Democratic Reform

www.policymagazine.ca January—February 2016

Canadian Politics and Public Policy

Democratic Reform

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Canadian Politics and Public Policy

EDITOR L. Ian MacDonald [email protected] ASSOCIATE EDITOR Lisa Van Dusen [email protected]

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Thomas S. Axworthy Andrew Balfour, Yaroslav Baran In This Issue Derek H. Burney, Catherine Cano Margaret Clarke, Celine Cooper From the Editor / L. Ian MacDonald Susan Delacourt, Fen Osler Hampson 3 Democratic Reform Daniel Gagnier, Martin Goldfarb Patrick Gossage, Brad Lavigne 5 David Mitchell Kevin Lynch, Jeremy Kinsman Farewell, First-Past-the-Post? Andrew MacDougall, Velma McColl Jennifer Smith David McLaughlin, David Mitchell 8 In Defence of Canada’s Electoral System Don Newman, Geoff Norquay Frank Graves Robin V. Sears, Gil Troy 11 Democratic Reform and The Trust Factor Anthony Wilson-Smith Bruce Carson WEB DESIGN 15 How the “Fair Elections Act” Backfired Nicolas Landry and Helped Defeat the Harper Government [email protected] 18 Adam Dodek SOCIAL MEDIA EDITOR The Political Fire Walking of Senate Reform Grace MacDonald Michael Chong [email protected] 24 Can We Finally Fix Question Period? GRAPHIC DESIGN & PRODUCTION Monica Thomas CANADA AND THE WORLD [email protected] 26 Jeremy Kinsman Policy Trudeau’s Summitry Marathon—Impact Without the Pirouettes Yaroslav Baran Policy is published six times annually 29 by LPAC Ltd. The contents are After the Fall: Lessons Learned copyrighted, but may be reproduced and Renewing the Conservative Brand with permission and attribution in Velma McColl print, and viewed free of charge at 32 From Copenhagen to Paris: The Hard Work of Multilateralism the Policy home page at Guest Column / Elizabeth May www.policymagazine.ca. 34 The Achievement of the Paris Agreement Printed and distributed by St. Joseph Kelvin Dushnisky Communications, 1165 Kenaston 35 Street, Ottawa, Ontario, K1A 1A4 Anatomy of a Corporate Makeover 37 Jean Patenaude Special thanks to our sponsors Rail Legislation: Unintended Consequences and advertisers. Victor G. Dodig 40 Building Canada’s Modern Economy iStock cover image Column / Don Newman 44 Last Call at Hy’s

Policy 3

From the Editor / L. Ian MacDonald Democratic Reform elcome to our special issue reform during the week the House was civil war.” Trudeau also used the G20, on democratic reform, sitting in December, 41 per cent of APEC and Commonwealth summits, which promises to be a ma- Canadians told EKOS they preferred a as well as COP21 in Paris, as occasions W nd jor agenda item in the 42 Parliament. form of PR, while 25 per cent preferred to build his network with internation- either FPTP or a preferential ballot. al leaders and to declare that “Canada For openers, there’s the Liberals’ repeat- is back” on the world stage. ed vow that the 2015 election would Bruce Carson looks at the controversial be the last to be held under the first- Fair Elections Act and finds that mea- Across the floor from the Liberals, the past-the-post voting system. Contrib- sures designed by the Conservatives to Conservatives now sit as the Opposi- uting Writer David Mitchell considers suppress voter turnout “actually had tion. Contributing Writer and long- a menu of voting options, from some the exact opposite effect as they gal- time Conservative strategist Yaroslav form of proportional representation to vanized both university students and Baran looks at the Tories after the fall, preferential voting to a single transfer- Canada’s indigenous population to and considers their prospects for re- able vote. He also looks at the question obtain the identification required un- newal. “The first tenet is that there are of mandatory voting, as in Australia, as der the Act and vote in numbers never no quick fixes in politics,” he writes. well as on-line voting. “An emerging before seen in a federal election.” “Second, Parliament matters.” The generation of young Canadians,” he Conservatives “must take their Offi- University of Ottawa professor and writes, “seems intent on being able to cial Opposition role seriously and put constitutional author Adam Dodek exercise their democratic franchise in in the work.” And third, tone, which considers what to do about the Sen- the same manner in which they now Rona Ambrose has already trans- ate, beginning with Justin Trudeau’s increasingly live: online.” formed with “sunny ways” of her own. creation of an Independent Advisory Jennifer Smith, former chair of po- Board to recommend non-partisan From Paris and COP21, Contributing litical science at Dalhousie, offers a appointments by the PM. The larger Writer Velma McColl takes us through spirited defence of the FPTP system, challenge, Dodek writes, is that “the the marathon negotiation of 195 which, she asserts, has served Canada Senate is not an expert panel of inde- countries that finally led to the Paris well for a century and a half. “Those pendent, diverse voices, although it Agreement on December 12. Green who support a robust version of PR in may serve this function at times, and Party Leader Elizabeth May shares her the expectation that it will underpin serve it well. The Senate is a critical thoughts on the climate change ac- progressive coalition governments for- and constitutional part of the day-to- cord in a guest column from Paris. ever,” she writes, “had best be careful day process of legislating in Canada.” what they wish for.” e also offer three interest- Conservative MP Michael Chong, au- ing business pieces in this Pollster Frank Graves of EKOS has thor of the Reform Act, looks at sev- issue. Barrick Gold Presi- eral aspects of democratic reform, W done extensive research over the years dent and CEO Kelvin Dushnisky on public trust in politicians and the from the election of committee chairs shares his thoughts on his company’s political system. He finds that while to whether and a new parliamentary corporate makeover in response to the trust reached historic lows under the election system should be submitted challenge of declining gold prices. For- Harper government, Canadians have a to a referendum. mer CN vice-president Jean Patenaude high degree of optimism for the new looks at the unintended consequences n our Canada and the World sec Trudeau government. of railway regulatory legislation. And tion, veteran diplomat Jeremy CIBC President and CEO Victor Dodig “Six in 10 Canadians hold a positive Kinsman looks at Trudeau’s out- I writes that innovation is the key to outlook on the health of democracy, of-the-gate world tour. The new prime growing the economy. “To put it sim- which may reflect just how far basic minister’s first weeks in government ply,” he writes, “innovators are all barometers of trust in government featured a whirlwind of global sum- about finding new and better ways of and democracy had descended under mits and conferences. And not all of it creating value.” Harper’s watch,” Graves writes. “What was scripted. “At the G20,” he writes, is remarkable about this indicator “terrorism in Paris launched a wide- Finally, columnist Don Newman is how this newfound optimism is ranging discussion of how to confront writes about last call at Hy’s and the shared by Canadians of every region, and defeat ISIL, while engaging the closing of an Ottawa institution, one gender, age group, and educational global refugee crisis, so aggravated where pols and journos alike checked cohort.” Asked about parliamentary by the seemingly intractable Syrian their guns at the door. Cheers.

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Conservative Leader Rona Ambrose and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau drag a supposedly reluctant Geoff Regan to the Speaker’s chair after his election on December 3, the first day of sitting of the last Parliament to be elected by the first-past-the post system. Adam Scotti photo Farewell, First-Past-the-Post? David Mitchell

Among the most significant of Justin Trudeau’s cam- overnments are—and should paign promises, now the mandate of Minister of Demo- be—judged by whether or not G they keep their promises. Sure, cratic Institutions Maryam Mosef, is the plan to replace there’s usually a bit of wiggle room, es- Canada’s first-past-the-post electoral system. As policy pecially when facts and circumstances change. Canada’s new Liberal govern- veteran David Mitchell writes, reforming democracy ment has already adjusted the timeline can be one of the greatest tests of democracy. With the for welcoming 25,000 Syrian refugees promise of a new system by 2019 now in the policy into the country, taking the time to get it right, and it appears they’ve mostly pipeline and his opponents demanding a referendum, been forgiven for doing so. will Trudeau be able to reform the very system that got The Trudeau government’s ambitious him elected? agenda is built on hundreds of policy goals and promises. Spelled out in the Liberal election platform, these were

January/February 2016 6 reinforced in ministers’ mandate letters and, in some cases, re-articu- Perhaps the government’s most significant promise is lated in the December Speech from the now oft-stated pledge that 2015 will be the last the Throne. federal election conducted under the first-past-the-post Democratic reform is one of the major voting system. Indeed, for many, this represents the holy grail themes of the new government’s to- of democratic reform. However, this promise will almost do list. Some of these commitments certainly be easier said than done. relate to the style and approach of governing, such as strengthening the openness and fairness of public institutions, committing to transparent, merit-based appointments, and opinions on this will be sharply di- resentatives and governments have helping to ensure that women and vided in our country. actually received a mandate from a minorities will be better represented But some will ask why we should majority of voters. In a multi-party in leadership positions. modify a voting system that has es- democracy such as Canada, this is the exception to the rule under our cur- More specific promises include sentially served Canada since the rent system. While some members of bringing forward a new process for country was founded. parliament are elected with a major- non-partisan Senate appointments; The answer, for advocates of reform, ity of votes in their ridings, close and strengthening the independence of is to make every vote count, ensure competitive races among several can- parliamentary committees and end- no voter feels they’ve “wasted” their didates allow most MPs to win elec- ing the inappropriate use of omnibus ballot, and guarantee that all elected tion with much less than 50 percent bills and prorogation. The Liberals representatives—and all govern- support. This raises fears among vot- have also vowed to reform question ments—have the clear support of a ers of “splitting the ballot” and some- period so that all ministers, including majority of voters. times gives rise to strategic voting. the prime minister, are held to greater account. Likewise, political parties can and do An emerging form majority governments without But perhaps the government’s most winning a majority of the votes cast. significant promise is the now oft- generation of young Canadians seems intent on Only two of the last 10 majority gov- stated pledge that 2015 will be the ernments in Canada garnered more last federal election conducted under being able to exercise their than 50 percent of the vote. In the the first-past-the-post voting system. democratic franchise in the most recent federal election, the Lib- Indeed, for many, this represents same manner that they now erals won a majority of seats in the the holy grail of democratic reform. increasingly live: online. House of Commons with 39.5 per- However, this promise will almost cent of the vote. certainly be easier said than done. This raises an interesting and impor- The mandate letter for the Minister tant question: why would a govern- of Democratic Institutions Maryam Our first-past-the-post voting system ment elected using the present sys- Monsef establishes the goal as a top is both obviously flawed and also a tem seek to replace it, especially when priority, charging her to: “Bring for- misnomer. In fact, there is no post. doing so carries a risk of uncertainty? ward a proposal to establish a par- The term actually refers to a horse In fact, this is one of the reasons why liamentary committee to consult on race, where the winner is the first to the status quo has prevailed for so electoral reform, including preferen- reach the finish line, or post. When long. And there’s also another essential ballots, proportional representa- applied to democratic elections, tial question: what change would de- tion, mandatory voting and online it could more aptly be called the monstrably be for the better? voting.” “winner-takes-all” system, where the candidate receiving the most votes, Several Canadian provinces have The latter is likely inevitable. An had lively discussions about elec- emerging generation of young Cana- regardless of the percentage of total votes cast, is declared the victor. toral reform and in the last decade dians seems intent on being able to three have asked their citizens by exercise their democratic franchise in While increasingly archaic, this system is still used in a few large democ- referendum or plebiscite to consider the same manner that they now in- new systems of voting. In Prince Ed- creasingly live: online. racies such as the United States, the United Kingdom, India and Canada. ward Island (2005), British Columbia Mandatory voting is a controversial (2005 and 2009) and Ontario (2007), proposition that appears to work in he primary argument for voters failed to approve proposals some jurisdictions, such as Austra- changing this system is to for reform. In each case, a very high lia. However, it’s safe to assume that T guarantee that elected rep- “super-majority” of 60 percent was

Policy 7 required to approve the change, the asks voters to rank candidates on the of preferential voting called the single argument being that it shouldn’t be ballot. If no candidate wins a major- transferable ballot. The Liberals and either simple or easy to reform some- ity of first choices, the last-place can- Conservatives believed that their re- thing as fundamental to democracy didate is dropped off the ballot and spective supporters would rank them as the way we vote. It should be not- those votes are distributed based on as first and second choices, denying ed that the B.C. 2005 referendum al- second choices. The process con- the CCF a victory. tinues until one candidate achieves most met that perhaps unreasonably What the coalition partners had not more than 50 percent support. high threshold, with 57 percent vot- considered were the unanticipated ing in favour of change. consequences of their reform. The The provincial experience suggests It also seems clear public quarrelling that preceded their that if the new federal government that the committee separation had disenchanted many wanted to kill its own promise for will be looking at two basic voters, a significant number of whom action on this file, it could simply options: preferential ballots also resented being told how to mark give in to those critics—including their novel new election ballots. and proportional repre- Conservative Interim Leader Rona In an age before computers, it actu- Ambrose—who suggest that a na- sentation. These two systems, ally took several weeks to tabulate tional referendum should be required in various permutations, are the votes, manually counting the sec- to approve any significant changes currently in use in many ond, third and fourth choices of vot- to the way Canadians vote. Instead, democratic countries. ers. When the final results were con- the Prime Minister has proposed firmed, the province was shocked. A an all-party committee that would political party that had never before bring forward a recommendation for won a single seat in the B.C. legisla- change within 18 months, ensuring ture, Social Credit, had won the larg- that the next federal election in 2019 est number of seats and a minority features a new system. Both systems would represent a significant departure from the current government. The reason? Not posing one. Both may also make it difficult a threat to any of the established, bit- Why would a to elect majority governments on a terly competitive partisans, the vir- government elected consistent basis. The most important tually unknown Social Crediters be- change would likely take the form came a popular second choice among using the present system voters of all parties. seek to replace it, especially of radically different approaches to campaigning during elections, The new premier, W.A.C. Bennett, when doing so carries a risk where cooperation and alliances then engineered the defeat of his of uncertainty? In fact, this among parties would take precedence fledgling government on a popular is one of the reasons why the over personal attacks and negative issue and called an election within status quo has prevailed for advertising. a year. This time he won a majority. And one of his first acts was to repeal so long. And there’s also A cautionary note: it may be instructive to reflect on the only time in Ca- the single transferable ballot law, to another essential question: nadian political history that a reform make future majorities more likely. what change would of this magnitude was actually imple- W.A.C. Bennett, famously known as demonstrably be for the mented. In B.C. in the early 1950s, “Wacky”, remained premier of B.C. better? a coalition government was con- for the next two decades. templating how to disentangle their If there’s a moral to this story, it’s that partnership after more than a decade no one can safely predict the out- in office. The Liberals and Conserva- comes associated with implementing tives had joined together, ostensibly major electoral reforms. And there’s to effect a united war effort; in real- t also seems clear that the com- probably no practical means of assur- ity, they wanted to prevent the CCF mittee will be looking at two ba- ing that changes are irreversible. sic options: preferential ballots (precursor to the NDP) from forming I a government. Their successful po- All of which points to the salient and proportional representation. These two systems, in various permu- litical marriage was now headed for question: will 2015 really be the last tations, are currently in use in many a divorce, but the coalition partners federal election conducted under the democratic countries. Reform purists wanted to ensure that the socialists first-past-the-post voting system? are strongly in favour of proportion- would not win office. Contributing Writer David Mitchell is ality, where a party’s parliamentary In advance of the 1952 provincial an author, political historian and public seats are aligned with their percent- election, the coalition government policy consultant. age of the vote. Preferential voting passed legislation introducing a form [email protected]

