Statements by members of Parliament at 2 p.m. tell you a lot about the temper of the House of Commons. And question period, which follows at 2:15, says everything about the tone of Parliament.
The fall sitting of the House was dysfunctional and destructive. By contrast, the first day this week of the winter sitting was surprisingly collegial and constructive. One day does not a sitting make, but it was a surprisingly refreshing start.
For openers, MPs from all sides used members’ statements in the spirit in which they were intended — praising constituents, expressing sorrows and marking anniversaries — rather than ragging other parties in the House.
Members from all sides rose to say “Never again” on the International Day of Commemoration of the Holocaust. Equally, MPs of all parties joined in declarations of sorrow over the tragedy in L’Isle-Verte, Que. British Columbia Conservative MP Dean Albas congratulated three Olympians from his riding.
Then four new MPs, elected in the November byelections, two Liberals and two Conservatives, were escorted into the House on the arms of their leaders. As the two Liberal members were accompanied down the opposition side of the House, NDP Leader Tom Mulcair stepped out to shake hands and congratulate them.
Then, question period, which is usually revealing of strategy.
Interestingly, Mulcair did not lead with the Senate expense scandal, probably because there have been no new developments over the holidays.
Instead, Mulcair led with a question on the crackdown on protests in Ukraine, a matter of deep concern for the 1.2 million Canadians of Ukrainian origin. Prime Minister Stephen Harper struck the right note. “We are very concerned,” he said, “that these actions speak not of moving towards a free and democratic Euro-Atlantic future, but very much towards an antidemocratic Soviet past.”
Mulcair’s second question was on post-traumatic stress disorder in the military, and the disturbing number of suicides among soldiers who had served in Afghanistan. Would the prime minister make this cause his own? (Harper expressed sympathy for those suffering and replied that his government had already “invested record amounts” on mental-health services for veterans and soldiers.)
For his third question, and fresh from his affordability tour, Mulcair fell back on an old NDP reliable: fees at banking machines.
It was only on his fourth question that Mulcair got around to asking about the Senate expense story, and then only to complain that the Privy Council Office hadn’t fulfilled an NDP access-to-information request for emails.
NDP House leader Nathan Cullen then lit into former Conservative minister Chuck Strahl, who resigned as chairman of the Security and Intelligence Review Committee after registering provincially as a lobbyist in B.C. for the Northern Gateway pipeline project. And this with the approval of the ethics commissioner.
It was interesting to note how Harper, who is known for throwing people under the bus, came to Strahl’s defence.
“Chuck Strahl is one of the most honourable and decent people I have ever worked with in the Parliament of Canada,” Harper replied. “It is a shame that for the sake of his personal reputation, he is no longer willing to provide his services.”
And then there was the matter of the budget, with Finance Minister Jim Flaherty announcing the date as Feb. 11, the earliest of all his budgets.
The announcement of the budget date means the opposition parties will ramp up their questions about what, if anything, the government is going to do for middle-class families.
Liberal finance critic Scott Brison asked Flaherty when he would come up with “a real jobs plan for young Canadians in the upcoming budget; or is he so out of touch with young Canadians and their struggling middle-class families?”
“I have triplet young Canadians who would disagree with the member,” replied Flaherty, father of triplet boys.
The House needs more days like that. The media might prefer the race to the bottom, but the voters don’t. They would rather see Parliament work.
L. Ian MacDonald is editor of Policy magazine.
