Facts matter. Words matter.
So we applaud B.C.’s new Speaker of the House, Darryl Plecas’s attempt to bring a bit more civility into the legislature.
Plecas was a former Liberal MLA who took the Speaker’s position tipping the balance of power in the B.C. Legislature. Needless to say he made quite a few enemies out of his former party members. While his new position is considered neutral in the legislature, to be sure the Liberals don’t see him as a neutral figure.
So, it’s probably not surprising that Mike de Jong blasted Plecas saying that Plecas was setting a “dangerous precedent” and damaging freedom of speech.
Others have also criticized Plecas saying that name-calling is just part of a long parliamentary tradition. And that, well, this is how democracy works.
Uh, no.
And if it was a “tradition,” it’s a tradition that needs to end.
We don’t care if it’s Liberals in power, the NDP in power or the Rhinoceros Party in power, name-calling needs to end.
And, we have to admit, we say this with a bit of a sense of loss. We love a great nickname.
We in the media are witting or unwitting accomplices to this kind of derogatory debate. Nothing makes a headline catchier than someone calling someone else a name. And politicians know that and play to the media by coming up with pithy attacks to keep their own profiles high.
The nicknames are often crafted by clever punsters or communications workers whose job it is to ensure that any belittling of opponents captures the public’s attention. And, hopefully, sticks.
Monickers like “minister of job loss” do have a ring to them. And, of course, once you call an opponent a name the opponent is bound to come back with a better name to call you. And so it goes.
DeJong did tell the media that “Parliament can’t work properly without (MLAs) respecting the Speaker, that’s a fundamental tenet of the way the House functions.”
But it appeared as if DeJong was going to try and sidestep the Speaker’s new rules.
We would encourage him not to do that.
A clever politician can clean another politician’s clock by just using good debating tactics. Using facts instead of name-calling. Yes, it won’t be as entertaining for us in the media, but if it elevates the dialogue, we’re for it.
