House cleaning

Now that this rancorous session of Parliament is coming to a close, I am certain many folks on their doorsteps will be asking me what’s happened to the House of Commons.

Fair question. And what are Conservatives going to do about it?

Parliament has not exactly been a showplace lately. The allegations of corruption, bribes, kickbacks and plain stealing that the Gomery enquiry is turning up are shocking. The incident of a Conservative MP making secret tape recordings of the Liberals offering him a deal if he defected is bizarre.

Charges that the government times its votes so sick Conservative members will miss them are distasteful. And then there is all that yelling in Question Period! No wonder people refer to the House of Commons as a kindergarten.

Actually, I found it interesting to be on the floor of the House for the first time – the acoustics are so bad in there that it is impossible to hear what anyone else is saying. To get around that, there is a small microphone on every MP’s desk, and when he or she is recognized by the Speaker to talk, then a House of Commons engineer up in the gallery flicks a switch, activating that mic. The only way that other people can hear you then is to put their earpieces on.

However, the person speaking has to remove his or her earpiece, because it is distracting to have it buzzing while your talking . The downside is, all the surrounding noise is overwhelming, and people on their feet tend to START SHOUTING.

Anyway, that’s a side issue. The main things Canadians want are more principled Members of Parliament, more cooperation, less fighting, better results and ethical behaviour all round. The way to get this, of course, is to elect the best possible candidates. I just hope that all the negative media Parliament is getting (and probably deserves), does not drive off good people who would make excellent MPs.

You should probably know where the Conservatives stand on cleaning up Parliament:

· Conservatives will make sure that key people, like the Auditor General and the Ethics Commissioner are appointed by Parliament, instead of the prime minister’s office, and report to Parliament.

· Except for budget and financial votes, Conservatives will make sure that every vote in the House of Commons is a free vote, so MPs can finally represent their constituents, instead of just lining up for the party.

· Conservatives think the electoral system could be better. Today MPs and even governments are elected with less than a majority of the votes. Conservatives would consider finding a much better process.

· Conservatives have already put a lot of time and effort into finding the best possible candidates for election. Interested people have to provide a police background check, fill out an exhaustive questionnaire on their experiences, beliefs and education, and even go through an intensive personal interview. Then, of course, they have to win a nomination contest, securing the support of an absolute majority of party members in each area.

Democracy is messy. But it doesn’t need to be like this. After the next election, principled Conservative MPs will show the way.