This asymmetry of institutional criticism and activism along ideological and partisan lines ought to concern everyone. An overwhelming left-wing bias in our mainstream institutions is neither healthy for our civic life nor the institutions themselves. It can ultimately lead to declining trust and rising polarization as we’ve witnessed elsewhere.
The elite reaction to the Trudeau government’s recent decision to sue the Parliamentary speaker is a case in point. The House of Commons has passed several motions in recent weeks to request documents from the government regarding the firing of two federal scientists on national security grounds and yet the government has consistently refused to comply.
The Trudeau government has now taken the extraordinary step of filing a lawsuit against Speaker Anthony Rota (who is himself a Liberal Member of Parliament) in order to circumvent the Parliamentary orders. The ongoing ordeal raises basic questions about Parliamentary supremacy in our constitutional system.
It’s precisely the sort of issue that ought to animate law professors across the country who can usually be relied upon to issue an open letter of condemnation every time a Conservative government makes a decision they don’t like. Yet there’s been deafening silence in response to the government’s act of executive aggrandizement. No open letters. No protests. No media exposes. Not even the usual snark or incredulity on social media. Apparently academic Twitter has suddenly exhausted its usual supply of indignation.
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