Politics is a dirty business today indeed. Being elected is like floating in one, big, putrid, cesspool of corruption and depravity. But then swimming in this sewer is rewarded with power and money, so it's all worth it, I suppose. This is an opening thought only. This brings us back to prorogation. Yesterday, a letter signed by the country’s most prominent academics denounced our great leader’s actions. To paraphrase these distinguished thinkers; in their view, prorogation "strikes at the heart of our democratic system". It may even possibly be a fatal blow to the parliamentary system as we know it.
For sure this coup d’etat is a serious set back not only for the rule of law, but also the spirit of the law embodied within and by the legislature. In baby talk this means: shutting down the house, terminates all laws which were tabled before the closure. It effectively disrupts the law making process and set-backs the legislative agenda. It creates a paralysis within the system like a mini stroke in the brain. One more prorogation or stroke and parliament will be effectively a “brain dead” institution, obsolete, useless and inert. This is of course the strategy of our great ruler and his loyal wrecking crew; the ideal goal to bring the house down permanently. The clear and fiendish intent is to sabotage and undermine parliament as a functioning institution in this country.
Furthermore, Prorogation renders the executive the sole and arbitrary ruler of the land. This is extremely dangerous to the citizenry, as there is absolutely no more collective oversight or accountability of this minority government. But perhaps even more importantly, such an immense concentration of power into just one man's hands is unprecedented in our country’s history. Not in my living memory (that is, since voting age) have I seen such a power grab. Have you?
So where do we go from here? Into the abyss it seems. From now until parliament is reconvened, our great ruler will be quite busy. I surmise he’s going to go the full Monty; that is a no holds barred usurpation of all authority is now underway. In other words, draconian laws will be passed from now until March 3rd, so that if and when parliament returns, you won’t even recognise this country afterwards.
The post –prorogation Canada will look a lot different from the one which preceded it; or resemble a much darker and nastier place. Just picture in your mind a place which combines a Central American dictatorship (Honduras maybe?), with a country where cult-like worship of a leader is the official norm, perhaps like Albania.
Our great leader will exploit this power vacuum deftly and swiftly. Draconian security measures will likely be imposed and implemented during this break. This will likely be justified as precautionary measures, related to the Olympic Games or to the growing perceived and real threats emanating from hostile foreign lands. In other words, both the venue for the games (Vancouver) and the national capital could possibly be transformed into giant garrisons or “green zones”. Parliament could then be blocked off, walled -off and made inaccessible to the public also as a security precaution. Especially in view of the planned nation-wide protest actions on January 23rd.
Such measures to shut-off the legislature and make it inaccessible to
the voters (except for corporate lobbyists on the hill) is a disturbing trend, taking place in other western capitals as well. But once the games are over the new measures, I reckon they will remain in place indefinitely. And so the noose tightens. I don’t think many of us realise just how deep this parliamentary-democracy crisis really is. There are media spin –related attempts made to trivialise the matter. To make prorogation, this time around, look “normal” as if this kind of an anti-democratic assault on parliament and individual freedoms was just an excuse for a quaint vacation or an opportunity for winter fest frolicking in the snow. But make no mistake about it; this new normal is an authoritarian aberrance and a steady slide towards despotism. In the worst case scenario, the prorogation will be prolonged and the house will remain shut until our great ruler decides it can reopen. And that day may never come.
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