Category: Feature

“Other Duties as Required”: Conference Planning and Hosting in a Small Jurisdiction

This entry is part 8 of 12 in the series Vol 46 No. 3 (Autumn)

“Other Duties as Required”: Conference Planning and Hosting in a Small Jurisdiction

Parliamentary service offers support and guidance to elected and appointed officials in their workplaces so they can fulfill their role in our parliamentary democracies. In small legislatures, this mandate is often executed with a fraction of the staff found in larger jurisdictions. Yet, parliamentarians in small jurisdictions have the same duties and responsibilities as their counterparts in larger jurisdictions and these officials deserve the same support and guidance. In this article, the author provides the Prince Edward Island perspective on parliamentary service, with a focus on conference planning and hosting operations. Specifically, she explains how the jurisdiction facilitated the 58th Annual Commonwealth Parliamentary Association Canadian Regional Conference from July 16 – 22, 2022 – one of the first in-person parliamentary conferences hosted in Canada following the COVID-19 pandemic.

Emily Doiron

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Elected with Experience: From Local Councils to the Provincial Legislature

This entry is part 2 of 11 in the series Vol 46 No. 2 (Summer)

Elected with Experience: From Local Councils to the Provincial Legislature

The frequency with which municipal politicians seek elected office at the provincial level is notable. Although each prospective candidate will have their own reasons for wanting to run, their experience on local councils or school boards are often mentioned as prompting them to run for higher office. In this article, the author uses interviews with MPPs who previously held municipal office to explore why these representatives made the switch to provincial politics, how their time on local council helped them to prepare for their new roles, and what differences they’ve identified between serving as elected representatives in these two levels of government. *This article is a revised version of a 2017 Ontario Legislative Internship Programme (OLIP) research paper.

Rachel Nauta

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The Historical Relationship Between Parliamentarians and Public Servants in Canada

This entry is part 3 of 11 in the series Vol 46 No. 2 (Summer)

The Historical Relationship Between Parliamentarians and Public Servants in Canada

Has the role and the work of public servants become politicized? Noting the greater frequency at which public servants are losing their anonymity and seemingly being pressured to support – rather than simply implement – politicians’ priorities, the authors review more than a century’s worth of debates of full parliament to determine whether there is evidence of outright politicization of the public service and whether such politicization (if present) has occurred more regularly over time. The authors conclude that public servants are rarely mentioned in full parliamentary debates and have only become a partisan issue within these debates on two occasions. The authors found that contrary to their expectations, parliamentarians belonging to the governing party were less likely than opposition MPs to discuss the public service and that MPs belonging to conservative parties were no more likely to discuss the public service than MPs belonging to parties elsewhere on the political spectrum.

Brendan Boyd and Barry Atkin

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Reforming the Vote of Confidence: A Role for the Speaker in the Standing Orders

This entry is part 4 of 11 in the series Vol 46 No. 2 (Summer)

Reforming the Vote of Confidence: A Role for the Speaker in the Standing Orders

The confidence convention is a fundamental characteristic of parliamentary government, yet its definition is vague and general. Disappointment in its utility to hold a government to account, its misuse purely for political gain, and the absence of a fair playing field for its use have led to calls for reforms. In this article, the author explores the nature of the vote of confidence, outlines some reasons warranting its reform, reviews some past proposals for reform in Canada and the United Kingdom, and finally proposes his own idea for how to address criticism of its historic and current use in the House of Commons. The author suggests parliamentarians create a standing order which carves out a specific role for the Speaker to rule on the appropriateness of considering an upcoming vote as a matter of confidence. Given that the Speaker’s rulings on the vote of confidence could be challenged, they would be advisory in nature and would not interfere with other confidence conventions such as the Crown’s power of dissolution. However, its use for pure political gain would be weakened; public guidelines developed by the Speaker could better textualize the meaning of the vote of confidence and contribute to civic literacy; order and decorum would be restored when confidence issues arise, and there would be no danger of possible justiciability of the courts. He concludes by suggesting this reform would go a long way in strengthening the Commons over the Executive.

Gary William O’Brien

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The Leadership Intelligence – Human leadership from the Speaker of the House of Commons

This entry is part 5 of 11 in the series Vol 46 No. 2 (Summer)

The Leadership Intelligence – Human leadership from the Speaker of the House of Commons

This article explores the concept of human leadership, which requires more than just technical competencies to deal with modern day challenges. The authors propose a model of leadership intelligence (LQ) that encompasses emotional intelligence (EQ), cultural intelligence (CQ), and technical intelligence (IQ). The Speaker of the House of Commons serves as an example of a leader who demonstrates an equal proportion of use of the LQ variables. The authors emphasize the importance of a flexible and adaptive leadership style that depends on the context and timing of the situation. The deployment of each intelligence requires a strong instinct from leaders, which can be nurtured through development and lived experiences. Effective leaders draw on the strengths of their surrounding advisors and practice self-leadership to address gaps in their individual leadership. The authors highlight Speaker Anthony Rota’s re-election for a second term as evidence of his successful human leadership style, characterized by calmness, fairness, and respect for all Members of Parliament (MPs), and the ability to lead with humility, judgment, accountability, empathy, and adaptability.

