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The benefit of having been around a while is that when Justin Trudeau accused Stephen Harper of having broken Ottawa, it’s possible to recall that the place was already in pieces when he came to power.

Granted, the Conservatives have pulverized much of what remained intact of our democratic institutions.

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But Harper did not invent the concept of using the tools of state for partisan advantage.

Jean Chrétien was also of the opinion that open government was a contradiction in terms — you could have one or other.

Chrétien was at war with the Information Commissioner, while both his government and that of his successor, Paul Martin, abided by the edict that the daily joust in the House of Commons was called Question Period, not Answer Period.

[np_storybar title=”Trudeau announces plan to kill first-past-the-post by the next election

” link=”http://news.nationalpost.com/news/canada/canadian-politics/trudeau-announcing-plan-to-kill-first-past-the-post-by-the-next-election”]Justin Trudeau wants this fall’s national vote to be the last federal election conducted under the first-past-the-post electoral system.