The Philistine Review

And who says Canadian politics is boring?

I’m Canadian. I like being Canadian, but I’m not blind to the problems of my country: the rising cost of living, the ineffectual “Charter of Rights and Freedoms” which stymies economic progress, and how what was once a great country has turned into a “just okay” country, where graduates from university cannot find work, wages are stagnant amongst working-class people, and homes are becoming more unaffordable with each day.

Does that mean I want to be anything else, though? Just based on statistics alone, I’m in a good country. Clean, safe, and enjoying a certain degree of liberties. This recent push by the Trump administration to divide Canadians seems to be working. The latest issue, that being a failed free trade agreement, has done little to bridge a divide I see in Canada.

Alberta feels alienated from the rest of Canada, and what better way to speed along the departure of Alberta than to make them feel even more alienated? That’s exactly the move the Trump administration just did, by issuing a demand that Canada remove legislation for bilingual packaging.

Our country is founded upon bilingualism. Quebec, and the Québécois, helped found our country. To sell them off when the going gets tough? Is that truly what a country is? I don’t think so, and neither should you. A country is a collection of peoples with differing interests, who realize it’s better to be stronger together than independent but weak.

What is happening to Alberta is wrong. They’re being asked to give, but get little in return. Anyone with a brain can realize that. It’s hard for a guy laid off in Alberta to understand why he needs to keep suffering for people in Quebec, who worked hard to stop a pipeline from being built. The same goes for British Columbia, who have not helped Alberta much at all.

Why is this happening? From my reading and understanding, much of this goes back to the constitutional order created in 1982, which greatly expanded the role of courts in Canadian political life. The Charter gave courts broad powers to review legislation, while Section 35 constitutionalized Aboriginal and treaty rights and helped produce modern duties such as consultation.

It might sound good on paper, but I’ve always seen us as a parliamentary democracy where ultimate political authority should rest with Parliament. It is a shame that our legislators are so constrained by this constitutional order, while Alberta seems to have little ability to change it.

So, what is the solution? Do we just gut the entire Supreme Court? I’m no legal expert, but I imagine that while it might be technically possible—it would be highly unpopular. The sovereignty of the people needs to be expressed, and I don’t believe parliaments of the past can bind parliaments of the future. I understand under our current “constitution” they can bind future parliaments, but I do not believe, on a political-philosophical point, they should be allowed to.

The Americanization of things in Canada has long been a sore point for a particular sort of person, and I belong to that group. I do not need an American-style “Constitution,” nor do I need an unelected Supreme Court that believes it should have the final word over legislation passed by elected representatives.

I understand that this is how our constitutional order currently works. My argument is that it should not. Unfortunately, I’m a part of a fringe and radical minority that believes that. So, what can Alberta do?

Maybe we can keep setting the world on fire until climate change makes it feasible to create a pipeline through the Arctic. Now that’s a good idea! It might take a couple decades and most Albertans will starve to death, but perhaps we can send the surviving people from Ontario there to work the oil fields. Goodbye IT jobs!

Supposedly, the Canadian government and Alberta are trying to get a western pipeline built (again), so they can sell to Asian markets. A pretty good idea, if it actually works. Consultations with Indigenous people are underway, and I’m sure the notoriously fickle and green-loving B.C. government(s) will approve of having pipelines.

I don’t really have the answers to any of this. I’m just a guy from Ontario who recognizes that all these competing interests need to be balanced in Canada. I also know that the old order, as Mark Carney has stated, is dead. This old order doesn’t just extend to a “global order,” but “law and order.”

No, not the show. I mean the principles of an orderly state. America is basically totally chaotic right now, with two sides screaming and yelling at one another. In Canada, we have smug elitists claiming that Alberta can never separate.

I know what Canadian constitutional law says. My point is that constitutional law only governs as long as the political order supporting it survives. If Alberta simply declared itself independent after a clear vote and began acting as an independent state, Ottawa could call it illegal until the end of time. Eventually, the question would stop being legal and become political: what exactly would Canada do about it?

The answer? NOTHING. They’re not going to invade Alberta. If they did, I imagine the United States would have something to say about it. I believe that if a referendum is held and it’s democratic, what the court says doesn’t matter in a moral sense. They can claim that, legally, Alberta hasn’t followed constitutional law. Big deal.

Law only has power so long as institutions and people are willing to enforce it. That’s what I mean when I say the old order is dead. The new order—a more ancient order—has returned to the world.

Of course, I think Alberta should stay. We are stronger together. It’s obvious that the United States is simply leveraging our internal disagreements against one another. The hope, clearly, is that Alberta leaves and joins them. With Alberta gone, I do not think Canada can survive long-term. More will leave, and eventually we will be consumed.

Now, I don’t know about you, but if I was American I’d be about 700 pounds due to all the added garbage in their food. If we were taken over, I’d probably die from a heart attack before I’m 40. I need the Canadian government to survive! I can’t be trusted to not eat six meals from In-N-Out every day of the week!

That’s my crazy rant for the day. I’m just tired of people acting like our world hasn’t changed. Open your eyes and see what is going on. You might think you’re living in a world where history is still happening.