The Voting - Parliamentary Democracy Gears Turn

In some ways, irregardless of your political stripes, these are the most exciting days of a Parliamentary Democracy. The wheels turn to set about a potential change in government. Roles that are otherwise window-dressing actually have a function and we see that a few dozen millions can live in relative harmony and bring about a structured revisiting of their system of government.

So a vote is on, and the outcome is essentially a foregone conclusion. Non-confidence in the reigning party will be confirmed, following the motion served last week by The Conservatives and NDP (Moved by Harper, seconded by Layton). The outcome is that with the non-confidence vote lost by the governing party, the Governor-General (the Queen's representative in Canada) will confer with the Prime Minister and in that process will call for a new election. The writ, as we say, will be dropped.

She, (the GG) can actually do something else if she wanted - she could say, "You conservatives, NDP's and Bloc's go form a new government." But that's very unlikely, and so we'll end up going to the polls in early January.

Voting on the non-confidence motion gets underway just before 7:00pm tonight, and doesn't take long, as members simply stand to be counted and then we know.


Phoning it in For the First Month

It's generally conceeded that the parties will not be going full tilt until after the Christmas season. There will be some token campaigning, but they anticipate a lot of doors closed in their faces leading up to the holidays, and so will wait until afterwards to start really pounding the pavement.

The first spins of the session will have to be seen. We still see the Liberals saying "Canadians don't want an election" Canadians generally don't seem to care much when it happens. The opposition parties point out that they'd like a non-confidence motion now, and an election later (with some governing going ahead for a month or so).

They have a point, I suppose - the Liberals - that once confidence has failed, the concept of continuing to legislate further business is a bit of a stretch to the parliametary system.

Enjoying the Machinations

So meanwhile, enjoy the steps as they play out. I think it's the best part of the system, steeped in tradition, no gunshots invoved or people lined up against garden walls. The PM should have a speech for the press shortly about his chat with the GG, there should be statements that punch the primary slogans and points of the respective campaigns, and lawn signs will start sprouting around town.

I'd recommend a sign from each of the Liberals and the Greens for your lawn - the colours will be particularly festive. You can worry about the political statement after Christmas, and pull them down in favour of your chosen party. Or, if you're like me, no party at all.