Civility in Parliament a work in progress
At doorstep after doorstep last fall, many politicians were promising voters a kinder, gentler Parliament in 2020.
So how is that going? Have members of Parliament upped their game, tone-wise, in this new, post-election world?
It’s very early to make definitive judgments — the House of Commons has only sat for two weeks since the new year started and most MPs are back in their ridings this week. But two weeks are enough to test whether there’s a real will to improve civility in a notoriously uncivil workplace.
So, first the good news. Big international crises — the coronavirus outbreak and the plane crash in Tehran in January — have definitely detoxed political debate in Ottawa to some degree. It’s much more difficult to be partisan about death and disease, and Justin Trudeau’s government is getting some credit for keeping Canadians and parliamentarians up to date on developments on these fronts.
“I want to thank the prime minister for keeping me and the official opposition and all Canadians informed throughout the process,” Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer said in his opening question to Trudeau when question period resumed at the end of January and the Tehran air crash was the top issue.
That’s not the only thanks being doled out, either. Liberal ministers are trying to thank critics for questions and opposition members have even been dabbling in gratitude, too. Late last week, for instance, it was Conservative MP Gerald Deltell tossing kind words at the Liberal deputy whip, Ginette Pettipas-Taylor.
“I hold her in high regard and have a lot of affection for her,” Deltell said during debate in the Commons. “We crossed swords from time to time when I was the finance critic and she was the parliamentary secretary to the finance minister. We had a lot of fun together.”
Even in testy situations, such as Canada-China relations, there’s some evidence that Liberals and Conservatives — or some of them — are trying to build bridges across partisan lines. On CBC Radio’s “The House” program last weekend, the Liberals’ parliamentary secretary for foreign affairs, Rob Oliphant, complimented Conservative MP Chris Warkentin, for bringing a collaborative approach to the new committee on Canada-China relations. Oliphant even predicted, perhaps over-optimistically, that this committee is a chance to display Parliament at its best.
But these outbreaks of civility are still notable for the fact that they are happening at all. Just as leopards don’t change their spots, partisans have trouble shedding stripes, too.
Then there’s the bad news. Heckling is still taking place in the Commons and the new
Speaker, Anthony Rota, is still wrestling with bad-behaviour issues.
Here are some preliminary stats, culled with the help of the openparliament.ca website. In the first two weeks of sittings this year, the Speaker has twice called out MPs specifically for too much heckling and has been asked to field roughly a dozen points of order (which are basically “that’s not fair” complaints lodged by MPs). Several apologies have been proffered (or demanded), notably when Conservative MP Arthur Viersen had to say sorry for comments about sex work and a female NDP MP. On about nine occasions, Rota has had to call the raucous Commons to order.
“I am trying to hear the answer,” Rota implored noisy MPs on the first day of sitting this year. “However, when members near the Speaker shout, I really have a hard time hearing the answer.”
Elizabeth May, the former Green party leader, has served as a useful chronicler of tone in the Commons in her more than a decade in the chamber. Sitting up in the far reaches of the backbench, with only occasional chances to ask questions, May has been as much an observer as she has been a participant in the Commons. I’ve often said that they should compile May’s post-question-period complaints and observations into a diary of political behaviour in Parliament over the years.
So I tracked May down in her B.C. riding on Monday and asked her to rate the tone of this new minority Parliament. On a scale of one to 10, I asked, where would she rank this Commons for civility? “Pre-election, it was two,” May said. “Post-election, I’d put it at six.”
May says that personal attacks are still being launched (mostly but not exclusively by Conservatives, in her view) and that civility, when it does take place, remains a fragile commodity.
New Year’s resolutions are difficult to keep, especially as January turns to February. Early indications are that federal politicians at least have some intention to exercise some self-discipline when it comes to partisan excess. Keeping that resolution is still a work in progress, though, with mixed results so far.