Canadian politics overview and contemporary issues

Elections and Dennis Tourbin Controversy

The following paper is mainly related to elections. It has three parts. In the first part, the paper discusses the effect of leaders on the results of an election. It also discusses the results of Quebec elections 2014 and the effect of leaders on it. The second part of the paper focuses on the Dennis Tourbin controversy and the reasons behind the cancellation of the exhibit it was going to be a part of. The last part of the paper discusses whether the cancellation of the exhibit was against Tourbin's rights or not. It also discusses the impact of the exhibit at Ottawa art gallery on the Quebec referendum.

Impact of Leaders on Election Results

Nowadays, the leaders have a great impact on the performance of the political parties in the elections. The leaders appearing in election advertisements on the television and in different campaign events have an influence on the people. They create this influence with the power of their speech and as a result, people follow and eventually vote their favorites. The impact of leaders was not that high in the beginning when the people used to think of the leaders as just figurative heads possessing the same or even less capabilities than other party members. (Bean & Mughan, 1989)

The trend, however, has changed recently and the people's focus has changed from the entire party to the leader. Sometimes parties and governments are not labeled by their respective names but with the name of the leader who the people saw during the election campaign. This trend is not without a reason, people are mostly interested and fascinated by the qualities of the leaders, and thus they start supporting them. (Bean & Mughan, 1989)

The parties are very careful about choosing their leaders. The reason behind this is the importance of the leader to the party and his impact on the election results. It is quite normal to see one of the best party members to become the leader. Having one of the best as the leaders influences the people as they look upon the leader profiles and therefore they are in a certain way, impressed by the party by the virtue of the leader. (Bean & Mughan, 1989)

Sometimes, the party leader impresses the people so much that the other candidates benefit from it. The populace is generally so impressed by the leader that they vote for other candidates of the party as well. This is called the coattail effect. This is effect is normally seen during elections and thus it proves the influence of good leadership on people.

The effect the leaders create on the people eventually reflects in the election results. The parties with popular leaders experience a healthy inflow of votes. This may not be the case all the time but the leader does coax votes from himself and other party candidates. (FOURNIER & CUTLER et al., 2013)

Quebec Elections 2014

The leader of the Parti Quebecois triggered the Quebec elections held on April 7, 2014. Pauline Marois, the leader of Parti Quebecois won a minority government over the province. Eighteen months after that, she announced new elections. The underlying motive of the call was to get a majority government. The results, however, were going to be shocking. (Conway, 2014)

The Liberal party, led by Phillip Couillard, won the elections by getting 70 out of 125 seats in the national assembly. The party entered the elections as obvious opposition but soon fought with the questions about the steps they would take to stop the government from failing like the last one. The early election call itself was considered a gamble for the Parti Quebecois, which it lost. Parti Quebecois won 30 seats in the national assembly and therefore, it had to step down from the government. (Conway, 2014)

The leadership had an impact on the people and therefore, the results of the elections. The liberal party that won, had Philippe Couillard as the leader. Couillard was a brain surgeon and this makes an impression the first time anyone hears about him. He has achieved a lot of things but he was criticized much when he entered politics. (Conway, 2014)

Couillard was the chief neurosurgeon in the St. Luc hospital. He is also the co-founder of neurosurgery services in Dhahran. After completing his work in Dhahran, he returned to Canada and started teaching in the Sherbooke University and also parted his services as the director of the surgery department. (Conway, 2014)

Couillard entered politics in 2003 for the liberals and won the seat for his party. At that time, the party leader was Jean Charest. He was appointed the health minister by the party. He had to vacate the office in 2008 and after that; he started to work in a private equity fund. He was criticized for arranging a job for himself as he was the health minister. (Conway, 2014)

Couillard as a leader had an impact on people that led his party to victory. The primary concern of Couillard was to attract people's attention towards the economic problems. He portrayed his party as the one who realized the economic pressure on the people and were determined to do something about it. The Parti Quebecois, on the other hand, tried to make the cultural identity a major issue in these elections. This move of Couillard portrayed him as the leader who knows about the general problems the people face. Therefore, he impressed the people. He won his seat in Roberval. (Conway, 2014)

Couillard further convinced the people by explaining to them about his shift from politics to private job. Couillard was elected as the party leader in March 2013. Before re-entering politics, Couillard said: 'I feel the need to serve. I could feel this big wave of desire in me to serve again.' This statement made the people believe that he left the politics with a heavy heart and is continuing it when he has the chance. The reputation of Couillard was the thing that got him and his party to the victory. (Conway, 2014)

