Thread by @Norlaine

One of the biggest problems our society faces these days is not that we don't have rules, or that our rules don't work. It's that some of the people who are supposed to be governed by the rules instead ignore or exploit them. 1/25 #cdnpoli

Our system of government is predicated on the members of the House of Commons being "honourable" people. Not cheaters, liars, or grifters. And while there have been scoundrels in the House before, I feel we are seeing an unprecedented level of bad behaviour now. 2/25

The way the House of Commons is supposed to work is based on the idea that all parties are working for the good of the citizens, but they may have different ideas of the best way to get there. 3/25

The role of the government is to propose policy and legislation that is intended to better the lives of Canadians. The role of opposition parties is to point out problems in said policy and legislation and offer tweaks to make it better. 4/25

Of course, if the government is up to something fishy, it is also the role of the opposition to draw attention to that and seek to correct it. But the primary role is to help government make the best policy possible for Canadians. 5/25

Believe it or not, parties used to work together quite often to craft policy. This is how we got universal health care, for example. 6/25

Currently, the opposition (esp. the CPC) seems to be on a perpetual witch-hunt, trying to find anything that could somehow be construed as a scandal, in the hope of bringing the government down. 7/25

This really isn't helpful and actually often obstructs things the government is trying to do for the good of Canadians. This is a huge problem, especially when the country is facing major challenges, such as a global pandemic. 8/25

In fact, since 2015, I don't recall the CPC proposing anything useful or helpful. They have been too busy trying to "tattle" on the government about anything they can get their hands on, to actually consider Canadians at all. 9/25

I honestly believe the CPC have private investigators and fixers all trying to dig up dirt on Liberal MPs, and they will go as far back as they can to find anything. In what way is that helpful for Canadians or for our democracy? 10/25

They dug way back to find the "blackface" photos, and still keep throwing them at anyone who posts anything positive about the government. That is such old news now, and the fact they keep on doing it shows their desperation. 11/25

So, if they aren't participating in improving legislation, if they are actually obstructing legislation meant to help Canadians, what are we to make of their motives? Should we think, "Oh, they want to work for us, they just don't play well with others?" 12/25

Or should we be concerned that our well-being isn't actually their goal? If they are gaslighting us, misleading us, lying to us, making stuff up to turn us against the government we elected, why should we imagine they would be benevolent & honest if they formed government? 13/25

The trouble is, we have these rules about how people are supposed to behave, but these people have decided to ignore all that. And they do so with such arrogance and confidence, no one who matters is calling them out on it. 14/25

We need journalists who are able and willing to call out the opposition when they lie, when they act badly. As it is, most journalists seem to feel their only job is pointing out what they are told by the CPC is bad behaviour by the government. 15/25

Here's an analogy to illustrate the problem with that. Imagine you are dating someone, or married, and someone comes along that keeps dissing your partner, keeps telling you all sorts of bad things about them, only because they want you for themself... 16/25

And then your friends all start taking this new person's side and start blaming your partner and criticising them too. What if this new person is actually lying to you about your partner? Making up stuff about them to make you break up with them... 17/25

If someone is lying and misleading to get you away from the person you are with, so that they can have you, what kind of relationship do you think that would be going forward if you did break up with person 1 and go with person 2? 18/25

And what on earth could your friends be thinking if they are helping the liar? Why would they back up the mistruths about the imperfect but pretty decent person, in order to throw you into the arms of the one who will trash your home, drain your savings, and abandon you? 19/25

We Canadians trust journalists, in general. Our journalists, by and large, have traditionally followed some pretty strict ethical rules. They lost credibility if they didn't. Canadian journalists were, once upon a time, far more ethical than many countries'. But now? 20/25

We have major papers repeating incorrect/wrong things the opposition says, like calling the government "the NDP/Liberal Coalition", which it is not. Btw, a coalition is a viable and appropriate situation under a Westminster Parliamentary system such as we have. 21/25

But this is not a coalition. So the Globe and Mail and other media outlets calling it that is just wrong. Inaccurate. Journalists should not be inaccurate. Their job is to tell the truth, and to publish news in the public interest. 22/25

Politics is complex and we need good, honest journalists to help us navigate through it. We can't all be experts in trade and diplomacy and environmental science and human rights and economics and policy and procedure. We need honest journalists to explain things to us. 23/25

But if all they do is repeat the lies and propaganda of the opposition (whose only goal seems to be to wrest power from the government so they can do whatever it is they want to do to us) then they are hurting us rather than helping us. 24/25

We need to demand more. We need facts. We need explanation. We need a fourth estate that actually works in our interest. And we need to reign in those who will stop at nothing to gain power for themselves with no indication that it will benefit us. 25/25

*rein, not reign. Stupid autocorrect doesn't know anything about horses.