U.S., where democracy is under siege, hosts global two-day summit on democracy
The United States -- once a shining example of democracy's virtues, now a glaring case study into its hair-trigger fault lines -- hosts like-minded countries from around the world Thursday to explore ways of defending the western way of life.
Government officials from 110 countries, including Canada, as well as business leaders and civil-society advocates and activists will gather for a two-day virtual "Summit for Democracy" aimed at slowing the march of authoritarianism.
Joe Biden's promise to host the summit predated the presidential election in November 2020, but took on an entirely different hue after his victory came under attack during the Jan. 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol Hill by supporters of his defeated but still-defiant rival.
That's why Thursday is likely to feel a little like singing the praises of smoke detectors from inside a smoking ruin.
"It's a really dangerous time," said Polly Mackenzie, the CEO of Demos, a British research firm focused on bridging the gaps between ordinary people and political institutions in public policy areas like economic inequality and climate change.
Mackenzie describes democracy as a "vast act of compromise," a social contract among a country's voters that demands they act in the best interests in the collective group, rather than selfishly prioritizing their own wants and needs.
"If you're compromising with other citizens within a society, you need to feel that they are people who are worth compromising with," she told a panel discussion Wednesday hosted by the Pew Research Center.
"We've over-promised democracy as being perhaps the idea that because you get to vote, you get what you want. But actually, democracy is not about getting what you want. It's about getting what we can live with."
That's a contract a great many Americans have abandoned, Pew's own research suggests.
A staggering 85 per cent of U.S. participants in a survey earlier this year said they want either total reform or major changes to their country's political system. In Canada, only 47 per cent said the same, with only eight per cent calling for a full overhaul.
"Voting itself has become a fundamental partisan dividing line in the United States," said Carroll Doherty, Pew's director of political research. A majority of Democrats consider voting a right, while most Republicans consider it a privilege, he said.
And twice -- once in January, then again in June -- Pew surveyed Americans about the outcome of last year's presidential election and found fully three-quarters of Donald Trump's supporters refuse to accept Biden as the legitimate U.S. president.
Despite the urgency, however, few serious people in Washington or Ottawa seem to expect the summit will accomplish much, let alone garner any significant public attention.
"I do not think that the summit will be a major event in domestic politics. In the long run of events, it will go unnoticed," said Daniel Stockemer, a political studies professor at the University of Ottawa.
One potentially important outcome could be a show of international solidarity around the U.S. decision to mount a diplomatic boycott of the Winter Olympics this February in Beijing, he added.
"Even if domestically few people care about this summit, internationally this might portray to other countries that the U.S. is back in the game when it comes to the defence of democracy and human rights."
In the meantime, China has been amassing plenty of ammunition with which to discredit the U.S. argument -- and defuse the likely message out of this week's summit before it has even begun.
"The U.S. claims that the so-called Summit for Democracy is aimed at upholding democracy. Then we have some questions for the U.S.," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said during his daily news conference Wednesday.
Zhao proceeded to rattle off a laundry list of black marks -- from the extent of the COVID-19 death toll in the U.S. to its torturous reckoning with racial unrest and inequality to ineffective military operations in the Middle East -- as evidence of a failed experiment.
"Is the U.S., a country that disregards democracy, qualified to hold a summit on democracy?"
Meanwhile, evidence continues to mount, almost by the day, that the real existential threat to the U.S. political system is coming from the inside the house.
Jan. 6 "was practice," the latest issue of The Atlantic proclaims in a deep-dive cover story that alleges Republican operatives, informed by the experience of 2020, are engineering a more concerted, ironclad effort to short-circuit an election loss in 2024.
"There is a clear and present danger that American democracy will not withstand the destructive forces that are now converging upon it," author Barton Gellman writes in a chilling 13,000-word opus.
"Our two-party system has only one party left that is willing to lose an election. The other is willing to win at the cost of breaking things that a democracy cannot live without."
The summit's three primary themes include strengthening democracy and defending against authoritarianism, fighting corruption and advancing human rights. Topics up for discussion will include supporting a free and independent media, using technology to advance democratic reform and protecting free and fair elections.
"This summit is not a single event in itself," said Allison Lombardo, the State Department's deputy assistant secretary for international organization affairs.
"We are using it to spur a year of action where governments can announce new reforms and commitments and go home and work on them domestically and internationally."
A followup event is expected in 2022, the hope being that next year's summit will be an opportunity to assess the progress made over the intervening year.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 8, 2021.
IN DEPTH
Budget 2024 prioritizes housing while taxing highest earners, deficit projected at $39.8B
In an effort to level the playing field for young people, in the 2024 federal budget, the government is targeting Canada's highest earners with new taxes in order to help offset billions in new spending to enhance the country's housing supply and social supports.
'One of the greatest': Former prime minister Brian Mulroney commemorated at state funeral
Prominent Canadians, political leaders, and family members remembered former prime minister and Progressive Conservative titan Brian Mulroney as an ambitious and compassionate nation-builder at his state funeral on Saturday.
'Democracy requires constant vigilance' Trudeau testifies at inquiry into foreign election interference in Canada
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau testified Wednesday before the national public inquiry into foreign interference in Canada's electoral processes, following a day of testimony from top cabinet ministers about allegations of meddling in the 2019 and 2021 federal elections. Recap all the prime minister had to say.
As Poilievre sides with Smith on trans restrictions, former Conservative candidate says he's 'playing with fire'
Siding with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith on her proposed restrictions on transgender youth, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre confirmed Wednesday that he is against trans and non-binary minors using puberty blockers.
