Here’s the bumper sticker I’d like to slap on for the threatened election: “Just Don’t Vote. Make Them Govern.” That’s because this Parliament has actually done some things due to the minority situation. Why let them play hooky now? If the Liberals slack off, then the other three parties could join to form a government. Does that sound weird? Why? If they can unite to bring down a government, let them combine to make one up.

And what about them saying they’d hold off if the Liberals agree now to announce an election next January, for February? Why can’t they just bring the Liberals down then? Am I missing something? Here’s the clincher: The likely result is a minority Parliament very like the one we have. So what’s the point? Am I double-missing something?

Oh, and whatever happened to proportional representation along with electoral reform? If we’re into an era of minority governments, doesn’t it make sense to democratize those by giving the parties seats according to the votes they get? Then the parliaments would be representative, and more stable.

Hey, wasn’t PR an NDP platform plank? Didn’t Jack Layton, before the last election, say he’d demand some form of it as his price for supporting a Martin government? I don’t think he ever did that! Why didn’t he push for it last week, instead of making vague demands for a guarantee against private health care? That would have been worth staying in session for. Am I missing something else?

People keep saying the Liberals can’t govern if they’ve lost the confidence of the House. They talk as if the phrase has its ordinary English meaning: as if Stephen, Gilles and Jack can no longer stand Paul. But really, it’s a technical term, like standing pat or triple lutz. “I recognize the member from Altoona” doesn’t mean, in parliamentese, Oh my god, it’s you! No government ever gets real confidence from the opposition.

Here’s the button I’d like to wear: “Bribe Me With My Own Money.” I mean, what else are taxes for? You pay them to governments so they can do things you desire that you couldn’t buy on your own. The point is they should not bribe others with my money, as they did in Adscam. Or put my money in their own pockets.

Now at last they use our money to give us things we value (child care, student aid, energy rebates) — rather than hand it to bankers or Liberal ad agencies — and all over Canada, people revolt? This seems to me perverse. Even in the U.S. last week, three states voted against tax cuts, though experts quickly explained it was not the start of a “backlash” against tax cuts — as if they feared the outbreak of a demand for ever higher taxes. I’d say people there just want to be bribed a bit with their own money.

I’m against a winter election, too. Not because it interrupts people’s joyous family time. I’m with John Doyle on that: Christmas is dismal for most folks. You’re just repressing if you don’t recall that. (Yes, kids love it, but elections don’t hamper them.) I’m against a winter election because it cuts into the kind of free-flowing democratic debate that tends to break out among politicians and ordinary voters, and voters themselves, only during election campaigns, and mostly at the door. There will be less of that due to the cold, fear of losing heat (and thus money), early fall of night, general surliness — and you’re less likely to invite someone in when they’re encumbered by winter gear.

The problem with our form of democracy can be stated in one word: representative. Having PR would make things better but wouldn’t solve that problem. For citizens, an election is really the only chance they get — or maybe it’s an excuse — to talk about politics, and not just in the sense of whining futilely about those bastards in Ottawa. I’d say that kind of discussion is what defines true democratic politics.

There are people who canvass each election, not because they love the party, but because they love the contact and the conversation. They get to imperfectly imitate ancient Athens, where debate open to all citizens, and not mere voting, was the essence of the political system.

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Rick Salutin

Rick Salutin is a Canadian novelist, playwright and critic. He is a strong advocate of left wing causes and writes a regular column in the Toronto Star.