In this week's Hill Times, Joe Jordan kindly focused his column on our work. Because the HT is behind a paywall, with Joe's permission I've republished his column below.
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We need to stop the blame game, engage the country and make Parliament work again
By JOE JORDAN
I must admit that I have had a recent run of articles with a particularly pessimistic tone about the current state of our Parliamentary institutions and mechanisms. I am not saying that I don't enjoy lobbing uninformed comments from the gallery, but I must confess that I was partly motivated by my view that we were devoid of practical solutions that had any prospect of success.
So as I hovered on the edge of that downward slide, into the "if it reeks it tweets" mentality, along comes a small organization, Samara, that dedicates itself to strengthening Canadian democracy and the attention that people pay to it. Not only that, but they put their own money where their mouth was and undertook a massive research project to study one of the most important jobs and workplaces in the country by conducting detailed exit interviews with 65 former Members of Parliament.
I have always held the view that a problem well-defined is a problem half-solved, and the empirical and academic discipline that Samara has applied to its activities is critical to moving past the anecdotal based analysis that has inevitably characterized the discourse to date.
They are releasing a series of reports rooted in the data collected through their interviews. The first report, "The Accidental Citizen?" was released in June with little fanfare and dealt with the many varied ways that MPs find their way into public life.
What was interesting is that the MPs' backgrounds, experiences and expressed motivations were much more diverse than we usually give them credit for. There would not appear to be a template, or the existence of a "political class" in this country. I was also struck by the negative view the MPs held concerning the nomination process, all the more revealing when you consider that this group of people were the winners! I was also drawn to the lengths that MP's went to characterize their career path as somewhat random, as opposed to clearly executed a strategy based on political ambition.
The second report, "Welcome to Parliament: A Job With No Description" is a natural extension of the first and documents the views that MPs hold concerning their fundamental role and what they felt they were elected to accomplish. This is where things get even more interesting!
First, there was little consistency in how former MPs described the core purpose of a Member of Parliament. The report developed five separate classifications to apply to how MPs described their jobs and we are not talking about subtle differences! I think this finding drove the title of the report, in the sense that the lack of a common definition of purpose may be a root problem that is manifesting itself in the actions and antics currently on public view.
Second, the MPs also talk about how unprepared they felt they were for the job, and the fact that they received little training, orientation or other support. Sitting MPs are not wired to admit they don't know something, but the candor of former MPs on this topic needs to be taken seriously. For example, MPs certainly need to know that one of their primary functions is to hold the Government to account, something that only a few included in their descriptions, and they also need to know how they do that within the Standing Orders of the House.
Samara plans to release three more reports in this series. The next will deal with how Parliamentarians spend their time, the fourth will examine how MPs interact with constituents/citizens and the media and the fifth will contain the MPs' reflections, recommendations and advice.
While these reports identify issues that warrant attention, there are also some real positive in the data. One consistent, and indeed inspiring, element to emerge from the process was the shared view by former Parliamentarians that it was an honour to do the job.
It would be very easy to marginalize this organization as a stranger bearing gifts, but I honestly believe that we would miss a tremendous opportunity if we didn't pay attention to Samara's work. Although to realize the maximum benefits from it, a number of things need to happen.
I encourage people to take the time to read Samara's reports, available in text and podcast on their website. We should discuss the MPs' reflections and the implications they contain. Organizations with similar mandates to Samara's should work together to organize discussions, formal and informal, on what we can do differently and begin to change activities and behaviours accordingly.
Above all, we need to eject blame from the discussion; this is not one person's fault and all of us who have an interest in the health of this country need to engage in a cooperative, constructive and coordinated manner.
There is an old political adage that "people will run towards hope," and as much as I will miss taking cheap shots at the current situation, I look forward to the work of Samara and the potential actions that this type of research can support.
We should all put on our running shoes and accept this gift in the spirit in which it was offered. There may indeed some light at the end of the tunnel!
Joe Jordan is a former Ontario Liberal MP. Today he is a consultant with The Capital Hill Group in Ottawa and teaches government relations at the Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto.