MOST western grain producers know a judge has overturned the Conservative government’s plans for the Canadian Wheat Board’s barley marketing.
But the decision is not really about the CWB. It’s about how we function as a democratic nation.
The facts in the case are fairly clear. The federal Conservatives are determined to change the CWB. This kind of co-operative marketing does not fit their political ideology. Dismantling the CWB is one election promise they desperately want to keep. It is particularly important after disastrous reversals on income trusts and revenue sharing.
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The latest version of the CWB Act requires changes be made by Parliament. Because prime minister Stephen Harper lacks the Parliamentary majority to force change on Canadians, he tried an end run around Parliament.
He and his servants in the federal cabinet made the changes through an order-in-council, a cabinet decree. Federal court judge Dolores Hansen ruled that was not the proper way to make changes. In effect, Stephen Harper and company were told they broke the law and were corrected.
The law is the common language we use in our decision-making. It is developed by various legislative bodies across the country: Parliament in Ottawa, provincial legislatures, urban and rural municipal councils. It is used to make other laws and regulations.
Government decision-making is supposed to be public, open, transparent. We who elected the government, at any level, should be able to see what the government is doing for us and know why the government is doing it. Such transparency, and the accountability that comes with it, are essential to a strong and healthy democracy. Lack of transparency, increasingly common today, erodes trust in politicians and the political process.
With the CWB, the prime minister decided to make a decision and simply announce it, without Parliamentary debate.
If one does not follow the law, one can end up facing a judge.
It can happen if you drive too fast. It can happen if you are a corporate president who cheats shareholders. It can happen if you are a prime minister who does not follow parliamentary process.
Where is the prime minister’s apparent disregard for the law leading our nation? One could ask the same question of any premier or mayor or reeve who acts the same way.
Almost 20 years ago, professor John Conway of the University of Regina referred to the Reform party as a group of “folksy fascists.” The party has gone through several changes since then. Today’s Conservative party is the Reform party’s political successor; it follows the same political philosophy.
So, can we use the “folksy fascist” label for today’s Conservatives? That’s debatable. What is not debatable is disregard for the political and legal process.
More than one elected body has been corrected by the courts for doing important business in hiding.
As citizens, we deserve openness and honesty from those we have elected. Let’s make sure we get law-abiding debate and action.
Rob Brown is a former agricultural writer and broadcaster now doing studies in ethics. He can be reached at cedarrbb@netscape.net. The opinions expressed in this column are not necessarily those of The Western Producer.
