The last in the present series of Agrora discussions took place on May 28, at the Gallery at Artisan Square with professor Ian Townsend Gault moderating. We began by considering the many versions of Churchill’s dictum “democracy is a bad form of government, except for all the others,” noting that this was not exactly what the great man said.
We considered the ever-present push for proportional representation, especially given the fact that the Harper government has a majority of seats in the House of Commons but garnered only some 40 per cent of votes cast at the last election. Might there be some advantage in making voting compulsory, as in Australia, which seems to lead to a greater public awareness of and interest in governance?
It was thought that there should be greater awareness on the part of legislators of their constitutional duties and responsibilities (not to say adhering to basic principles of decorum). It was also crucial that there be non-partisan reporting of what our elected representatives – municipal, provincial and federal – are doing, and why.
Finally, though, we thought that there should be more curriculum hours in schools devoted to the function of our parliamentary democratic system, and indeed current affairs in general. Canada needs a more informed, less docile, electorate. Might it be that reaction to the final report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission might point the way to the future here?