January/February 2016 8

Prime Minister Trudeau says the 2015 election was the last under the first-past-the-post system. What’s the alternative? Adam Scotti photo In Defence of Canada’s Electoral System Jennifer Smith

While recent prognostication asserts that the new rime Minister Justin Trudeau says Liberal government’s electoral reform plans, which that the election of October 19, P 2015, is the last to be held under include the abolition of the first-past-the-post voting the single-member-plurality electoral system, could represent an existential threat to the system, or first-past-the-post (FPTP), under which the candidate with the Conservative Party, Dalhousie University political sci- most votes wins. His government aims ence professor Jennifer Smith argues otherwise. “Those to have a new system in place for the who support a robust version of PR in the expectation next election, either some form of proportional representation (PR) or a pref- that it will underpin progressive coalition governments erential ballot. forever,” writes Smith, “had best be careful what they Apparently all kinds of people agree wish for.” with him, many of them political sci-

Policy 9 entists who have been preaching the idea for years. It should be stressed, The advocates of PR argue that it will correct two however, that these advocates of of the most allegedly egregious flaws of the change are champions of PR, not existing system. The first is that voters for the losing the preferential ballot, and there is candidates are not represented by the winning candidate. a big difference between the two. PR This claim is simply wrong. is designed to bring the number of seats the political parties win in the legislature into line with their percentage of the popular vote. By contrast, the preferential ballot simply voted for rival candidates. The under- tive predecessors negotiated with the allows voters in each of the districts standing is that the winning candi- United States). In other words, repre- to rank order the candidates, and bal- date represents the district as a whole sentation on legislative items is not lot counting continues until one of and the people who reside there. a black and white matter. It is unso- the candidates—possibly most vot- phisticated to say that votes for losing candidates are simply “lost” votes ers’ second or third choice—wins. In The representative other words, the preferential ballot is and those who cast them are unrepre- about the candidates, not the politi- does not ask about sented in the system, although it is, of cal parties. voting preferences and then course, true that a winning party with a strong ideological bias may be more In the discussion that follows, I as- turn away constituents who happened to have voted for inclined to display the same orienta- sume that a robust form of PR is on tion across a wider array issue areas offer. The advocates of PR argue that rival candidates. The than a centrist party with an interest- it will correct two of the most alleg- understanding is that the aggregation focus. edly egregious flaws of the existing winning candidate system. The first is that voters for the represents the district as a losing candidates are not represented The second alleged by the winning candidate. This claim whole and the people who flaw of the FPTP is simply wrong. The second alleged reside there. flaw is a common misalignment be- electoral system is tween the percentage of the popular misalignment. The recent vote won by a political party and the election produced an percentage of the seats it holds in the excellent example of legislature. This claim is not wrong, hat about representation misalignment in relation to but instead highly misleading. in the legislative role? the Liberal party, which won First is the notion that the winning W Obviously the governing candidate represents only those who party will not represent opponents on 54.5 per cent of the seats in voted for him. Those who voted some specific issues. But it will rep- the House of Commons on for other candidates, often a major- resent them on other issues, for ex- the basis of 39.5 per cent of ity of the voters, apparently are left ample: the few issues on which there the popular vote. high and dry. This is nonsense. The is all-party consensus (like the formal point can be illustrated by reference apology made by former Prime Min- to the Carter decision in 1991, when ister Harper to First Nations people Madame Justice Beverley McLachlin, on the subject of residential schools); writing for the majority, said that issues on which there is overlap or the elected representative has an om- middle ground (like the range of what The second alleged flaw of the FPTP budsman role and a legislative role. is acceptable for budget deficits); is- electoral system is misalignment. The In the ombudsman role, the repre- sues on which opponents agree with recent election produced an excellent sentative helps constituents to gain the party that they decline to support example of misalignment in relation government support for local proj- (like the Keystone pipeline, supported to the Liberal party, which won 54.5 ects, to access government services by the Liberal party and Conservative per cent of the seats in the House of like employment benefits, and to voters); and issues on which parties Commons on the basis of 39.5 per resolve personal disputes in dealings reverse themselves, thereby suddenly cent of the popular vote. The result with government agencies. The rep- representing the views of opponents is not an uncommon occurrence in resentative does not ask about vot- (Prime Minister Chrétien’s conver- Canada and is a consequence of the ing preferences and then turn away sion to the North American Free dynamic that takes place when the constituents who happened to have Trade Agreement that his Conserva- FPTP system meets the multi-party

January/February 2016 10 system. The successful party can take It is all too easy for ambitious, entrepreneurial seat after seat after seat on the basis of pluralities (the most votes, but not politicians to trade on regional grievances and a majority of them), thereby wind- establish a regional party. And the rewards of electoral ing up with a robust majority of seats success in gaining a regional bloc of seats are tempting. on the basis of a plurality of the vote overall. And the reverse occurs as well, when a party loses seat after seat after seat, possibly by very little, yet have totaled nearly 44 per cent. Un- including 1963, when their 20 seats winds up with a tiny minority of seats der a robust system of PR, the seats ended Liberal hopes of gaining a ma- that is fewer than the party’s percent- won by the progressive parties would jority government in that election. age of the popular vote recommends. have matched that figure, while the For its part, the Progressive Conserva- This has often happened to the New Conservative party’s share of the seats tive party was eventually destroyed Democratic Party, and did once again would have dropped to about 40 per by regional parties, the Western- in the recent election, in which the cent. A different outcome indeed. based Reform party under Preston party gained only 13 per cent of the Manning founded in 1987 and the It is easy for PR advocates to do such seats in the House with 19.7 per cent Bloc Québécois founded under Luc- calculations for past elections in a bid of the popular vote. ien Bouchard in 1990. to show that they are unfair by the Advocates of PR benchmark that a party’s percent- None of these regional parties lasted. age of seats won ought to reflect ac- In one way or another, all were reab- keep looking through curately its popular vote share. But sorbed into the established parties. the rearview mirror at past why bother? What can the results of The point is that even the existing elections. past elections, recalculated as if they electoral system cannot discourage were run under a different electoral them. By contrast, a robust form of system, possibly tell us? In my view, PR would positively encourage them. nothing at all, for the very good It is all too easy for ambitious, en- reason that a significant change in here is no doubt that PR can trepreneurial politicians to trade on the electoral system will trigger an correct misalignment. But is regional grievances and establish a equally significant change in politi- misalignment the real is- regional party. And the rewards of cal parties. Within two elections, the T electoral success in gaining a region- sue here? The real issue for PR ad- political-party system will be unrec- vocates is misalignment as it affects al bloc of seats are tempting. What ognizable by today’s standards. the progressive vote. In their minds, might such rewards be? At best, one or more seats in the cabinet of a coali- misalignment is invariably mixed he combination of the FPTP tion government and an opportunity up with the fate of the progressive electoral system and the to secure policies and publicly-fund- vote, almost always diminishing its Westminster system of re- ed projects that favour the region. weight. Why? Because advocates of T sponsible parliamentary government PR keep looking through the rearview sets up significant incentives for dis- The rub for progressives is that re- mirror at past elections. The results of ciplined political parties to aim to be gional parties tend to lump together the general election of May 2011 il- national parties capable of forming voters that cover the left-right spec- lustrate that point. majority party governments. And trum under the banner of the region. In that election, the Conservative often they succeed, as did the Con- In other words, regional parties tend party won 54.4 per cent of the seats servatives in 2011 and the Liberals to suppress the progressive faction in the House on the basis of 39.5 per in 2015. But not always. Canada is of their support because they are an cent of the popular vote, almost ex- an exceptionally large country com- amalgam of so many other voices, actly the result that the Liberals got prised of distinct regions that can fearful conservative and regionally- this time around. (Political scientist defeat efforts at national integration. preoccupied voices among them. In Peter Russell says such results pro- Regional parties began with the Pro- sum, those who support a robust ver- duce “false majorities.”) By contrast, gressives, mostly from Western Can- sion of PR in the expectation that it the NDP got 33.0 per cent of the seats ada, who broke away from the Liberal will underpin progressive coalition with 30.6 per cent of the popular party under the leadership of William governments forever had best be vote and the Liberals managed only Lyon Mackenzie King and gained 60 careful what they wish for. 11.0 per cent of the seats with 18.9 seats in the general election of 1921, per cent of the popular vote. The thereby depriving King of a major- Jennifer Smith is a professor emeritus, Greens got 0.3 per cent of the seats ity government. Between 1962 and former chair of Political Science and (1) with 3.9 per cent of the popular 1979, the Ralliement des créditistes former Eric Dennis Memorial Chair at vote. If the progressive popular vote under Réal Caouette gained seats in Dalhousie University. had been amalgamated, it would Quebec in every general election, [email protected]

Policy 11 Democratic Reform and

% who say HIGH LEVEL (5, 6, or 7) The Trust Factor Nurses 86 Frank Graves Doctors 82 Scientists 77 The lack of public trust in governmentSmall businessand democratic owners some of the key trust65 and legitimacy Public servants indicators. 42We also have some time- institutions has influenced a range of social and politi- ly new data on public preferences cal phenomena from the Occupy movementJournalists to Donald among some38 of the key proposals for Trump’s presidential candidacy. But asUnion pollster members Frank democratic34 reform. Graves reports, the recent election of a new LiberalPollsters gov- 1) Documenting32 the impacts of Election 42 on key barometers ernment has been accompanied by a resurgenceBankers of public 25 of democratic health trust in democracy. The question is, will itUnion last? leaders We21 thought it useful to ask Cana- Executives of large businesses 16dians if and how they thought the Politicians 9 world would be any different because rust has become a scarce soci- public responses taken in the after- of this electoral choice. The answer is 0 20 40 60 80 100 etal resource and there is a glow of a broadly satisfying election that the public sees this as the begin- T particular paucity of trust in will undoubtedly understate the true ning of a sea change; a profound shift government and democracy. This extent of the public appetite for dem- in the very character of the country. isn’t a recent problem and the decline ocratic renewal. Six in 10 Canadians hold a positive of trust has been a steady downward Before situating the current public outlook on the health of democracy, march for the past 40 years in upper landscape in a broader historical con- which may reflect just how far basic North America. As late as 2014, only about one in four citizens believed text, we want to begin by looking at barometers of trust in government they could trust their federal govern- some important new data. The new and democracy had descended un- ments (in either Ottawa or Washing- data show some profound shifts in der Harper’s watch. What is remark- ton) to do the right thing. Contrary to views that this precipitous decline in trust is caused by specific events (e.g., Watergate, the sponsorship A Democratic Boom? scandal), the evidence shows that Q. How would you rate the overall health of democracy at the federal level in Canada? there are much bigger cultural forces at play. 59 60 57 53 In this brief essay, we want to iden- 52 52 tify the broader historical field that 49 50 has produced this problem and then 45 45 look at how recent political history 37 may be altering the prospects for a 40 healthier, more legitimate democra- 38 38 34 35 cy. It will also be instructive to look 30 33 at some of the specific ideas being 27 26 20 17 proposed as solutions to the mal- 15 15 aise that has infected contemporary 11 11 12 12 11 democracy. We do note that the re- 10 cent Canadian election has produced 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 something of a democratic boom and it is unclear whether those effects 26 15 57 are ephemeral or more durable. It is important to separate recent events Unhealthy (1-3) Neither (4) Healthy (5-7) from the broader historical field and recognize that any assessment of the BASE: Canadians; December 7-10, 2015 (n=1,956), MOE +/- 2.2%, 19 times out of 20

January/February 2016 12 able about this indicator is how this newfound optimism is shared by Ca- Whatever the long-term consequences of the recent nadians of every region, gender, age 42nd federal election, we can document a dramatic group, and educational cohort. shift in some of the basic barometers of democratic health. Whatever the long-term consequenc- We would urge caution in over-reading the lasting es of the recent 42nd federal elec- significance of these shifts but they are indeed impressive. tion, we can document a dramatic shift in some of the basic barometers of democratic health. We would urge caution in over-reading the lasting sig- very ambitious program of demo- Australia since 1924, is that it solves nificance of these shifts but they are cratic renewal. In this final section the problem of low voter turnout. Ob- indeed impressive. People cite demo- we look at some of the evolution of viously, one would prefer a situation craticDecember renewal as one of the areas in 28.1 12 public attitudes59 to these measures, as where the vast majority turn out vol- which they2015 expect profound improve- well as a few that they haven’t made untarily (as in the case of Denmark, ments from theBASE: new Canadians; government. December 7-10,We 2015 (n=1,956), MOE +/- 2.2%, 19 times out of 20 as prominent. for example) but one could argue see basic confidence and national di- May that the inventory of evils associated rection reaching high points for the 2015 27.9 13 2) Potential fixes:58 The evolution of with the new permanent campaign past 12 years. We also see some basic public attitudes to improving BASE: Canadians; May 12-19, 2015 (n=2,331), MOE +/- 2.0%, 19 times out of 20 of get out (and keep home) the vote tracking of ‘democratic health’ tip- democratic health has risen to a point where this more ping the outlook from clear majority September Not surprisingly, we have seen pub- drastic measure is necessary. Nota- mistrust to clear majority31 trust. 11 56 2014 lic receptivity to a number of fixes to bly, turnout in Australia is around This improvedBASE: outlook Canadians; is a positiveSeptember de21-25,- 2014improve (n=1,549), this MOE serious +/- 2.5%, problem. 19 times out ofThese 20 90 per cent and the measure enjoys velopment but we should be very cau- range from sweeping ideas such as the support of around 80 per cent in December tious in assuming that32 the structural13 replacing political52 parties to more polls. The system doesn’t seem to fa- 2013 common suggestions including mov- issues that produced mistrust have vour any particular party. In the long been solved by a shift from grumpy to ing from first-past-the-post to propor- run, parties must consider platforms sunny. The real test of the significance tional representation. Oppose (1-3) Neither (4) Support (5-7) and campaigns that focus on all vot- of these dramatic upticks will only be- The idea of mandatory voting is sup- ers rather than just narrow-casting to come clear as citizens observe the new ported by a clear majority, although specific segments. government and its impact on democ- it is opposed by around one-third. racy and public institutions. The most attractive feature of this Notably, turnout in The new government has laid out a measure, which has been in place in Australia is around 90 per cent and the measure enjoys the support of around Preferred Electoral System 80 per cent in polls. The Q. Please rank these three systems from best to worst in terms of how beneficial you think they would be for Canada. system doesn’t seem to favour any particular party. Some form of proportional representation In the long run, parties must 41 30 17 12 consider platforms and campaigns that focus on all Canada's existing first-past the post-system voters rather than just narrow-casting to specific 25 23 42 10 segments.

