Anarchy can be defined as political confusion or disorder and it’s also called the absence of behavioral standards because it lacks guiding principles.
In a nutshell that means we have an official opposition in Parliament that lacks principles and is there to sew confusion and disorder. Not what I would call helpful to Canadians.
What bothers me the most about our federal election is that a bunch of characters who had their names on the ballot in order to guarantee party financial incomes got elected, and no one is embarrassed by that fact.
Since then the Machiavellian leadership of that party has set out to cover up sneaky and dishonest statements and again no one cares. When the one winning candidate was found to have a phony diploma, the leaders quickly spun it into a so-called error by a staff member.
First we have Ruth Ellen Brosseau elected in the Quebec riding of Berthier-Maskinoge. She didn’t campaign and she doesn’t even speak French. In fact she works as an assistant bar manager at a bar located at an Ottawa university.
In many cases these winning candidates didn’t even campaign and of course Ms. Brosseau couldn’t speak the language anyway. She had never set foot in the riding. Her spokesperson said she would have to brush up on her French.
Then we have Mathieu Ravignat who is a karate expert and in 1997 ran for the Communist party. He told one newspaper at the time he had been homeless and planned to be a monk when he was younger. In that 1997 election he ran against another former communist party member, Gilles Duceppe.
The list of individuals who surprised even themselves by getting elected is overwhelming. I have yet to hear a solid explanation as to why this incredible happening took place.
I have phoned many friends and family who live in Quebec to discuss the reasons, any reasons, that make sense and I didn’t get a single one. What I did get was a tiny element of shame. Most folks take their vote seriously and with forethought. Every one of the folks that I talked to in Quebec do not believe that happened.
So what can we expect to happen when this crop of students, ex-communists and karate experts show up on Parliament hill?
If they had half an ounce of common sense they would sit and listen for many weeks to come. I am told that the NDP is recruiting staff for them from the labour unions so they need to beware of the super-militants.
What I worry about the most is the leadership of the NDP filling the separatist vacuum left by the demise of the Bloc Quebecois. There are some easy buttons that the NDP leadership could push to gain favour among the separatist forces in Quebec.
I hope they care enough about Canada to not play the separatist game and that they will be a force for Canada throughout Quebec. There are some clear signs of danger to watch for. First and foremost is language, so lets see if Mr. Layton starts pursuing more use of French in the public service or in policing federal highways.
He will want to ensure that the one French-speaking driver crossing Western Canada won’t feel culturally isolated.
Then we can expect demands for more spending on the arts, particularly in Quebec. You know the demands, more of our tax dollars to fund whatever creative activity the Party Quebecois wants to support.
Actually, our federal government has steadily increased funding for the arts, but that fact will be forgotten very quickly.
I hope in this case I am wrong, totally, utterly wrong and if I get lucky enough to be wrong, I will apologize in a written article. But, we will have to wait and see and watch the universe unfold.
I for one, am embarrassed, for I want to believe that every vote should be important.
Mel is a retired Director of Operations for a large Canadian corporation. He is a noted world traveller and has studied geopolitical issues for many years. His most noticeable interest is in the effects of different types of governance and organizational behaviour.