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A Question of Privilege: The Speaker as Guardian of the House of Commons

This entry is part 6 of 11 in the series Vol 46 No. 2 (Summer)

A Question of Privilege: The Speaker as Guardian of the House of Commons

The Speaker of the House of Commons has a special role in defending the authority of MPs to hold the government to account. Despite the Speaker’s theoretical power to uphold the rights of MPs, the ability to exercise these powers in practice is constrained by factors both internal and external to the position. Specifically, the federal government is able to sidestep the Speaker’s authority and the Speaker’s commitment to impartiality, while central to his role, prevents him from making timely rulings. Combined, these factors create a significant impediment on the ability of the House to exercise its constitutional duties. In this article, the author reviews the powers and role of the Speaker. Then, using the battle between the government and the House over the firing of two scientists from the National Microbiology Laboratory in early 2021 as a case study, she suggests possible reforms that could increase the Speaker’s power and improve the transparency of government, as well as its accountability to the House of Commons. *This article is a slightly modified version of the winning entry in the 2022 Canadian Study of Parliament Group Koester Essay Competition.

Cynthia Huo

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Implications and Challenges of AI for Parliamentary Ombuds Work in Canada

This entry is part 7 of 11 in the series Vol 46 No. 2 (Summer)

Implications and Challenges of AI for Parliamentary Ombuds Work in Canada

Within a few short years, public interest in and concern about artificial intelligence (AI) has ballooned. The rapid pace of development within the field and the emergence of AI tools which seem to poke at the heart of what it means to be human have opened the floodgates of public discourse on the potential for a disruptive change to society that may be on par with or that may surpass the Industrial Revolution. Discussions among Ombudspersons, Information and Privacy Commissioners, and others involved with or impacted by parliamentary governance oversight and accountability bodies have identified some of the implications and challenges of emerging AI technology. In this article, the author explores some of the concerns of these stakeholders when grappling with regulating the use of AI in public sector service design. He cites lack of transparency, the potential for bias and ethics violations, insufficient data collection and management rules, privacy issues, and fairness in terms of AI-influenced eligibility criteria for public programs as areas that require investigation and action by parliamentary decision-making bodies. He concludes by warning governments to act expeditiously to protect people from AI’s potential to do harm as they consider how to harness its potential benefits.

Jay Chalke

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Alternative Dispute Processes in a Parliamentary Setting

This entry is part 3 of 9 in the series Vol 46 No. 1 (Spring)

Alternative Dispute Processes in a Parliamentary Setting

Following news of the discovery of 215 unmarked graves on the grounds of a former residential school in Kamloops, British Columbia, members of a family placed children’s shoes at the entrance of Ontario’s legislature as a memorial to commemorate the victims. The memorial impeded access to the legislature’s entrance. Unaware of the unfolding news of the gravesite discovery and the establishment of similar memorials at legislatures across the country, members of Ontario’s Legislative Protective Service (LPS) approached the family as they prepared to conduct a smudging ceremony to request the shoes be moved to a more appropriate location. When they declined to move the memorial, the discussion escalated to a verbal impasse that was resolved when the Sergeant-at-Arms, who spoke with the family’s Member of Parliament, agreed to temporarily allow it to remain in place. Concerned that the interaction demonstrated a lack of empathy on the part of the LPS in light of events across the country, some MPPs submitted a written complaint to the Sergeant-at-Arms. Following a meeting with the family, the LPS agreed to participate in a restorative justice process. In this article, the authors explain how the LPS, by stepping outside its standard operating procedures and participating in this process, recognized the value in exploring alternative complaint resolution strategies and thereby adopted a new alternative dispute mechanism. The article concludes by noting the Assembly has created a new Indigenous Liaison position and is in the process of installing a permanent Indigenous Shoe Memorial inside the legislature.

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Experiments in Co-Leadership in Canada

This entry is part 4 of 9 in the series Vol 46 No. 1 (Spring)

Experiments in Co-Leadership in Canada

Two political parties with elected members in Canadian parliaments have or appear to be in the process of adopting co-leadership models. Although the co-leadership option has become well-established among some parties in other countries, this type of structure is still somewhat of a novelty in Canada. In this article, the authors illuminate examples of co-leadership in international contexts, outline the pros and cons of this type of arrangement according to existing political science literature, and explore how co-leadership has worked or may work among its Canadian adherents. The authors conclude that while the co-leadership model has multiple democratic and practical benefits, leadership arrangements where there is centralization in a heroic leader have clear advantages in an era of brand-based politics and that it remains unlikely that parties in government or on the cusp of forming government will adopt this system in the near future.

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