Canada's Dysfuntional Democracy

At the risk of overstating what Canadians think, it is clear to me that most of us are fed up with the state of democracy in Canada. If I have overstated it, I know that at the very least most of my friends are.

On September 23, Maclean's and CPAC hosted a round table discussion entitled our “Democracy is Broken: How do we fix it?” at Toronto's St Lawrence Centre for the Arts.

The round table was moderated by Peter Van Dusen and featured Maclean’s Andrew Coyne and Paul Wells. They were joined by a guest panel made up of former NDP leader Ed Broadbent, former prime minister's chief of staff Eddie Goldenberg, author John Ralston Saul and conservative commentator Rick Anderson.

It was an interesting discussion, a must for political junkies.

It was turned into a television program and you can find it by following this link to CPAC.

Earlier this week, Sunday Edition's Michael Enright moderated a public forum entitled "Canada's Dysfunctional Politics", is There a Cure For Our Failing Democracy" . Sunday Edition hosted the town hall type meeting at St. Paul's University in Ottawa to discuss the issues. It was broadcast September 27 and will soon be available on podcast.

The panelists were:

Jane Taber ,senior parliamentary writer for The Globe and Mail, and co-host of CTV's Question Period.

Duff Connacher , founder and co-ordinator of Democracy Watch

.Charlotte Gray, is one of Canada's best known non fiction writers, and adjunct professor in the department of history at Carlton University.

William Johnson, the author of five books on politics in French and English including "The Future of Canada" and a biography of Stephen Harper.

Manon Conellier, political columnist for Le Devoir.

Elly Alboim, former CBC journalist and current head of Strategic Communications for Earnscliffe Strategy Group.

And

As well on September 27, on CPAC's Goldhawk Live, the topic is Dysfunctional Democracy. They will be taking live calls from viewers. Political scientist and media commentator John Trent, who is on FVC's National Advisory Board, will be a studio guest.

The program should also be available on-line at the CPAC site if you miss it.