A Revelation: Canadian Politics Are Interesting!

I'll be the first to admit, as an American we have a very Amerocentric view of the world. I've always known this, but it is so much easier to see now that I'm living across the border to the north. There is so much similar between the US and Canada that it's difficult sometimes to remember that I'm in a different country, especially when I see streets dotted with Wal-Marts, Home Depots and McDonalds among others. When it comes to politics, however, it's a completely different world. I don't know anything about Canadian politics. I hardly knew that Stephen Harper was the Prime Minister and I didn't really know much about the structure of the government. I'm still in the process of learning, but the learning is interesting.

I will say that the Canadians know so much more about American politics than I'd guess many Americans know. One of my classmates already proposed the idea that John Edwards may have had more ability to create a stronger shift left in the US Democratic party than Obama or Clinton because they both had to make concessions to reassure people as a result of their respective minority statuses. The first thing I thought was, "You know who John Edwards is?!" Canadians not only know who are elected leaders are, they know who was the third place finisher in the US Democratic Primary! Crazy! This is just one example of a series of conversations I've had since I've been here.

Today I went to an anti-prorogation rally on Parliament Hill. "Just what the 'bleep' is prorogation and why would anyone be against it?", you might ask. Well, besides being somewhat difficult to pronounce, it is a very controversial political move. In this case, Prime Minister Stephen Harper has decided to suspend Parliament from now until March, meaning they get a couple months off work. As a result all bills pending in Parliament, 37 if I recall correctly, are expunged and will have to start over from the beginning when work resumes in March. This is the second time Harper has suspended Parliament, the last time being December 2008. At that time he was facing the possibility of a no-confidence vote from Parliament. This time he was facing questions about Canada's role in the ultimate torture of Afghan detainees. The stated reason for the suspension is that the government needs time to come up with the next phase of the economic action plan.

One reason this is so controversial is that the Prime Minister is not directly elected by the people. He is chosen by the party with the majority members in the House of Commons, which is one of two branches of Parliament. The House of Commons is popularly elected. By suspending Parliament, the not-popularly-elected Prime Minister gets to stop all work being done by the popularly elected portion of the federal government. Tricky, huh? Can you see why there was a rally against it now?

I probably got some of that wrong. I'm still learning, but it's pretty interesting. If you are still with me at this point, you probably think so, too. That, or there is nothing better to do.

Well, that's my Canadian civics lesson for the evening. I don't yet have an entire grasp on their health care, but I'll let you know.