{"id":1248,"date":"2011-03-16T16:14:27","date_gmt":"2011-03-16T20:14:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/carleton.ca\/panorama\/"},"modified":"2014-05-20T13:09:49","modified_gmt":"2014-05-20T17:09:49","slug":"fixing-canadas-democratic-deficit","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/panorama\/archives\/fall-2005\/fixing-canadas-democratic-deficit\/","title":{"rendered":"Fixing Canada\u2019s democratic deficit"},"content":{"rendered":"

Posted Sep. 1\/05<\/em><\/p>\n

Previous: Often, the job is “just plain tough” – Former Deputy PM John Manley talks about life in the political spotlight<\/a><\/strong>
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

The words first emerged from Prime Minister Paul Martin\u2019s lips during his first major policy speech as a Liberal leadership contender in 2002.<\/p>\n

\u201cUnfortunately, the authority of individual Members of Parliament has been allowed to erode, while power of the executive \u2026 grows,\u201d he told a Toronto crowd. \u201cIt\u2019s who you know in the PMO (Prime Minister\u2019s Office) \u2026 We must move to address this democratic deficit.\u201d<\/p>\n

To reverse this trend, Martin proposed to allow MPs more opportunities to vote freely without toeing the party line, a higher level of independence for parliamentary committees, and an independent ethics commissioner.<\/p>\n

Only then would the system become more democratic, Martin said at the time.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/address>\n
\n
\"\"<\/dt>\n
Political Science Professor Jonathan Malloy<\/em><\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n

Fast forward to today and a democratic deficit remains, says Political Science Professor Jonathan Malloy. Even in the wake of the Gomery Commission\u2019s proceedings, which looked into the federal government\u2019s questionable ties to Liberal-friendly advertising firms in Quebec, nothing has moved in the areas of ministerial responsibility and public service ethics, he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not that the government doesn\u2019t value (democracy). It\u2019s just part of the big clogged agenda, which is also paralyzed by the minority government.\u201d<\/p>\n

Throughout Martin\u2019s term, there have been some symbolic attempts to make backbenchers feel more engaged, but these gestures were undercut when rookie MP Belinda Stronach defected from the Conservatives to join the governing Liberals, says Eileen Saunders, director of Carleton\u2019s Arthur Kroeger College of Public Affairs.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/address>\n
\n
\"\"<\/dt>\n
\n
Eileen Saunders, director of Carleton\u2019s Arthur Kroeger College of Public Affairs<\/address>\n<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n

The fact that Stronach was instantly appointed Minister of Human Resources likely weakened any sense of engagement felt by backbenchers, she adds.<\/p>\n

One measure which may alleviate such sentiments is to give backbenchers and other members of Parliamentary committees more autonomy, as recommended by Martin. This might translate into more freedom to go after the things they want to investigate, says Malloy.<\/p>\n

But others caution that if committees are given more power, the Canadian system could further resemble that of the U.S.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t accept that Parliament isn\u2019t democratic\u201d in its current form, says Former Deputy Prime Minister John Manley, BA\/71. \u201cI just don\u2019t buy that. I think our Parliamentary system has worked quite well, and to Americanize it is not the best way to improve. We don\u2019t need to turn committees into places where MPs get to flex their muscles and overturn the intentions of government just for the sake of doing it. To me, that\u2019s not productive.\u201d<\/p>\n

What is more productive is for committee members to write thoughtful, detailed policy reports that give Cabinet insightful advice on which direction to take, adds Manley.<\/p>\n

\u201cOver the years, I\u2019ve seen many cases where \u2026 committees
\nhave done significant work and changed the direction of policy,\u201d he says, pointing to one case when he was an opposition MP who chaired a committee that reviewed the mandate and role of the Bank of Canada. In the end, the government took the committee\u2019s advice.<\/p>\n

To ensure MPs continue to conduct meaningful committee work, Manley says Parliament should allow members to stay on committees for a longer period of time, with fewer committee assignments. Only then, he says, will MPs have a greater chance to build their expertise and make more meaningful contributions.<\/p>\n

Another way to ensure MPs remain engaged is for the public to keep informed on all of their activities, says Malloy.<\/p>\n

\u201cMPs don\u2019t spend a lot of time poring over government reports and statements because they know there\u2019s absolutely no electoral value in it. They might say, \u2018We put out these committee reports all the time, but no one reads them. So why should we bother?\u2019 So the public should ask more from MPs by asking them to spend more time doing these (committee) tasks, even if they are dull, technical and picky.\u201d<\/p>\n

Next: Getting out to vote<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Posted Sep. 1\/05 Previous: Often, the job is “just plain tough” – Former Deputy PM John Manley talks about life in the political spotlight The words first emerged from Prime Minister Paul Martin\u2019s lips during his first major policy speech as a Liberal leadership contender in 2002. \u201cUnfortunately, the authority of individual Members of Parliament […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"parent":1220,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","_mi_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"yoast_head":"\nFixing Canada\u2019s democratic deficit - 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