​“A Fish Rots from the Head Down”

This is an old saying believed to have originated in Turkey. Applied here, it means that the decline of any organization or political party begins at the top.

A seasoned reporter described the April 30th Question Period in the House of Commons in Ottawa as the nastiest he had ever witnessed. It all began when Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre called Prime Minister Justin Trudeau a “wacko” for supporting British Columbia’s policy on decriminalization of the possession of hard drugs.

Despite suggestions by wise advisors that Mr. Trudeau not get down and dirty with Pierre Poilievre because mud would inevitably stick to him as Prime Minister, Trudeau responded in kind in the House, calling Poilievre “shameless” and “spineless.”

The Speaker of the House, Greg Fergus, kicked Poilievre out of the Commons after an unsuccessful attempt to have the Leader of the Opposition withdraw the remark. Members of the Conservative caucus walked out of the Commons in sympathy.

The House Leaders of the two main political parties appear to have learned something from the previous debacle. Question Period the following day proved to be one of the most civilized in memory as both major parties felt contrite about how things had unfolded. Indeed, they should be embarrassed.

It is the unwritten rule of this Blog not to take a similar approach in two columns in a row. We try not to wear out our readers by tilling the same ground again and again. Of course, there can be exceptions to every rule, and with suitable apologies to readers, this exception may well be necessary.

Afterall, Pierre Poilievre bears the greatest responsibility for the deterioration of our national politics.

We noted in the Blog’s last column that Poilievre used rough language in meeting demonstrators on the border of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, saying that everything the Prime Minister says is “bull shit.” And we also have regretted that Poilievre is keeping very poor company such as with Alex Jones the American talk radio host who, incredibly, claims that the Sandy Hook school shooting which claimed twenty-six lives, most of them young children, was a hoax and did not happen.

As we have cautioned, Prime Minister Trudeau defeats his own case by repeating Poilievre’s complaints about him and in criticizing Poilievre for cozying up to the likes of former U.S. President Donald Trump. Trudeau would have been well-advised to assign a hard-nosed colleague to enter the fray against the Conservative Leader, rather than demean the office of the Prime Minster.

As if to follow this suggestion, a strong federal cabinet minister, Marc Miller, appears to have been nudged forward to take on Poilievre. Questioned by a reporter whether the ejection of Poilievre from the House would silence him, Miller said: “That guy’s never shut his mouth in his life. Who silences him? He keeps saying dumb things. I think it would be good if he shut up once in a while. The stuff that he does in the House of Commons is disgraceful.”

There is no doubt that our Canadian politics has descended into a pit with the mistaken view that politicians’ opponents in the daily political fray, must become their enemies. This runs against the views of two admired former Prime Ministers, Brian Mulroney, and Jean Chretien. Today, there seems to be no sense of common humanity of all elected representatives trying to make things better for their constituents and the country.
 
As with his campaign to Axe the Carbon Tax, Pierre Poilievre frequently caters to easily-stirred-up beliefs of his political base. Now, his unbridled comments have become dangerous for the country. He must reel them in. The odour of rotten fish has grown even stronger.
 
In a speech last week to the Canadian Police Association. Poilievre hinted he was prepared to use the notwithstanding clause of the Charter of Rights to implement criminal justice reforms such as cracking down on parole violations and preventing concurrent sentencing of convicted offenders. "We will make them constitutional, using whatever tools the Constitution allows me to use to make them constitutional. I think you know exactly what I mean," Poilievre told the crowd, wink, wink.
 
Canada’s Charter of Rights is the lasting legacy of former Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau. The Charter has a safety valve, Section 33, which allows the Canadian Parliament or a Provincial Legislature to override the fundamental freedoms protected in the Charter. These fundamental freedoms are crucial aspects of our identity as a people, and include Freedom of Conscience, Religion, Expression, and the Press.
 
Mr. Poilievre says in so many words, that if he is elected as Prime Minister of the country, he will abide by his laws in matters of criminal justice, not the articles of the Charter. This has prompted alarm on the part of constitutional experts.
 
Prime minister Justin Trudeau maintains that provinces such as Saskatchewan, Ontario and Quebec that have used the notwithstanding clause should not suspend fundamental rights without going first through the courts to test the constitutionality of their action. Yet, Mr. Trudeau has been rightfully accused of being timid concerning the government of Quebec using the notwithstanding clause to block fundamental freedoms.
 
One of the most controversial of the Quebec government’s actions is Bill 21 which forbids public servants in positions of authority from wearing religious symbols on the job. This has been bitterly opposed, for instance, by Muslims choosing to wear traditional garb at work. The Prime Minister has said that his government plans to intervene when Bill 21 reaches the Supreme Court. This is too little, too late.
 
All this is dense material for a good old Blog column, but the point is that Pierre Poilievre is going ahead recklessly in eroding the Charter. He is taking it upon himself to put his own laws above those of the constitution. This is an even more serious example of his tendency to speak words that he thinks are attractive for the next election, not the right words for the country.
 
Sadly, this is further evidence: “A fish rots from the head down.”