Libel and democracy
Posted by Tyler Kinch on 13th May 2008
A very serious flaw in parliamentary committee procedure was brought to national attention today. Basically, if you have the money, you can shut up any MP on any issue! This comes after a ruling from the ethics commissioner that muzzles MPs who are being sued.
I’ve raised my concern previously about how all the lawsuits flying around Ottawa lately are damaging our democratic institute. The right to question government is a democratic right! And many times, elected representatives of opposition parties are the ones doing the questioning on behalf of Canadians.
Lawsuits to settle political battles that should be settled in public opinion, do not only intimidate MPs who are causing a “nuisance” to the government, they also muzzle MPs from speaking on the matter in the House or in committee - which effectively prevents the MP from doing the job they were elected to do.
I usually try to stay away from blogging about “Ottawa issues” as I see a lot of politicians spending an unbalanced amount of time on these scandals instead of tackling the problems that really affect Canadians. But this issue threatens our democracy so much, that if it isn’t solved, it will greatly undermine our democratic institution in Canada and will have a direct effect on all Canadians.
Posted in Democracy | No Comments »