Late last month, Government House leader Mark Holland called for a more human approach to politics, saying that there was “something broken” in how Members of Parliament treat each other.
“This place needs to be more human,” Holland told a House of Commons committee, speaking about his own personal trauma and the effects politics had on his mental health.
The Current19:05Liberal MP Mark Holland on how the pressures of politics left his life in ashes
His comments came amid a political climate that has become “highly problematic for democracy,” in the view of Lori Williams, an associate professor of political science at Mount Royal University.
“This notion that you can’t accept other people’s points of view, you call them names like traitor and worse,” she said.
“One of the biggest issues here is that we need all of us to take responsibility for doing things differently — not rewarding this kind of behaviour.”
With that in mind, CBC News reached out to three current and former politicians at the federal, provincial and local level based in the Calgary area to get their sense on modern politics and what they believe needs to change.
Michelle Rempel Garner
Michelle Rempel Garner, the Conservative member of Parliament for Calgary Nose Hill, says there’s a gravity among members of all political stripes when it comes to the importance of maintaining democracy in light of global instabilities. She says it’s important for individual politicians to resist taking the low road.
“That is a job for people who are in positions of great political influence. And it’s also incumbent upon the electorate to demand that type of behaviour from the people that they elect, so that they respond accordingly,” she said.
Heavily rumoured as a front-runner for Alberta’s United Conservative Party leadership after the departure of outgoing leader Jason Kenney, Garner declined to enter the race in June, citing internal discord within the party.
Conservative member of Parliament Michelle Rempel Garner says she’s optimistic, particularly when she looks in comparison to other countries around the world, that Canada has the capacity to elevate its politics. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press)
Over the years, she’s been a vocal critic of workplace harassment rules in Ottawa. In late 2021, she asked the House of Commons to determine if its workplace harassment policy went far enough to end a “culture of sexual misconduct” in Parliament.
She says that since she’s started her time in office, she’s seen some improvement in that regard, but the work continues.
“If we’re not addressing those things in the halls of power of our country, how can we ever hope to address that for other Canadians?” she said. “So it’s less about me and more about showing that our democracy is healthy, and that we’re setting an example for what workplaces should look like.”
Ottawa also has a tendency to yell “at each other over dogmatic purity,” in Garner’s view, and it prevents actual work from getting done.
“It calcifies our positions, such that we see positive social interaction as only associating with people in a very narrow worldview. And all that serves to do is to divide us into factions.”
Shannon Phillips
More than most politicians, Shannon Phillips, the Alberta NDP MLA for Lethbridge-West, has seen direct impacts to her personal life because of politics, having been monitored by the Lethbridge Police Service while she was the NDP’s environment minister.
A year ago, she received an anonymous “whistleblower” letter alleging someone had threatened retaliation against her and a CBC journalist for exposing misconduct in the force.
Today, she says there’s no question that the last couple of years have been “tremendously hard” on her. On a daily to weekly basis, it causes her to contemplate whether she should leave public life.
“But if we dwell on that, then what we end up with is a situation where other people do not want to enter public life. The sort of things that happened to me do not happen to everyone,” she said.
Alberta NDP MLA Shannon Phillips says she used to often go for a beer with conservative colleagues, with whom she would respectfully disagree. But she finds that situation happening less and less often these days, adding she finds “post-truth” elements are finding their way into politics. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press)
She says she is reticent to talk about the mental health or serious challenges that emerge after becoming a target because it can tend to shift conversation toward an individual, and not onto the structural issues that persist.
“It’s become a lot more difficult for women, or LGBT people, or people of visible minority, or Black and Indigenous people to justify participation in electoral politics, given what the public sees of what happens there,” she said.
“It goes much beyond, ‘let’s all try to be nicer to each other,’ and make sure that people are actually safe … if we’re not safe to do the job, then it doesn’t really matter what our manners are.”
