Why we shut down Hamilton city council
Monday night, in a powerful act of protest, 100 Hamiltonians marched peacefully into the gallery of the city council chamber, and demanded that their councillors state clearly and publicly which way they will vote on the Hamilton police budget. While hardly anything could seem as democratic as a bunch of angry citizens demanding transparency from their elected representatives, councillors and pro-police supporters have already decried the demonstration as an undemocratic spectacle. What accounts for this contradiction?
There is a common tale about Canada (and about many other self-styled democracies), that our society is democratic because of our rights and freedoms and that, in exchange for these, we all agree to follow the law. This is called the social contract, and for those who believe this story, it serves as the ultimate justification for the actions of the police and the state, and the ultimate condemnation of troublemaking rabble-rousers like those of us who demanded accountability from city council.
In law, a contract requires that the parties both be aware that they are entering into a binding agreement, and that neither party be coerced into participating. By this simple test, there is no social contract. Hardly a living soul actually plays an active role in shaping the laws to which we are all subjected. Our only recognized means of democratic engagement consist of voting once every few years for a handful of parties that all agree on the most important issues (find me the party that supports defunding the police or leaving NATO or ending Canada’s occupations of Indigenous nations), or perhaps delegating to bleary-eyed politicians who have already decided which way they’ll vote. Being born into a society does not constitute consent for that society’s laws. Nor does the monotonous democracy theatre of voting and delegating constitute active participation.
The foundations of our legal and political system were shaped long ago, overwhelmingly by rich, landowning, white men. Insofar as our society has any real notion of “freedom” or “democracy” it is only because people who have systematically been excluded have organized and fought for our liberation. Every time we stand up and demand a real social contract, one where we all play a role in shaping the rules and system, we are met with the same tired objections that we saw coming from the mayor and so many councillors Monday night.
Look back 100 years and it seems obvious why it was necessary for the suffragettes to break the law. Read about the civil rights movement and who could deny the righteousness of Black protesters marching into segregated diners and refusing to leave?
There is no moment between today, and these past struggles, where the state magically reoriented itself into a force of justice and equality. Segregation may be ended, but Black men are 20 times as likely as white men to be stopped by police. We tout reconciliation, but militarized RCMP terrorize land defenders every day. Politicians claim to be responding to a housing emergency, but HPS harasses people living in tents, while nearly 1,000 units sit vacant and unused.
These are not accidents or mistakes. These are the logical consequences of a society whose social contract was written by and for the privileged few. The rest of us are just supposed to respectfully wait our turn. Monday night, we showed council and our fellow community members that we’re done being respectful of processes designed to exclude us. It’s time for real democracy in Hamilton.