The Struggle for Equality in Parliament and Beyond

This entry is part 2 of 10 in the series Vol 34 No 1 (Spring)

The Struggle for Equality in Parliament and Beyond

Much has been written about the dominance of one race and one gender in Parliament and in politics generally. But Parliament is not the only area where there are problems with equality for women. This article looks at Canadian society and argues that what we see in Parliament and in politics is a reflection of larger problems in Canadian society.

I entered adulthood with the mistaken impression that the battle for equality had already been won. More than a decade had passed since Betty Friedan wrote her famous treatise, The Feminine Mystique. Tennis star Billy Jean King had easily whipped Bobby Riggs in the 1973 “Battle of the Sexes”.

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No Discretion: On Prorogation and the Governor General

This entry is part 3 of 10 in the series Vol 34 No 1 (Spring)

No Discretion: On Prorogation and the Governor General

The prorogation of parliament in 2008 left Canadians – politicians, academics, and the electorate alike – scrambling to figure out the constitutional role of the governor general. Across the country many questions were posed, but they were answered without a thorough historical examination of the practice of prorogation or an analysis of the development of responsible government in the Westminster system. The answers tended to analyze the quality of the prime minister’s advice – an issue entirely separate from the constitutional role of the governor general in Canada.

Of the scholarship on the Harper-Jean prorogation of 2008, Andrew Heard occupies one extreme in his support for the use of the reserve power in matters of prorogation and the argument that Governor General MichaÃ«lle Jean should have rejected Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s advice to prorogue in 2008.¹ In the middle, C.E.S. Franks also acknowledges the applicability of the reserve power to prorogation but reluctantly concludes that “the governor general made the right decision.”² Peter Hogg, Adam Dodek and Barbara Messamore accept that the reserve power still applies to prorogation but believe that the governor general wisely accepted the prime minister’s advice for various reasons more emphatic than those of Professor Franks.³ Professor Hogg, for instance, believes that an imminent vote of confidence suffices to activate the reserve power that allows a governor general to reject a prime minister’s advice.⁴ At the other extreme, Henri Brun argues that the governor general possessed no personal discretion because the reserve power does not apply to prorogation; he supports a more narrow interpretation of the power and would sanction it only in the gravest emergency.⁵ Guy Tremblay agrees with Professor Brun and believes that “the governor general must accede to a request of prorogation or dissolution.”⁶ Finally, based on the writings of the late Professor Robert MacGregor Dawson, the Harper-Jean prorogation of 2008 did not meet the constitutional test on the acceptable use of the reserve power.⁷ Of these scholars, only Professor Messamore devoted serious attention to the little-known Macdonald-Dufferin prorogation of 1873 and applied its lessons to the Harper-Jean prorogation of 2008; in contrast, Professors Franks and Russell invoked the King-Byng Affair of 1926, which involved dissolution and not prorogation, and therefore provides a bad example with respect to the Harper-Jean prorogation.

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Women’s Representation in the House of Commons: A Stalemate?

This entry is part 4 of 10 in the series Vol 34 No 1 (Spring)

Women’s Representation in the House of Commons: A Stalemate?

This article looks at female representation in the House of Commons. It shows that in terms of numbers, a plateau seems to have been reached over the last two decades. The paper also argues that even if demand for female candidates were to increase significantly, this factor on its own would not redress the limited supply phenomenon that originates from other sources – including stereotypic treatments of women in public life.

Since the creation in 2001 of Equal Voice, a group dedicated to increasing the numbers of women who hold public office at all levels in Canada, the issue of gender differences in political involvement has been raised with some frequency. Media stories have celebrated progress and, occasionally, what are presented as breakthroughs in female engagement. One recent example followed the fall 2010 municipal elections in Toronto, when 15 women won seats on the 45-member city council. A prominent story in Canada’s largest circulation daily explained the reason for “cheering” as follows: one-third of the new council would be female.¹ The story neglected to mention that multiple borough councils in pre-amalgamation Toronto, alongside the former Metro Council, had attained roughly the same levels or higher, with Etobicoke’s borough council reaching 42% women members in 1996 – or nearly 15 years earlier.²

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Member of Parliament: A Job With No Job Description

This entry is part 5 of 10 in the series Vol 34 No 1 (Spring)

Member of Parliament: A Job With No Job Description

This article is based on a larger study that used exit interviews with former MPs to determine, among other things, how the MPs described their jobs. The study found that there is little consistency in the ways our elected members viewed the job description of an MP, and outlined five broad and overlapping categories. It also suggests certain implications that flow from the absence of any shared understanding of the MP’s job.

