Appeared on the Nov. 16 issue of The Hill Times
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BACKBENCHERS GET NO RESPECT
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Backbenchers are like ethnics: they're good for posters and picnics, but as soon as they express an opinion, they're reminded that they're immigrants. Backbenchers are good for choreography when leaders talk, when the quorum is needed in the House or when they're needed to make bridging clips for the media. As soon as they go to the washrooms without the permission of the whip they're told to sit down and raise their hands on demand. Take the Liberal backbenchers, for instance. They've been labelled as "trained seals," especially the ones from Ontario. But now that they've taken a stand against the financial institutions and the CRTC, they're accused of being self-promoters, loose cannons and incompetents. Backbenchers belong to the most neglected category of working people in this country. They are neglected by their leaders and buried for long hours attending boring committees to ratify decisions that most of the times are made by others. They are away from their families most of the week and are herded in the House to vote for bills that most of the time they learn of from the newspapers. During the weekends at home they deal with their constituents during the day and at night they attend to official functions eating all kinds of Italian, Chinese, English or Indian foods, shaking hands, smiling to people even when they would love to yell at them. Those are the people abused by their constituents for the mistakes made by the executive and the non-elected individuals in the PMO; and who are belittled by the national media. Their constituency offices have become a place where constituents unload their personal miseries begging for help. Their role is to call the bank manager around the corner to help a constituent who went bankrupt or to beg cabinet ministers, who most of the time do not return their telephone calls. They help people cope with bureaucrats in the federal Immigration Department. They have to help disabled people pass through the switchboard of the Workers' Compensation Board or help constituents cope with the bulldogs at Revenue Canada who are ready to nickel and dime the overtaxed citizens and small companies. Those are the people who find themselves deprived of their constitutional rights when they arrive in the black hole of the power on the Hill. Taking advantage of an antiquated electoral system and without the checks and balances of the U.S. electoral system, prime ministers and premiers in Canada have become four-year-dictators. They share the power with a few ministers, a bunch of non-elected people in the PMO and some friends in the corporate boardrooms. A few preach democracy but practise its parody instead. MPs are elected to represent their constituents in Ottawa, not just Ottawa's views in the ridings. They are elected to help run the country, not to use Band-Aid solutions to undo mistakes made by the executive. Last Wednesday, Liberal backbenchers urged Finance Minister Paul Martin to reject the two proposed bank mergers. Headed by Ontario Liberal MP Tony Ianno, the Liberal task force report was signed by 55 Liberals, four of whom are members of the House Finance Committee. How 54 democratically elected MPs, using a democratically-appointed task force, dare to challenge the almighty banks? "What do self-promoting backbenchers know about banking?" have yelled some journalists. It's interesting how journalists can write about changing a tire on a car, the financial situation in Japan and the sex of the angels and an MP can't talk about banks. Are the backbenchers incompetent? What makes Heritage Minister Sheila Copps an expert in environment in March, an expert in broadcasting in April or an expert in culture in June? Or, for that matter David Collenette an expert in defence or transportation? Or how about lawyer Allan Rock an expert on alternative medicine or Sergio Marchi an expert on international trade, immigration and environment? Is it the title that makes the person an expert? Perhaps we all have the Napoleon syndrome, Napoleon who once said "Give me a lot of medals and I'll win all the wars you want." It might be that the Ianno Task Force is saying no to bank mergers for the wrong reasons, but banks have harvested years of contempt for neglecting the people's interests. I do not necessarily agree with the conclusions of the Ianno Task Force report, but I do like the fact that the people elected to protect the interests of their constituents, have finally started to use their mouths in Ottawa and their ears in their ridings. This time they didn't parrot the "talking points" from the PMO with the people of Canada. |
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