Moreover, Jean Charest and his last government were involved in the student crisis which stained their name badly. Couillard was able to avoid this crisis as he had left the party before that in 2008. Therefore, he was the leader of a party who was not involved in the incidents that dented the reputation of the party. (Conway, 2014)

Couillard as a leader had an impact on the people of Quebec and the election results prove that. He won a seat in Roberval, which is a region that supports the idea of an independent Quebec. His victory in such a region shows that he had an impact on the results of the Quebec elections 2014. (Conway, 2014)

On the other hand, the leader of the Parti Quebecois, Pauline Marois had a rather negative impact on the people of Quebec. Marois is the supporter of an independent Quebec and sees it to have its own cultural identity. She outdid the liberals on 2012 and made the party's minority government. She is referred to as the concrete lady by her supporters. (Conway, 2014)

She did not have a very good repute among the public and that's why she lost her own seat in Charlevoix -- Cote-de-Beaupre. First of all, the early call of elections was a gamble which did not sit well with her. In addition, she was also accused of being opportunistic when she supported a student union. (Conway, 2014)

In addition, she was also blamed for being in contact with some high ranked officials. Two officials were recorded on a wiretap talking to Marois about pressurizing the party to avoid the corruption investigation. The recording also consisted of information about Marois' husband having a deal with a labor union. Marois denied all the charges on her to avoid any further inquiry. (Conway, 2014)

The effect of the bad reputation of Pauline Marois was seen in the election results where her negative impact on the elections made her lose her own seat and the party also did not fare well. She also resigned from the post of the party leader. (Conway, 2014)

Leaders have a great impact on the election results. The impact can be either positive or negative but the leaders certainly alter the choice of people, as they are the ones who negotiate the good intents of the party to the public. (Conway, 2014)

Dennis Tourbin Controversy

Dennis Tourbin was an artist who became famous with his painting on the subject of October crisis. Tourbin was interested in this topic and therefore, he made a series of ink drawings and collages related to the topic. The series was named La crise d'octobre. The artist was famous for his poems and dedications to other artists but these drawings were to give him a new level of fame. (Gessell, 2012)

In 1994, Tourbin along with the Ottawa art gallery decided to exhibit the series of paintings. The exhibition was to be held in mid-September to October in the year 1995. It overlapped the date of the October crisis itself and was to serve as the 25th anniversary of the event. In addition, a play was also scheduled with the art exhibition in order to reenact the event. (Gessell, 2012)

When the national gallery of Canada expressed the desire of collaboration with the art community, Tourbin talked to its representative in order to ensure the collaboration between OAG and NGC. It was decided that the National Gallery of Canada will collaborate with the Ottawa Art Gallery and exhibit the La crise d'octobre along with four new paintings. This was the deal between the National Gallery of Canada. (Mclennan, 2014)

Meanwhile, the Ottawa Art Gallery continued its exhibition and Tourbin was interviewed by a reporter. In his interview, Tourbin revealed about his upcoming exhibition in the National Gallery of Canada. The story was given a twist and the reporter related it with the upcoming Quebec referendum. Following this, the National Gallery of Canada cancelled the exhibition and passed some offensive remarks on the artist, which were caught on the recording machine. (Mclennan, 2014)

The National Gallery of Canada cancelled the exhibit because of the political reasons. Although the reasons were never clearly mentioned in any of the interviews following the cancellation, but still it was obvious that there was pressure on the national gallery of art. The matter of October crisis was already critical and the Quebec referendum of sovereignty was to follow. Therefore, the NGC would have thought about the political situation before starting the exhibition. (Rynor, 2014)

In addition, there was a widespread commotion about the exhibition and the political conditions at that time. Keeping that in view, the National Gallery of Canada would have thought about changing its decision related to the exhibition. The material may have resulted in an incendiary reaction from the people and political leaders as well. Keeping that in mind, one can easily justify the decision made by the National Gallery of Canada. (Rynor, 2014)

On the other hand, the drawings were currently being shown in the Ottawa Art Gallery and the people already had the news of the drawings. Therefore, the cancellation of the exhibition was not necessary as the drawings had already influenced the people. Therefore, the National Gallery of Canada had more than the reaction of the people worry about as this was a political issue and was very critical with the referendum approaching. So, the National Gallery of Canada did feel that the public may not perceive the real nature of the drawings and may give incendiary reactions but there were other pressures acting on them as well. (Scappatura, 2012)

