The former senior cabinet minister in the Chretien and Martin Liberal governments noted that the Harper Conservatives received the support of only 40 per cent of voters in last year's election, and only 60 per cent of Canadians bothered to vote, meaning three out four Canadians didn't vote Conservative.
"Ambiguous mandates like that require careful, thoughtful interpretation,'' Goodale said. "The government should not use sheer numbers to do whatever it wants with impunity.''
Yet the actions of some federal cabinet ministers suggest an "attitude of impunity'' pervades the government of Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Goodale said.
"Attitudes of impunity lead to some bad things, like excessive ministerial behaviour - (International Development) Minister (Bev) Oda's costly orange juice and those limousines for $1,000 a day or (Treasury Board President Tony) Clements' ornamental gazebos and the sidewalks to nowhere in Muskoka,'' Goodale said, referring to recent examples of ministerial overspending.
He cited the government's practice of "sloughing off '" opposition questions during question period, holding parliamentary committee meetings behind closed doors, using closure "at every turn'' to stifle debate in Parliament, and "jamming 74 pieces of legislation altogether in one omnibus (budget) bill to change everything from food inspection to civilian oversight of Canadian spies," as other examples of "attitudes of impunity.''
"Attitudes of impunity also lead to mistakes, like the F-35 fighter jet fiasco ... the biggest sole-sourced, untendered, uncompetitive contract, against all the rules, in Canadian history,'' Goodale said, citing reports from the auditor-general and Parliamentary Budget Officer that criticized the government's handling of the $30-billion contract.
He also cited the government's move to raise the age of eligibility for Old Age Security (OAS) payments to 67 from 65, which was announced by Harper after the May 2011 election, despite promising not to change the 60-year-old program in three previous elections. "It's an attack exclusively on the lowest-income, most vulnerable older Canadians,'' Goodale said. "Without (OAS), poverty among seniors would increase by one third.''
Moreover, the change isn't needed, according to economists from three Canadian universities, as well as the OECD, the PBO, several bond rating agencies, a couple of think tanks, and the government's own actuaries, he added. "They've all run the numbers and they all say the OAS is sound the way it is. It ain't broke, so don't fix it.''
Just as attitudes of impunity lead to bad governance, so does the tendency toward polarization in our politics, Goodale said.
While some commentators think having two parties - one on the right and one on the left - would lead to greater democracy in Canada, the opposite would be the result, said Goodale, a lifelong Liberal, who was first elected in 1974.
"If you want a good illustration of what deep polarization gets you, take a look at the political and economic trouble that currently prevails in the U.S. Their partisan environment is absolutely toxic. Their economy remains in trouble and their polarized politics seem incapable of finding solutions that can cut across the controversy, cut across the divisions and attract broad-base common support,'' he said.
"It's all about wedges, not bridges. It's about driving people apart into opposing camps, not pulling them together in any kind of common endeavour. That's what polarization does. It's divisive, negative, corrosive and wasteful."
Goodale said the Tories used the tactics of polarization in pushing through its omnibus crime bill in March. "If you don't support their prescriptions, even the ones that are unconstitutional, then you're siding with child pornographers,'' he said, paraphrasing a Tory cabinet minister.
Original Article
Source: leader post
Author: Bruce Johnstone
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