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
B.C. tenants evicted for landlord's use after refusing large rent increase to take over neighbouring suite
Ashley Dickey and her mother rented part of the same Coquitlam duplex in three different decades under three different landlords.
Mountain guide dies after falling into a crevasse in Banff National Park
A man who fell into a crevasse while leading a backcountry ski group deep in the Canadian Rockies has died.
Expert warns of food consumption habits amid rising prices
A new survey by Dalhousie University's Agri-Food Analytics Lab asked Canadians about their food consumption habits amid rising prices.
MPP Sarah Jama asked to leave Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
MPP Sarah Jama was asked to leave the Legislative Assembly of Ontario by House Speaker Ted Arnott on Thursday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment which has been banned at Queen’s Park.
Charlie Woods, son of Tiger, shoots 81 in U.S. Open qualifier
Charlie Woods failed to advance in a U.S. Open local qualifying event Thursday, shooting a 9-over 81 at Legacy Golf & Tennis Club.
Ex-tabloid publisher testifies he scooped up possibly damaging tales to shield his old friend Trump
As Donald Trump was running for president in 2016, his old friend at the National Enquirer was scooping up potentially damaging stories about the candidate and paying out tens of thousands of dollars to keep them from the public eye.
Here's why provinces aren't following Saskatchewan's lead on the carbon tax home heating fight
After Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the federal government would still send Canada Carbon Rebate cheques to Saskatchewan residents, despite Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe's decision to stop collecting the carbon tax on natural gas or home heating, questions were raised about whether other provinces would follow suit. CTV News reached out across the country and here's what we found out.
Montreal actress calls Weinstein ruling 'discouraging' but not surprising
A Montreal actress, who has previously detailed incidents she had with disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein, says a New York Court of Appeals decision overturning his 2020 rape conviction is 'discouraging' but not surprising.
Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels and Drake Maye make it four NFL drafts with quarterbacks going 1-3
Caleb Williams is heading to the Windy City, aiming to become the franchise quarterback Chicago has sought for decades.
Local Spotlight
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
Fergus, Ont. man feels nickel-and-dimed for $0.05 property tax bill
A property tax bill is perplexing a small townhouse community in Fergus, Ont.
Twins from Toronto were Canada's top two female finishers at this year's Boston Marathon
When identical twin sisters Kim and Michelle Krezonoski were invited to compete against some of the world’s most elite female runners at last week’s Boston Marathon, they were in disbelief.
Mystery surrounds giant custom Canucks jerseys worn by Lions Gate Bridge statues
The giant stone statues guarding the Lions Gate Bridge have been dressed in custom Vancouver Canucks jerseys as the NHL playoffs get underway.
'I'm committed': Oilers fan won't cut hair until Stanley Cup comes to Edmonton
A local Oilers fan is hoping to see his team cut through the postseason, so he can cut his hair.
'It's not my father's body!' Wrong man sent home after death on family vacation in Cuba
A family from Laval, Que. is looking for answers... and their father's body. He died on vacation in Cuba and authorities sent someone else's body back to Canada.
'Once is too many times': Education assistants facing rising violence in classrooms
A former educational assistant is calling attention to the rising violence in Alberta's classrooms.
What is capital gains tax? How is it going to affect the economy and the younger generations?
The federal government says its plan to increase taxes on capital gains is aimed at wealthy Canadians to achieve “tax fairness.”
UBC football star turning heads in lead up to NFL draft
At 6'8" and 350 pounds, there is nothing typical about UBC offensive lineman Giovanni Manu, who was born in Tonga and went to high school in Pitt Meadows.