Jeromy Farkas
Former city councillor Jeromy Farkas says he thought he was often portrayed in the media as being one-dimensional, but, in his view, a recent 4,270-kilometre hike he took to raise funds for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Calgary and Area changed things.
“A lot of people approached me through messages on social media and all the rest, saying they were very interested in what I was doing,” he said.
“It really surprised me to see that there were a lot of people who weren’t necessarily in favour of my politics, or supported me in the last election, but were really much more interested in what I was doing on a human level.”
Former city councillor Jeromy Farkas says he believes there are some things that are beyond left or right, and thinks the way for politics to move beyond its current toxic state is with more open engagement. (Submitted by Jeromy Farkas campaign)
He said politicians are expected to present a strong front and project confidence, and self-doubts are often identified as weakness.
“It doesn’t seem like the voters encourage or reward weak candidates. But the truth is, all through life, we’ve all been there. We all have struggles, we have hardships or successes, we have failures,” Farkas said.
Last week, Calgary police said they would launch an investigation into an alleged plot to entrap former mayor Naheed Nenshi. Farkas spoke out about that on social media this week.
READ: You can like or dislike <a href=”https://twitter.com/nenshi?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@Nenshi</a>. You can say what you will about his record. He’s not corrupt. The alleged plot against him is gross and wrong. I fully support his call for an investigation. <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/abpoli?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#abpoli</a> <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/yyccc?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#yyccc</a> <a href=”https://t.co/EkjXpNLcrP”>https://t.co/EkjXpNLcrP</a>
Farkas said it’s unfortunate that politics has gotten so extreme that many will turn a blind eye to such behaviour if it is one’s “own side” perpetuating it.
“There were some people on the more conservative side of the spectrum who reached out to me and they were not happy about me saying nice things about the former mayor,” he said.
“But it’s a bit ridiculous to see people on any side of the spectrum performing the mental gymnastics that are required to justify what was allegedly done to the mayor just because you define it as politics.”
Moe is set to speak in the city of Yorkton about affordability measures this morning before travelling to the nearby village of Theodore for an event with the local Saskatchewan Party candidate.
NDP Leader Carla Beck doesn’t have any events scheduled, though several party candidates are to hold press conferences.
On Thursday, Moe promised a directive banning “biological boys” from using school changing rooms with “biological girls” if re-elected.
The NDP said the Saskatchewan Party was punching down on vulnerable children.
Election day is Oct. 28.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 18, 2024.
REGINA – Saskatchewan Party Leader Scott Moe is promising a directive banning “biological boys” from using school changing rooms with “biological girls” if re-elected, a move the NDP’s Carla Beck says weaponizes vulnerable kids.
Moe made the pledge Thursday at a campaign stop in Regina. He said it was in response to a complaint that two biological males had changed for gym class with girls at a school in southeast Saskatchewan.
He said the ban would be his first order of business if he’s voted again as premier on Oct. 28.
It was not previously included in his party’s campaign platform document.
“I’ll be very clear, there will be a directive that would come from the minister of education that would say that biological boys will not be in the change room with biological girls,” Moe said.
He added school divisions should already have change room policies, but a provincial directive would ensure all have the rule in place.
Asked about the rights of gender-diverse youth, Moe said other children also have rights.
“What about the rights of all the other girls that are changing in that very change room? They have rights as well,” he said, followed by cheers and claps.
The complaint was made at a school with the Prairie Valley School Division. The division said in a statement it doesn’t comment on specific situations that could jeopardize student privacy and safety.
“We believe all students should have the opportunity to learn and grow in a safe and welcoming learning environment,” it said.
“Our policies and procedures align with the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the Canadian Human Rights Act and the Saskatchewan Human Rights Code.”
Asked about Moe’s proposal, Beck said it would make vulnerable kids more vulnerable.
Moe is desperate to stoke fear and division after having a bad night during Wednesday’s televised leaders’ debate, she said.
