Watchdog

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If there was one thing that came to the forefront last year, it is the fact that far too many people lack a basic understanding of how governments work in Canada.

This became apparent after the federal election, when the Liberals and NDP, with the co-operation of the Bloc Quebecois, attempted to form a coalition government.

A shockingly large number of people in Canada apparently had no knowledge of how our Westminster system of parliamentary government actually works.

Far too many people do not understand that unlike the United States, there is no clear cut separation of powers between the executive and legislative branches.

We don't elect a prime minister, nor do we elect a party, but instead we elect a local representative to go to Ottawa (or Queen's Park for that matter) to form a government.

The reality is that our local representatives do not have to belong to a political party, and some ridings have sent independent MPs to Ottawa as a standard practice.

Likewise, a local representative does not have to stay with one party, even after elected, and there have been many instances of someone "crossing the floor", which does not trigger a byelection.

It is precisely due to our parliamentary system that we have this situation in Ontario where the leader of the Progressive Conservative's (John Tory) does not participate in debates at Queen's Park simply due to the fact he did not win a seat.

In the same way, Stephen Harper would not be the prime minister of Canada, but still would be the head of the Conservative Party of Canada, if he had not been elected representative for the riding of Calgary Southwest.

The point is that we send a representative to Ottawa or Queen's Park where they work with other representatives to form a government, which being a democracy means every representatives voice is equal.

We also have a single winner electoral system, rather than proportional representation, so that control of the government (the ministerial positions) goes to whoever has the largest bloc of votes.

That is the issue we now face in Ottawa, as the largest bloc does not mean a majority, thus leading us to where we are now, with a minority government at the federal level.

The key point is a prime minister is not a president, and his or her role is to form a government and make parliament work, which is a role independent of ideology or party membership in our parliamentary system.

Yes, political party's beliefs and values translate into policy decisions, but again, each is equal and valid in our system of government.

To help Canada recover in this time of economic crisis we need to get back to the basics of what makes our government work.

Whoever leads the government will have to make that recovery their prime goal, not politics.

Good governments are formed when the majority of voters know the issues, thoroughly questions their potential representatives and then vote.

That's a true majority government.