Sixty-five former MPs were interviewed for this project in 2009-10. They served in public life for an average of 10 years, and left during or after the 38th and 39th Parliaments, which sat from 2004 to 2008. Each MP served in at least one minority Parliament. Many came to Ottawa at a particular point in our political history: when the Bloc Québécois, the Reform Party and later the merged Conservative Party of Canada became as important players on the national stage.¹

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Visible Minority Candidates and MPs: An Update Based on the 2008 Federal Election

This entry is part 6 of 10 in the series Vol 34 No 1 (Spring)

Visible Minority Candidates and MPs: An Update Based on the 2008 Federal Election

While there is an ongoing need to learn more about the position and experience of visible minorities among the federal legislative elite, one reality is very well understood: they remain underrepresented – both as candidates and, more importantly, as MPs. This paper considers the 2008 federal election as an additional observation and testing point. Its specific aim is to determine whether characterizations about the incidence of visible minority MPs based on studies of elections from 1993 to 2006 still apply when this election is taken into account. The article also discusses visible minorities as candidates in that election. This is in keeping with the focus of previous scholarship on candidacy as a necessary condition for entry into the Commons. This entails not only “counting” them but as well examining which parties they ran for and the competitive status of the constituencies that they contested – all of this in an effort to shed some light on the parties’ depth of commitment to visible minorities as serious contenders for winning Parliamentary seats.

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The Manitoba Legislative Assembly

This entry is part 7 of 10 in the series Vol 34 No 1 (Spring)

The Manitoba Legislative Assembly

Manitoba exhibits both classical characteristics of Canadian political life and unique developments that are strikingly Manitoban. Accordingly, the development of the Manitoba Legislative Assembly has reflected the range of divisions within Canadian political society, including east/west tensions, Francophone/Anglophone relations, struggles between Aboriginal lifestyles and European colonialism, urban/rural divisions and of course the continuing legacy of immigration – multiculturalism. While exhibiting these traditional Canadian elements of nation building, Manitoba has also developed a distinct identity. The Métis and First Nation heritages, the timing and settlement patterns of immigration waves, the small provincial population, the province’s have-not status and its difficult climate all contribute to the political environment. As the province’s principal representative institution, the Manitoba Legislative Assembly is unique and reflects both the distinctive social and political context of Prairie politics and the complexities of the modern Western world.

When one looks over the history of Manitoba’s Legislative Assembly, three distinct phases of development emerge: the province-building phase, 1870 to 1921; the non-partisan coalition phase, 1921 to 1969; and the modern era, 1969 to the present.

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Some Personal Thoughts on Question Period

This entry is part 1 of 11 in the series Vol 33 No 4 (Winter)

Some Personal Thoughts on Question Period

On October 6, 2010 a Private Member’s motion by Michael Chong to reform Question Period was adopted by the House of Commons and sent to the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs. (For details of the proposed reform see the Autumn issue of the Canadian Parliamentary Review). In this article one member of Parliament explains why he supports reform of Question Period.

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Reflections on Reforming Question Period

This entry is part 2 of 11 in the series Vol 33 No 4 (Winter)

Reflections on Reforming Question Period

There has been much discussion recently about ways to reform Question Period. Much of it has centred around motion M-517 by Michael Chong. (See Autumn 2010 issue for a full discussion of this motion). In this article a longtime MP and former House Leader put the issue into a longer term perspective.

I would like to start by congratulating my colleague, Michael Chong, for his efforts to reform Question Period in the House of Commons. The motion he has brought before the House is an ambitious one. Using the United Kingdom as an example, Mr. Chong has clearly and succinctly outlined how he believes Question Period can be changed for the better.

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Oversight of Regulations by Parliamentarians

This entry is part 3 of 11 in the series Vol 33 No 4 (Winter)

Oversight of Regulations by Parliamentarians

Regulations sometimes referred to as delegated legislation or subordinate legislation are a common feature in modern parliamentary democracies in Canada and throughout the world. They give specific form and substance to laws and set out the finer details of an act’s operation. The common characteristic is that the parent statute must specify that such orders can be made and for what purpose. This article examines some of the advantages and disadvantages that have arisen from their use. It also discusses those jurisdictions that have developed processes for the review of regulations. Lastly, it will provide some suggestions on how to increase the role of parliamentarians in the review process.

Practical considerations and the administrative needs of modern states have made it unavoidable that legislatures shift some of their lawmaking authority to the executive branch. Governments typically pass hundreds–if not thousands–of pieces of delegated legislation each year in order to function effectively and efficiently. Obviously, legislative assemblies are simply incapable of processing every regulation in the same manner as a bill. Parliamentary time and resources are simply too scarce. Furthermore, many regulatory initiatives are specific in scope, and would be unlikely to warrant the full consideration of the House.

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The Role of the Governor General: Some Lessons from Australia and the Commonwealth

This entry is part 4 of 11 in the series Vol 33 No 4 (Winter)

The Role of the Governor General: Some Lessons from Australia and the Commonwealth

As Canadians wrestle with issues of prorogation, coalitions, fixed elections and even the nomenclature of their head of state it is useful to look at practices in other Commonwealth countries. Of course each country will have its own tradition and conventions but we can better understand Canadian issues by putting them in a comparative perspective. This paper looks at recent developments relating to the role of the Governor General including his/her role in the making or unmaking of Governments.

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