pointed to this article tonight: Millions mismanaged in Laval metro project: auditor general. And in a few weeks, people will be wondering why voter turnout rates are so low. Well, this is why. In Canada, in 2004 (and for years this has been true, but it’s getting worse, not better), all levels of politics and the senior bureaucracy, in all departments, are completely and utterly compromised by incompetence. The current administration in the mayor’s office of Montreal is clearly incompetent, changing with the wind, shedding members along the way. Both this and the previous provincial governments are rotten through with disinterested politicians who don’t even know the beginning elements of what “governing” entails. As far as I can tell the entire bureaucracy in Quebec is made up of patronage-hired, public-service-union-coddled people who aren’t adequately trained to do their jobs, but anyhow aren’t particularly interested in doing them. Even worse are the “arms-length” crown corporations, or whatever they call them provincially. And we all know how corrupt the ruling Liberal party is on the federal scene. Does anyone believe for a second that the Conservatives or even the NDP would be any better?
Michael Boyle's weblog
tbit says
so now I vote in order to get the least incompetent and evil person into power.
Michael says
Oh I’m still going to vote. Always have, always will, I’d venture. But I’m going to vote for a person I know nothing about (looked on the party website as well – still know nothing) with absolutely no hope he’s going to win. As it has been in every riding I’ve ever lived in.
Marc says
I’ll start with a quote and end with a quote.
“Yep, son, we have met the enemy and he is us.”
The problem with being held accountable is that it takes two parties. The party doing the accountable part and the party doing the holding part. Accountability doesn’t work without being held.
Most politicians, crown corporation executives, police, and other “authorities” are entirely accountable to their jobs and responsbilities. These people are as dedicated to their work as we are to ours. They’re just people, like us.
A tiny minority, however, sometimes abuse their positions.
But we have to hold all of them to it. If not, we’ve failed, and might even have to share the blame.
So how do we hold them to it, then?
Voting? Good start. But boting isn’t even close to being enough.
When was the last time you called your MP, MNA, or city councillor? When was the last time you sent these people an email message or written them a letter. Signed a petition, participated in a demonstration, or volunteered at a charity? Have you done your part for accountability?
“Let the one who is without sin be the first to throw a stone.”
Michael says
“Most politicians, crown corporation executives, police, and other “authorities” are entirely accountable to their jobs and responsbilities.”
No they’re not though. I don’t believe that is the case. Let’s talk Quebec because that is what I’m most familiar with at the moment. The city of Montreal can’t and doesn’t hire people with adequate experience or education to do the basics of their job, and these people are totally protected. There are no performance reviews that matter, there is no transparency to the system, and there is no meaningful separation between the political side and the bureaucracy. Tremblay has a group of cronies who are just spreading out where they like and are completely unaccountable.
The sponsorship scandal was pure unaccountability. We have the opportunity at the polls, but there is no meaningful alternative who will do any differently. The PQ and the Bloc are in no way an improvement – in fact to the extent that they’re in bed with the CSN they’re worse, in that they directly support an organization that protects people who literally don’t understand what their job IS, let alone have the capacity to do the job.
Worse, though, is that these stories are obvious, but the newspapers refuse to report on them. Journalists in Quebec (and this is one thing that is clearly worse here than in the rest of North America) are vendu to the system and cover it up.
Marc says
A corollary to holding politicians accountable is offering them another voice. If the only opinions and advice that a politician hears are from cronies and the “vendu”, then why should we be surprised when that politician, sometimes (usually?) with good intentions, makes decisions in their favour?
The public has the responsibility to express its point of view to politicians. And voting is not enough. We have to call, email, write letters, sign petitions, attend demonstrations.
It’s so obvious that we forget it too often: If we don’t speak, we won’t be heard.
Just as politicians have the responsibilty to manage our governments, we have the responsibility to hold them accountable.
“The sponsorship scandal was pure unaccountability.” (I’ll assume you’re referring to Mr. Galiano’s indiscretions.)
You’re right. Indisputably shameful. But you’re contradicting yourself.
Mr Galiano did indeed do a bad, but then he got canned as a consequence. And the federal Liberals, if only by association, are paying a similar price, too. If they’re lucky, they’ll stumble out of the upcoming election as a short-lived minority government.
I get (some) satisfaction from witnessing these consequences. Don’t you?
“Journalists in Quebec (and this is one thing that is clearly worse here than in the rest of North America) are vendu…”
The same accountability equation holds for the media. The Gazoo’s marketing staff are pretty sure that we prefer reading about Britney Spears than greedy politicians. They’ll never know otherwise unless we tell them.
BTW, to be fair to the Gazoo, Linda Gyulai kicks ass. She uncovers interesting things at city hall. (I’ll ask again: when was the last time you got on the horn to city call after reading one of Gyulai’s articles?)
Michael says
I love Linda’s work, and in fact I am one of her biggest fans. When she was writing at Hour she put the dailies in both French and English to shame – an “Arts weekly” was breaking stories for crying out loud! She and I have known each other for years, though we’re not really friends as much as long-time acquaintances.
Listen, I hear what you’re saying, and these are all things I have done my whole life. I just have the feeling that it’s no longer enough. Do you really think that losing an election is “accountability” in this case? I certainly don’t. The whole system of government contracts has alredy been redesigned, supposedly with strict oversight but that didn’t change anything. To say nothing of civil or criminal liability for past bad acts.
That’s never going to happen, none of it.