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This week, the Samara Centre for Democracy published a report titled "Closer to the People?" that looked at how provincial and territorial legislatures have been reacting to the global pandemic, and enumerated their sitting days, emergency legislation, and so on.  As with any Samara report, you have to remember that they tend to judge quantitative data over qualitative, so there isn't as much context to the figures as there should be, but there are nevertheless a few things that can be teased out that are worth exploring, particularly as to lessons that we could draw from their experiences.

Something that immediately leapt out at me while reading the report was that not enough attention was paid to the fact that many of these provinces have hung legislatures, and that will affect how their responses have been handled.  The report does talk about how in two of those provinces, New Brunswick and Newfoundland and Labrador, a special "all-party Cabinet committee" was formed, but barely spelled out the particular circumstances in those legislatures, which is important because in New Brunswick in particular, that "special committee" is being treated like a unity government which went all the way to swearing those opposition members into Privy Council and Cabinet which is a pretty big deal when it comes to evaluating how provinces are handling this pandemic.

The report does mention that this particular arrangement of a special committee has been detrimental in certain respects, but falls a bit short in its criticism:

This increased collaboration and Opposition input did little to advance transparency, since the proceedings of these committees were not made public.  As the pandemic wore on, Opposition leaders in both provinces also complained that they were not consulted on all decisions.  Opposition politicians in Newfoundland and Labrador are also complaining that the Government has failed to deliver promised exemptions to the travel restrictions imposed in Bill 38, which is now being challenged in court.

This undersells the issue in New Brunswick in particular, because it's not just about transparency though that is important.  The report only thinks of this in terms of "cooperation" instead of some basic parliamentary principles that have to do with accountability.

To wit, later in the report, the authors use the phrase that "Cooperation is best done in public," which doesn't differentiate between how this special committee in Newfoundland and Labrador is different from the "unity government" in New Brunswick.  Unity means that deliberations are Cabinet confidences, not simply a special committee (even if Cabinet is technically a committee of the Queen's Privy Council), which not only makes things more opaque, but it also obliterates the opposition's ability to hold the government to account because they were in on all of those decisions.  So while yes, it is important to point out that this cross-party collaboration is "elite-focused" to the detriment of backbenchers, or that these deliberations being outside of the legislature have no public records, there is no qualitative differentiation between these models, and how that affects the exercise of accountability in each.

Completely omitted in this report is a similar situation in Prince Edward Island, where a kind of de facto "unity" government has been going on for months, because the province's official opposition Green Party decided to play nice with the governing Progressive Conservatives in the name of "civility."  What resulted was a series of backroom deals that happened over that time period, and a burgeoning legislative culture where the third-party Liberals would be chastised for being "disruptive" when they were doing their jobs of trying to get some accountability.  It was only recently that the Green leader, Peter Bevan-Baker, started insisting that he really does hold the government to account "but you just can't see it," which kind of sounds like the nerdy kid on an American sitcom proclaiming that he totally has a hot girlfriend in Canada.  What the Samara report focuses on is the fact that the PEI legislature hasn't sat at all during the pandemic until this week, but it should be noted that suddenly Bevan-Baker has decided to start playing opposition leader instead of co-premier, both in opposing proposed changes to the province's Emergency Measures Act that would hand the government virtually unlimited powers, and in allowing seasonal residents onto the island for fear of creating a new vector of infection.

Why it matters that we have these kinds of situations playing out across the country is that there will need to be some kind of reckoning once the dust settles and the pandemic is considered under control, and we start taking stock of what has transpired.  That includes the emergency legislation that has allowed broad powers, or the spending of vast sums, virtually unsupervised.  While everyone likes to talk about how hung legislatures or parliaments are so great because they force parties to work together, we've been seeing increasing examples of how this kind of "working together" in crisis situations is to either co-opt accountability by bringing the opposition into the fold in an official capacity, or in increased backroom dealing to push through measures in a way that truncates the legislative process in the name of vacating the legislatures for health reasons, rather than finding non-"virtual" solutions to ensuring that the proper scrutiny can happen.  Of course, in some majority situations like Alberta, it has been even worse where the governing party gives itself sweeping and overbroad powers, but at least the opposition parties can exercise actual accountability and are not co-opted by the decisions, hence they can point to the problems when the time comes.

The current federal situation of a hung parliament has certainly shown a propensity for backroom deals, with legislative processes being truncated and hidden from public, where tens of billions in spending has been pushed out the door with no scrutiny, and thanks to the deal the Liberals struck with the NDP and Greens this week, another $150 billion in Estimates will be passed automatically with no oversight the actual constitutional duty of MPs on June 17th.  While the fact that the Conservatives and Bloc did not agree to this deal will at least provide some avenues of accountability, these past few months have certainly given us a new window in how hung parliaments operate in a crisis situation.

Photo Credit: CBC News

The views, opinions and positions expressed by columnists and contributors are the author’s alone. They do not inherently or expressly reflect the views, opinions and/or positions of our publication.


