Omnibus Budget Bills And The Covert Dismantling Of Canadian Democracy

This paper examines the rise of omnibus budget bills in Canadian Parliament and argues that the bills are a ruling class political tactic aimed at subverting democracy and restructuring Canadian social relations along neoliberal lines. Research results show that the increase in use of the bills corresponds with the rise of neoliberal politics in Canada. Further, the bills have by and large operated to subvert Canadian Parliamentary democracy while implementing neoliberal policy reforms such as dismantling the social safety net, introducing regressive tax reforms, rolling back regulation, and privatizing previously public enterprises. Finally, the bills have contributed to a political nihilism in Canada, that operates to further de-democratize the population and may contribute to the disintegration of a democratic political imaginary in this country. Social movements such as Idle No More, who have faced down the politics of domination and exploitation as represented by omnibus budget bills are powerful counterforces to the neoliberal political project in Canadian society.