A preferential voting system

25 34 27 15 Even though people are much more sanguine about democratic health, they still desire some major changes Best option for Canada Second-best option for Canada to the way democracy works. The Worst option for Canada DK/NR new government has said they will BASE: Canadians (online only); December 7-10, 2015 (n=1,811), MOE +/- 2.3%, 19 times out of 20 explore mandatory voting but they

Policy

59 60 57 53 52 52 49 13 are committed to ending the first- system, and another 23 per cent said more trusting collectivist society to past-the-post system. Here, we will it was the second best. Equally, 25 per a more individualistic society—one look at how citizens respond to three cent said preferential voting would be that is more wary of the state and major options: the status quo (i.e., the best system, and 34 per cent said public institutions. The deferential first-past-the-post), proportional rep- it would be second best. The current and conformist societies of the post resentation, and preferential ballot. public preferences are quite clear; the Second World War gave way to the We present these are the level of prin- public want to abandon first-past-the- counterculture and protest of the six- ciples rather than detailed design, as post, would prefer proportional repre- ties and seventies — a transformation we feel this is more appropriate given sentation, but could consider a prefer- that continues to this day. While the public literacy on the topic. ential ballot. elimination of the blind trust and conformism under the forces of ris- Support for the status quo—first- In addition to electoral reform, our ing mass education, a more critical past-the-post—is not high. In fact, research has consistently shown two media, and pop culture has produced there is a strong mandate to imple- critical book-ends to improving trust a more aware and critical public, this ment something that more closely re- in government. Our most recent up- shift has also posed huge challenges sembles the democratic ideal that all dates show these two ideas of increas- to governments and democratic insti- votes have equal influence in shaping ing transparency and routine citizen tutions. There is little evidence that electoral outcomes. In approaching engagement continue to evoke very the advent of Internet 1.0, 2.0 and electoral reform, it is clear that vot- strong resonance among the public. beyond has done anything to reverse ers place the highest priority on the The idea of heightened transparency this pattern of very low trust. idea of equality of voter impact. Con- contains the notion of changing gov- sequently, first-past-the-post is least ernment from a black box to a glass preferred and proportional represen- box. The idea of citizen engagement While there are no tation most preferred with preferen- could see a transformation of tradi- doubt democratic tial ballot in between. tional polling to scientific approach- impacts, social media may When we asked approximately 2,000 es that are reflective, representative, Canadians from December 7-10, the and informed. also have a down side when week the House was sitting, fully 41 it comes to democracy. While 3) Broad historical shifts per cent chose some form of propor- Twitter and Facebook are tional representation as the best op- Let’s return to the deep historical certainly inundated with tion for Canada, while another 30 per context in upper North America. cent said it was the second best option. Perhaps the biggest change among political content, some worry As for the existing first-past-the-post a plethora of structural changes in that this replaces true system, 25 per cent said it was the best our society has been the shift from a political action with “click democracy”.

Support for Compulsory Voting Q. A number of countries such as Australia and Brazil have implemented compulsory voting, where citizens are required to vote in elections. Would you oppose or support ur research has shown that introducing compulsory voting in Canada? the public believes that the O Internet and social media are December having a positive impact on democ- 2015 28.1 12 59 racy. Given our analysis, we might BASE: Canadians; December 7-10, 2015 (n=1,956), MOE +/- 2.2%, 19 times out of 20 be less convinced of this. While there are no doubt democratic impacts, so- May cial media may also have a down side 2015 27.9 13 58 when it comes to democracy. While BASE: Canadians; May 12-19, 2015 (n=2,331), MOE +/- 2.0%, 19 times out of 20 Twitter and Facebook are certainly inundated with political content, some September 31 worry that this replaces true political 2014 11 56 action with “click democracy”. BASE: Canadians; September 21-25, 2014 (n=1,549), MOE +/- 2.5%, 19 times out of 20 The most recent changes suggest that December the almost unimaginable decline in 2013 32 13 52 trust in government—which occurred BASE: Canadians; December 12-20, 2013 (n=1,531) MOE +/- 2.5%, 19 times out of 20 in the last half of the twentieth century—continues uninterrupted and has, Oppose (1-3) Neither (4) Support (5-7) perhaps, further eroded in this new

January/February 2016

59 60 57 53 52 52 49 14 century. It is a plus that a more educat- other indicators showing trust in de- trend lines are going down again. We ed and less docile public holds its pub- mocracy plummeting to new lows in have been asking people to rate the lic institutions to account. Not only Canada. Trust in politicians has been overall health of democracy as anoth- does such low trust have dire implica- almost cartoonishly low in Canada. er test of this issue. tions for the basic legitimacy of governments and democracy, the absence 4) Movements in trust over the of trust is also a brake on economic Harper era Stephen Harper productivity. Markets don’t function Stephen Harper inherited govern- inherited government well in the absence of basic trust. ment in a very challenging period, in a very challenging period, It is important to note that the cur- but things only worsened during his but things only worsened rent roots of declining trust are deep rule. This is somewhat ironic as Harp- during his rule. This is and that there are no immediate fixes er took office largely on claims of re- somewhat ironic as Harper for restoring trust in government. storing honesty and transparency and The drivers are ultimately cultural, his initial victory was driven largely took office largely on claims what some have called the rhythms by concerns that the previous Liberal of restoring honesty and of post-materialism, and there is no government had lost touch in terms transparency and his initial evidence that what Neil Nevitte re- of basic accountability and trust is- victory was driven largely ferred to as the decline of deference sues. So these issues can be important has halted since he noted that trend factors in shaping political choice. If by concerns that the 15 years ago. If anything, the decline we were to isolate one factor that is previous Liberal government has continued and perhaps even ac- paramount in driving declining trust had lost touch in terms of celerated among the younger half of in government, it would be that the basic accountability and the population. public interest has become subordi- nate to other interests. trust issues. We have been talking about trust in government but the new post-materi- We noted that the roots of the de- alist outlook also provides scant trust cline in trust in government and to business and professions (notably democracy were deep and that this The pattern here is both clear and mistrustful of bigger, not smaller busi- phenomenon was not unique to troubling. While we were leaning to nesses). The mistrust in government is Canada. We also note that while the see democracy as somewhat healthy much more focused on politicians and major declines occurred in the 1970s in early 2009 (by a margin of 45 per political parties, not officials. We have and 1980s, there is evidence that the cent to 37 per cent), this had steadily eroded to the rather dismal reading we got in 2013 where just over one-quar- ter of the public saw democracy as Trust In Occupations healthy and, for the first time, a clear Q. How much trust do you have in each of the following? majority said our democracy was sick. % who say HIGH LEVEL (5, 6, or 7) So, while the Harper government was by no means responsible for the poor Nurses 86 democratic health of the country, it Doctors 82 didn’t help. We will see some major Scientists 77 shifts on this indicator later. Small business owners 65 In conclusion, the democratic mal- aise gripping Canada in this century Public servants 42 seems to have improved, at least in Journalists 38 the short run. The appetite for renewal, however, is still strong and, Union members 34 ultimately, the new government’s Pollsters 32 success in producing democratic Bankers 25 progress will be judged on the agenda of innovation that it and Canadian Union leaders 21 citizens hold for the future. Executives of large businesses 16 Frank Graves is President and CEO Politicians 9 of EKOS Research, one of Canada’s 0 20 40 60 80 100 leading polling and public opinion BASE: Canadians; January 22-27, 2014 (n=1,501) research companies. [email protected]

Policy 15

Assembly of First Nations Chief Perry Bellegarde predicted indigenous voters could affect the outcome in 51 ridings. Strong First Nations and youth voter turnout, partly in protest to the vouching provisions of the Fair Elections Act, helped seal the fate of the Conservatives. Adam Scotti photo How the “Fair Elections Act” Backfired and Helped Defeat the Harper Government Bruce Carson

The Conservative government’s Fair Elections Act, one ection three of Canada’s of the most controversial pieces of legislation of the fi- Charter of Rights and Free- S doms states that “every citizen nal years of the Harper era, was a pre-election gambit of Canada has the right to vote in an designed to disenfranchise key constituencies, hamstring election of members of the House of the Chief Electoral Officer and re-write election spending Commons or of a legislative assem- rules in a way that many thought was intended to ben- bly and be qualified for membership therein.” So when Pierre Poilievre, efit the incumbent regime. It backfired. then Minister of State for Democratic Reform, in February 2014 introduced

January/February 2016 16 the Fair Elections Act in the House of Commons, one would naturally have Almost three pages of the Liberal election platform assumed that such legislation would were dedicated to the topic of “open and fair build on the Charter right to vote. elections,” proposing to repeal the sections of the Fair One could believe that a bill bearing Elections Act which they found most egregious. such a title would make it easier for Canadian citizens to vote and address other matters that needed to be fixed in the Canada Elections Act. Committee of Political Parties in the was diminished by this bill. The time between the bill’s introduc- Canada Elections Act. The purpose Dealing with the areas that drew the tion and its receiving Royal Assent of this committee is to provide the most comments, the Act made signif- on June 19, 2014, was just over four CEO with advice and recommenda- icant changes to campaign financing months. However, the issues raised tions relating to elections and po- rules. Individual contribution lim- in this attempt to amend the Cana- litical financing. In the days when Jean-Marc Hamel was CEO (1966- its were increased, as were election da Elections Act dominated political spending limits for political parties, 1990), such an ad hoc advisory group discourse in a fashion heretofore un- candidates and nomination contes- met with Hamel on a fairly regular seen, at least in recent memory, par- tants. There was even a clause that basis ironing out issues before they ticularly on a bill purportedly bring- allowed for incremental increases became problematic either for the ing a greater degree of fairness to in spending limits should the elec- parties or Hamel. In the years since Canada’s electoral system. tion period last longer than 37 days. his departure, such a group was con- When the October 19 election was There is no question that the bill was sulted irregularly. called on August 4, the conventional wide-ranging, attempting to provide wisdom was that this clause would answers to a number of recommenda- There was even a benefit the Conservatives, as they tions contained in reports and studies had the largest bank account. Events from Elections Canada and the House clause that allowed proved otherwise. of Commons Procedure and House for incremental increases in Affairs Committee. spending limits should the Attempts in the bill to limit communications by the CEO with voters were During the study of this bill, the op- election period last longer just plain stupid. While the original position parties raised a number of than 37 days. When the proposal was changed somewhat in objections and offered amendments October 19 election was committee, this is an area that should concentrating on five significant -ar called on August 4, the be reviewed by the new government. eas. There were many more criticisms conventional wisdom was The CEO should be able to engage in and many more areas where amend- public education in order to increase ments were proposed, but it is these that this clause would benefit the number of votes cast in an elec- areas that stand out and in fact al- the Conservatives, as they tion. The CEO should be able to deal most three pages of the Liberal elec- had the largest bank with Canadians regarding the right to tion platform were dedicated to the account. Events proved vote and the importance of exercis- topic of “open and fair elections,” ing this right. proposing to repeal the sections of otherwise. the Fair Elections Act which they he position of the Commis- found most egregious. sioner of Canada Elections The five areas that drew the major- T has changed as a result of the f there was an overarching ity of comments were: proposals to Act. The Commissioner, while still theme to the criticism raised eliminate vouching as a means of responsible for investigations of al- about this bill, it was that it tilted voter identification; the raising of I leged offences under the CEA, is campaign finance limits; communi- the electoral playing field in the direc- now appointed by the Director of cations between the Chief Electoral tion of the Conservative government Public Prosecutions (DPP) for a non- Officer (CEO) and voters; the role of and even if it didn’t go that far, it at renewable term of seven years. The the Commissioner of Canada Elec- the very least addressed a number of position of the Commissioner is now tions; and the imposition of provi- matters that had irritated the govern- within the Office of the DPP. While sions dealing with robocalls. ment for some time. Marc Mayrand, the Commissioner took great excep- the CEO who was appointed by the tion to this change during committee One series of amendments that did Conservative government, in inter- hearings, it could be of some benefit not provoke serious objections were views and committee appearances, in the long run. One of the main those that entrenched an Advisory indicated that the role of the CEO criticisms of Elections Canada is the

Policy 17 interminably long time that investi- tial damage that could have resulted effects of the Anti-Terror Act on in- gations take and if the move to put from changes to the vouching pro- digenous protests and the platforms the Commissioner in with the DPP visions far outweighs any benefit. of the Liberals and NDP, which spe- can speed up this process, it would be These changes, when added to the cifically addressed indigenous issues, an improvement. The Trudeau gov- elimination of the Voter Informa- spurred on Canada’s indigenous peo- ernment should review this part of tion Card as valid proof of iden- ples to exercise their right to vote. the Act to determine if this move has tity, became the lightning rod for resulted in efficiencies. The govern- those who opposed the Act. In the These provisions of ment should also consider broaden- words of CEO Mayrand, “Eliminat- ing the investigatory tools available ing vouching and the information the Act, designed to to the DPP. card would do little to improve the suppress voter turnout, integrity of the voting process and actually had the exact hile it may be too early have taken away the ability of many opposite effect as they to conclude that the new qualified electors to vote.” While galvanized both university W provisions set out in the changes were made to allow a lim- Act were effective in relation to ro- ited form of vouching with regard to students and Canada’s bocalls, at this point, given the lack addresses through an oath system, indigenous population to of complaints, it may be concluded the damage had been done. obtain the identification that they provided a significant chill so that a situation comparable to the An unsuccessful court challenge was required under the Act and 2011 election in the Guelph constitu- brought seeking an injunction. How- vote in numbers never before ency did not arise. When this part is ever, when dealing with the case, seen in a federal election. reviewed, the role of the Canadian Judge David Stinson of the Ontario Radio-Television and Telecommuni- Superior Court stated, “There is a risk cations Commission should be ex- that some individuals who would amined. The CRTC was inserted here otherwise rely on the Voter Identifi- because of its expertise dealing with cation Card to enable them to vote hen the final chapter is telemarketers and a review should fo- will be unable to do so, which would written on the 2015 gen- cus on whether the CRTC is the right result in irreparable harm.” W eral election, no doubt entity to police robocalls, or whether many political analysts will say the it should fall within the jurisdiction It is arguable that these provisions of tipping point occurred during the of the Commissioner and the DPP. the Act, designed to suppress voter campaign. They will argue that it turnout, actually had the exact op- could have been the leaders’ debates, While it may be arguable that some posite effect as they galvanized both the lack of new policy ideas from the of the above noted changes brought university students and Canada’s in- Conservatives, the Syrian refugee cri- about by the Act have some legiti- digenous population to obtain the sis, the niqab controversy or the final macy, there is no valid reason behind identification required under the Act Conservative grasp for votes via the the changes brought about to the and vote in numbers never before barbaric cultural practices snitch line. vouching provisions of the Canada seen in a federal election. Elections Act other than to suppress I would argue that the tipping point the votes of certain groups. Before the election was called, Perry came more than a year before the Bellegarde, national chief of the As- election was called with the pas- There is no valid sembly of First Nations stated quite sage of the Fair Elections Act, which unequivocally that the results in 51 reason behind the spurred on those whom the Act at- ridings could be affected by a strong tempted to disenfranchise to cast changes brought about to turnout of indigenous voters. He was their ballots against the party that at- the vouching provisions of tapping into an anger that had been tempted to silence them. the Canada Elections Act growing for some time. The First Na- tions’ Rock the Vote movement was Bruce Carson, writer of the daily online other than to suppress the in full swing, ensuring that record The Morning Brief, was senior policy votes of certain groups. numbers of First Nation members adviser to Prime Minister Harper from were being registered and would have 2006-2008 and an adviser to the House the identification necessary to enable of Commons Special Committee on them to vote. In some communities, Electoral Reform from 2006-2009. Arguments came from the Con- voting increased by 270 per cent over He is the author of 14 Days: Making servatives that these changes were 2011 numbers. The Fair Elections the Conservative Movement in necessary to protect the integrity Act, which they believed was drafted Canada, McGill Queen’s University of the electoral system. The poten- to suppress their vote, the possible Press (2014). [email protected]

January/February 2016 18

Governor General David Johnston reads the Speech from the Throne in the Senate Red Chamber on December 4. The Trudeau government has created an Independent Advisory Board to recommend Senate appointments to the Prime Minister. Adam Scotti photo The Political Fire Walking of Senate Reform Adam Dodek

