Federal deputies, from all parties (or almost), would do well to quickly show themselves worthy of their functions and behave as if there were still at least a few adults in the room among them. The desolate spectacle of the last two weeks is nothing edifying. The low-level insults that were poured out in the Commons have reached new depths, which a pre-electoral climate in no way excuses.
The renewed instability of Justin Trudeau’s minority government naturally attracts the curious to the precincts of Parliament. The circus which the latter are obliged to witness, since the resumption of parliamentary work, is, however, enough to put off the most cynical among them and discourage even the most seasoned political observers. The venom of the exchanges surpasses its own dark records almost daily.
The New Democratic leader, Jagmeet Singh, is thus accused every day of being a “sellout”. Subscribed to the one-upmanship, the Conservative leader, Pierre Poilievre, also accused him of being a “deceiver” and an “imposter”. Exasperated, Mr. Singh did not jump from his seat to attack, as some have reported, but the bravado on the floor of the Commons was no less dishonorable.
Conservative MPs were accused by the Canadian Prime Minister of making “homophobic” remarks. Justin Trudeau, by refusing to apologize, claimed the right to “denounce their shit”. A not much more respectable exchange, which concluded with a plea from the conservative responsible for the remark in question, Garnett Genuis, vociferous that in uttering it, he was not thinking “at all about sex”.
Beyond excessive partisanship, which festers at the same pace as an electoral campaign looms, there is a step – that of a debate devoid of any seriousness – that must not be taken. The wise call to order from the Bloc Québécois, with its motion calling for “civility […] in order to allow a real constructive debate, in the interest of democracy”, seems to have been forgotten as soon as adopted.
While elected officials redouble their invectives, parliamentary work gets bogged down in excesses and calls for order. This affects the productivity of a Parliament which no longer has much time to improve public policies and the bills it is responsible for studying.
If, apart from the conservatives, none of the deputies want early elections for the moment, let them get on with the task entrusted to them.
Conservative gall is not confined to the political arena. The CTV network paid the price, guilty of a gross error which resulted in unacceptable editing.
A quote from Leader Pierre Poilievre, explaining that “it is time to propose” an opposition motion, was transformed, following a recording problem, to make him say that “we must propose” such a motion. motion. Above all, the report suggested that this motion of censure was opposed to the government’s dental care program – on which Mr. Poilievre refuses to comment -, and not to carbon pricing – which he has denounced for years.
The Conservative Party threatened to boycott the network as long as management did not recognize the “malicious editing”. Two CTV employees were fired.
By altering the words of a politician without revealing them, CTV committed a serious mistake, all the more damaging for the entire media industry in this era of popular doubt.
That the conservatives take advantage of this to call into question all journalistic practice is not reassuring. Former leader Andrew Scheer urged citizens to ask themselves from now on, when his party is portrayed in a negative light: “Did this really happen?” » His colleague Michelle Ferreri proclaimed that Mr. Poilievre “will restore journalistic ethics and integrity.”
On the contrary, the conservative leader will have to demonstrate that he knows how to distinguish between a justifiable complaint, in such an exceptional case, and the calling into question of the full freedom of an independent press with which he will not be always agree. CTV would have had every interest in reminding him of this, by distinguishing the conclusions of its internal investigation from the boycott threats made by the conservative team.
All this toxic and childish climate fuels the cynicism of the population. The vote of a large number of voters is above all motivated by their disenchantment with the main political opponent. Nearly 40% among conservative voters and more than 60% among liberals, measured Angus Reid at the start of the year. It is a safe bet that the recent parliamentary antics will not have reversed this unfortunate trend.
If elected officials continue their pandering for another six months or a year, between now and the next elections, what will remain of the citizen interest? It is up to them to avoid exacerbating their disaffection.