Debt and responsibility
By Aaron Wherry - Thursday, July 28, 2011 - 3 Comments
John Pepall, author of Against Reform, points to the U.S. debt crisis as another reason we should appreciate our parliamentary system.
Under parliamentary government, a prime minister must take responsibility for a budget. If it is passed he will have to answer to the voters for it. If the country prospers the voters will cheer him on to re-election. If not, he will have to shoulder the blame and electoral defeat. If it is not passed there will have to be an election and the voters can decide whether they like the budget or would prefer something else.
One way or another parliamentary government forces politicians to take responsibility and holds them accountable … In the U. S. power is dispersed and responsibility is avoided.
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The House: Further reading
By Aaron Wherry - Tuesday, February 22, 2011 at 9:20 AM - 6 Comments
For their assistance when I was putting together last week’s piece on the House—and for the indispensable sites they respectively maintain—I owe a huge debt of gratitude to Michael Mulley of openparliament.ca and Cory Horner of howdtheyvote.ca. I also must thank Ned Franks, both for his writing on Parliament and omnibus legislation and his perspective.
Those seeking perspective and data, should start with Parliament’s own tallies of private members’ bills passed, legislation adopted and sitting days.
Beyond those, there are several other texts that proved helpful. Continue…
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Even if it's broken, don't fix it
By Paul Wells - Friday, December 17, 2010 at 8:40 AM - 35 Comments
PAUL WELLS on a new book that argues against government reform
Jim Young/Reuters
I had not heard of John Pepall before his book Against Reform landed, with no great thud, on my desk last month. The bio in the book calls him “a writer and political commentator based in Toronto.” Since Against Reform is a political commentary and Pepall wrote it, the bio adds little to our knowledge.
His website features 20 years of political writing, including a review of an Elizabeth May book that was rejected by the Literary Review of Canada for being “mean-spirited.” I like him already. Pepall on May’s critique of Canadian journalism: “What seems to disturb her is not that her interests and ideas are not reflected in the media but that others are. Happily she proposes no remedy.”
Pepall’s book reveals interests and ideas not often reflected in the media. Against Reform is a corker, a funny little rebuttal to just about everything you usually read about our ailing democracy.
