The Exponential Spiral

In the infinite wisdom of his rubber bonce, the Canadian Prime Minister, Stephen Harper decided on December 30th to prorogue the forthcoming session of parliament. This dissolution of parliament and, effectively, the cancellation of the legislative agenda and timely debate – the spine and health of any open, democratic nation – can only be construed as the stepping stone to tyranny.

I, like thousands of other Canadians take offense at the crass and insulting use of this political manoeuver which is democratic abeyance. Placing parliament into a self-induced coma and suspending debate seems to have absolutely no benefit to Canadians mindful of the issues of the day. With Harper prorogation only seems a ploy to shirk the unfavourable scrutiny that a politician of any integrity and might would welcome with relish and address with confidence. The Prime Minister appears far, far out of his depth.

As a poet I am against any form of tyranny wherever in the world, for any poet who writes in favour of tyranny is no poet at all. He is some scornful creature altogether worse. He is a jackass. Though Canada might not be in the realm of democratic fascism, the direction and obfuscation of the Harper conservatives is troubling. One wonders how often the idea of an arbeitsfront or any of the other instruments of oppressive regimes have floated through one of Harper's afternoon reveries, which he now has ample occasion and leisure for.

To think that cancelling parliament would not be of much concern or go unnoticed by Canadians at home or abroad on December 30th – that fuzzy time between the rum-laden egg nog of Noel and the champagne of New Year's eve – was a cocky miscalculation. The country smelled a rat and woke.

As the presiding government sees politics only through the prism of a humourless blood sport, Canadians responded by not treating politics merely as a spectator sport. The facebook campaign was born and gained momentum, became organised and translated cyber protest successfully to nation-wide street protest and beyond, as evidenced here in London. It was and is a phenomenally admirable event to have been part of. It was particularly entertaining to see the hundreds of lampoons that fellow Canadians have devised – the more opacity a government resorts to, the brighter the lampoons. To think! Unknown Canadians set their lives aside and met in the street and began to talk to one another about what passionately concerns them, that being the absence of decent governence.

What must frustrate conservatives is not being able to control or torque the dialogue that has begun within this protest. It was not only prorogation that was discussed as Canadians met. People were and are making the connections of the conservative government's continually suspect record i.e. the Cadman affair, Prorogue the 1st, the fixed elections sham, Colvin, Prorogue the 2nd, Beauregard etc. These issues do not become ephemeral and fade, rather they take on a new accumulated awareness, they become an exponential spiral of dialogue that does not merely return to cyberspace and level off but carries out across the land, back to kitchen tables, coffee tables, restaurants and bars, wherever friends, family and strangers gather.

The conservatives, the con hackers that often rail away on the cbc and other media forums, the conservative resource group would love for the clairvoyance of ordinary Canadians to disappear. The problem for them is that you cannot hide from the public's memory once it has switched on. The cons can scramble, bluster and muster, deflect blame, interfere and slant what messages all they want but in reality they look desperate and sound shrill. It seems they are trying to stop a thawed river by hurling icicles into it.

Good luck, Canada, and stay aware. The world needs you on a different path than what the last four years have shown.