OTTAWA—During question period, Parliament can look like a classroom without a teacher as the opposition parties fire tainted questions like spitballs that the government dodges with taunts and elusive answers.
But just before the chaos of question period (QP) is 15 minutes of democracy at its finest—if somewhat ineffectual. It is called “Statements by Members,” and for this brief time any MP can rise and speak for up to a minute on anything they like.
Because it precedes QP, Statements is one of the few times there are more than a handful of MPs in the House. Although the House may look full on TV, CPAC coverage of debates isn’t allowed to show the field of green chairs in the chamber that are empty most of the time, and photographers are told to fill their camera frame with the politician speaking if surrounding seats are empty.
While MPs stand to make their statements, others file in for QP and reporters sit ready to catch the muck that will start to fly shortly. Frivolous comments and congratulatory messages are prohibited during Statements, but still are often heard. While these remarks can make Parliament seem hokey, like when an MP congratulates a local high school for completing a history-minded field trip to Europe, they don’t spoil the show.
During the designated 15 minutes, a backbencher can raise the plight of a constituent family facing deportation or a local industry facing extinction due to the economic downturn. There is no onus on anyone to act on these problems, but they can at least be heard.
It is also during Statements that one can observe a full house of Parliamentarians on their best behaviour, brief as it might be.
That was the case earlier this week at least when MPs from both sides of the bench stood to speak about the death of Ontario police officer Vu Pham. Pham died after being shot on the side of the road in rural southwestern Ontario after he pulled over a 70-year-old man in a pickup truck.
That man, Fred Preston, faces charges of first-degree murder if he survives the wounds he suffered in the gunfight. He has also been charged with attempted murder for allegedly shooting at another officer.
“Sssshhhhhh” is not something you hear often in Parliament and many Canadians would likely be surprised by some things those elected to speak on their behalf say in the House of Commons. But there were calls for silence when Pham’s death was spoken of, and those calls were heeded.
Cynics may claim it is just optics, and they might be right to some degree, but it would be a sad state of national affairs if that was the only thing that brought peace as Liberal MP Glen Pearson stood to honour Pham’s sacrifice.
“Too often it takes an incredible tragedy for us to recognize the honour and heroism exemplified by our police officers across the country, the men and women who protect our families and serve as pillars to our communities,” said Pearson, MP for London North Centre.
“Yesterday, in my community, one of those pillars was prematurely cut down. Vu Pham was only 37 years old when he was shot and killed in the line of duty just north of London.
“There is a gap in our community today where a deeply dedicated man once lived. Let us seek to fill it with our own commitment to better the public space. Let us have no more negative statements this afternoon. I ask only that we seek to honour a life lived to its highest in mutual respect.”
It was too tall an order to ask that negativity be set aside, but there was a rare silence in the full house while the two elected officials who had the floor rose to pay tribute to a man who made Canada his adopted country, and protecting its people his duty and profession.
“Together with all Canadians, I was deeply saddened by the news yesterday of the passing of Constable Vu Pham of the Ontario Provincial Police. My deepest sympathies go out to his family, friends, and colleagues,” said Ben Lobb, MP for Huron-Bruce, also in Ontario.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with [his wife] Heather and their three sons as they deal with this tragic loss.”
It’s a bit of a shame that it takes a death to bring decorum befitting the stature of Parliament, but it is also a small testament to the character of the men and women who work here. There is a time to heckle and make mock calls for lynch mob justice, like those of one Liberal MP calling for former Conservative MP Rahim Jaffer to be hanged after charges of drunk driving and cocaine possession against him were reduced to careless driving and punished with a $500 fine.
But there are also times when it is distasteful to joke with the guy in the desk beside you while someone else is speaking, or call insults across the floor against someone you disagree with. It isn’t too often that MPs have the kind of solemn attitude you might expect to be the norm in these distinguished halls, but when there is, it often comes out in these brief moments before question period begins.
One could argue that QP is essential to holding government to account, or that the ill-attended bill debates are what keeps Canada running. One could say both of these make Statements look like an appetizer no sooner ingested than forgotten, but in some ways it is the best part of Parliament.
