Having spent some time exploring through the discussions at the Facebook page Canadians Against Proroguing Government I have noticed many of the discussions have centered around the participants view on democratic reform. In view of Harper’s rather disturbing abuse of our parliamentary system, this is pretty understandable.

In the other Westminster style parliamentary systems throughout the world, no evidence has been found of abuse equalling what Harper has carried out with impunity. It appears for many Canadians that has been a wake up call to them to pay attention to what our governments are doing and excess liberties a Prime Minister takes.

It has been interesting reading some of the opinions and ideas expressed on the CAPP page about democratic reform. It has sparked me to think through my own opinions on the subject.

Education

Yes, education is top on my list. The majority of people I’ve spoken to tell me they didn’t receive any education in how our government runs when they were in school unless they chose to take a course in high school. My American friends tell me a half year Civics course is mandatory in the first year of high school. That’s an idea which I believe has merit.

One element which has allowed Harper to abuse our democratic process is his ability to distort perceptions with the public. Let’s use last year’s prorogation as an example. Read the rest of this entry »