Throne Speech is part and parcel of a political process in the throes of a legitimacy crisis. It hopes to provide legitimacy to a process where none can be found but rather needs complete democratic renewal. The existing political process serves only to entrench an absolute power over the people who are thereby deprived of power. The times call out for empowerment of the people to build the New!
This article was published in Article Link:   Website: www.cpcml.ca Email: editor@cpcml.ca |
The Liberals
claim that they can divine the "will of the
people," which, the Throne Speech says, was to send a clear
message through the election of a minority government that they
want their parliamentarians to work together and "deliver on a
plan that moves our country forward for all Canadians." This is
then said to mean that "parliamentarians received a mandate from
the people of Canada" to take up the most recent rendition of
how the Liberals say they have been fighting climate change,
strengthening the middle class, working for Indigenous
reconciliation, and keeping Canadians safe and healthy. Their new
mantra to excuse whatever they did or did not do during their
first tenure in office is "there is still much work to do."
CPC(M-L) will
never agree with such things. In contrast, its
own call to humanize the natural and social environment by
upholding the dignity of labour, defending the rights of all and
making Canada a zone for peace provides an aim for the polity and
the society. This is of utmost importance because the way matters
stand in Canada, either the brutal dictate of the international
financial oligarchy will continue to wreak havoc across the country --
which today is particularly vicious in
Alberta, Ontario and Quebec -- or the people will take up the call
for an anti-war government that provides Canada with a new
direction for the economy, and for its foreign and domestic policy.
This call
provides an aim worthy of the Canadian, Quebec and Indigenous
peoples because it rejects colonial injustice, unfettered
exploitation of labour deprived of all rights and wars of
aggression and occupation abroad, all of which are carried out in the
name of high ideals
of peace, democracy and freedom.