The reason “parliamentarians” seize the irrelevant and simple issues and play “gotcha-politics” is because that’s what they understand. The bigger issues are just that, bigger. Much better to get your comments on simple “gotcha” issues in the press because that’s how you keep your personal profile up, and that’s what the great bulk of the electorate understand.

Entirely consistant with what you would expect from the largely uneducated and inexperienced current crop of MPs.

A well written article. I have been following politics for years now and have come to the conclusion that whether it be federal or provincial government that the game is to see how much dirt and bad press can be heaped upon the governing party so that the opposition party can be the next governing party. Then the game starts all over again with the party that has been relagated to the opposition trying to see how much dirt and bad press can be heaped upon the governing party so that they can become the governing party again. The problem is, as I see it, is that these games are being played at the expense of the Canadian people who I believe want responsible government, which includes all parties, to act in the best interest of Canadians and not solely the interest of their party.

The next federal election is going to be very interesting. Firstly I am going to be interested to see how many Canadians DO NOT vote. Secondly I am going to be interested to see if those who do vote, vote for a majority government or see that there is not one party worthy of a majority. I personally believe that we DO NOT have a party worthy of a majority, but I have to agree with the writer of the article, John Ivison, that a majority is probably in the best interest for Canadians.

We, in Nova Scotia, are going to the polls on June the 9th. The polls indicate that the NDP are going to form the next government, but all indications are that they will form a minority government. If this is the case my take is that the people of Nova Scotia do not believe that there is a party worthy of a majority. As with the federal scene, voter turnout in Nova Scotia is getting lower and lower with each election. Could it be that whether it be federal or provincial government that the reason that around 40% of the populace do not vote is because they have no confidence in government. Time and time again when an election is called I have either read in the paper or heard on TV comments such as: No I’m not voting because: They are all the same, they do what they want anyway; They make promises they do not plan to keep; (Chretian for example stating that he hates the GST and if elected he will get rid of it - when was the last time you paid GST?) They have perks beyond reason; They make too much money, and have a pension plan that is beyond belief. These are just some of the comments that have been floated around.

Thank you and have a great day

I agree with Chris, that our politicians seem to always be looking for the profitable 15 sec. clip on the news rather than dealing with the real issues in a constructive manner.

The other problem is that our system focuses on “opposition” rather than “team”. The partisan stance is always, “If it’s our idea then it is good, if it is your idea, it is automatically bad”. There is no legitimate discussion and collaboration towards what is best for the country. Everyone seems to be bent on a defensive attack mode… which in real life accomplished nothing but discord.

The antics in Question Period are not new nor are they limited to the federal Government. I attended a BC Question Period back in the 90’s. While all the usual shouting and posturing was going on down in the “pit”, we the observers were monitored very closely by the attendants. No food or drink was allowed and absolutely no talking.

On the day I was there, a rather stern looking uniformed woman would regularly “sshh” any observer who was talking quietly or making any noise whatsoever. Ironically there were signs that exhorted those in the gallery to be quiet, while our distinguished leaders ( I use the term leaders lightly) below continued to yell over top of one another. As I observed their antics and the signage, I suddenly realized the attendants were really zoo-keepers and the sign should have read, “Please don’t feed the monkeys below”.

It is very unfortunate that the MPs and their provincial cousins have lost sight of the importance of their office. As holders of such an office they should be reminded that their actions, in parliament and elsewhere, should be worthy of respect, by fellow members in the House and by the public, regardless of political stripe.
I still remember the debate anbout allowing television coverage in parliament. It was to serve ‘openness.’ It has done the opposite. I suggest to review this coverage. It may sober them up. In any case, my recommendation to the Speaker is to suspend such coverage immediately if the House fails to observe common courtesy and be respectful of one another.

