Parliament prorogued

Facing certain defeat in the House of Commons on Monday, Prime Minister Stephen Harper attended Governor General Michaëlle Jean at Rideau Hall on Thursday morning, 4 December 2008 and requested prorogation of Parliament, which she granted until 26 January. His minority government thus obtained a reprieve and some breathing space, but the country was left in a precarious situation at a time of major economic crisis worldwide. The PM's manoeuvre has no precedent in Canadian parliamentary practice.

A potential coalition of opposition parties, with majority votes in the Commons, was left in limbo, furious. The nation can expect a bombardment of vicious propaganda in coming weeks as parties justify their position, and dig in their heels. The coalition may fracture long before it can come into existence. In truth, it has been deeply flawed and illusionary from inception.


Had the Governor General been courageous and refused prorogation, a ragtag combo of Liberals and NDP, with dubious Bloquiste support, would have attempted some response to the fast deteriorating economic condition of the country. Meanwhile, a bad constitutional precedent has been set.

If Her Excellency had either refused prorogation or taken the request under advisement, a furor would have erupted not unlike the fuss and rant in 1926 when Lord Byng of Vimy did not acquiesce to the prime minister of the day. In Canadian fashion she chose discretion rather than assertion. Nevertheless reserve powers of the royal prerogative remain, intact and dormant until some future crisis.

Arts in Canada under attack

The Conservative government’s strong dislike of arts and culture is increasingly evident in proposed legislation that would establish subjective tests for media to receive public subsidies, and most recently in $45 million of cuts to various arts programmes, particularly those that promote Canadian culture abroad.

Liberal candidate Justin Trudeau (Montreal Papineau) and NDP leader Jack Layton have been vocal in making the cuts an issue in the election campaign, as have many cultural organizations across the country.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper can scarcely conceal his contempt for what he calls a “niche issue” promoted by well-heeled intellectual élitists, evidently of little interest to ordinary Canadians.

It is not an issue that is going to go away. As an economic activity culture represents a value as high as $85 billion in Canada. Nothing is more potent a factor in Canadian identity forged over centuries across a vast continent. It includes a myriad of activities, national and regional, ethnic and aboriginal, on-stage, in museums, schools and universities, in print, on-air and on-line. Some is commercially viable, but most requires a boost in this country more than most, given the small diverse population spread unevenly across a huge land. Philanthropy can help, but assured public subsidies remain essential for the continued healthy existence of the arts in Canada.

graphic: The Red Maple (1914), by A.Y. Jackson (of the Group of Seven)

After Beijing

I watched the final closing spectacle of the Games, astonished and somewhat perplexed. No doubt the totalitarian host country surpassed itself in the quality of the event. I am distressed by unspoken political overtones. However, the athletes experienced wonderful conditions over the seventeen days of the XXIX Olympiad, and they deserve the best.

Canada’s 18 medals equal the number obtained in Barcelona 1992, less than the 22 in Atlanta 1996. The haul was 3 gold, 9 silver, and 6 bronze. The country’s support of its élite athletes is trivial, even pitiful compared to programmes in Commonwealth countries like Australia and Great Britain.

I watched quite a bit of the Olympics over the past two weeks, as much in awe of the disappointments and failures as of the successes.

In fairness, Canada's excellent standing in winter sports should be remembered. At the XX Olympic Winter Games in Turin in 2006 Canada ranked fifth with 24 medals (7 gold, 10 silver, 7 bronze). Vancouver is the venue for the XXI Games in 2010.

Fateless: Holocaust in Hungary

Sorstalanság (Hungary/Germany/UK, 2005)
Eng.: Fateless
Fr.: Être sans destin
dir. Lajos Koltai
rating: ✶✶✶✶✶

The Hungarian title can also be translated Fatelessness, a mind-numbing concept in the novel and script by Nobel laureate Imre Kertész. The film remarkably combines holocaust and coming-of-age themes in the personal experience of a boy wonderfully played by Marcell Nagy. The story is as harrowing as the resolution is troubling. The cinematography is powerful and memorable throughout.

Jacob Hertzman (1981-1996)

One has to be moved by the tribute of family and friends to a young boy who died just short of his fifteenth birthday after a life complicated by multiple congenital abnormalities. He was my 1st cousin 2nd removed, lived in the same city, but I never met him and hardly knew anything about him until I recently saw The Jacob Stories, a little book compiled by his mother Jill, with Elayne Freeman, and wonderfully illustrated by grandmother Florence (Toronto, 2004).

Jill wrote of her son: “Jacob was a puzzle whose pieces did not quite fit. He was an unusual combination of fierce determination and fragility. When he felt well he boldly went about the business of living.” (p.xiv)

The graphic (below) was done by Kaylee Mimron, a friend of Jacob’s at Kohai Education Centre in Toronto, a special needs school where he blossomed.

Toronto, 22 January 2008