Letting themselves off the hook

By Ivan Morgan / June 2, 2023

MHAs are elected first and foremost to represent us in the House of Assembly, but the House doesn’t sit very long each year.

Headlines this week noted the House of Assembly sat fewer days this year than in the past. This is neither new, nor surprising.

In fact, it sat for 24 days this spring, and when they get back on October 16, they are slotted to sit for another 15 days. That’s 39 days this year. That’s not near good enough.

They don’t sit long because governments don’t like the House. There have been complaints for decades about how few days politicians sit in the House. Nothing changes. When the Tories were in power the Liberals complained about the lack of sitting days. Then the Liberals got into power and . . . you guess the rest.

In 2011 Kathy Dunderdale won an October general election and then decided to skip the Fall session and not open the House until the spring. “”I don’t find it a place for a very healthy, open, constructive debate to start with,” she said at the time.

Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear.

Would you like it if four times a week you had to sit for half an hour while a group of people who really want your job loudly pointed out all the things you aren’t doing, or not doing well, and constantly reminded us all of your past blunders?

My guess is you wouldn’t. In the House it’s called Question Period and many government politicians don’t like it either. It is, however, very good for democracy.

Politicians need to be told, and the House of Assembly is where they are told, by the Opposition. Question Period is a mere half hour, but it’s a very important part of how our system works.

I have had the privilege, in what passes for my career, to have covered Question Period in the House of Assembly as a journalist, and then later to work in Opposition helping to prepare MHAs for Question Period.

I know the sensation of sitting in the Press Gallery when a politician says or does something that makes us start frantically texting our editors.

I also know the sensation of preparing an MHA to stand in the House and ask a question of a minister which will have journalists texting like mad. 

It’s the most fun!

Most of the year government MHAs – especially ministers – are surrounded by highly paid people who protect them and make sure they look good. Comms people, executive assistants, researchers, and all manner of folk making sure government looks great. It’s a nice bubble.

When the House is sitting, however, for a half hour every day, government members must sit and, if called upon, look like they know what they are doing. This is a good thing. Keeps things real for them.

It’s not that MHAs aren’t busy when the House is closed. In my experience most MHAs are conscientious, hard-working folks whether they are in the House or in their districts. That’s not the point.

When the House isn’t sitting government is free to do what it wants and is protected from you and me. Criticism is filtered through highly trained communications people, hired to ensure its minimized and handled. Not the same as sitting in your seat and being put on the spot. The less they have to do that the better. That’s the point.

When the House is open things are debated:  legislation, budgets, issues of the day. It’s talked about by all 40 of them. Governments prefer to give that a pass.

Your House of Assembly needs to sit longer. They will if you make it an issue.

Healthy debate is essential for democracy. If debate is stifled, we could see a government ram a disastrous project through not allowing any meaningful debate, or criticism for that matter, which would end up costing you and I billions and billions.

That would be a total disaster.  We wouldn’t want that.

Ivan Morgan can be reached at ivan.morgan@gmail.com