Toronto Star reporter Susan Delacourt wrote a column recently on the changing work hours of our federal parliamentarians. It seems they are finally recognizing that spending any part of Friday in Ottawa is largely a waste of time. Many MPs used to be part of what was called the Tuesday to Thursday club and they are being proved right. Our MPs have a responsibility to their electoral districts as well as their duties in the House of Commons and on committees. The conscientious members who used to try to live up to these dual responsibilities despite being in Ottawa many weeks from Monday to Friday often burned themselves out meeting them.
Not all of them. For some MPs their time in Ottawa was also fun time while their spouse did the best they could keeping the household going back home. At one time back in the 1900s there were parliamentary cocktail parties for party MPs and staff hosted by a cabinet member each Wednesday. They were called Wonderful Wednesdays and if you could not make a hook-up there, you were not trying.
But there are now Freedom Fridays. An extra day at home will never save horny MPs from straying but it sure reduces the tensions for many. Not that Justin Trudeau is supposed to be some sort of a den mother. When he bounced two Liberal MPs from his caucus for what might have been inappropriate behaviour with two NDP MPs, we were unsure if it was the behaviour or the fact the ladies involved were New Democrats.
Back when Justin’s father was prime minister, Pierre Trudeau asked what could be done about a certain MP who was gaining notoriety in the gay bars in town. The advice was as long as it was men old enough for bars that were of interest it was nobody’s business.
The important objective of Freedom Fridays is the ongoing availability of an MP to deal with matters for their constituents. While the MP is authorized to have staff in their electoral districts to assist in serving voters’ needs, it is the MP who is expected to provide leadership in providing the service. Where MPs leave this work to staff, the staff tend to become highly partisan in their dealings with the public. This is not the objective.
The measure of a member of parliament should be a combination of the contribution made in the House of Commons and effectiveness in reporting back to their electoral district. It is very important to be a somebody in both places.
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Copyright 2016 © Peter Lowry
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