The divide between left and right has now become huge. The concept of liberal has moved tremendously far left over the last 5 decades. That in turn makes conservatism seem more out of the main stream and more radical to the already left leaning MSM. I think it has created an environment that makes it nearly impossible to reach a consensus on many issues. The left wing Liberals, NDP and Bloc are much closer in ideology but conservatism is an entirely different ideology economically and socially. I really don’t see how or where they can find middle ground to compromise with such different world views. And in my opinion the path we are being taken down by the left is leading us to our demise. But popular culture favours self destruction. The people will have to become engaged and decide where we’re headed. Meanwhile our politicians sit and spin their wheels in Ottawa and in Ontario the Liberals spend money and regulate to their hearts content unopposed. A wake up call is in order if that’s still even possible. Would anyone hear it?

Having attended a few of these both in Ottawa and Provincially and like many who have periodically ‘wasted’ time watching it on TV over many years, my only disagreement with the article is the impression that this is a relatively new phenomenon.
This has been going on since at least the Trudeau days that I’ve personally experienced. That was about the time the Liberals decided they were ordained the party to help us poor Canadians understand what was good for us.
Political arrogance, lack of personal integrity, juggling constituency boundaries and buying geographic votes are just some of the blatant methods that have become so common we no longer notice (or do, so that is why the poor turnout). Jason Kenney’s stand on trying to encourage more emphasis on Canadian history is refreshing, while also being lambasted by the opposition and ‘pooh-poohed’ by the media…in part because there are (obviously) bigger issues to deal with.
However, the media won’t accept any responsibility for what they report as having any ‘influence’ on the general public or political figures…even when much of it is done in 15 second ‘bites’ to fill THEIR ‘demand’ for news (not the public demand).
Therefore can you blame the politicians for doing the same thing other prominent figures do - try and make themselves look good by making someone else look bad?
If there is just one thing I would like to see happen in question period it would be to see normal social etiquette enforced. You don’t interrupt when someone is either asking or answering a question and you don’t allow a group to start yelling or ridiculing en masse.
That one enforced rule could ultimately start serious and logical dialogue.

WHAT ELSE CAN YOU EXPECT FROM A GANG OF LAWYERS ? REPRESENTATION BY WHOEVER CAN BRING UP THE GREATEST AMOUNT OF BULL ! NOW WE WONDER WHY NO ONE VOTES . IT’S UNFORTUNATE , BUT TO SEE THEM IN ACTION REMINDS ONE OF A BUNCH OF APES CLAPPING AND ALL THE WHILE GETTING PAID FOR IT.SOMEONE ONCE SAID PAY THEM MORE AND YOU’LL GET BETTER PEOPLE ….MUST OF BEEN A LEFT WING NDP’ER .MAN WAS HE WRONG .ANYONE EVER HEAR OF DOING WHATS RIGHT FOR THE TAXPAYER ?

Recently I attended a session of parliment during question period. I was absolutely appalled by the juvenile behaviuor of some of our elected representatives. During this time of econimic downturn it is time for parliment to be dealing with issues that are seriously affecting most people, not only in Canada but world wide. Palimentarians need to get the message that Canadians are not impressed with their antics and get on with the issues at hand and make a positive contribution to improving the current economic situation.

Have you all forgotten why it is called, “QUESTION PERIOD”? you never get an answer, so don`t be surprised at the end of the day if you go home all upset. great photo op to send out to people at taxpayer expense.

Election time in B.C. next week and 50% of the voters will not even take the time to vote.

Keep smiling as not enough people are

J.L.W

Yes, our Question Period is a disgrace. I am ashamed to see High School students in the public gallery watching those screaming unruly parliamentarians that we actually voted to represent us in the House. I understand that in Switzerland a paliamentarian cannot shout across the floor, he has to line up at a mike to be heard, and if anything unruly should happen, all the mikes are simply shut off. I think it is high timeo our Speaker should have greater authority to do something similar and rule the House with a much sterner mandate. He is far too lenient on the rowdies!!

