The sins of the Harper government are well known. The party that came to power preaching accountability and ethics has instead done its best to undermine every institution of accountability that we possess, even as it slowly descends into its own ethical bog. The party that once stood for the rights of ordinary members of Parliament to represent their constituents is now the nearest thing to one-man rule. Not only are members of caucus bent to the leader’s will, unable to vote or even speak except as the leader and the whips decree, but Cabinet itself has become little more than the leader’s echo chamber. Gone are the days of powerful and independent-minded ministers, given a brief and left to get on with it. These days ministers’ offices are filled with people placed there by the Prime Minister’s Office, to ensure not only their loyalty but their single-minded devotion to the centrally determined message track.
The same tight control has been extended over...
Andrew Coyne is a Canadian political columnist with, and editorial and comments editor of, the National Post and a member of the At Issue panel on CBC’s The National.
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