May 2 was a day of ironies in Canada and a prelude to radical change in Parliament.
Prime minister Stephen Harper won a majority in the House of Commons in an election he claimed he and Canadians didn’t want.
The Conservatives, with the support of 39.6 per cent of voters, won 167 seats.
The NDP won 102 seats with 30.6 per cent support. About 61 per cent of eligible voters cast ballots.
The Liberals and Bloc Quebecois were reduced to historic lows. Both their leaders were defeated and have resigned.
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The Liberals fell to third place, but don’t count them out. In the Diefenbaker sweep of 1958, the Liberal party was reduced to 48 seats in the House. Seven years later, the Liberals formed government.
What could we expect in the new Parliament?
Harper, long before becoming prime minister, said if he ever got a parliamentary majority, he would change Canada so radically that people wouldn’t recognize it as the same country. I take him at his word. One would be foolish not to.
• Elected judges:Harper has been clear about this long-standing goal. Canadians, when polled, tend to show high respect for judges and low respect for politicians. Harper’s plan would turn judges into politicians. It is likely that these judge-politicians would be expected to follow their party’s lines.
• Elected senators:Senate reform isanother long-term Harper goal. However, it will require a change to Section 3 of Canada’s constitution. Harper could do this through a vote in the House alone.
• Changes in medicare:Harper prefers strong provinces and a relatively weak federal government. Though health care is a shared federal-provincial responsibility, Harper would philosophically like to see provinces take a larger role. That could ultimately mean some provinces having better care programs than others. The federal government has been able to equalize those provincial plans in the past. I expect Harper will end that equalization.
• Ending taxpayer support to political parties:Political parties receive a $1.95-per-vote taxpayer-paid subsidy. Harper knows how important this is in developing new parties and strengthening older ones. Did he and his colleagues not use this money to build the Reform party into the Conservative party? He tried, unsuccessfully, to end this support before. Nothing can stop him now.
• Increased government secrecy:Harper hates sharing information with people, whether it is census information needed for planning or information about military activities. Knowledge is power, and withholding knowledge to which MPs are entitled means having power over them.
Half a decade ago, Harper talked about the importance of openness, transparency and accountability. When his government was found in contempt of the Commons, it was for Harper’s refusal to be open, transparent and accountable. The election followed.
These things, and many more, are well-known parts of Harper’s political philosophy. The only question is when he will introduce them.
