The Forum Research survey of the trust Canadians have in federal institutions found only one place that rivals the level of distrust Canadians have toward Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s PMO—the Senate.
And, in the battle over public opinion during the recent dispute between Prime Minister Harper (Calgary Southwest, Alta.) and Supreme Court of Canada Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin, it appears the Supreme Court came out on top—with a public trust level four times higher than that of the PMO.
A full 25 per cent of respondents to the Forum Poll had no trust at all in the PMO, exactly the same level of public distrust toward the Senate.
Only 10 per cent of the respondents had a great deal of trust in the Prime Minister’s Office, slightly edging out the Senate’s score of nine per cent in that category.
The middle ground, either some trust or not very much trust, was nearly the same for the PMO and the Senate, with the Prime Minister’s Office edging above the Senate by a few points at 62 per cent, with more than half of those respondents saying they did not have very much trust in the PMO.
The Forum Research survey last week found the most trusted institution in the eyes of voting-age Canadian was the Canadian military, with 44 per cent regarding the military with a great deal of trust.
The Supreme Court of Canada was next in public esteem, with 39 per cent saying they had a great deal of trust in the Supreme Court, out of a selection of nine branches or offices and institutions of the federal government. Only six per cent of the respondents said they had no trust at all in the Supreme Court.
Opposition MPs said the high regard for the Supreme Court is a direct result of the criticism that Mr. Harper (Calgary Southwest, Alta.) received for in his outburst at Chief Justice McLachlin after the Supreme Court ruled his choice for an appointment to fill one of the court’s vacant seats for Quebec did not meet constitutional and eligibility requirements under the Supreme Court of Canada Act.
Lawyers, law professors, and a range of critics slammed Mr. Harper for the unprecedented step, after the Prime Minister’s Office issued a statement suggesting the chief justice had acted improperly when she attempted to advise the government about the position’s eligibility requirements last July, months before Mr. Harper attempted to fill the position by appointing Federal Court Judge Marc Nadon.
NDP Leader Tom Mulcair (Outremont, Que.) told reporters on Wednesday Mr. Harper’s attack against Chief Justice McLachlin, and his evident bitterness after the Supreme Court had only a few weeks earlier ruled federal government proposals to unilaterally reform the Senate would be unconstitutional, likely led to increased public support for the court.
“One of the things, this is going to sound like a paradox, one of the things that reassures me is that a lot of Canadians are coming to the defence of an institution that we don’t think about a lot,” Mr. Mulcair said at a news conference, in response to a question about the dispute over Mr. Nadon’s failed appointment.
“I have often found that we tend to take all of our democratic institutions a little bit too much for granted, as if it’s just normal to have a functioning democratic institution like a Parliament and a Supreme Court that can apply the rule of law, the law applies equally to everyone,” said Mr. Mulcair.
Liberal MP Kevin Lamoureux (Winnipeg North, Man.) said he thinks the Harper government’s criticism of public figures, such as Chief Justice McLachlin or Chief Electoral Officer Marc Mayrand, has damaged the image of the Prime Minister’s Office.
“One of the things that I’ve noticed with this particular prime minister is that he doesn’t have any problems with going on that verbal assault of our institutions, whether it’s the Senate or Elections Canada or other trustworthy organizations or institutions that we have here in Canada,” Mr. Lamoureux said in an interview.
“I think that in time what he does is he takes away from respect of the importance of the prime minister’s office,” he said. “That should be one of the highest offices of the land, and one would think there would be a natural flow to respect that. Over the years it has likely been diminished, for things such as the Supreme Court screw-up.”
The RCMP and the chief electoral officer, another recent target of PMO wrath, were virtually tied for the next spot in the trust ranking—with 26 per cent declaring a great deal of trust in the RCMP and 24 per cent saying they had a great deal of trust in the chief electoral officer. Only six per cent had no trust at all for the Mounties and the chief electoral officer.
The Parliamentary budget officer, a low-profile position now after the departure of former Parliamentary budget officer Kevin Page, received a great deal of trust from only 10 per cent of the respondents. Only 11 per cent said they had no trust at all in the office, but fully 18 per cent did not know what their position was.
Parliament as a whole was slightly ahead of the Senate in the race for ninth position. Though seven per cent viewed Parliament with a great deal of trust, only nine per cent said they had no trust at all in Parliament overall.
Original Article
Source: hilltimes.com/
Author: Tim Naumetz
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