I am convinced that 35% of us are the scapegoats. we supply all of the funds required to operate all Gov~ services. If you are one of these just try and get any help if you are old.Does not matter if you are a Canadian Veteran or not.If you are an independant person and live in B C. You have worked hard and managed your affairs well. You are given a number so that you are not able to get any of the Perks. If you own a place of employment you are a target for every fund raising event.You are required to pay for all National Holidays & double time for over time. No one has any time for the enterponier.Except when the job runs out.If you support a Major Political party , the demand for funds never run out. And what you hope for never arrives. Disgusted Canadian Citizen , who grew up in poverty .

Shame on all of them for making our parliament and government untolerable.
They are worse than a bunch of school yard bullies, interupting, name calling, and clapping to make themselves heard. We would not tolerate the same conduct from our children or grandchildren. I wish they would pay attention to the low voting turnout, get their act together, co-operate and get on with the business of running this wonderful country, that is surviving in spite of them. YES, AND DO SOMETHING TO EARN YOUR MONEY.

http://ca.groups.yahoo.com/group/afocusonreality/ Every M.P. should go to this web site and read the natural observations that will give them the principles of a focus on reality. As Canadians we need to raise our level of intellect. Necessity is the mother of invention and so too in a highly competitive world our ability to achieve a collecively higher intellectual level is a necessity. http://ca.groups.yahoo.com/group/afocusonreality/

I agree with all that I read about how government should operate, but is any party advocating the same thing? Are any of the party whips trying to be responsible with making their members respect good attendance? We’ll see how responsible the senators are when faced with voting on accepting the same rules as MPs re use of power.

I also believe that politians behave irresponsibly during Question Period; but the media and public at large are also part of the problem. When Preston Manning and the 52 Reformers were first elected to the Commons part of their party platform was to bring some kind of decorun and professionalism to Parliament. They were scoffed at by the media pundits and the Canadian people for being naive dolts who were ignorant of how Canada’s political system really ” worked” and for their lack of understanding of the rough and tumble life of the political arena. Their critics compared them to folks who wanted to remove fighting from hockey when it was allegedly “part of the game”. They adjusted.

“stable majority government” -gl with that

Chretien’s Liberals had one of those but it took “a miracle” and even then they never had a majority of the popular vote but still was stable for eleven years.

As long as the Conservatives think they need more votes from Quebec than they do from Ontario there will never be any stable or majority at least not Conservative federal government in this country. quacks

Quebec is Quebec,a province of Canada and not another country that has to be catered too by any low life separatists. Gilles Duceppe is no friend of Canada’s, he is all about Quebec and socialism. Harper needs to stop pandering for votes there if he wants any stability at all. Laugh laugh or maybe even, LoL

One more example how our elected parliamentarians find amusement and delight at the expense of us all. They laugh at us in Parliament, in needless and drawn out investigative commissions, and in the billions of taxpayer dollars wasted to bailout and award inefficiency. Their childish tirades and hypocritical self-righteous pieties make mockery of the Canadian citizenry who elected them to perform a job to defend our liberty, rights and freedoms.

Canadians have little hope that their present governments will change egocentric trends until we, the Canadian people develop faculties of discernment for what is true, right and lasting; be on the alert, closely observant and sagaciously evaluate current trends and conditions; strengthen immunity to political bribery, propaganda and the methods employed by governments to shape thought; wake up out of our dangerous sleep walk of complacency and rise above the level of thinking and doing business as usual that has brought us to today’s disgraceful state of Canadian politics.

Truculence is particularly strong in the movements who urge the dispersing of political power and wealth, rather than further concentrating them; human rights organizations, who counter political repression, confront entrenched patterns of social inequity and injustice; environmental protection groups and associations who oppose the increased rates of resource extraction and destruction of the Earth’s fragile ecosystems – these are the advocacies whose views are radically different from that of the ruling elite, though prevail by their perseverance, moral example and persuasion. Divided, they are like so many gnats pestering the elite leviathan. To reduce vulnerability to political incentives and constraints, these movements will need to work together and present a united front. The interest and loyalty of multitudes will be their incentive and will increase their potency.

