I didn't bother watching the leaders' debate last week. In fact, I haven't even glanced at the highlights posted all over social media.
There's a very good reason for this, one that may come as a shock to even the most informed reader: the fact of the matter is, we don't vote for the next PM, or even for governments - we vote for a local member of Parliament, and that's all. Thus, the debates and statements all of us should be watching most closely involve our local candidates.
People in this country seem to have forgotten how tenuous the idea of a prime minister is, or at least what actually constitutes that role and that often misquoted word "government."
A PM is first and foremost, just another member of Parliament, and his or her only claim to fame is that this member enjoys the confidence of the house to select ministers for portfolios and pass legislation.
Further to this point, it now becomes clear what your civics teacher meant when he or she said "Canada enjoys responsible government," for unlike Americans, our secretaries and ministers of various departments cannot hide behind the president, but are forced to answer questions inside the House of Commons.
These leading members are, again, just MPs, but they forego many of the issues of individual representation, and instead run and form the government.
And as a final word on the PM and government, it must be understood that these notions of confidence and forming a government stand wholly apart from partisan politics. For example, just because a PM no longer enjoys the confidence of the house, doesn't mean Canadians must go back to the ballot box. The conventions of Parliament allow for other members, regardless of party, to step forward and try to form a government, with the permission of the Governor General.
If you are reading this correctly, the importance of your local representative just became fantastically higher. It's a little far flung to say your local member might be called upon to form a government, but supporting a good leader, voicing your concerns, and voting critically on various legislation are all part of your MP's role. In fact, Trudeau senior's explanation of backbench MPs as "nobodies" couldn't be more untrue: with enough willpower, backbenchers could take over!
To be clear, I'm not excusing the need to be informed on the various platforms of the major parties, nor am I arguing that we're on the verge of a Parliamentary culture that is less partisan. I am simply saying that regardless of your party preference, it is good to recall that MP's are more than the sum of their party's whips' and leaders' desires.
So, as this obscenely long election period drags on, it is best for each of us to save at least some of our attention span for local debates, statements, and interviews of the various candidates in the two ridings that cut through our town.
For in the end, regardless of what the talking heads in the media say or the rest of the country does, one of the names on that ballot in October is going to Ottawa.
Wouldn't it be wise to send the best candidate?