Both Stephen Harper and Justin Trudeau believed that he Trudeau government’s they had to change the way senators were appointed. Senate reform plan is clearly T a work in progress. It is emerg- That is where their agreement on Senate reform ended. ing in pieces, apparently without Prime Minister Harper adopted an all-or-nothing ap- much consultation with the Senate proach, trying to radically alter the Senate while still itself. controlling its internal affairs. Prime Minister Trudeau In December, Government House has embraced a plan to reform the Senate from the out- Leader Dominic LeBlanc and Min- side as well as the inside. From the outset, he faces a ister of Democratic Institutions Maryam Monsef announced various two-term proposition of playing the math and fighting components of what will eventually an ingrained institutional culture. be the Trudeau plan for Senate ap-

Policy 19 pointments. They have also publicly The Harper government’s response was to turn its floated several trial balloons such as having ministers appear before the back on Senate reform, take its ball and walk away. Senate for questioning and overhaul- For a decade, it displayed absolutely no interest in internal ing the Senate’s rules. reform of the Senate. The Harper government did not want In contrast, the Harper government’s a better Senate, it demanded an entirely different Senate. Senate reform plan was clear. It was also grand (if not grandiose), unilat- eral and ultimately unconstitutional, date Trudeau. But it was a move that ments advisory committees, such as as declared by the Supreme Court of was not thought out as to its impact Ontario’s, which submits a shortlist Canada in April 2014. The Harper on a future-Prime Minister Trudeau. of recommended candidates to the government’s response was to turn With the election 22 months in the Attorney General for judicial ap- its back on Senate reform, take its ball future, that was understandable. pointment. But there are many ques- and walk away. For a decade, it dis- tions about how this committee will played absolutely no interest in inter- Now, the Senate is Justin Trudeau’s operate, such as whether it will internal reform of the Senate. The Harper problem. view candidates. government did not want a better Senate, it demanded an entirely dif- aving diagnosed the Senate’s The next step in the process will be ferent Senate. This radical reformist problem as partisanship, the appointment of a “government approach made many small-c con- Trudeau is set to fix that. The representative” (but not a “Govern- servatives as well as some capital-c H first two moves were contradictory: ment Leader”) from among five new Conservatives deeply uncomfortable. on the same day that he announced independent senators to be appoint- A more anti-Burkean approach could an independent advisory body to ed in January. How this new sena- not be imagined. oversee a merit-based, non-parti- tor, completely unfamiliar with the san appointment process, Trudeau Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and procedures of the Red Chamber, will made a very partisan appointment his advisers are clearly absorbing steer government legislation through for Speaker of the Senate. The ap- some of the lessons that the Sen- a Senate with no government mem- pointment of George Furey from ate taught the Harper Conservatives bers but with a majority of opposi- Newfoundland and Labrador was a over the past decade, among them tion members, remains to be seen. political necessity, but it was deeply that it cannot simply be ignored in unpopular with senators who had ex- the hope that Canadians won’t no- In actuality, the Trudeau govern- tice its bad behaviour. pressed their desire to elect their own ment’s goal of eradicating partisan- Speaker, as their House of Commons ship is likely both unobtainable and Both Harper and Trudeau saw the counterparts are able to do (the Con- undesirable. legitimacy of the Senate as the prob- stitution provides that the Speaker of lem. However, their diagnoses of the the House is elected and the Speak- cause of the problem are fundamen- er of the Senate is appointed by the Between 2016 and tally different. For Harper and his Re- Governor General, on the advice of 2019, there will form-based supporters, the problem the cabinet). Facing a Conservative only be 24 additional with the Senate was its undemocrat- majority in the Senate, the Trudeau vacancies, of which only 10 ic character. The solution therefore government could not permit this. was to make senators elected and They were also unwilling to allow the will be Conservative establish term limits. For Trudeau “independent Liberals” to nominate retirements. So, Trudeau and those around him, the Senate’s one of their own because that would will only be able to appoint problem is politics itself. They want have meant recognizing their for- 46 “new” senators, still to take politics out of the Senate. Or mer caucus compatriots, which they perhaps more accurately, they want were also not prepared to do. In the leaving a majority of old- to take the Senate out of Liberal Par- event, the PM maintained the very school partisans in the Red ty politics. unreformed tradition of choosing the Chamber. Speaker of the Senate himself. In January 2014, Justin Trudeau expelled all Liberal senators from the The proposed Independent Advisory party’s caucus. “There are no more Board draws inspiration from the suc- Liberal senators,” Trudeau declared. cessful Advisory Committee on Vice- It is unobtainable at least in the near It was a bold move that demonstrated Regal Appointments established by term due to numbers. There are 105 leadership and succeeded in neutral- Harper. It also shares features with seats in the Senate. The Conserva- izing the Senate as an issue for candi- some provincial judicial appoint- tive Party currently has 47 members,

January/February 2016 20 the formerly-Liberal senators num- Trudeau’s plan for Senate reform is at The benefit of now-reviled partisan- ber 29 and there are 7 independents. least a two-term project. ship is that it enables the organiza- That leaves 22 vacancies for Trudeau tion of individual members into dif- to fill. Those 47 Conservative sena- he other challenge is politi- ferent permanent blocs that make tors are the main stumbling block to cal culture. It will take more conducting business more manage- eradicating partisanship in the Sen- than rule changes and ap- able. In short, partisanship facilitates ate. But Trudeau should not underes- T pointing independent senators to the efficient transaction of legisla- timate the desire of the 29 formerly- take the partisanship out of the Sen- tive business. Of course, that efficacy Liberal senators to remain Liberals. ate. Trudeau may not want the Liber- can go to extremes, stifle debate and Their response to Trudeau’s January al senators but they stubbornly cling prevent the careful consideration of 2014 announcement was not one of to their identity and affiliation as Lib- legislation. But the tension between “liberation”; they did not abandon erals. They have been expelled from independence and efficacy is real. the Liberal caucus and choose to sit the Liberal Party’s caucus but they as independents. They continued to still caucus together. As the Trudeau government faces caucus as a group, although they no the challenge of reforming the Sen- longer felt bound to vote as a bloc. It will be interesting to see what hap- ate over the next few years and pos- They were the opposition, so the pens with the 22 “independent” ap- sibly beyond, it may come to wish stakes were low. pointments that the Prime Minister that the Supreme Court had been n attempting a Senate make- is likely to make in 2016. Politics is more flexible on the Harper plan for over, Trudeau is confronted by a team sport; it is not long distance senatorial term limits. That might I a demographic challenge. Attri- running. There are only so many have made things much easier. For tion—which is often a policy maker’s mavericks who have the personality Trudeau, the Senate will be a con- best friend—will not assist Trudeau as to be lone wolves. Most of us want tinuous work in progress. much as could be expected. Harper’s and like to be part of a group. Espe- senators are young. Many of those 47 cially those who are attracted to pub- Adam Dodek is Associate Professor Conservative Senators will be around lic service. of Law at the University of Ottawa for decades. The senators that Harper and co-director of its Public Law appointed were very different in vin- Eradicating partisanship may also be Group. He is the author of The tage than those appointed by his pre- undesirable. What the Trudeau gov- Canadian Constitution (Dundurn, decessor, Jean Chrétien, who often ernment will have to come to grips 2013) and most recently The Politics appointed people in their late 60s to with is that the Senate is not an ex- of the Senate Reform Reference: the Red Chamber. pert panel of independent, diverse Fidelity, Frustration, and Federal voices, although it may serve this Unilateralism (2015) 60 McGill Trudeau may not function at times, and serve it well. Law Journal 623. want the Liberal The Senate is a critical and constitu- [email protected] senators but they tional part of the day-to-day process stubbornly cling to their of legislating in Canada. It is needed identity and affiliation as to pass the government’s legislation. Liberals. They have been expelled from the Liberal The Senate is not Party’s caucus but they still an expert panel of caucus together. independent, diverse voices, although it may serve this function at times, and serve By my count, between 2016 and it well. The Senate is a 2019, there will only be 24 addi- critical and constitutional tional vacancies, of which only 10 part of the day-to-day will be Conservative retirements. So, Trudeau will only be able to ap- process of legislating in point 46 “new” senators, still leaving Canada. It is needed to a majority of old-school partisans in pass the government’s the Red Chamber. Between 2020 and legislation. 2023, there are only another 18 mandatory retirements. Which means

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2100, rue Drummond Montréal (Québec) H3G 1X1 09/10/15_09:50 Client : VIA Rail Nº 111139040 Format du PAP : 100% Description : MAGAZINE Nº VIA 5891-15 Trim : 8,5” x 11” Publication : Policy Magazine ( Novembre-Decembre ) Type : 7,5” x 10” ( 0,5” ) Conseillère : Annick F. Bleed : 8,75” x 11,25” ( 0,125” ) Infographiste : Eric L. Visible : N/A Nom du fichier : 111139040_VIA_5891-15_Policy_Magazine_Nov-Dec_Fr.indd Les sorties laser ne reflètent pas fidèlement les couleurs telles qu’elles paraîtront Couleur : CMJN sur le produit fini. Cette épreuve est utilisée à des fins de mise en page seulement From left to right: John Fraser, MPP for Ottawa-South; the Honourable John McCallum, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship; Robert Pace, Chairman of the Board of Directors of CN; Luc Jobin, Executive Vice-President and Chief Financial Ofﬁ cer of CN; the Honourable Jane Philpott, Minister of Health; and David McGuinty, MP for Ottawa-South.

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3530, boulevard Saint-Laurent, bureau 400, Montréal (Québec) H2X 2V1 t 514 844-2624 tc 514 844-5041 24 Can We Finally Fix Question Period? Michael Chong

As many observers predicted at the time, the introduction of television cameras to the House of Commons in 1977 gradually changed the daily ritual of question period. In recent years, QP has become more spectacle than substance. Could the reforms promised in the Liberal platform, which closely echo those proposed by MP Michael Chong, make it meaningful again?

he election of a Liberal major- minister in a way that would re- ity brings with it the prospect quire ministers be present two of T of reforms to question pe- the four days to answer questions riod. The Liberal platform promised concerning their portfolio to fortify the use of discipline by the Conservative MP Michael Chong, author of Speaker, allow more time for ques- the Reform Act, thinks fixing Question Period tions and answers, designate a weekly Even after its formal is a priority for democratic reform. House of Commons photo question period for questions to the establishment in prime minister (PMQs) and examine 1964, question period governing the House of Commons. the use of online technologies. continued to evolve. Even after its formal establishment Some of those proposed reforms are Successive Speakers made in 1964, question period continued based on a motion adopted by the House of Commons on October 7, numerous rulings that to evolve. Successive Speakers made 2010. That motion, seconded by 20 established new numerous rulings that established MPs from three different parties, new conventions governing ques- conventions governing tion period. These rulings contrib- tasked the Procedure and House Af- question period. These fairs Committee with exploring re- uted greatly to its evolution over the forms to question period, including: rulings contributed greatly last number of decades. Notably, significant changes to these unwritten - elevating decorum and fortifying to its evolution over the last conventions were made by succes- the use of discipline by the Speaker number of decades. sive Speakers based on agreements - lengthening the amount of time reached in private discussion among given for each question and each fewer than half a dozen MPs in the answer House of Commons (usually the The Procedure and House Affairs - examining the convention that party whips or house leaders) rather Committee did not complete its work the minister questioned need not than by changes to the standing or- before the May 2011 general election respond ders, which require the consent of and the proposed reforms died with - allocating half the questions each the majority of the House. the dissolution of Parliament. day for MPs, whose names and or- There are a number of problems with In recent years, the various propos- der of recognition would be ran- the current conventions and stand- als to reform question period have domly selected ing orders governing question pe- demonstrated a desire among MPs - dedicating Wednesday exclusively riod. The first concerns behaviour. to change this important part of the for questions to the prime minister, In recent years, question period daily routine in the Commons. and has become characterized by boor- - dedicating Monday, Tuesday, Thurs- When Parliament was established in ish behaviour and excessive noise. day and Friday for questions to 1867, question period did not for- The introduction of clapping to the ministers other than the prime mally exist in the standing orders Commons in the 1970s has led to

Policy 25 constant applause and standing ova- tions, often dozens during the 45 While question period was never intended to be like minutes of question period. Further, high tea in the afternoon and a well-timed heckle the standing order concerning irrele- can add much to the to and fro, noise levels and disorder vance and repetition is not enforced. have often become so great that the proceedings have often While question period was never intended to be like high tea in the af- been unintelligible. ternoon and a well-timed heckle can add much to the to and fro, noise levels and disorder have often become period would mandate that minis- who found it difficult to choose from so great that the proceedings have ters respond to questions concerning among the several MPs who would often been unintelligible. their area of responsibility. The 2010 spontaneously rise to be recognized Both the Liberal platform and the motion proposed this reform; the for a question. According to former 2010 motion proposed to fortify the Liberal platform did not. Commons Clerk Robert Marleau, use of discipline by the Speaker. The after private discussions between nother problem with ques- current standing orders governing Speaker Sauvé and the party whips, tion period is the enormous question period provide the Speak- lists of MPs designated to ask ques- amount of resources required er with a great deal of power to ad- A tions were submitted to the Speaker on part of a minister’s offices. The dress these issues. However, previous prior to each day’s Question Period daily routine of preparing, attending Speakers have been reluctant to use by the party whips (or someone des- and debriefing can take up to four these powers, leaving it to MPs to ignated by the party leader). self-regulate. It remains to be seen hours out of a minister’s schedule; whether Speaker Regan will use the time that could be spent on the im- MPs must now request to get on full range of his powers, including portant work of managing a ministe- the party list and have their ques- the naming of members (expulsion), rial portfolio. Out of a typical minis- tions vetted beforehand. Each party to more rigorously enforce order. try of several dozen ministers, fewer submits its list of questioners to the than a dozen will be asked questions Speaker in advance of question peri- At the beginning of the 36th Parlia- in a typical question period. In other od, and the Speaker recognizes those ment in 1997, Speaker Gib Parent words, more than two dozen min- on the list. Many MPs rarely get on held discussions with the house lead- isters and dozens more staff spend the list to ask questions. ers of the five recognized parties in half the working day for naught. If the Commons. They agreed to limit Party leaders, through the party structured differently, question pe- questions and answers to 35 seconds whips and the party lists, have taken riod could provide the same level of in order to accommodate questions control over what used to be a mem- democratic accountability while sig- from all four opposition parties. ber’s right to ask a question as deter- nificantly reducing the time and re- Previously, the time limit had been mined by the Speaker. longer and at the Speaker’s discre- sources required of the ministry. The 2010 motion called for allocating tion. While a substantive question oth the 2010 motion and the half the questions each day for back- and substantive answer can be had Liberal platform proposed to bench MPs, as determined indepen- in 35 seconds or less, the rigidity of B dedicate a weekly question pe- dently by the Speaker. This would re- this time limit has had the effect of riod for questions to the prime min- store the right of MPs to ask questions, encouraging rhetorical questions and ister. By adopting weekly PMQs and answers over substantive ones. a right that was lost when the party a rotating schedule for the remain- lists were implemented. It is interest- Both the Liberal platform and the ing ministry, both ministry and oping to note that the Liberal platform position would benefit. The ministry 2010 motion proposed to lengthen was silent about this proposed reform. the maximum time given to ask and could more effectively use their time answer a question, so perhaps there and resources for question period, It remains to be seen if the Liberal will be a consensus to change this and the opposition could better focus majority in the Commons will adopt convention in the current Parliament. their limited resources and research the reforms proposed in their plat- on specific issues and ministers based form and in the 2010 motion. There Yet another longstanding issue con- on the rotating schedule. is a real opportunity to reform ques- cerns the convention that ministers tion period to better use time and need not respond to questions put to Perhaps the biggest problem with resources, produce more substantive them. Sometimes it is not possible for question period is that MPs have lost questions and answers and hold the a minister to respond, such as when the right to ask spontaneous ques- government more accountable. abroad representing Canada. How- tions of the government. Subsequent ever, often a relevant question is put to the introduction of television to Conservative MP Michael Chong to a minister present, but the govern- the Commons in 1977, a significant was the sponsor of the Reform Act ment designates another minister to change to question period was in- adopted by the 41st Parliament. answer. A more substantive question troduced by Speaker Jeanne Sauvé, [email protected]

