PM borrows Tory tactics
Their election platform said a Liberal government, unlike the Tories, would respect Parliament and strengthen the role of committees and committee chairs, including electing them by secret ballot, writes Postmedia’s John Ivison. But when it came to the committee on national security and intelligence, Justin Trudeau parachuted in Liberal MP David McGuinty as chair. And now it looks as if the PM wants to dictate which opposition members will sit on it, Ivison says. However, NDP Leader Tomas Mulcair is having none of the PM’s cherry-picking.
The Liberals were elected, in part, on their promise to end Stephen Harper’s evident contempt for Parliament.
Harper, the Liberals argued, treated Canada as an executive, rather than a parliamentary democracy. Prime ministerial decisions were rubber-stamped using ruthless caucus discipline, eliminating the need for persuasion. The House of Commons was reduced to an arena of venomous sparring.
The Trudeau Liberals promised to reverse all that — Parliament would be restored as the people’s forum and the country’s greatest debating chamber.
“For Parliament to work, its members must be free to do what they have been elected to do; represent their communities to hold the government to account,” the party platform pledged.
Needless to say, the reality has been less impressive than the rhetoric.
Twice, the government has tried to push through proposals that would make the House of Commons more compliant to its agenda — most recently, the package of rule changes that included removing Friday sittings and ending the opposition’s ability to filibuster government bills.
Twice, the opposition forced the Liberals to back down by insisting they would not accept unilateral changes to House procedure.
Yet despite the promises that they intend to bolster the standing of our parliamentary institutions, the government continues to do just the opposite.
Their election platform said a Liberal government would strengthen the role of parliamentary committees and the role of committee chairs, including electing them by secret ballot.
However, when it came to the committee on national security and intelligence, newly created under an act that passed in June, Justin Trudeau parachuted in Liberal MP David McGuinty as chair.
The government argued there was no contradiction in this approach because the committee will operate outside the normal House of Commons structure.
But now it looks as if the Prime Minister wants to dictate not only who will chair the committee, but also which opposition members will sit on it.
Back in February of last year, NDP Leader Tom Mulcair wrote to Trudeau, expressing his displeasure that McGuinty had been appointed chair without consulting the opposition.
At the time, he said the NDP would be represented on the committee by Murray Rankin, the party critic, who before being elected had been appointed by two former justice ministers to serve as a special advocate on classified immigration and refugee matters. Rankin was also legal counsel to the Security Intelligence Review Committee and held top secret clearance — by any measure, an ideal candidate for the post.
Yet in August, Trudeau wrote to Mulcair, inviting him to submit four names for consideration. (The committee will consist of the chair and up to 10 members — five Liberals, two Conservatives, one New Democrat and three senators.)
“I remain strongly committed to creating a diverse and inclusive committee that responds to the needs of all Canadians,” Trudeau wrote.
Kate Purchase, Trudeau’s director of communications, said the need to reflect background, region, gender and culture is why each caucus leader was asked to submit multiple names.
For Mulcair, this constituted an intolerable level of government influence over a committee he said must adhere to the highest standards of transparency and independence.
In a letter sent to the prime minister Wednesday, he said the New Democrats have made every effort to ensure the selection process is credible and non-partisan.
“In light of this, we do not feel that it is appropriate for the government to select a member to represent our party at the committee,” he said. “The NDP’s single member on the committee and our sole nomination is Mr. Murray Rankin.”
It does not bode well for the committee that Trudeau is trying to cherry-pick members — potentially removing his most qualified critic.
The parliamentary oversight legislation leaned heavily on the example of the British Intelligence and Security Committee. However, it has long been considered the major limitation of that committee that the British prime minister nominates its members.
It is too late now to adopt the German model, where the Parliamentary Control Panel that oversees spy agencies is elected by the Bundestag and chairmanship rotates annually between government and opposition representatives.
But even in Canada’s lessthan-ideal iteration, the idea that the government wants to choose the committee’s opposition members is outrageous. Trudeau should think again.