“Saskatchewan people, when we’re at our best, are people that come together and deliver results, not divisive, ugly politics like we’ve seen time and again from Scott Moe and the Sask. Party,” Beck said.
“If you see leaders holding so much power choosing to punch down on vulnerable kids, that tells you everything you need to know about them.”
Beck said voters have more pressing education issues on their minds, including the need for smaller classrooms, more teaching staff and increased supports for students.
People also want better health care and to be able to afford gas and groceries, she added.
“We don’t have to agree to understand Saskatchewan people deserve better,” Beck said.
The Saskatchewan Party government passed legislation last year that requires parents consent to children under 16 using different names or pronouns at school.
The law has faced backlash from some LGBTQ+ advocates, who argue it violates Charter rights and could cause teachers to out or misgender children.
Beck has said if elected her party would repeal that legislation.
Heather Kuttai, a former commissioner with the Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission who resigned last year in protest of the law, said Moe is trying to sway right-wing voters.
She said a change room directive would put more pressure on teachers who already don’t have enough educational support.
“It sounds like desperation to me,” she said.
“It sounds like Scott Moe is nervous about the election and is turning to homophobic and transphobic rhetoric to appeal to far-right voters.
“It’s divisive politics, which is a shame.”
She said she worries about the future of gender-affirming care in a province that once led in human rights.
“We’re the kind of people who dig each other out of snowbanks and not spew hatred about each other,” she said. “At least that’s what I want to still believe.”
Also Thursday, two former Saskatchewan Party government members announced they’re endorsing Beck — Mark Docherty, who retired last year and was a Speaker, and Glen Hart, who retired in 2020.
Ian Hanna, a speech writer and senior political adviser to former Saskatchewan Party premier Brad Wall, also endorsed Beck.
Earlier in the campaign, Beck received support from former Speaker Randy Weekes, who quit the Saskatchewan Party earlier this year after accusing caucus members of bullying.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 17, 2024.
REGINA – Saskatchewan‘s provincial election is on Oct. 28. Here’s a look at some of the campaign promises made by the two major parties:
Saskatchewan Party
— Continue withholding federal carbon levy payments to Ottawa on natural gas until the end of 2025.
— Reduce personal income tax rates over four years; a family of four would save $3,400.
— Double the Active Families Benefit to $300 per child per year and the benefit for children with disabilities to $400 a year.
— Direct all school divisions to ban “biological boys” from girls’ change rooms in schools.
— Increase the First-Time Homebuyers Tax Credit to $15,000 from $10,000.
— Reintroduce the Home Renovation Tax Credit, allowing homeowners to claim up to $4,000 in renovation costs on their income taxes; seniors could claim up to $5,000.
— Extend coverage for insulin pumps and diabetes supplies to seniors and young adults
— Provide a 50 per cent refundable tax credit — up to $10,000 — to help cover the cost of a first fertility treatment.
— Hire 100 new municipal officers and 70 more officers with the Saskatchewan Marshals Service.
— Amend legislation to provide police with more authority to address intoxication, vandalism and disturbances on public property.
— Platform cost of $1.2 billion, with deficits in the first three years and a small surplus in 2027.
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NDP
— Pause the 15-cent-a-litre gas tax for six months, saving an average family about $350.
— Remove the provincial sales tax from children’s clothes and ready-to-eat grocery items like rotisserie chickens and granola bars.
— Pass legislation to limit how often and how much landlords can raise rent.
— Repeal the law that requires parental consent when children under 16 want to change their names or pronouns at school.
— Launch a provincewide school nutrition program.
— Build more schools and reduce classroom sizes.
— Hire 800 front-line health-care workers in areas most in need.
— Launch an accountability commission to investigate cost overruns for government projects.
— Scrap the marshals service.
— Hire 100 Mounties and expand detox services.
— Platform cost of $3.5 billion, with small deficits in the first three years and a small surplus in the fourth year.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct .17, 2024.
