Yuan Yi Zhu: Carney’s contemptuous jaunt to EU Parliament before Canada’s

When Germany invaded Poland on Sept. 1, 1939, Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King reacted by immediately recalling Parliament, which was not due to sit for another months, and ask for its blessing before declaring war on Germany. On the first day of the special session, King tabled copies of documents relative to the outbreak of the war, so that the House of Commons would know the basis on which war was being declared.

Sign In or Create an Account

The result of that debate was a foregone conclusion: most Canadians had by then become resigned to a war, which they would fight without joy but with determination. Two days later, the Commons voted, by an overwhelming majority, to declare war against Germany. For the rest of the war, King would keep the House of Commons informed, even as the government assumed a degree of executive power unprecedented in Canadian history.

The National Post newsletter that doesn’t hold back, giving readers the unvarnished truth on media, politics and culture.

By signing up, you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc.

A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder.

The next issue of Right? will soon be in your inbox.

We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try again

Today, Prime Minister Mark Carney has suggested that Canada is “at war.” Not a shooting war, but about as serious a business for the country’s future as anything in our history. Just like Mackenzie King, he is going to Parliament. But unlike King, he will be going to the European Parliament, which he will attend this month as an honoured guest.

What about the other Parliament, the one in Ottawa with the pointy tower which, if left unused, ranks as the country’s biggest tourist trap? It was adjourned in June, and is not due to sit until Sept. 21, after Carney’s jaunt to France. In the meantime, Canadians have to rely on foreign newspapers’ accounts of the negotiations, themselves written on the basis of spin from both governments, to figure out what went wrong.

Carney has, of course, offered his version in PMO-controlled press conferences. But although Donald Trump and his acolytes are serial liars, Carney’s probity is not above reproach. Only in July, he appeared to tell whoppers about the agreement with the United States for the opening of the Gordie Howe International Bridge. After the Wall Street Journal reported on certain critical details of the deal that contradicted Carney’s own description, he was forced to admit he “should have been clearer” about the agreement’s terms, which included significant concessions to the United States side, concessions which he had denied until an American newspaper reported them.

But even if Mr Carney was Canada’s version of Honest Abe, he should still go to Parliament before enacted counter-tariffs, the ones currently set to go on Sept. 8. To be clear, I mean, Canada’s Parliament. Responsible government means that a prime minister is accountable to Parliament, and a prime minister only remains in post if he has the confidence of the lower house of Parliament. Given the gravity of the situation, it is natural to expect him to make a statement on the record in a formal setting where the Opposition can question him, and where there are consequences if he “should have been clearer” but was not.

In addition, Parliament has the power to compel the ministry to produce documents relating to the negotiations, on the reasonable theory that Canadians deserve to see what their government was willing to surrender to the Americans and what broke the camel’s back for our side.

There are, of course, prudential reasons against the release of such information at this stage, when a deal might still be forthcoming; but our representatives should at least discuss the desirability of letting Canadians know why so many of them may soon lose their jobs.

Not a chance. Despite calls from the Conservatives to recall Parliament, the government has made it clear that it is not willing to do so. The speaker theoretically has the last say, but he can only recall the House “after consultation with the government,” and there is no evidence that consultations have taken place.

Nor does it seem that the government will pay a political price for ignoring Parliament. Many Canadians, in fact, seem to equate scrutiny — the one role of His Majesty’s Loyal Opposition — with pro-American sedition.

True, some right-wing commentators have been very keen to excuse Donald J. Trump’s conduct, but two wrongs do not make a right, even if scrutiny may raise awkward questions about how Carney has handled the negotiations with the United States.

Canada’s parliament is one of the most toothless in the Commonwealth: the average MP spends their entire career without ever breaking the whip. Many of our elected representatives only attend the House when they are forced to, do their emails at their desks, and use Question Period to film social media content. If it is not allowed to flex its dormant muscles at such a moment of national crisis, it may as well not exist at all.

Yuan Yi Zhu is an assistant professor in international relations and international law at Leiden University, The Netherlands, a member of the Macdonald-Laurier Institute’s Judicial Foundations Project, and a research associate at the University of British Columbia’s Research Group for Constitutional Law and Legal Studies.

This website uses cookies to personalize your content (including ads), and allows us to analyze our traffic. Read more about cookies here. By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.