January/February 2016 26

“Canada is back.” Justin Trudeau’s first weeks in office were dominated by a whirlwind of international travel. In Paris, he spoke at the COP21 Conference on Climate Change. Adam Scotti photo Trudeau’s Summitry Marathon —Impact Without the Pirouettes Jeremy Kinsman

It could have been a disaster. As every political profes- wo weeks after being elected, sional and journalist knows, foreign trips are a mine- Justin Trudeau set off for the T first time to a series of world field for any leader. For Justin Trudeau, the whirlwind summits: The G20 leaders’ meeting in of international summitry that immediately followed Turkey, an APEC summit in the Phil- ippines, a Commonwealth leaders’ his election on October 19 might have been a baptism gathering in Malta and climate talks in by fire. As it happened, the parade of world-leader Paris. As Trudeau himself put it, he was “thrown into the deep end” of the for- bilaterals, citizen selfies and quotable quips seemed eign policy pool right at the start. more like a multinational victory lap. Veteran diplo- Trudeau wasn’t the international neo- mat Jeremy Kinsman provides a post-tour analysis. phyte his rivals depicted during the campaign. Having visited more than 50 countries with his father before he turned 12, he had seen with young eyes the diversity of perspectives in international life. While recent years of getting

Policy 27 elected and parenting a young fam- ily limited outside trips to Orlando’s Trudeau intended to project that “Canada is Disney World, he came into office back,” re-assuming its role as a constructive with a realistic sense of the world’s multilateral activist. He also meant to begin to build his complexity. international network. He had to be all ears as he headed off to meet his new peers, a kind of variation on Josef Haydn’s belief he owed his accomplishments as a com- he pledged to work with Obama for poser to the fact he “listened to mu- natural outgoing warmth, especially sic more than he studied it.” But the in one-on-one situations, is a real as- real change in the energy/carbon whirlwind tour was about more than set. He is different from his father, swirl of issues. Obama has since invit- intake. Trudeau intended to project whom he does not imitate. But he ed the younger man for a state visit in that “Canada is back,” re-assuming knows that Pierre Trudeau’s network January, an opportunity for Trudeau its role as a constructive multilateral of like-minded leaders, whom Justin to ensure the man at the top will pre- activist. He also meant to begin to jokingly recalls as “all his ‘uncles’” vent the self-involved US political build his international network. spanned the globe—Sweden’s Olaf process from side-swiping Canadian Palme, Tanzania’s Julius Nyerere, interests the moment the red carpet’s Critics and the usual skeptics men- François Mitterrand, Jimmy Carter, been rolled back up. tally plotted their put-down pieces, Aleksandr Yakovlev, and Jamaican anticipating blunders and boo-boos Michael Manley. His father’s key re- from the guy who was “just not lationships were purposeful: Pierre Leaders with people ready.” One Conservative MP tweet- Trudeau went sailing with Helmut skills and networks ed she was sickened and embarrassed Schmidt in the Baltic in 1978 and have a distinct advantage by the idea of Trudeau even being on came back a convert to financial aus- the world stage. terity. He teamed with Lee Kuan Yew in getting things done of Singapore and Australian PM Bob Underestimating newcomers on any because personal Hawke to rejuvenate the Common- stage is a chronic fault, often fatal relationships can drive wealth. California’s Jerry Brown was in politics; ask Gorbachev about his ally on the risks of nuclear miscal- foreign relations. Trudeau’s Yeltsin, Democrats about Reagan, culation. Gerald Ford got Canada into natural outgoing warmth, Republicans about Clinton, or Hill- the G7. Fidel Castro enabled an exit ary about Obama. Since the risk of especially in one-on-one strategy from the FLQ crisis in 1970. being “left in the political dust” by situations, is a real asset. Prime Ministers Mulroney and Jean an upstart rival’s heels is never far Chrétien also developed vital per- He is different from his from their preoccupations, international leaders take a professional in- sonal relationships well beyond their father, whom he does terest in the people skills of surprise well-known chumminess with US not imitate. political winners from major coun- presidents, and through them greatly tries. Even autocrats vaunt their own strengthened Canada’s influence. connections to “the people” to jus- Justin Trudeau knows his father’s tify holding onto power, radiating lofty intellectual discourse could turn Trudeau widened that encouraging charisma, in the way of benevolent some others off—Margaret Thatcher, mutual engagement to include Presi- tribal chieftains or patriarchal Ma- Indira Gandhi, Richard Nixon, and if fia bosses. For foreigners, they turn not Reagan himself, people around dent Enrique Pena Nieto, who was on the charm. Looking back at my him. He won’t make the same mis- elated at the removal of the grating own diplomatic career, I recall Hosni take, not because he is less assertively visa requirement for Mexican trav- Mubarak as all smiles, Hafez al-Assad intellectual—though he is, merciful- elers. He had a warm meeting with as a benign sort of sage and Vladi- ly—but because he reads people far Angela Merkel, an extended working mir Putin in the 1990s as about the better than his father did. lunch with François Hollande, and most reasonably-sounding Russian I bonded with Generation-X age-mates This trip would be Justin Trudeau’s knew. Long-time Ugandan dictator David Cameron of the UK and Italy’s investment in future relationships Yoweri Museveni provided the hu- Matteo Renzi. Add new Australian PM of consequence to his goals, starting mour at Commonwealth Heads of Malcolm Turnbull and King Abdul- Government Meetings. with our neighbourhood. He knew the session with President Obama lah of Jordan—a key partner for refu- eaders with people skills and could be a game-changer for a bilater- gee plans—and Trudeau’s own net- networks have a distinct ad- al relationship that had become bar- work began to take shape, reinforced L vantage in getting things done ren at the top. After being up-front by colleagues at the Commonwealth because personal relationships can about a change in Canada’s military Summit, and especially by the new drive foreign relations. Trudeau’s contribution to the fight against ISIL, secretary-general, Dominican-British

January/February 2016 28 Patricia Scotland, who may be able to Russians also targeted non-ISIL op- to be a Canadian contribution that lift the organization from a long slide ponents of their ally Bashar al-Assad. meets the revised reality. into marginalization. The need to align priorities and pur- In terms of broader messaging, Can- poses certainly drove the pull-aside Meetings with Israeli Prime Minister ada’s best international brand in my talks between Obama and Putin and Benjamin Netanyahu and Ukraine’s experience has been our ability to preoccupied others. Petro Poroshenko were politically manage pluralism, which Trudeau mandatory, while strategic interests articulated impressively, especially engaged a warm Xi Jinping and a for the Commonwealth. Other lead- cool Putin, which was the only frac- His message of ers respect it because many of them tious encounter. Putin didn’t wel- welcome for Syrian are sitting on top of powder kegs of come hearing Trudeau’s opposition refugees was a confidence- sectarian unrest. to Russia’s action in Ukraine, or his building boost to the pull position that sanctions remain until he Paris COP meeting was Russia meets its commitments on the factor in the refugee expected to be a watershed Minsk II agreement. dilemma, even if our T event, billed as the last hope for remediating the threat of climate Trudeau knew he could only make a situation, with the luxury of change. Trudeau met key holdouts first impression once, and would be screening candidates from such as India’s PM Narendra Modi. tested on substance. Apart from the refugee camps, is hardly He publicly channeled his “Canada Paris climate change meeting, the sub- comparable to the is back” commitment—Canada will stance in the bureaucratically prepared reassume its abandoned vocation for meeting agendas was underwhelming. challenges of Germany, constructive multilateral solutions The G20 has failed to break the policy Sweden, and others to critical world issues, backing it up logjams. But Trudeau’s presentation with a $2.65 billion financial package on Canada’s investment in infrastruc- inundated by a mass exodus for developing countries. ture as a stimulus to growth won plau- of millions of refugees. dits from fellow political deciders. The standing ovation he received in Paris shouldn’t surprise. Even The meetings’ real substance was national leaders looking primar- driven by events. ily to their own interests welcome No one holds that the US-led air war At the G20, terrorism in Paris fair-minded mediation and effec- alone can defeat ISIL. A UK analyst launched a wide-ranging discussion tive multilateral agencies. Canada’s observed there are now “more planes of the need to confront and defeat withdrawal from the field had left in the air than there are targets ISIL, while engaging the global refu- a void in creative leadership that gee crisis, so aggravated by the seem- available.” Trudeau has promised to fill. A US ingly intractable Syrian civil war. Nonetheless, Canadian pundits observer remarked “Trudeau is what Trudeau’s first reaction to the Paris slammed Trudeau for withdrawing we thought Canada was.” outrage could have been sharper but Canada’s CF-18s from the air war Back home, Canadians were en- his message of welcome for Syrian while others are ramping up in the couraged by the sight of a national refugees was a confidence-building wake of the Paris attacks, though their delegation bringing together pro- boost to the pull factor in the refugee ramps are pretty symbolic. His wasn’t vincial premiers and federal oppo- dilemma, even if our situation, with a snap decision. No topic received sition leaders (though not the Con- the luxury of screening candidates more attention in Trudeau’s prepara- servatives). Moreover, Trudeau and from refugee camps, is hardly compa- tory consultations in his foreign af- Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard rable to the challenges of Germany, fairs advisory council (of which, full formed a single team in France, a Sweden, and others inundated by a disclosure, I was a member). No one great relief for those scarred by “les mass exodus of millions of refugees wanted to rain on Obama’s upbeat guerres triangulaires.” that seems to obey a momentum and evaluations of the airstrikes or on Ca- logic of its own. nadian efforts, but our aged six CF- Given that Trudeau’s message was the need for inclusivity, there was an The resolution of the Syrian refugee 18s seemed statistically incidental to existential symbolism in the creative crisis demands peace in Syria. But a military success that would have to and committed Canadian spirit on Russia rejects the US line that “getting rely on the disparate and frequently display. Long may it last. rid of Assad” is the answer or even a competing ground forces from Syria legitimate goal that complicates the and Iraq, including the fairly effective Contributing Writer Jeremy Kinsman outcome, given that Assad’s army is Kurdish peshmurga Canadians have was a longtime Canadian ambassador, also under siege from ISIL. Russia’s been training. The value of expanded notably to Russia and the European entry into the civil war with tactical training was understood by Canada’s Union. He is now on the faculty of combat air support of Syrian troops allies but Canada has to make it mili- the University of California, Berkeley has probably stalled ISIL’s expan- tarily significant. The West initially and Ryerson University in Toronto. sion but provokes the US because the underestimated ISIL and there has [email protected]

Policy 29

Interim Opposition Leader Rona Ambrose has successfully changed the tone of Conservative Party messaging—“a sunnier way of communicating,” as Yaroslav Baran writes. iPolitics photo After the Fall: Lessons Learned and Renewing the Conservative Brand Yaroslav Baran

In the weeks since they were swept from government, t is a fact of history that the Liberal the federal Conservatives have already begun to formu- Party has governed Canada for I most of our country’s history since late a post-Harper identity based on an interim leader 1867. There has been much discussion who presents a stark contrast from Harper in both optics in recent years, however, reflecting on whether the Liberals’ “natural gov- and tone, and on an energetic opposition to the Trudeau erning party” status is obsolete, and Liberals in the brief end-of-year sitting in the House. whether the 21st century would reveal Veteran Conservative strategist Yaroslav Baran outlines new trends. how the party should expand on those fronts while also Indeed, it has been posited that the old paradigm of an Upper-Canada/Lower- absorbing the invaluable lessons of defeat. Canada “Laurentian Consensus” is an outdated model that does not reflect the emergence of strong new economies in the West and the dramatic reversal of

January/February 2016 30 fortune—and political clout—of the Just as the evidence started to support the theory old have-not provinces of Newfound- land and Labrador and Saskatchewan. of a structural political realignment on a level Moreover, it has been argued that a stronger than speculation or wishful thinking, the 2015 smarter political integration of new election came along and seemed to suddenly revert the Canadians would reveal that many federal political power structure to pre-Harper and pre- immigrant communities’ personal Conservative-merger norms. and collective values are in fact more in line with contemporary conserva- tism than with latter-Twentieth-Cen- tury liberalism. Former Conservative sceptre. Add to that a campaign team a renewed road to governance, they Leader Stephen Harper, in fact, made built more on personal fealty than can also be tragic lost opportunities it his legacy goal to entrench his par- merit, and you end up with a recipe if parties fail to sufficiently take stock ty as the new natural governing force for disaster. of circumstances and learn from mis- for this century. takes. So what does the Conservative Party need to do? Yet, just as the evidence started to sup- Somewhere along port the theory of a structural political the way, a The first important tenet is that there realignment on a level stronger than government that had been are no quick fixes in politics. The Lib- speculation or wishful thinking, the erals spent a long period in the wil- 2015 election came along and seemed elected on themes of derness, arguably longer than they to suddenly revert the federal politi- respect, anti-corruption, needed to because many in the party cal power structure to pre-Harper and transparency and ethics, thought the issues were limited to pre-Conservative-merger norms. A evolved into a caricature finding an ideal public spokesperson. majority Liberal government emerged Only after experimenting with sev- with a power base in Ontario and that started to repel many eral quick-fix leaders did the Liberal Quebec, a clean sweep of the Atlantic, of its former adherents—to Party realize it had significant struc- and a record win in B.C. The election say nothing of the tural problems that actually needed saw the Conservatives split the West- undecided or swing voters to be addressed: an outdated fund- ern urban vote with the Liberals and raising model generating anaemic the rural B.C. vote with the NDP—a who determine which party results, lack of a national Voter ID shocking jolt on both fronts. takes the sceptre. system, and a need to refresh policy The consensus thus far has been that to bring it more in line with the in- the Achilles heel of the Harper gov- terests of a new generation of party ernment was a lethal combination of faithful. Similarly, the Conservatives The Conservative Party must now arrogance and a consistently angry must look beyond merely identify- embark on an exercise in renewal—it tone. That the decision-making at ing a new leader as chief marketer. must refine the articulation of its val- the centre was hijacked by a group The party must reflect on what it has ever-intent on pandering to some ues, find its voice, and engage in re- done wrong, and on what it has done mythical “base” which sought noth- pairs. The party is not, however, in a right—and improve both. ing more from government than sim- state of crisis, as many have argued— oday’s Conservative Party faces plistic populist messaging, more and it holds Official Opposition status, a real fissure of regional more tax cuts, absolute institutional has a robust caucus of 99 MPs, and alienation—particularly in At- iconoclasm, and a steady diet of man- finished a mere 7.5 percent behind T lantic Canada—but also in the most datory minimum sentences—wheth- the Liberals, who formed a strong urban metropolitan areas. To regain er or not the offences in question majority government. This is a strong have even been committed in the last base from which to rebuild. It would its prominence, it must find a way to hundred years. be an overstatement to suggest that not only market itself to these areas, the Conservatives were trounced in but to actually incorporate these re- omething happened. Some- the campaign, or left broken and in gions’ interests and views—while not where along the way, a gov- despair. They are well ahead of the becoming Liberal Lite in the process. S ernment that had been elected position in which the Liberals found Such enterprises succeed by reaching on themes of respect, anti-corruption, themselves in 2011. out and growing the membership to transparency and ethics, evolved into include a more regionally balanced a caricature that started to repel many That said, these important periods foundation, and by ensuring that of its former adherents—to say noth- of reflection and renewal must be the champions of key demographic ing of the undecided or swing voters taken seriously, and they must be interests be included in the policy who determine which party takes the done right. Just as they can lead to decision-making triage.

