Mandryk: Our politics has become all about the outer fringe rather than the centre

Article content Perhaps it’s only appropriate that the country that brought us the Tim Hortons doughnut is now seeing an ever-diminishing centre in its politics. Of course, Canada is not unique in this regard. The worst example is what we see south of us where the self-proclaimed greatest democracy in the world now supports a leader who sides with dictators over democratic allies, while insisting his executive powers superseded its legislative and judicial branches.

This is now happening in President Donald Trump’s America because many in that country lack even a rudimentary understanding of how government works ...



or how politics is a process where we decide how to best address collective needs. Their sheer ignorance on how tariffs work seems to underscore that. However, the far bigger problem is those on the the outer edges of today’s politics — which now seems to be where most everyone in politics is these days — don’t seem the least bit interested in finding common ground in the middle.

Politics is now all about the sweet, unhealthy, but easily digestible edges. For example, it’s become remarkably easy for the average American autoworker — once stereotypically thought to be a Democrat-leaning unionist — to be convinced his problems are all due to a woke, left-wing agenda supporting climate change mitigation and building cheap cars elsewhere. In a world where standards of living are tied to both cheap labour and changing production technology, it’s obviously a lot more complicated than that.

But the complexity of this matter doesn’t make the frustrations for such workers any less real. Unfortunately, many remain surprisingly unsympathetic to the economic realities of such working people, once considered an ally of the left. Here in Canada, we like to look down our noses at what goes on in the U.

S. But how different is our political debate here? Consider the current federal election campaign where Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is drawing sizeable crowds seemingly eager to hear his message of how the carbon tax (something they’ve never had south of the border) has threatened good-paying jobs and decent lifestyles of working people. We should be having a thoughtful debate on this matter.

But does anyone expect that to happen at this week’s leaders’ debates? Sadly, it’s become a problem at all levels of governance in this country. Consider Regina, where seemingly right-of-centre councillors are balking at using an old firehall to help feed the hungry for fear that this might become a “training ground” for “political extremists” whose views on social media are disagreeable or because they have been critical of the city’s support for the homeless in the past. And consider what we just witnessed in the Saskatchewan legislature, where Humboldt-Watrous Saskatchewan Party MLA Racquel Hilbert is being admonished for calling federal NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh a terrorist.

Premier Scott Moe has stripped Hilbert of what little committee responsibilities she had and the MLA has apologized for her words. But let’s explore what might really be behind the comments of Hilbert, whose political resume boasts of “professional training in anti-racism, cultural diversity, and inclusive supports.” The unwillingness of Hilbert or anyone else in government to provide a proper explanation only leaves one to speculate.

But w hat struck many about Hilbert’s speech might not necessarily have been the bizarre comment about Singh, but the utter contempt for the NDP leader, the NDP and most anyone with a differing viewpoint. In today’s politics, it’s become unfashionable to come across as centrist ..

. or even the least bit reasonable or accommodating of thought. In that sad sense, it was a speech all too familiar in today’s politics.

Like the modern-day doughnut, it’s become all about the fatty, empty calories on the outer fringe. Really, it’s high time we changed our political diet. Mandryk is the political columnist for the Regina Leader-Post a the Saskatoon StarPhoenix.

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