Budgets tend to concentrate the mind
TORONTO – Judging by the posturing in Canada’s House of Commons Question Period (and consequent debate among the select few “insiders” chosen to inform the federal public about its meanings), the country may find itself in the throes of a general election in very short order. Anything is possible in a Parliamentary Constitutional Monarchy. Members of Parliament are, strictly speaking, only advisors to the monarch. If the executive branch of that advisory group (Cabinet) cannot demonstrate that its advice – proposals and regulations for effective administration – do not have the support/confidence of the majority of his Majesty’s advisors, then His Majesty seeks different advisors. It is that simple.
No [recognized] collection of advisors/MPs emerged from the last general election. Fortunately for the Executive (Prime Minister and Cabinet), occasions for “testing the confidence of His Majesty” in his elected advisors are severely limited to money matters, the approval of the annual Budget and its attendant Expenditure Plan.
The debate aimed at acquiring that Parliamentary consent is often messy, insincere, partisan, reflective of goals and ambitions frequently regional, “local”, even selfishly sectoral and personal. That is fair. Budgets are primarily about what, as a group we what to accomplish (setting priorities) and how those goals will be financed (taxes we will accept). Facts and Law.
Debates are about the why that satisfies the concerns in both cases: information sharing – words to buttress value of intent. If the debate does not result in an expression of confidence in the Executive’s expenditure plan, the assumption is that His Majesty must seek new advisors/MPs.
Tomorrow, the current government will present a Budget for Parliament’s thoughtful assessment. It will not necessarily preclude bombast and hyperbole expended to seek support or weaken the resolve of contrarian views. The diplomacy and compromises that may follow might even result in the defeat of the government. The gates of hell will not necessarily swing wide open in that event.
Think of a game of cards (briscola or tre sette if you are Italian). When the round is ended, whether one is a winner or a loser, the deck of cards is reshuffled, and the cards are redealt. The deck is not destroyed or otherwise burned. That would make no sense, unless one refuses to play again.
Until Thursday, when the Budget will be in the hands of all Parliamentarians, everything is speculative. In any event, the country has been operating without a formal Budget since March of 2024. None was debated or approved in that Spring, as is the practice. Nor was an “update” presented in the Fall of 2024, also a “normal” practice.
In the interim, a federal election has produced a new Executive Council (Cabinet) but no new Budget. No plans approved for execution. No authority to spend. Let us get on with it.
In the pic below, Prime Minister Mark Carney (photo from his Twitter profile – @MarkJCarney)