When future historians look back upon Justin Trudeau's tenure in office, one of the chief components of his legacy they will judge will be he and his cabinet's response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Did Trudeau respond quickly enough to the virus?  Was he a competent communicator to the public throughout the crisis?  Were the new spending measures, the corresponding legislation and policy changes, and his coordination with the provinces, sufficient? 

In short, was he the leader Canadians required during a moment of pressing need?

The crisis is still ongoing, and much remains still before a comprehensive judgement on Trudeau and his Liberal government can be made.  It will likely be years before a thoroughly researched analysis of the government's response to COVID-19 is ever conducted. 

Not that that has stopped everyday Canadians from withholding judgement.

According to the Angus Reid Institute, Trudeau's Liberals are now leading the Conservatives in federal polling for the first time since June 2018. 

Abacus Data has shown much the same.  According to the firm's latest figures, the Liberals lead the Conservatives nationally by eight points.

Léger's weekly poll tracking displayed even greater gains made by the Liberals.  They have the Grits with a whopping 14-point lead over their rival Conservatives.  In national polling, Léger found the Liberals at a high of 41 per cent, with the Conservatives registering a mere 27 per cent.

After falling below one-third of the popular vote in the last election, as well as losing their coveted majority government, this indeed represents a remarkable reversal of fortunes for Trudeau and his Liberal Prime-Ministership. 

Whether it will last or not is an entirely different story.  It certainly wouldn't be the first time this government has squandered what seemed to be an insurmountable polling lead, as well as an abundance of good will amongst the electorate. 

Still, for now at least, the Liberal government appears to be adequately navigating the unprecedented challenges posed by the COVID pandemic (at least when their autocratic impulses aren't kicking in).

Sure, their response to the crisis might not compete with the successes witnessed in countries like Germany,Taiwan and South Korea.  But compared with the chaos and confusion rife in neighbouring United States, as well as the severity and spread of infection in Spain and Italy, Canada's approach measures up well.

Among other things, this bodes extremely well for Trudeau, both for his future electoral prospects and for the more significant questions surrounding his place in Canadian history.

Like it or not, much of how Trudeau's legacy is perceived by future historians will depend on his government's actions in response to the current crisis.

Global and national crises alike have a way of reframing one's perspective.

What once mattered in times of relative peace and tranquility no longer ranks as all that important once calamity strikes.

Suddenly, the old "crises" of irregular border crossings into Central Canada and the on-again, off-again passive-aggressive feuding between Justin Trudeau and Donald Trump all seem quite quaint in comparison to the challenges posed by COVID. 

But that's historical judgement for you.

For better and for worse, history has a way of remembering the big things.

Take for instance Canada's 11th Prime Minister R.B. Bennett.

Under his tenure in office, Bennett was responsible for establishing the Bank of Canada, as well as the Canadian Radio Broadcasting Commission (precursor to the CBC).  Yet, few citizens are likely to credit Bennett for these important policy achievements

Instead, when Bennett is remembered, if he is at all, it is almost solely for his failure to adequately respond to the Great Depression.  As a result, he is often relegated as one of Canada's weakest prime ministers. 

In comparison, Canada's greatest Prime Ministers are those who successfully confronted the most pressing crises of their day, even if they happened to stumble on other files.

Bennett's successor, William Lyon Mackenzie King, certainly had his fair share of stumbles.  His first years in office were characterized by government scandals and abhorrent immigration practices.  He also badly misjudged the character of Adolf Hitler in a diplomatic visit to Germany in 1937. 

Yet, when faced with the daunting task of governing Canada during the turmoil of World War 2, King proved incredibly successful at ensuring both national unity and economic prosperity.

Similarly, Justin's father, Pierre, faltered on numerous occasions.  Not only did he aggravate tensions in western Canada, but after almost sixteen years in office, his vision of a more egalitarian "Just Society" never quite materialized as promised. 

Nevertheless, he successfully confronted the separatist threat in Quebec, which at the time, represented the greatest challenge to his government, as well as to the future of country.

Without question, the COVID-19 epidemic has become the great test for Trudeau fils. 

If Trudeau continues to perform well throughout the pandemic, his previous missteps and indiscretions will lose their salience for the next generation of political historians who will render judgement upon his government. 

With time, few will recall his public relations fiasco in India.  Nor will they judge him too harshly for his ethical lapses in vacationing on the Aga Khan's private island.  Or for his alleged flakiness when negotiating the Comprehensive Progressive Trans Pacific Partnership, as recently charged by former Australian Prime Minister Malcom Turnbull.

Indeed, he may earn himself a spot, not far behind his father and Mackenzie King, in the upper echelons of Canada's most important and successful Prime Ministers.

However, if Trudeau is to slip up in such a crucial period; if he is to lose the favor he has won from so much of the public; he will likely follow the unfortunate path of R.B. Bennett into the annals of history, carrying forth the perception of a failed Prime Minister.

So watch carefully.  One way or another, Justin Trudeau's legacy is in the making.

Photo Credit: CBC News

The views, opinions and positions expressed by columnists and contributors are the author’s alone. They do not inherently or expressly reflect the views, opinions and/or positions of our publication.


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The views, opinions and positions expressed by columnists and contributors are the author’s alone. They do not inherently or expressly reflect the views, opinions and/or positions of our publication.