Supports for passengers, farmers, artists: 7 bills from MPs and Senators to watch in 2024
When parliamentarians return to Ottawa in a few weeks to kick off the 2024 sitting, there are a few bills from MPs and senators that will be worth keeping an eye on, from a 'gutted' proposal to offer a carbon tax break to farmers, to an initiative aimed at improving Canada's DNA data bank.
Opinion
opinion Don Martin: Gusher of Liberal spending won't put out the fire in this dumpster
A Hail Mary rehash of the greatest hits from the Trudeau government’s three-week travelling pony-show, the 2024 federal budget takes aim at reversing the party’s popularity plunge in the under-40 set, writes political columnist Don Martin. But will it work before the next election?
opinion Don Martin: The doctor Trudeau dumped has a prescription for better health care
Political columnist Don Martin sat down with former federal health minister Jane Philpott, who's on a crusade to help fix Canada's broken health care system, and who declined to take any shots at the prime minister who dumped her from caucus.
opinion Don Martin: Trudeau's seeking shelter from the housing storm he helped create
While Justin Trudeau's recent housing announcements are generally drawing praise from experts, political columnist Don Martin argues there shouldn’t be any standing ovations for a prime minister who helped caused the problem in the first place.
opinion Don Martin: Poilievre has the field to himself as he races across the country to big crowds
It came to pass on Thursday evening that the confidentially predictable failure of the Official Opposition non-confidence motion went down with 204 Liberal, BQ and NDP nays to 116 Conservative yeas. But forcing Canada into a federal election campaign was never the point.
opinion Don Martin: How a beer break may have doomed the carbon tax hike
When the Liberal government chopped a planned beer excise tax hike to two per cent from 4.5 per cent and froze future increases until after the next election, says political columnist Don Martin, it almost guaranteed a similar carbon tax move in the offing.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
From outer space? Sask. farmers baffled after discovering strange wreckage in field
A family of fifth generation farmers from Ituna, Sask. are trying to find answers after discovering several strange objects lying on their land.
Pearson gold heist suspect arrested after flying into Toronto from India
Another suspect is in custody in connection with the gold heist at Toronto Pearson International Airport last year, police say.
Justin and Hailey Bieber are expecting their first child together
Hailey and Justin Bieber are going to be parents. The couple announced the news on Thursday on Instagram, both sharing a video that showcases Hailey Bieber's growing belly.
Debate on abortion rights erupts on Parliament Hill, Poilievre vows he won't legislate
A Conservative government led by Pierre Poilievre would not legislate on, nor use the notwithstanding clause, on abortion, his office says, as anti-abortion protesters gather on Parliament Hill.
Broadcaster and commentator Rex Murphy dead at 77: National Post
The National Post is reporting that Rex Murphy, the pundit and columnist who hosted a national call-in radio show for decades, has died.
Ontario family receives massive hospital bill as part of LTC law, refuses to pay
A southwestern Ontario woman has received an $8,400 bill from a hospital in Windsor, Ont., after she refused to put her mother in a nursing home she hated -- and she says she has no intention of paying it.
New analysis of Beethoven's hair reveals possible cause of mysterious ailments, scientists say
High levels of lead detected in authenticated locks of Ludwig van Beethoven's hair suggest that the composer had lead poisoning, which may have contributed to ailments he endured over the course of his life, including deafness, according to new research.
B.C. man used Bobcat as 'weapon' while chasing away homeless people, judge says
A B.C. man has been convicted of assault with a weapon after using a skid-steer Bobcat to chase two homeless people from his lawn, injuring one of them in the process.
Flat tire on a highway? Here's why you shouldn't try to fix it
If you're cruising down a highway and realize you have a flat tire, you may want to think twice before stopping to fix it on the side of the road.
Local Spotlight
Wilfrid Laurier football player drafted despite only playing 27 games in his entire life
A Listowel, Ont. man, drafted by the Hamilton Tigercats last week, is also getting looks from the NFL, despite only playing 27 games of football in his life.
Toronto-area dessert shop featured by Keith Lee forced to move after zoning complaint
A small Ajax dessert shop that recently received a glowing review from celebrity food critic Keith Lee is being forced to move after a zoning complaint was made following the social media influencer’s visit last month.
'Oh Crap!' New exhibit at Canada Science and Technology Museum explores human waste
The Canada Science and Technology Museum is inviting visitors to explore their poop. A new exhibition opens at the Ottawa museum on Friday called, 'Oh Crap! Rethinking human waste.'
Regina police hope new biometric monitoring system will save lives in detention facility
The Regina Police Service says it is the first in Saskatchewan and possibly Canada to implement new technology in its detention facility that will offer real-time monitoring of detainees’ vital health metrics.
Vancouver and Edmonton's mayors bet on who will win Round 2 of the playoffs. Here's what's at stake
The stakes have been set for a bet between Vancouver and Edmonton's mayors on who will win Round 2 of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
'No other life taken': Mother leads ATV helmet drive to honour daughter's legacy
A grieving mother is hosting a helmet drive in the hopes of protecting children on Manitoba First Nations from a similar tragedy that killed her daughter.
Northern Ont. woman makes 'eggstraordinary' find
A chicken farmer near Mattawa made an 'eggstraordinary' find Friday morning when she discovered one of her hens laid an egg close to three times the size of an average large chicken egg.
P.E.I. lighthouse, N.B. river spotlighted in Canada Post series
A P.E.I. lighthouse and a New Brunswick river are being honoured in a Canada Post series.
'It looked so legit': Ontario man pays $7,700 for luxury villa found on Booking.com, but the listing was fake
An Ontario man says he paid more than $7,700 for a luxury villa he found on a popular travel website -- but the listing was fake.