| Dear Mr. John Manley, Minister of Finance and hater of monarchies:
Please accept my compliments for standing tall and making your republican testament as the royalty touched down for a quick tour of the colony. Your "honest John" act should garner you a nomination for a Rob Anders award for exemplary lack of political timing and sensitivity.
Don’t worry. I’m not another irate royalist throwing darts at your chinny silhouette. I have seen the Daughters of the British Empire in action. They don’t need my help. Those quilted and cross-stitched effigies burn like nobody’s business.
I’m writing to say you didn’t go far enough. You were mighty clear on removing the monarchy from the Canadian governing system, but too vague on what should replace it.
Any rural mechanic worth his salt will tell you that if it works, don’t fix it. Unfortunately, you can’t convince me that the federal government is working. As a federal minister, you no doubt must disagree, but I like to think your chin is close enough to the ground to know there is something rotten in the state of Ottawa.
Always quick to seize on small opportunities, me and a few of the self-proclaimed political pundits here in Central Alberta offer some free ideas on changing government. With Paul "the Dauphin" Martin laying down the gauntlet of parliamentary reform to the other pretenders to the Liberal throne, you might find our advice useful in your future endeavours.
Now, I warn you that these ideas might burn the ears of someone with your impeccable political and Liberal credentials, but they sell in the sticks – and the sticks are the only place anyone is going to beat the Dauphin.
Martin’s reforms are, dare I say, too liberal and weak-kneed for my liking, but he was right about one thing: too much power in Canada is vested in the prime minister and cabinet. It’s high time all Canadians had the right to vote for the prime minister. The prime minister is the leader of Canada, not just the Liberal or Conservative party. They should not be running the House of Commons, but doing its bidding. They should sit, voteless, in the House of Commons and be accountable to it and Canadians. Get rid of the Queen if you want, but this important change doesn’t require a regisectomy.
Whether they are members of Parliament or not – and I prefer not – government ministers must be appointed by Parliament. Anything less makes a joke of ministerial accountability. Parliamentary democracy does not work if cabinet posts are the sole possession of one party to be handed out based on loyalty. Please don’t take this personally, but merit should at least play a part in the appointment process.
The first-past-the-post election system has to go. It makes Canada’s government look positively 19th century. I have enormous respect for the Victorians, but we don’t have to live with their version of democracy. More modern and credible election systems can be found the world over. It’s high time we had one here. A mixed system of geographic representatives and party representatives based on the popular vote would serve Canada well. It would help get rid of some of the regional factionalism afflicting our Parliament.
The Senate must be elected and equal in power to the House of Commons. Being a Westerner, I believe in allocating the Senate seats based on three to a province, but I don’t really care as long as there is an Upper House that has equal authority to the Lower House. I know you are already dismissing me as some kind of Western crackpot, but mark my words: a properly constituted Senate is the secret to reversing the failing powers of the federal government.
You see, the growing power of provincial governments is not due to the stellar leadership of our premiers – it stems from the silent support they receive from Canadians who fear a distant, unaccountable central government. Canadians see the provinces as the only check and balance they have for the prime minister and cabinet. If our national government had built-in checks and balances, the people would have less reason to turn to the provinces.
Before you shred this brief treatise on reform as the work of another lost political soul, consider this. If you walked out the door today, announced your leadership bid and unveiled even half of this plan as part of your platform, every conservative I know would join the Liberal Party tomorrow to vote for you.
Yours in shaking the pillars of authority,
Buzz Angus
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