Op-Ed: Canadians don't care for democracy

This week's events on Parliament Hill, including yesterday's prorogation of the house by the Governor General, have shown that Canadians don't understand or are not interested in Democracy

The idea that Canada is a democracy has finally been exposed as an illusion. This was done when Stephen Harper was granted a seven week holiday from accountability, which should give him enough time to grow a square mustache. That may seem harsh, but then again, the guy did shut down this country's government for no other reason than to cling to power, and so kindness is the last thing he deserves. What amazes me is how many people, be they political experts or just ordinary citizens, are fully relieved that this assault has been committed against our supposed democracy. Their rationale ranges from a moronic idea that the government, like some horny teenager, needs time to cool off, to the blatantly wrong assertion that we must at all costs be delivered from the clutches of a coalition that is beholden to the evil separatists. In between is the equally wrong notion that Stephen Harper was elected Prime Minister, and so shall he remain, despite his lethal combination of arrogance and incompetence, not to mention the fact that we do not elect a Prime Minister; we elect Members of Parliament who then in turn choose a leader. In the face of such dire circumstances, Canadians don't mind if the will of the majority of this country's highest elected body be circumvented. They don't mind because Canadians by in large don't understand and don't care about democracy. This isn't a partisan issue; it doesn't matter that the Bloc is a separatist party, or that the NDP are perceived to be incapable of making tough economic decisions, or that Stephane Dion would lose to a shadow puppet in a charisma competition, or that Stephen Harper would rather bankrupt his political rivals than even pretend that he puts Canada's interests first. None of that matters. What matters is that the Prime Minister of a democratic country was allowed to get away with shutting down its political process to avoid being legitimately stripped of his power, while so many around the country applaud his ruthlessness. Equally disconcerting is the fact that nobody is asking why it is that such an important political decision was made by the Governor General, someone appointed by the Prime Minister as a representative of the Queen (one wonders if she consulted the Her Royal Highness). Everyone is just taking this for granted; both Bob Rae and Ed Broadbent, speaking on CBC Radio after her ruling had been announced, said they respected her decision. Why? What, aside from our complacency, gives her the right to make such a decision without any accountability or even an explanation? Nothing, but everyone is all too willing to accept the way this has all unfolded, rather than using it as an opportunity to re-examine our democratic institutions. After all, it's much easier to just accept it and move on; we Canadians don't like change, and when a society resists change the way we always do, it cannot really be considered democratic, and so we are not.