But whether this mass dissatisfaction can be channeled into a dynamic movement depends on each individuals’ willingness to reclaim conscious awareness, muster the courage to reconcile the cognitive dissonances that have kept them blindside to the kind of government they are acquiring is fast becoming a government stemmed from the thesis that man has no rights, which conceives itself to be the source of rights, which it gives and can recall at its own pleasure.

Thus far, we have inadequately used our collective capacities. Canadians need to hold their elected politicians directly accountable for their irresponsibility, intentional obscurity and dishonesty; they continue to betray the public trust and their deplorable actions implant negative entropy that accelerates the deterioration of our society and hinders every effort in preparation for a sustainable future. As a society with unwavering conviction to sustainability and self-sufficiency, engaged Canadians must empathetically compel their governments to develop vision and commitment to find and implement equitable solutions.

In our perseverance for democratic and economic freedom, rights and civil liberties in pursuit of self-sufficiency, we the Canadian people hold the moral high ground and may be marginalized and demonized by the ruling elite. However the history of liberty is the history of resistance and limitation of governmental power. In the process, we may need to use our societal determination and solidarity to confront and defeat governmental obstructionist policies, laws and regulations that could impede our progress and deny us of our birthright for a free and sustainable future.

Each one of us must assume the moral responsibility for the circumstances of our lives, and the lives of future generations. We’re on a dangerous slippery slope downwards and are propelling ourselves into a future of lost universal and fundamental, natural and unalienable rights to life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness, security of the person and his private property, together with the right to defend them in the best manner they can. Unless we act to change these trends, politicians will continue to amuse, accuse and ruse. To put it bluntly, as long as we the people of Canada choose to continue as a nation of wimps, we will become a nation of serfs. Not a proud legacy for our children and children’s children.

Boy, the letter by Dalton was a mouth full. Good letter Dalton. I have written letters to all of the federal parties and the Nova Scotia provincial parties over the years with the theme in mind that our form of government is supposed to be a Democratic Representative government. I realize that our government follows the British Parliamentary system but our elected officials are supposed to represent those who elected them, which they DO NOT. Democracy is defined as “rule by the people”. If this were true then we would have a representative government and not what I call a democratic dictatorship where we the people are told by a selected few what we are to do and how we are to do it. Where is the input from the people on important issues? From what I have observed it is non existent. One small point in question involves Sunday shopping in Nova Scotia. A referendrum was taken about three years ago on whether to have Sunday shopping. The vote was no Sunday shopping. About a year after, the government of Nova Scotia decided to go against the wishes of the people of Nova Scotia and brought about Sunday shopping. Personally I don’t care either way if we have or do not have Sunday shopping. What happened speaks volumes, and just further confirms that our elected representatives (I use representatives with tongue in cheek) do not really represent the people who elected them.

It is obvious to me that when election time comes around that most if not all who win in an election do not really care how many people there are who DO NOT VOTE, their only concern is that they are elected. I have mentioned before that it is going to be interesting to see how many people do not vote in the next federal election. Will the now revealed knowledge of $1.95 per head of those who vote have an affect? Will the disgraceful goings on in Parliament have an affect? And on I could go.

Thank you and have a great day.

It is too bad that the present situation has been allowed to come to pass but it is our own damned fault for having put up with the shenanigans of a buch of spoiled brats led by idiots who pass for third class statesmen.

As long as Canada persists in having more than 2 parties, we will not stand a chance of having a strong governing party that can act for the people.

2 parties, 4 years maximum term before re-election. What a simple concept for success.

It might be helpful if every member of parliament were forced to read all of the comments on this blog. They might then begin to appreciate what we the electorate think of their discracefuly rude antics in what should be a chamber of sober thought, constructive comment and good manners. The manner in which Parliament conducts itself at the present time is a dreadful example to set before the youth of our country, when it should be a shining example.

a 2 or 3 party system would solve a lot of issues besides minority governments, it would also reduce taxpayers money by reducing their costs of reimbursements. I am also fed up with how dirty politics has become in Canada.

Hey guys, youv’e gpt it all wrong. Historically minority governments have served us well.