On Tuesday, Premier Doug Ford announced he was introducing legislation that would require future governments to get express approval from voters by way of a referendum before introducing carbon pricing. If you thought Ford had hit rock bottom in recent months, think again. This is a terrible idea from a government desperate to draw attention away from its many scandals and failures.
The Get It Done Act, which might be mistaken for the title of a 1990s action flick, will mandate an unnecessary and costly referendum to introduce carbon pricing rather than simply allowing politicians to do their job and pass laws. Of the law, Ford said it will “guarantee that no provincial government can force a costly carbon tax on the people of Ontario without ensuring their voices are heard loud and clear.”
If we take Ford’s reasoning to its logical end, we soon find ourselves in an absurd situation in which politicians must go hat in hand to voters any time they wish to introduce a policy related to the raising or spending of money. If such a law is reasonable and necessary for carbon pricing, surely it’s just as reasonable and necessary for all kinds of policies.
Referendums are blunt, divisive, and simplistic instruments that ought to be reserved for extraordinary occasions, if they are ever to be used at all. We ought to include the public in the political process, but there are better ways. Citizens’ assemblies are one way. Widespread consultations with civil-society organizations and individuals are another. Referendums ask a yes-or-no question and divide the population in often rather toxic ways. They’re also lousy at producing thoughtful, considered reflections and decisions on complex policy choices.
This proposed law seems designed to make it harder for future governments to adopt climate policy while making this one look like it cares about what Ontarians think. It’s a cynical thing. The legislation is arbitrary insofar as it chooses carbon pricing, a bugbear of the right, as a target. Because why would a carbon price need a referendum and not, say, a tax cut? Or a hike in the provincial sales tax? Or the building of a costly new highway or its sale to private interests? Each of these issues has financial implications for the public — and potentially considerable ones, at that.
Ford didn’t seem concerned about accountability and direct democracy when he was fiddling with Toronto’s city-council composition during an election or when he was crushing labour rights with the costly and unconstitutional Bill 124. His government didn’t worry about a referendum when it opened sensitive and protected land in the Greenbelt to developers or sold out Ontario Place for a luxury spa. The Progressive Conservatives weren’t in a rush to consult deeply or hold a referendum in any of these instances.
By trying to place the current government and future governments under the thumb of a referendum, Ford is abrogating his responsibility as premier, just as he seems to deliberately misunderstand how parliamentary democracy works. If a government holds the confidence of the legislature, it has the right to govern and to try to pass any bill it pleases. If that confidence fails, the government dies, and a new one takes its place. Elections and the confidence of the legislature give governments the right to introduce a carbon price or any other routine piece of legislation. A referendum is not only redundant but also undermines parliamentary democracy and democratic accountability.
Ultimately, the Get It Done Act cannot indefinitely bind future governments. The next government could do away with the act as quickly and easily as the Ford government is introducing it, assuming there’s parliamentary will to do so. In a majority government opposed to the law, this would almost surely be a given — unless the public rallies around the law or future governments chicken out.
If the public decides it likes the idea of requiring a referendum on carbon pricing or anything else for that matter, then future governments may be leery of scrapping the law and paying the political price for doing so. In that sense, the Ford government is less crazy than it is crazy as a fox — though it’s still a wretched, cynical thing to do and sets an awful precedent. Should future governments decide to introduce a similar law, expand this one, or even defer to it, their actions or inaction would further undermine parliamentary democracy. That’s the last thing we need.
If the Ford government doesn’t like carbon pricing, it should simply refuse to introduce its own carbon-pricing scheme and leave it at that. By trying to dictate the actions of future governments, Ford and company are selling out what’s left of Ontario’s democratic system and parliamentary integrity. The opposition should make it clear right now that it will repeal any such act on day one and do what it’s meant to do: govern without the costly, unnecessary, and counter-productive burden of a referendum.
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