A fundamental principle of democracy is that elected governments understand and appreciate the workings of checks and balances against their range of powers. In the Canadian constitutional system, even if a government has a majority in the House of Commons, a prime minister will understand that his political goals will sometimes be challenged by a range of actors in society from citizens to the courts.
Unfortunately, since the Conservative Party under the leadership of Prime Minister Stephen Harper was elected – first to the position of a minority government in 2006 and presently as a majority government – those that have offered reasonable and legitimate advice and challenges to the political and legal goals of the Harper government have faced unprecedented smears from the highest ranks of the party and the government.
The growing range of individuals that have had to endure such smears have included: academics (myself included); environmental groups labelled as extremists and radicals funded by foreign entities; public servants just doing their job, such as Linda Keen, the former head of the nuclear safety watchdog, Peter Tinsley, the head of the Military Police Complaints Commission and Richard Colvin, the foreign service officer who testified on the treatment of Afghan detainees; Chief Electorial Officer Marc Mayrand for alleged bias; and, astonishly, former auditor general Sheila Fraser, who has faced innuendos of conflicts of interest.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-debate/attempt-to-smear-chief-justice-an-affront-to-our-constitutional-system/article18394828/#dashboard/follows/
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Harper's vindictive attacks on our institutions & those that are there to provide checks & balances is a long list, but in recent weeks he has escalated to 3 of the most respected positions in the land. It is extremely troubling & needs the attention of the entire nation. It comes down to the most basic question.
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