Policy 31 I was born and raised in Hamilton. to macro-manage, but spoiled by the Canadian meeting, and to repress the My grandfather was born in Cape support of the vast public service. In collective catharsis that parties need Breton. Both regions must feel just as opposition, you can’t phone the work to go through before they can move downstairs. There is no downstairs. on. Keep the convention, allow mem- I was born and You do your own research, your own bers an opportunity to think freely, raised in Hamilton. writing, and your own analysis. They speak freely and be heard; complete need to rehire the old pros who know the election post-mortem, let mem- My grandfather was born how to file Access to Information re- bers digest it, and only then launch in Cape Breton. Both quests, write original copy quickly, a formal leadership campaign once regions must feel just as and think quickly on their feet with- party members have had an oppor- much at home in out a safety net. tunity to reflect on what their party needs. tomorrow’s Conservative Complacency and arrogance are ad- Party as the financial ditional political vices that must be The final critical point is one of tone. In the two months she has occupied wizzes of Bay Street, the guarded against at all costs. In 2006, the Liberals did not truly believe that the post, interim leader Rona Am- libertarians of Calgary, or they could lose to the Tories. They brose has astounded many—Con- the retired hobby farmers of may have been weakened last time servative and non-Conservatives the Okanagan. around, but by pulling out the old alike—with the success of a sunnier bag of tricks—spending promises, an way of communicating. With slight appeal to values, and an aggressive tweaks of tone, banishing the anger negative ad campaign, they would and finger pointing, and an overlay much at home in tomorrow’s Con- surely once again hold the Conserva- of sophistication, she has successfully servative Party as the financial wizzes tives at bay. Under the radar, how- relayed virtually identical policy, but of Bay Street, the libertarians of Cal- ever, the Tories had honed their skills in a way that exudes reason, compas- sion and common sense. As one ob- gary, or the retired hobby farmers of and style. They adopted a far more server put it, “It’s amazing what you the Okanagan. The Liberal Party did disciplined and targeted strategy, rev- can accomplish when you simply de- not win by selecting which strain of olutionized ground game processes, cide to stop being a jerk in your de- liberalism should be dominant under and flipped the lengthy nine-week livery.” Every party has its structural the next tenure—it found a way to writ period to their own advantage handicaps. While the left must work accommodate them all. by setting the narrative. Similarly, the Liberals surprised the Conserva- harder on competence, the right has Second: Parliament matters. I have al- tives in 2015 by leap-frogging over to pay special attention to empathy. ready heard analyses concluding that the “perfected” Conservative Voter- This lesson cannot be lost on the the Liberal win in 2015 suggests that ID and GOTV machines with a com- next regime. Parliament is irrelevant and that a par- bination of innovation and persever- Just as Wilfrid Laurier predicted in ty’s road to power lies entirely in out- ance. Just because you invented or his day that the next century would reach on the street. This could not be perfected something, doesn’t mean be Canada’s, Stephen Harper thought further from the truth. In fact, it could your opponents won’t learn, emu- the next hundred years, politically, be argued that the Liberals benefit- late and improve on your systems would belong to the Conservatives. ted from the NDP’s diligent and sys- for the next time around. The NDP It is precisely at such times of transi- tematic performance in opposition, surpassed Conservative tech fund- tion that parties determine their fu- gradually and competently eroding a raising innovation in 2011, and the ture track—success or failure, lessons stale Conservative government’s hold Liberals surpassed the Tories’ ground learned or mistakes repeated. With on power. It may have been another game mastery in 2015. Complacency sufficient attention, patience and party doing the heavy lifting in the is fatal. Politics is often compared to wisdom, there is no reason we can’t House, but that diligent hounding of a shark tank, and we all know a shark realize both Laurier’s and Harper’s vi- government by opposition was essen- can’t sit still—or it drowns. sions in the 21st century. tial to weakening the Conservatives sufficiently to create an opening for nother prescription is to take Yaroslav Baran advised former another party to take the reins. the time to fully analyze and Conservative leader Stephen A reflect upon the lessons of Harper through both his successful he Conservatives must take 2015. The Conservative Party has a leadership campaigns, and ran their OfficialOpposition role convention scheduled for May. The party communications through three T seriously, and put in the work. party would be wise to avoid any calls Conservative national elections (not This means also re-learning the oppo- for turning this into a rash leadership the last one!). He is a partner with sition craft. A decade of political staff convention. It would also be wise to Earnscliffe Strategy Group. has come and gone, knowing how avoid calls to scrap or defer the pan- [email protected]

January/February 2016 32

The Canadian delegation to Paris represents the federal-provincial nature of the climate change challenge. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau with (from left) Alberta Premier Rachel Notley, B.C. Premier Christy Clark, Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne, Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard, and Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall. Adam Scotti photo From Copenhagen to Paris: The Hard Work of Multilateralism Velma McColl

Bravo for French diplomacy: he seeds of success at COP21, agreement would not have been pos- it fashioned success where the international climate nego- sible without the hard work and un- T tiations in Paris, were sown in derstanding of the COPs in Cancun, others have failed. Paris was the disappointments of six years ear- Durban, Doha, Warsaw and Lima. a master class in multilater- lier. In 2009, many claimed the chaos Each was a redemptive building block surrounding COP15 in Copenhagen on the path to diplomatic, business al negotiations—not simply marked the end of multilateralism— and environmental success in Paris. for the work at Le Bourget, a fatal blow to the UN. It seemed At its most basic, Copenhagen was but for the preceding year of to speak to the futility of trying to supposed to shift gears from the Kyoto bridge so many interests, so many Protocol era (covering 2008 —2012, travel, building relationships regional voting blocks, that no agree- 30 per cent of global emissions, de- and understanding that trust ment could possibly be crafted to veloped countries only) to a broader, meet all the multilateral conditions more inclusive set of long-term cli- is the beating heart of good for a global climate deal. mate actions for 2020 and beyond. diplomacy and good govern- For many, it was a final proof, after Beneath that simple goal are several ment. Velma McColl was years of experimentation and incre- challenging and interdependent con- mental successes, that national in- cepts, each one addressed by the un- there, and files this report terests would always trump a global precedented Paris Agreement, which on the historic context and good, thwarting collective climate binds 196 countries together into a unified matrix of progressively stron- ramifications of the Paris action into the foreseeable future. There was plenty of finger pointing at ger climate action, starting in 2020, Agreement. governments, but also outside actors and with ambitions extending out recognized that they had, perhaps through the middle of the century. inadvertently, undermined political ooking back, it is not surprising will, contributing to the collapse. that countries were too deep- And yet, as the Venezuelan negotiator L ly divided when they arrived who blocked Copenhagen suggested, in the Danish capital in 2009. It was the strongest elements of the Paris likely naïve to expect otherwise. The

Policy 33 world was dealing with the fallout of the developed world is responsible though provinces introduced prices the economic crisis and the five key for accumulated global GHG emis- in B.C., Quebec and Alberta with On- UN regions—Africa, Asia-Pacific, East- sions in the atmosphere and should tario and Manitoba moving to cap- ern Europe, Latin America/Caribbean therefore act first and largely alone— and-trade systems. and Western Europe/other (including represented by ‘common but differ- So with all the threads of a global cli- US, Australia, New Zealand)—saw the entiated responsibilities’ in the legal mate deal now woven together, we next 10 to 20 years very differently. texts. While developing countries did are pointing all of the world’s econo- Not to mention that countries like not dispute the historic facts, even ac- mies toward a common, low-carbon India, Brazil, South Africa and the knowledging they should act first, it future. This also creates a fascinating other emerging players were already became increasingly difficult to sup- challenge to everyone—young and economically stronger than in 1995. port any post-2015 deal where they old, rich and poor—to be creative, In the same period, China became were acting alone. At the same time, to innovate, to find the smart phone the world’s second-largest economy developing countries appropriately equivalent that will help decarbonize and the largest single greenhouse gas argued that any new deal needed to our lives. (GHG) emitter. allow a “differentiated” response, al- Developed countries, including the lowing the world’s poorest countries While not obvious over six years EU nations, Canada and the US, also to respond on a separate timetable to the untrained eye, we can now increasingly understood that taking than the richest. see the larger tapestry showing that Copenhagen-to-Paris strengthened domestic action to reduce GHGs, This brought the concept of climate the fabric of a global deal, making it whether through regulation or a car- finance into the picture in 2009, ac- more colourful, more diverse, more bon price, created competitiveness is- knowledging that poor countries durable. The new deal is supported by sues and first mover disadvantage in would need support from rich coun- governments, by a wide array of po- global supply chains. If all countries tries—a kind of global equalization litical, social, religious, environmen- did not act in concert, there were payment—to allow the transition to tal and business actors, by a common worries that carbon ‘leakage’ and a low-carbon economy. The ratio- desire to leave the planet in better border tax adjustments would penal- nale for creating a US $100 billion shape than we found it. Even Pope ize some. The economic and environ- annual Green Climate Fund is essen- Francis weighed in, seeking intergen- mental benefits of coordinated global tially that developed countries that action became more obvious to sec- erational justice for Mother Earth. achieved their economic growth over tors and industries, though they still the last century through carbon-in- And to those who say it is not ambi- lacked policy direction to make in- tensive energy should support devel- tious, look again. Consider how the vestments in new long-run capital oping countries that would be denied interlocking pieces work together, stock for electricity generation, tran- access to the same cheaper, carbon- what the impact will be over decades. sit, renewables and manufacturing. based economic growth. The idea Think about how transparently re- ver the last twenty years, the is that governments along with the porting the PM2.5 levels in Beijing science and the visible im- World Bank, IMF, businesses and oth- changed China’s cultural norms pacts of climate change have er investors would help finance step- about air pollution within five years. O change, low-carbon systems—with been mounting. With increasing hur- Canadians are fascinated by the ricanes, sea level rise, melting glaciers the related sustainable development weather. Imagine when we can trans- in the Arctic, changes to natural land- and poverty-alleviation benefits. parently track emissions on a global scapes, loss of forests and shifts in When climate financing entered the scale on mobile screens. Consider agricultural production, all countries picture, governments were admit- what the Paris Agreement might mean understood that climate change was ting that capital needed to be mobi- to the lives of our children in five, 10 not just about reducing GHGs (miti- lized, beyond the resources available or 30 years. It’s not perfect but it puts gation), it has become increasingly in public coffers. The private sector us on a common, regenerative path. about adaptation—nowhere more needed to play a much stronger a role urgently than in parched countries in any future. Since Copenhagen, the Only history will know whether Paris in Africa and shrinking small island international business and invest- marked a turning point for the planet. states. These countries became more ment community (banking, insur- In the meantime, Canada has its work influential post-Copenhagen, regard- ance, fossil fuels, renewables, manu- cut out to create a multilateral deal less of the size of their GDP, culmi- facturing, clean tech) voices have across our own federation. Let’s see if nating in the Paris commitment to grown progressively louder asking for we can repeat the French success. “limit temperature rise to well below clear policy signals including a price Contributing Writer Velma McColl 2 degrees Celsius” and make efforts to on carbon. Canada’s own conversa- is managing principal of Earnscliffe limit it further to 1.5 degrees. tion on carbon pricing was paralyzed Strategy Group. Her practice focuses Looming over all climate negotiations by the Green Shift debate in the 2008 on economic growth, energy and the is a concept, embedded in Kyoto, that election and nothing more federally, environment. [email protected]

January/February 2016 34

Guest Column / Elizabeth May The Achievement of the Paris Agreement

t is Sunday in Paris, the day after level of multilateralism, COP21 was weak pledges were cast in stone. The the tumultuous conclusion of an unqualified success. The United aggregate of current promises, if kept, I the 21st Conference of the Par- Nations has proven that we can still would take the world to anywhere ties (COP21) of the United Nations talk to each other. As the world pitch- from 2.7 to 3.5 degrees above pre- Framework Convention on Climate es more dangerously toward a hot industrial levels. Change (UNFCCC). war in Syria, it is nearly a miracle that Iran, Turkey, Russia and the US can Instead, the pledges are housed in a In many ways, it was not the conclu- all negotiate in polite terms over the public registry at the secretariat for sion of a two-week conference, nor removal of square brackets around the UNFCCC. Countries can replace even of the four-year Durban Process disputed sub-clauses. their promises any time with prom- that emerged from the ashes of the ises to do more. So far, 188 countries disastrous 2009 Copenhagen COP. It At the intersection of climate science have made pledges (known as INDCs- and politics, the meeting was also a was the first substantial step toward intended nationally determined con- success. The final text benefits from meeting the goals of the 1992 UN- tributions. France was the first coun- including real numbers—it specifies a FCCC since Kyoto in 1997. try to commit that its existing INDC global emissions figure for 2030 (55 would be revamped and improved. It is easy to lay the failure of previous Gt.). And in a major advance over Canada’s INDC is the one left behind efforts on the structure of the agree- what was expected, the world accept- ments themselves. In other words, ed that a 1.5 degrees Celsius global by the previous government. Obvi- Kyoto gets blamed for Kyoto. But the average temperature increase was ously, it must be replaced quickly architecture of the Kyoto Protocol a far safer level of increase to avoid through the process Prime Minister was identical to that of the Montreal than the 2-degrees level that has been Trudeau has promised within 90 days Protocol, the successful environmen- accepted since Copenhagen. of the end of COP21. tal treaty that saved the ozone layer. Another innovation that bodes well The hope of the Paris agreement lies The emergence of the principle of for the Paris Agreement is that it will in its system of “pledge and review.” “common but differentiated responsi- be legally binding on the United On a regular schedule of every five bilities”—that industrialized countries States without the requirement to be years, all nations’ targets, their collec- should go first—was born in Montreal. ratified in the US Congress. If any one tive progress and the impact in terms The United States under George W. thing was the undoing of Kyoto, it of emissions and temperature will Bush managed to demonize the idea was that the Clinton administration be collectively and publicly assessed as unfair to the US, then the source realized it did not have the required under the terms of the agreement. A of 25 per cent of all GHG pollution. votes to gain two-thirds Senate ap- core principle in the Paris Agreement Canada under Jean Chrétien battled proval and never tried to obtain rati- is of “no backsliding.” Targets must to save Kyoto globally, delaying ac- fication. The George W. Bush Admin- be continually ratcheted up. tion domestically. By the time Paul istration then announced it had no It is urgent that the process start. Martin’s government brought in a rea- intention of ever trying. The Paris Having regained our international sonable climate plan, it was 2005 and Agreement has been carefully negoti- reputation in Paris, Canada needs to Canada was about to be plunged into ated to avoid any triggers to require do much more. When the UN hosts a nearly 10 years under a prime minister US ratification. The White House will high-level signing ceremony for the who opposed the idea of global action legally accede to it as an extension to confront climate change altogether. of existing commitments of the UN- Paris agreement on April 22, 2016— FCCC, already ratified under the first Earth Day—let’s hope our provincial Had Kyoto been honoured globally, President George Bush. and federal collaboration allows the we would be in a far less dangerous Prime Minister to deliver to the world Unlike Kyoto, it does not make spe- world today. Canada’s new and more aggressive cific pledges to reduce by X amount plan to do our fair share. hat was achieved in Paris by year Y. While that is seen by many can be viewed through a as a weakness, everyone agrees that it Elizabeth May is leader of the Green Party W number of lenses. At the would spell catastrophe if the current of Canada. [email protected]

