Although neither leader is setting a precedent, each is contributing to the emergence of a pattern increasingly seen across Canada.
A quick scan of provincial legislatures shows that many premiers seem to find it easier and more efficient to govern when Parliament is shut down.
Last year, British Columbia and Prince Edward Island tied for the provincial legislatures with the fewest sitting days, each convening for only 47 days. The Council of Northwest Territories and the Legislative Assembly of Nunavut sat for 39 and 33 days respectively.
Ontario led the provinces with 78 sitting days, while Newfoundland and Labrador came in second at 73 days, and Quebec’s National Assembly rounded out the top three with 67.
Ottawa, meanwhile, sat for 129 days.
Voters elect members to federal and provincial legislatures to represent them and their views. During normal parliamentary procedure, the government sells its policies and the opposition questions them.
The legislature is arguably the best way to know what the government is doing, question its actions and hold it to account.
More and more, however, Canadians are seeing less and less of their elected representatives in their legislatures.
But sitting for as little as 13 per cent of the calendar year is well within the rights of a premier—and counting sitting days are not necessarily a good measurement of the effectiveness of government, said B.C. Finance Minister Mike de Jong.
“The legislative assembly and the debate that takes place there is a vitally important part of the legislative process,” he said in an interview on The West Block with Tom Clark. “But going forward through the fall in this particular year, the government has decided we want to focus our energies on preparing for a robust session that will begin again in February with next year’s budget.”
While the legislature is shuttered, MLAs will not be idle, the minister assured. Rather, they will be present in their constituencies, meeting and speaking with voters.
Still, a government that faces its opposition for less than two months in a year raises accountability questions for some.
“The key consideration in terms of democratic process is that when Parliament is not sitting, the government is not held to account by the opposition,” said Philippe Lagassé, associate professor of public and international affairs at the University of Ottawa. “You don’t have committees meeting, you don’t have private members’ bills making their way through and you don’t have question period … whereby opposition parties are able to ask questions of the government and hold them to account.”
Governments need to be mindful, Lagassé warned, of the perception of avoiding scrutiny and the legislature.
There is good reason an MP or MLA would want to have time in their constituencies, said Lori Turnbull, an associate professor of political science at Dalhousie University.
“But they also have very important work to do in the House,” she said. “The House is where government is held to account. It’s where bills are scrutinized and passed or not passed .”
No one should interpret B.C.’s shut-down as minimizing the importance of the institution, de Jong said, adding he “thoroughly enjoys” debate and accountability. Nor should anyone measure the government’s success on the bills it helps become law, he said.
“I’m not a person who believes the measure of success of government is indicated by the number of laws we pass to govern peoples’ behaviour,” he said. “I haven’t met many Canadians who say to their politicians, ‘please sit longer and pass more laws to govern my behaviour,’” de Jong said.
Original Article
Source: globalnews.ca
Author: Amy Minsky
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