LibertasPost

By Jordan J. Ballor (with permission)

An Analogy for Good Government

MONDAY, MARCH 8, 2010

Riffing off of Lord Acton’s quote on liberty and good government, I came up with an analogy that was well-received at last month’s inaugural Acton on Tap.

In his essay, “The History of Freedom in Antiquity,” Acton said the following:

The government’s decision to prorogue Parliament until early March in response to the Senate’s obstruction of its legislative agenda has once again thrust the subject of parliamentary reform back into the public consciousness.

An elected Senate remains the most popular of possible reforms, but with the Conservative Party set to assume control of the upper chamber, perhaps the time is ripe to hit the pause button and ask: Is this the right direction to go?

For some time now, impropriety in Indian-band elections and financial-disclosure problems have been pushed off to the courts for a resolution. The federal government avoided controversy by encouraging First Nation bands to solve their own problems.

A senior Indian Affairs policy analyst recently said that the Ministry must work with a recognized legitimate government on a reserve. If the government is unable to identify an acceptable First Nation leader, Indian Affairs should consider diverting program funding through a third-party manager while competing band factions resolve issues.

Late this November, Vancouver City Council said that it would consider amendments to earlier bylaws which regulated the speech of residents of the Greater Vancouver Area.

Particularly the one which would allow bylaw officers in the Greater Vancouver Area to enter any private residence, without the owner or occupiers' consent and with 24-hours' notice, in order to remove or alter signs, advertisements, or graffiti which 'violate' local restrictions.

It makes sense, on the 20th anniversary of the December 6 Montreal massacre, to remember the victims -- the dead and the wounded.

It makes sense to talk about violence against women, to talk about mental illness, the dangers of ignoring warning signs, as well as how to strike the balance between acting on those warning signs and not being alarmist.

But it makes no sense to use December 6 as a justification for keeping the long-gun registry.