Policy 35 Anatomy of a Corporate Makeover Kelvin Dushnisky

As the gold mining industry grapples with one of the most helped make it great, but the reality challenging metal price environments in recent memory, is that, as gold went on its unprec- edented ascent during the first de- Barrick Gold President Kelvin Dushnisky tells how his cade of the new millennium, Barrick company is responding by fundamentally changing the began to stray from those principles. way it operates, transitioning to a decentralized busi- Like many of its peers, the company became almost single-minded in its ness model and reclaiming the qualities that made it the pursuit of production—regrettably, world’s leading gold producer. Known historically for be- not always profitable production. ing a lean, nimble company that thinks outside the box In less than three while consistently generating wealth for its shareholders, decades, this tiny Dushnisky writes that Barrick is on its way to becoming Canadian gold concern that company again. grew to become the biggest gold mining ore than 30 years ago, back then that felt more akin to a fam- company in the world. This when gold was out of favor ily than a company, a natural byprod- year alone, Barrick expects M and its prospects dim, Peter uct of its founding partnership culture. Munk saw an opportunity and started to produce 6.0 to 6.15 a gold company. Barrick Gold Corpo- In less than three decades, this tiny million ounces of gold, and ration went public in May 1983, and Canadian gold concern grew to be- on the order of 500 million quickly took on many of the charac- come the biggest gold mining com- pounds of copper. teristics that made Peter a Canadian pany in the world. This year alone, business icon. It was entrepreneur- Barrick expects to produce 6.0 to ial, intelligent, driven and decisive. It 6.15 million ounces of gold, and on moved quickly yet prudently to gen- the order of 500 million pounds of In 2013, gold’s 12-year bull run end- erate wealth for its shareholders. And copper. The company is proud of its ed, and it did so abruptly and em- phatically. The gold price fell nearly there was an esprit de corps at Barrick heritage and the core principles that 30 per cent that year alone, and it has not recovered. During the initial Gold spot price in US dollars per ounce stages of this gold price reversal, Bar- rick’s costs continued to rise. Com- $2,000 pounding matters, the company experienced large cost overruns at its 1,800 Pascua-Lama project, and it took on 1,600 substantial debt to fund the acquisition of Equinox Minerals—a copper 1,400 company whose flagship asset was the Lumwana mine in Zambia. 1,200 This confluence of events thrust Bar- 1,000 rick into the most challenging period 800 in its history. It became clear that, to endure and emerge stronger, the com- 600 pany needed to plot a new course and recapture the qualities that drove its 400 early success. Barrick’s senior leaders engaged deeply with people through- 200 out the company and leading minds 0 outside of it to reconnect with the 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 company’s core DNA. This analysis

January/February 2016 36 led to the following conclusions: at its mines, which allows senior manage- was an important achievement in best, Barrick was a lean, nimble and ment to obtain information quickly this regard. entrepreneurial company with little and set strategy and allocate capital bureaucracy to impede decision-mak- more effectively. At the same time, In the wake of its asset sales, Bar- ing. The company’s primary purpose the decentralized model has empow- rick has, by design, become a smaller was to generate wealth for its share- ered the company’s mine managers to company focused on a higher qual- holders, employees and host commu- run their operations as businesses fo- ity portfolio of assets in its core re- nities and countries. Management’s cused on increasing free cash flow and gion in the Americas. The company’s interests were aligned with sharehold- profitable production—just as Bar- five core mines—Goldstrike, Cortez, er interests because a large portion of rick’s operational leaders used to do. Pueblo Viejo, Lagunas Norte and Ve- management’s wealth was tied up in ladero—are all located in North or Barrick. The company maintained a Creating shareholder value by grow- South America. They are some of the decentralized operating model that ing free cash flow was once the over- largest and lowest cost gold mines to included a small head office to set riding priority at Barrick. It is now operate in the world. strategy and allocate capital, and mine our overriding priority again. The company has set a target of increas- While Barrick has a smaller footprint operators with the autonomy to make today, there are significant opportu- decisions aimed at maximizing free ing free cash flow by $2 billion by the end of 2016. To date, we have already nities for growth. About 85 percent cash flow. Barrick’s people worked of the company’s exploration budget in partnership with one another and booked $1.8 billion or 90 percent of this year was allocated to the Ameri- with external stakeholders, safeguard- this target into our plans, including cas, half of that in Nevada. These are ing the environment and sharing ben- $400 million in 2015 and $1.4 billion regions where Barrick has extensive efits with host communities. in 2016. We are doing this by lowering corporate costs, as well as capital experience, infrastructure and exper- This is the company that we are spending and operating expenses. tise, as well as established partner- working to rebuild; the one that Pe- ships with governments and com- ter Munk and his colleagues made a munities. The company’s Goldrush world leader. The makeover has been ut it’s not only about cost cutting; Barrick is also becoming project in Nevada is one of the biggest ongoing for well over a year now and gold discoveries in the past 15 years, rests on four strategic pillars: more efficient and more inno- B and Barrick recently announced a vative. The company is figuring out • Streamlining and decentralizing how to do more with less by improv- discovery in Chile, known as Alturas, the organization. ing maintenance practices, looking at that is geologically similar to its Ve- ladero mine in Argentina, but with • Strengthening the company’s different mining methods, and find- balance sheet, including reducing ing ways to better manage its energy the potential to be even higher grade. debt by $3 billion in 2015 as a needs—which remains one of Bar- To sum up, Barrick has made enor- first stage. rick’s biggest costs despite the decline mous strides in 2015 to reshape itself in the price of oil. This provides the • A focus on capital discipline and into a leaner, nimbler and more prof- company with greater flexibility to- increasing free cash flow per share. itable company. Our balance sheet is day and better positions it to capital- stronger and steadily improving, and • Reconfiguring the company’s ize on the strength of its asset base we will maintain strict capital disci- mine portfolio to focus on Bar- when metal prices recover. pline even when the gold price re- rick’s best assets in its core regions covers, as it inevitably will. The com- in the Americas. Another critical element of the makeover is restoring the company’s pany is once again laser-focused on hile there is still much balance sheet. As an initial step, the increasing free cash flow and driving heavy lifting to be done, company committed to lowering its down costs; and we’re starting to see W the company is making debt in 2015 year by $3 billion. In results. We’ve rediscovered who we significant progress on all of these December, Barrick achieved its tar- are—and we’re becoming what Bar- fronts. The decentralized operating get. All told, the company has an- rick used to be. model that once characterized Bar- nounced asset sales, joint ventures Kelvin Dushnisky is the President rick has been recreated and updated. and partnerships worth $3.2 billion of Barrick, responsible for overall Since 2013, staffing levels at the com- in 2015, allowing the company to leadership of the organization and pany’s head office in Toronto have achieve a 24 per cent reduction in execution of the company’s strategic been reduced by more than half— total debt. priorities. His previous roles at from 370 to 150. The company has Barrick include Co-President and This brings to mind yet another Bar- also closed regional offices and elimi- Senior Executive Vice President with rick trait that the company is working nated a series of management layers global responsibility for Government across the organization. to recapture: strong execution. Quite Relations, Permitting, Corporate simply, to regain our credibility, we Responsibility, Investor Relations and The result is more direct communi- must do what we say we are going to Communications. He has been with cation between head office and the do. Realizing our debt-reduction goal Barrick since 2002.

Policy 37

Legislation requiring railways to meet demands of shippers such as the grain industry can have unintended consequences in the supply chain. CN photo Rail Legislation: Unintended Consequences

Jean Patenaude

Canada’s National Trans- or railways in Canada, provid- lation during the last century, the portation Policy sets out to ing suitable service to all of wording of the level-of-service obli- F their customers isn’t only good gation provisions has remained rela- create a competitive and business. It’s the law. tively unchanged. Under these provisions—part of a regulatory framework efficient transportation sys- For more than a century, Canadian based on competition and market tem based on market forc- railways have been legally required forces—Canada’s railways provide ef- es. But as Jean Patenaude to move goods offered to them by their customers. Sections 113 to 115 ficient, low-cost service to customers, writes, recent legislation to of the Canada Transportation Act while generating the revenues needed improve rail service goes (CTA), often referred to as the rail- to grow their network. against that policy, and has ways’ “common carrier obligations,” However, over time, shippers have compel railways to “furnish adequate complained about inadequate or in- consequences for railways and suitable accommodation for the consistent rail service, leading to and shippers alike. receiving and loading of all traffic of- questions about what, in fact, are the fered for carriage.” service obligations of railways. These Despite various reviews and numer- complaints have resulted in govern- ous amendments to railway legis- ment initiatives, and subsequent leg-

January/February 2016 38 islation, favouring regulation over commercial forces. Despite the con- Not only does recent legislative action encourage clusion of the last statutory review detailed government intervention and threaten to of the CTA in 2001 to the effect that hinder the efficiency of the rail-based supply chain, it has “Canada’s rail freight transporta- resulted in a piling up of shipper remedies that are tion system works well for most us- disconnected from commercial reality. ers most of the time” and that “the basic elements of a competitive and efficient rail transportation system are in place,” the federal government proceeded to make amendments which expanded the authority of line—to 160 km from 30 km in the rate. They have expressed concern the Canadian Transportation Agency Prairies. that using this process for service is- (the Agency) in resolving rail service sues might compromise their ability The CTA has been amended four disputes. The Rail Freight Service Re- to obtain the lowest rate possible. times since 2007, mostly in response view (RFSR) and the subsequent Din- The resulting situation is that, in to specific issues, with each change ning Facilitation Process proposed the event of a disagreement between introducing additional regulatory the development of a service agree- parties, one arbitrator will set the measures or remedies. The current ment template and a dispute resolu- terms and conditions of service (i.e. tion framework to resolve complaints CTA review undertaken by former through SLA arbitration) and a differ- about railway services. industry minister David Emerson— ent arbitrator will set the rate in sepa- whose report should be released im- rate and independent proceeding (i.e. Recent government decisions have minently—provides an opportunity through FOA). Whether purchasing also introduced new regulatory re- to examine how recent amendments transportation services or any other strictions and further expanded the have been implemented, and to con- type of service, terms and conditions reach of existing remedies available sider the extent to which they have of service and rates are inescapably to shippers. The Fair Rail Freight Ser- furthered the goal of the National linked. Yet, the divorce between service Act of 2013, gives shippers the Transportation Policy to achieve a vice and pricing was the result when right to request a service level agree- competitive and efficient transpor- the Fair Rail Freight Service Act came ment (SLA) with railways—stipulat- tation system based on competition into force. ing specific performance standards and market forces. That policy states for receiving, loading, carrying, un- that regulation and public interven- nother consequence of the loading and delivering traffic—and tion should only be used as a last re- SLA provisions of the Fair Rail establishes an arbitration process in sort and, in the words of 2001 CTA Freight Service Act is that they the event the shipper and the rail- A Review Panel, “should be used only create a silo approach. Each shipper’s ways cannot agree on the terms of to solve instances of market failure.” level of service is established in iso- the SLA. Where public intervention is relation, without consideration for the quired, it should foster and be consis- overall supply chain. Railways have n 2014, grain transportation is- tent with commercial outcomes, not used the “bus vs. taxi” analogy to il- sues, caused by unusually harsh undermine them. lustrate this issue. As with a bus sys- I winter weather and an unfore- tem, railway services are designed to Not only does recent legislative ac- casted 50 per cent increase in export best accommodate the overall needs tion encourage detailed government grain volumes, led the government of all the users of the specific ser- intervention and threaten to hinder to introduce Bill C-30, the Fair Rail vice. The service-arbitration process the efficiency of the rail-based supply for Grain Farmers Act. This legislation should recognize this aspect of rail- chain, it has resulted in a piling up of gives the Agency the authority to de- roading, and should not be used to shipper remedies that are disconnect- fine the specific railway operations restructure the bus service to meet ed from commercial reality. Prior to for inclusion in service agreements. the needs of a specific shipper at the the enactment of the Fair Rail Freight It also gives the minister of transport expense of the others. the authority to order Class 1 railways Service Act, shippers had the ability to to move minimum volumes of grain raise service issues through Final Of- In recent years, Canada’s railways each week, and to impose financial fer Arbitration (FOA) provisions. The have taken the initiative, often in penalties in the event of a railway’s FOA process establishes a connection collaboration with other logistics failure to do so. The legislation also between rates and service by allow- partners, to improve service for the extends the distance limit for inter- ing a shipper to raise either or both benefit of the supply chain. With switching—the switching of traffic at elements within the same process. respect to grain transportation, for regulated rates between a local rail- Most shippers, however, have only example, CN has introduced an ini- way’s line and the line-haul carrier’s used this recourse to establish a rail tiative through which customers can

Policy 39 incorporate private cars into the rail- By decoupling ing detailed regulatory interventions. way’s fleet, in return for a commer- These new measures are available to cial, year-round business and volume railway service and all shippers without prior conditions commitment. CP has implemented price, these regulatory or thresholds, and not only as a last a program for its grain customers measures undermine, and resort in the event of abuse by a rail- designed to better align supply and indeed, contradict the way. They also transfer detailed oper- demand, as well as drive reciprocal ational decisions away from railway accountability and provide greater fundamental principles of management to an arbitrator/regu- certainty for customers. commercial and market- lator with little to no consideration based considerations set out for the network nature of railway op- Contrary to allegations by shippers erations, and for the impact on other that legislation and regulatory mea- in the National users of the service. As a result, the sures are required to force railways Transportation Policy. remedy imposed by the regulator in to address service issues, the above one case can create service issues for initiatives are clear examples of the the other users of the service, lead- railways’ attempts to address issues ing to additional complaints. Finally, through innovative programs and by decoupling railway service and service offerings. shippers, carriers and the overall Ca- price, these regulatory measures undermine, and indeed, contradict the Previous reviews of the CTA under- nadian economy as a result of replac- fundamental principles of commer- taken by the federal government ing detailed regulatory controls with cial and market-based considerations have confirmed that the vision for a reliance on market forces. set out in the National Transporta- transportation policy based on com- tion Policy. petition and market considerations However, recent legislative action is the right transportation policy di- (the Fair Rail Freight Service Act and Jean Patenaude is a former lawyer for rection for Canada. These reviews the Fair Rail for Grain Farmers Act) CN, and former vice chairman of the documented the benefits accrued by has reversed this trend by encourag- Canadian Transportation Agency.