The October crisis was about the abduction of Pierre Laporte. The issue attracted the attention of Tourbin and he started his work on the topic. No matter how clear the work is, there is always a chance of misinterpretation. Therefore, the people of Canada would have misinterpreted the intentions of the artist. With a referendum coming about the separation of Quebec, a drawing made about the mistakes and acts of terrorism by a party supporting a sovereign Quebec could have put everyone in a doubt. (Robertson, 2006)

On the other hand, Tourbin was famous as an artist and not a conspirator or supporter of a political side. People used to love his work whether it was about politics or not. In addition, the work of an artist is seen as expression of thought. Therefore, the people would have seen it as an element of interest rather than an influential drawing. (Robertson, 2006)

To sum up, the drawing would have affected people's thinking even though it was not intended to. The reason behind this is the time of the exhibition. The referendum was closing in and the people had their minds fixed at that. In such a time, the exhibition could have triggered a decision people did not want to take. (Robertson, 2006)

On the contrary, if the exhibition had not been held, the people would have participated in the referendum without being affected by the work of the artist. The referendum result would have consisted wholly of the thoughts of the people. (Robertson, 2006)

Such exhibits have the power to change the way people perceive history. The exhibition cancelled by the National Gallery of Canada could have changed the thoughts of the people. First of all, the drawings in the exhibition consisted of the news and images of the abducted politician. The politician was kidnapped by the Front De liberation du Quebec which was the separatist party supporting the idea of an independent Quebec. The exhibition also consisted of a speech of Tourbin expressing his thoughts about the matter. If the exhibition had went on, it would have changed the historical facts in the minds of people in many ways. (Robertson, 2006)

Firstly, the people would have certainly developed a doubt for the thought of an independent Quebec. The October crisis, created by the terrorist activities of the sovereigntist party of Quebec, resulted in extra power given to the armed forces. This, in turn, led to numerous arrests without warrant and bail. A huge number of people were arrested and it only few were released without charges. Having being reminded about this, the people would have somehow refuse the idea of a sovereign Quebec. (Robertson, 2006)

In addition, the work of Tourbin in the exhibition also had the ability to change the history of expression of thoughts and news. The way he used collages with sentences changed the way people got the news of an event. This style, along with media exacerbation made the issue more critical. The political leadership organizing the referendum was also a separatist party and therefore the effect of the exhibition on the history would have been imperative. (Robertson, 2006)

The National Gallery of Canada exhibit was cancelled because of the political environment at the time and the risk of the people misinterpreting the drawings. The drawings portraying the October crisis were not intended to create a political turmoil but they contained a powerful message and therefore, it had the power of altering the thoughts of people about the way they had seen the events until now. (Robertson, 2006)

Cancellation of the Exhibition and the Charter of Rights

According to the Canadian charter of rights, an individual has the freedom of thinking whatever he wants and expressing it without being silenced. The charter also gives the people right to press. This means that the people can publish and read the published materials. The Supreme Court of Canada gives these rights to the people of Canada. Tourbin, being a Canadian resident, had all these rights. (Justice Laws Website, 1982)

When the National Gallery of Canada cancelled the exhibition, it was acting against the charter of rights as Tourbin had the right to express his feeling and people, on the other hand, had the right to know his ideas. Therefore, the National Gallery of Canada made a decision that was against the charter of rights. The NGC also faced a lot of criticism related to their decision by the artists all over Canada and Tourbin himself. In addition to that, NGC also backtracked on its contract that it made with Tourbin and therefore infringed the right of Tourbin once again. (Justice Laws Website, 1982)

There are rules limiting the expression of thoughts if they portray violence and other thoughts that go against other laws of the state. If a person is expressing thoughts that will incite other people, then he should be stopped. The drawings made by Tourbin, however, did not portray violence. They had a message that would have influenced the people but it did not promote violence nor did it instigate the people to break any laws. Therefore, the cancellation of the exhibition was a blatant act against the charter of rights. Moreover, the use of abusive words against the artist was also considered against the charter of rights. (Justice Laws Website, 1982)

Tourbin's Drawings and Canadian Unity

The drawings consisted of the details and events of the October crisis. It reminded the people of Canada about the sovereigntist political party that engaged in terrorist activities. This showed them the crimes committed by the party demanding independence. The kidnapping of two political personalities and the execution of one of them put the government in grave pressure and they had to call the military aid. (Robertson, 2006)

The events that followed were more disastrous as the people of Quebec were arrested without warrant and bail. This led to hundreds of people getting arrested whereas only few were released. The government also dissolved the FLQ making it responsible for committing the heinous crimes. The government let the troops in the city and this was a part of the headlines. Tourbin incorporated these headlines with drawings. (Robertson, 2006)