Parliament’s dysfunctional world
Dr. Keith Martin
The National Post
May 13, 2008
It’s official — recent polls show that the public’s faith in politicians has hit rock bottom. A scant 25% of Canadians expressed respect for those who enter elected office. The next lowest were lawyers, who hit a whopping 44%. This is a sad, but not surprising state of affairs. (more…)
There are certain political principles that most of our citizens stand by: that using the facts is central to good public policy making; that Canada is more than the sum of its parts; that a strong central government is important to our country; that the people we democratically elect to Parliament must be able to exercise the will of their constituents; and that Canadians effectively engage the government of the day and make their wishes known. Yet, all of these principles have been deeply undermined by our “new Conservative government”.
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Recently, a constituent brought to my attention an issue that strikes at the heart of one of the most fundamental rights that we have as citizens in Canada. It is one that was carved out for us with blood and sacrifice through two world wars, and one that continues to define our society as free and open – the right to freedom of speech.
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