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January/February 2016 40

Innovation is the key to growing the economy, says CIBC President Victor Dodig. Canadian Club of Ottawa photo Building Canada’s Modern Economy Victor G. Dodig

Canada’s prosperity has rested for decades on the ith a new federal government having just been boom-bust cycle of commodities and a discounted Ca- W sworn in, it is time for Can- nadian dollar that’s provided a competitive advantage ada to assess its economic strengths and challenges, and the choices we face in in the global marketplace. Canada is at a defining mo- building a modern economy equipped ment in its history, where with the right policies and for growth and competitiveness both at committed leadership, its economy can realize its true home and around the world. potential. CIBC’s President and CEO Victor G. Dodig Over the last decade, Canada lost 10,500 manufacturing plants or 17 per cent of shares his ideas on how Canada can drive innovation our manufacturing capacity. Even with and foster growth in the modern economy. the current weakness in the Canadian dollar, it is unrealistic to think that this traditional capacity will be rebuilt. The reality is that going forward economic

Policy 41 growth will come from innovation across all key sectors of our econo- We are not coming to this challenge from a standing my—natural resources, financial ser- start. Participation in post-secondary education has vices, real estate and broadly defined grown from 41 per cent to 53 per cent over the past decade, diversified sectors. the highest among OECD countries. So while we are investing While Canada is roundly—and right- in our intellectual capital, how productive is this investment ly—envied for our solid economy for the new economy? and how we withstood the financial crisis, we have three gaps to fill if we are going to continue to prosper and be leaders among the advanced economies: • Only about 20 per cent of our Far too many graduates don’t bring graduates are from those disci- enough skills and practical experience • First, I believe we need to do a bet- plines; and, to be ready for the modern labour ter job of building the intellectual force. The result is that Canadian stu- • Post-secondary graduates rank capital and the skills necessary to dents, by and large, are choosing an 19th of 21 in numeracy, 18th of fuel innovation and execute in a education path that is geared toward 21 in literacy and 14th of 18 in modern economy; acquiring credentials, rather than on problem-solving skills. skills acquisition and on what the la- • Second, we need to ensure our in- bour market needs. novative entrepreneurs are able to By way of comparison, in India and China, close to 40 per cent of gradu- attract both the formation and sus- ates have STEM degrees. In Germany, tainability capital necessary to com- it’s around 25 per cent. mercialize new ideas into valuable S o, what do we need to do? products and services; and, First, we need to promote education choices that match the needs of the • Third, we need to ensure that we Far too many build an innovative ecosystem that graduates don’t job market. We also need policies and models to support emerging in- effectively encourages and nur- bring enough skills and tures that development. dustries that focus on creating solu- practical experience to be tions in the global supply chain as The fundamental strength of every ready for the modern labour opposed to just building products. modern economy starts with its peo- force. The result is that While traditional manufacturing in ple. As the World Economic Forum Canada has shrunk dramatically in told us in a 2013 report, “The most Canadian students, by and recent years, there are other busi- important determinant of a country’s large, are choosing an nesses that are creating solutions competitiveness is its human tal- education path that is that we should look to. ent—the skills and productivity of its geared toward acquiring workforce.” Recent research by Benjamin Tal of credentials, rather than on CIBC Economics found firms that In Canada, we are not coming to this skills acquisition focus more and more on creating so- challenge from a standing start. Par- lutions as opposed to just building ticipation in post-secondary educa- products, are emerging to fill some of tion has grown from 41 per cent to the gap. As much as 70 per cent of 53 per cent over the past decade, the the economy and 80 per cent of all highest among OECD countries. So jobs are in tradeable goods and ser- while we are investing in our intel- We’re talking about the very people vices, with trade in industries like lectual capital, how productive is this and very skills we need to need to engineering, architecture, computer investment for the new economy? lead Canada in innovation and create and financial services already almost the high-value jobs for the future. as large as the merchandise sector. Actually, some troubling issues lie be- These types of companies are creat- As the Canadian Council of Chief hind those positive numbers: ing products and services many of us Executives CEO and CIBC’s board never imagined—and certainly never • Canada has a much lower pro- chair, John Manley recently said, thought there was a market for. portion of graduates in the all- “This isn’t a problem of under-in- important STEM sectors—sci- vestment. [But] at least at the univer- These emerging firms share a com- ence, technology, engineering sity level, there seems to be a signifi- mon outlook—they are innovators. and mathematics—than 22 other cant disconnect between suppliers And, to put it simply, innovators are OECD countries; and consumers of education.” all about finding new and better ways

January/February 2016 42 of creating value. In today’s context, Valley start-up than a staid Big Five of Canada’s largest business incuba- innovation is the generation, com- bank. tors for emerging tech startups. In mercialization, and adoption of new just five years, it has raised $120 mil- Our work here is necessary to respond ideas, processes, products, and servic- lion in seed funding, incubated over and adapt to the changes in our in- es in the marketplace. 200 startups and so far helped create dustry. Clients today expect a lot nearly 2,000 jobs. To support them, they require three more from their bank. They have ex- fundamentals: skilled labour, access tensive and varied online experience There are also fine examples of in- to expertise, and capital. and they are tech-savvy. They’ve seen novation partnerships in more tradi- technology simplify transactions that tional spaces, like the energy sector. used to be complex and time-con- The Institute for Oil Sands Innova- To put it simply, suming in other parts of their lives. tion at the University of Alberta is developing innovative technologies to innovators are all But they will only embrace innova- address emission and water consump- about finding new and tive technologies if they integrate tion challenges in the energy sector. seamlessly into their lives, fulfill real better ways of creating value. There, a University of Alberta engi- needs and deliver additional value. In today’s context, neering professor developed a cutting innovation is the generation, At MaRS in Toronto, CIBC estab- edge technique using solar energy to commercialization, and lished an innovation lab, where a clean up oil sand waste water. small team of bright young co-op We see this in manufacturing as well. adoption of new ideas, students and developers created the Siemens Canada for example, has processes, products, and CIBC Apple Watch Banking App. Be- established an innovative manufac- cause technical specs were not yet services in the marketplace. turing hub in Burlington. As Robert available from Apple, they designed Hardt, president and CEO, said re- the proof of concept on the basis of cently, “Companies that innovate what clients would want from a CIBC and commercialize the fastest in to- Banking App on the Apple Watch. First, policymakers need to look again day’s environment are going to be at our post-secondary education sys- The speed of development was un- the leaders”. Part of its strategy is tem, which is heavily subsidized by precedented and caught the atten- to partner with area colleges where taxpayers. We need accurate infor- tion of the Apple team and resulted it provides guest lectures, technical mation about student enrollment in in another first for our bank. workshops and curriculum develop- programs and employers’ job-vacan- ment recommendations. Siemens By acting like a bank and like a tech also provided a $458 million product cy forecasts to help guide young Ca- start-up, we were able to achieve a lifecycle management software grant nadians toward programs with solid better outcome for our clients. employment prospects. Canadian to McMaster University in Hamilton educators must embrace the need to We also believe in the importance that gives students the ability to work develop the next generation of eco- of partnering with Fintechs, those with the same design and manufac- nomic builders and business owners startups that leverage innovation turing research technologies used by with the necessary practical and ap- and technology to provide financial many of the world’s most sophisti- plied skills to turn great ideas into services in new and innovative ways. cated manufacturers. We believe that by working with commercial successes. All of these hubs demonstrate that some of these firms we can deliver the right ecosystem can produce great Second, we in established businesses a better outcome for our clients and innovation and commercial success. all need to encourage intelligent, risk- for our economy. For example, we They are creative and necessary part- taking young people, and provide recently worked with a UK-based Fin- nerships between schools, govern- them with the resources and support tech, Earthport, to turn Canada’s $30 ment and business. But we need to do they need to succeed on the business billion foreign remittance market on more to compete and grow—includ- side. We can do that by harnessing its head by eliminating the fees asso- ing cross partnerships and greater ciated with sending money overseas. their innovations to provide better collaboration between governments services to our clients. In the world of innovation, partner- and institutions on a national basis. ships are key to success, where private e have started to do this The second element required to build enterprise and post-secondary insti- at CIBC by creating our and grow Canada’s new economy is tutions are creating ecosystems or own technology hub— ensuring innovative young compa- W hubs where innovation can flourish. casually known as #digital—that nies can access the needed capital employs about 300 people in an en- At Ryerson in Toronto, the Digital and expertise both to get started and vironment more akin to a Silicon Media Zone, known as DMZ, is one to sustain their growth. In recent

Policy 43 years, policy makers have been more • Firstly, the German Science, Tech as they grow their companies be- focused on protecting small business and Innovation system (known as yond Canada. than creating an environment in BVIZ) operates 150 business incu- which it can grow and thrive. bation centres that help startups to The Canadian economy today faces commercialize and achieve scale, some difficult challenges, but we are All of these hubs resulting in the creation of more in a period of transition with even than 5,800 companies and 46,000 more opportunity. It is not a tran- demonstrate that the jobs. The Centres help entrepre- sition from an “old” economy to a right ecosystem can produce neurs and ensure that innovation “new” economy, it is a transition great innovation and gains in productivity are spread from “today’s economy” to a “future commercial success. They are across all economic sectors rather economy.” than just being concentrated in a creative and necessary specific area. That will first take a tight focus on partnerships between fixing the way we value and build • Germany created a network called our intellectual capital, as well as schools, government and the Fraunhofer Society, an orga- business. how we inform our choices on where nization of 80 institutes in Ger- and how to invest in our intellectual many, and now around the world. resources. Through a mix of public and private funding, these institutes help Second, we need to need to become Successful innovation strategies re- move radical ideas into the mar- much more innovative about inno- quire investment. Thomson Reuters’ ketplace. As independent research- vation in the public and private sec- recent Canadian Venture Capital Re- ers they act as ‘intermediate policy tors. We need to tap into the inno- view reported that deal activity and makers’ to help businesses com- vative genius of Canadians to build investments in the first half of 2015 mercialize and achieve scale. the framework for increased and sus- were up by 21 per cent and 23 per tained future growth across all eco- cent, respectively, over the previous • Finally, Germany is ensuring nomic sectors. year. Private equity investments in skills training is a lifelong en- deavor, teaching existing work- the manufacturing sector are up 38 We need to marry up the necessary ers, not just young people, how to per cent year-to-date over last year. business skills with the genius of our use new technologies to increase discoverers and inventors to push But, there are some indications of a productivity. funding gap among early stage inno- great ideas through to marketable vation-based companies, especially There’s another area that needs some and valuable products and services. urgent attention by the federal gov- among asset-light firms and those A focus on value-added, R&D inten- looking to expand into international ernment to create the right innova- sive manufacturing will be one way markets. tion infrastructure in Canada—we need a public and private policy to restore and bolster our capacity This funding gap needs to be ad- framework to support the capture of and return jobs we have lost in this dressed. One model worth consider- wealth from ideas. This starts with sector. ing is the Business Growth Fund cre- stronger intellectual property protec- ated by five of the UK’s largest banks. tion for innovators. The providers of capital—banks, This fund provides the start-ups with pension plans, venture funds and capital and, importantly, access to a High tech innovators create two others—need to be in a position to network of 3,000 experienced expert kinds of value: the profits they gen- provide the necessary capital to help advisors. erate from selling their products, the early-stage innovators and those services and processes, and from the seeking to scale and grow their busi- Capital on its own is not enough to ownership of ideas—the intellectual nesses to be world class. drive growth and ensure success for property rights that lie behind their our startup companies. We need to innovation. Together, the public and private sec- create an environment that supports tor, employer groups and post-sec- Jim Balsillie and John Ruffolo, two their continued success and helps ondary institutions can build a Ca- highly successful leaders and inno- them turn into global players. nadian economy that is competitive, vators, recently joined forces with a prosperous and meets the national We could learn from a global inno- number of elite high-tech companies vation leader like Germany, which to create the Canadian Council of objectives that all of us share. has succeeded in implementing a Innovators, a lobby group that will Adapted from a speech to the Canadian national collaborative innovation work with government to establish Club of Ottawa, November 24, 2015. policy. Germany has implemented a stronger infrastructure for support- three key strategies: ing emerging Canadian innovators

January/February 2016 44

Column / Don Newman Last Call at Hy’s

eekdays at lunch, the bar is people who are adversaries on paper, did not want to know I was with Mar- crowded. The same is true but who, when they get acquainted, tin. I looked around the dining room, W at the cocktail hour after find they can agree on many things, saw P.E.I. Premier Joe Ghiz, quickly work. Weeknights in the dining room, work cooperatively and make Canada parked Martin with him and went out there are few tables available. Sudden- a better place. in the hall to take the call. ly, political Ottawa has rediscovered very democracy’s capital city That is the kind of thing that could Hy’s Steakhouse. It is like 1995 all over only happen at Hy’s. again. But nostalgia isn’t what it used has at least one Hy’s. Usually to be, and after more than 30 years E more than one. In Washing- The event that has become an annual during which it became a central part ton, there is the Monocle on Capitol fixture at Hy’s is the budget night of what made Canada’s capital tick, Hill, and the Old Ebbitt Grill on 15th ritual. The management removes the Hy’s is closing its doors at the end of Street, a block from the White House. furniture from the bar to accommo- February for good. In London, the House of Commons date everyone who wants to squeeze has eight bars right on the premises, in. The dining room is packed and Ironically, last call is coming just as and others nearby, where the divi- the private room at the back is crowd- a tightly controlled, closed mouthed sion bells ring when members have ed with members of the finance min- and highly suspicious government to return for a vote. In Paris, the small ister’s staff, friends and colleagues. is out of office after almost 10 years network of streets behind the Nation- in power, being replaced by one that al Assembly are populated by cafés Around 9.30 the minister arrives. He promises to be more open, more and bars, where it is rumoured many works through the bar, then the din- transparent and less secretive. deputies do some of their best work. ing room. It is as though he had just scored the winning goal in the sev- Whether Justin Trudeau and his Liber- The simple fact is that for democratic enth game of the Stanley Cup finals. als can live up to that pledge remains government to function properly Finally after all the accolades, he dis- to be seen. But it seems almost certain there must be places where those in- appears into the private room where to be a government more open and volved in its many facets can meet he receives a standing ovation. less paranoid, ready for discussion together informally, get to know and and ideas, and less tightly controlled trust each other, make agreements, Now, unless Finance Minister Bill than certainly Stephen Harper and celebrate successes and commiser- Morneau delivers an early budget be- most of his Conservatives were. ate over their disappointments. And fore the end of February, Joe Oliver will be the last finance minister who Despite the propsect of bonhomie, in Ottawa, Hy’s has played that role received that kind of treatment at Hy’s won’t be the place where it will since the late 1980s. Hy’s, after delivering his lone budget happen. A dispute over a new lease, Since then, I have paid more visits last April. a drop-off in patronage during the to Hy’s that I can accurately count. almost 10 years of Conservative gov- In fact I would bet that many of the Morneau and finance ministers yet to ernment, and two years of construc- writers in this edition of Policy could come will no doubt get the same kind tion while an underground light rail make the same claim, starting with of treatment somewhere else in down- station is built beneath the site has the editor and publisher. But each town Ottawa, in a restaurant close to convinced Hy’s ownership that con- of us would have our own favourite Parliament Hill, the one that becomes tinuing to operate is no longer viable. memories of experiences that could the meeting place where the politi- cos and pundits go. It will be the new The Harper years were hard on places only have happened at Hy’s. Hy’s. It just won’t be the same. like Hy’s, where the main clientele One of mine is the night in 1991 when has been politicians, journalists, lob- I was just finishing dinner with Paul Don Newman is senior counsel at byists and members of political staffs Martin, who was then in opposition. Navigator Ltd.and Ensight, Chairman of all parties. It has been a place to My cell phone rang with a call from of Canada 2020, and a lifetime eat and drink, laugh and relax, and another source I didn’t want Martin to member of the Canadian Parliamentary allow a convivial interaction among know I was contacting – and whom I Press Gallery. [email protected]

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