Support for Ukraine is Opening the Pandora’s Box of Jurisdictional Interference
Putin’s war in Ukraine is horrific. It is not justified. The overwhelming majority of Canadians are pro-Ukraine, as I do. Does that mean all levels of governments should mobilize in support of Ukraine? Canada hasn’t declared war yet. By going beyond humanitarian donations and taking an actively pro-Ukrainian rhetoric akin to foreign policy, local politicians are leaving behind the top excuse they’ve used against each other, ie. division of power.
“This is a local issue. Mind your business.” — A mantra repeated by local politicians defending their exclusive right to govern.
Division of power
Canada is built on the principle of division of power through federalism. That means different levels of government are better suited to deal with certain responsibilities. In the case of Ukraine, foreign policy falls exclusively under federal jurisdiction.
There is a good reason for this division of responsibilities. Local politicians are better at handling local issues, like wastewater management and snow clearing. Federal politicians are better at handling national issues, such as national security and foreign policy. Separating the work makes election campaigns more focused for voters.
However in recent days, several non-federal politicians have used their office to advance their pro-Ukraine views. Despite not being elected for their positions on foreign policy, a Montreal city councilor showed his pro-Ukraine views in the war by hanging the Ukrainian flag across the street of the Russian consulate and urged like-minded people to hang Ukrainian flags on their properties. The same city councilor, Serge Sasseville, now plays the Ukrainian national anthem in front of the consulate every day.
On the provincial level, the Quebec government donated $300K to humanitarian organizations and then denounced the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Denouncing Russia is not something you would’ve expect from a provincial government. While doing so, no politicians have put out a statement to distance their personal views on Ukraine and the duties of their office.
Do “jurisdictions” even matter anymore?
After being disappointed by federal inaction, Canadian municipalities outside of Quebec decided to fund lawsuits against Quebec’s secularism law (Bill 21). Even though she opposes Bill 21, Montreal Mayor Valerie Plante told them to mind their business because it would be like if she started taking action against oil “pipelines” in Alberta. The mayor Longueuil said speaking against Bill 21 is a “frontal” opposition to Quebec. As for the Quebec government, Premier Legault repeated the standard argument that it isn’t up to people outside of Quebec to tell what Quebec should do.
In short, this is my jurisdiction, not yours!
Yet when municipal and provincial politicians inserted themselves into the war in Ukraine, we are seeing the same politicians silent respecting about jurisdictional independence. None of them have put out any sort of statement of distance between being pro-Ukraine and their office. Plante, a supposed believer in division of power, did not remind her colleague who hanged Ukrainian flags that foreign policy is federal jurisdiction, not municipal. Neither did any provincial politicians restate their beliefs in Canadian federalism after condemning Russia though a provincial motion.
Quebec nationalism
In the bigger picture of Canadian politics, we see that the rest of Canada cannot touch Quebec, for example on Bill 21, but it’s fine for Quebec step into federal matters like foreign policy. How can we take their arguments for “minding your own business” and “this is not your jurisdiction” seriously, when they don’t even follow it? Quebec can do whatever it wants and cannot be opposed by outsiders, yet Quebec can intervene in other people’s affairs.
Why is Ukraine okay, but not Israel-Palestine?
Donating money for humanitarian causes demonstrates compassion. But it’s another thing to actively take a side in an international conflict as a local politician. If Ukraine is fair game, why not Israel-Palestine?
We’ve been using the excuse of jurisdiction to say that the city and the province is neutral on Israel-Palestine. Activists are expected to lobby the federal government because that’s where foreign policy is debated. When supporters from both sides clash, the municipal government doesn’t side with any of them and calls for “peace” from both sides.
But since almost everyone is pro-Ukraine, local and provincial governments can ignore division of power.
If popularity justifies bending the rules, we have mob rule.
Rule of law
The rule of law is the idea that the law applies at all time and equally for everyone. The words on lengthy documents are supposed to matter. If we don’t like what the law is doing, we can change it through the democratic system. The rule of law is supposed to prevent a contradiction between what is written and what is done. Who else would care about the law if it’s constantly broken, especially by the government itself?
In a fit of passion for Ukraine, local politicians go beyond their duties vested by the law. “It’s fine because we all agree” is not a good argument. First, polls suggest only 90% of Canadians support Ukraine, not 100%. Second, this undermines trust in the law by setting a populist example.
If we really want all levels of government to engage on the side of Ukraine, there is a way to do it. The federal government can tell civil servants to be pro-Ukraine. Alternatively, Canada can make a declaration of war.
Until then, Canada is still a civilian government where the rule of law shall be observed as much as possible. We haven’t declared war yet. Let’s not act like it is the case.