For 15 minutes it doesn’t matter if an MP is a rookie backbencher from Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, or whether their statement has the sting of an airport temper tantrum. They can rise and represent the people who elected them and have the most powerful people in the country hear it.
And that, at its heart, is what we elected them to do.
But just before the chaos of question period (QP) is 15 minutes of democracy at its finest—if somewhat ineffectual. It is called “Statements by Members,” and for this brief time any MP can rise and speak for up to a minute on anything they like.
Because it precedes QP, Statements is one of the few times there are more than a handful of MPs in the House. Although the House may look full on TV, CPAC coverage of debates isn’t allowed to show the field of green chairs in the chamber that are empty most of the time, and photographers are told to fill their camera frame with the politician speaking if surrounding seats are empty.
While MPs stand to make their statements, others file in for QP and reporters sit ready to catch the muck that will start to fly shortly. Frivolous comments and congratulatory messages are prohibited during Statements, but still are often heard. While these remarks can make Parliament seem hokey, like when an MP congratulates a local high school for completing a history-minded field trip to Europe, they don’t spoil the show.
During the designated 15 minutes, a backbencher can raise the plight of a constituent family facing deportation or a local industry facing extinction due to the economic downturn. There is no onus on anyone to act on these problems, but they can at least be heard.
It is also during Statements that one can observe a full house of Parliamentarians on their best behaviour, brief as it might be.
That was the case earlier this week at least when MPs from both sides of the bench stood to speak about the death of Ontario police officer Vu Pham. Pham died after being shot on the side of the road in rural southwestern Ontario after he pulled over a 70-year-old man in a pickup truck.
That man, Fred Preston, faces charges of first-degree murder if he survives the wounds he suffered in the gunfight. He has also been charged with attempted murder for allegedly shooting at another officer.
“Sssshhhhhh” is not something you hear often in Parliament and many Canadians would likely be surprised by some things those elected to speak on their behalf say in the House of Commons. But there were calls for silence when Pham’s death was spoken of, and those calls were heeded.
Cynics may claim it is just optics, and they might be right to some degree, but it would be a sad state of national affairs if that was the only thing that brought peace as Liberal MP Glen Pearson stood to honour Pham’s sacrifice.
“Too often it takes an incredible tragedy for us to recognize the honour and heroism exemplified by our police officers across the country, the men and women who protect our families and serve as pillars to our communities,” said Pearson, MP for London North Centre.
“Yesterday, in my community, one of those pillars was prematurely cut down. Vu Pham was only 37 years old when he was shot and killed in the line of duty just north of London.
“There is a gap in our community today where a deeply dedicated man once lived. Let us seek to fill it with our own commitment to better the public space. Let us have no more negative statements this afternoon. I ask only that we seek to honour a life lived to its highest in mutual respect.”
It was too tall an order to ask that negativity be set aside, but there was a rare silence in the full house while the two elected officials who had the floor rose to pay tribute to a man who made Canada his adopted country, and protecting its people his duty and profession.
“Together with all Canadians, I was deeply saddened by the news yesterday of the passing of Constable Vu Pham of the Ontario Provincial Police. My deepest sympathies go out to his family, friends, and colleagues,” said Ben Lobb, MP for Huron-Bruce, also in Ontario.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with [his wife] Heather and their three sons as they deal with this tragic loss.”
It’s a bit of a shame that it takes a death to bring decorum befitting the stature of Parliament, but it is also a small testament to the character of the men and women who work here. There is a time to heckle and make mock calls for lynch mob justice, like those of one Liberal MP calling for former Conservative MP Rahim Jaffer to be hanged after charges of drunk driving and cocaine possession against him were reduced to careless driving and punished with a $500 fine.
But there are also times when it is distasteful to joke with the guy in the desk beside you while someone else is speaking, or call insults across the floor against someone you disagree with. It isn’t too often that MPs have the kind of solemn attitude you might expect to be the norm in these distinguished halls, but when there is, it often comes out in these brief moments before question period begins.
One could argue that QP is essential to holding government to account, or that the ill-attended bill debates are what keeps Canada running. One could say both of these make Statements look like an appetizer no sooner ingested than forgotten, but in some ways it is the best part of Parliament.
For 15 minutes it doesn’t matter if an MP is a rookie backbencher from Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, or whether their statement has the sting of an airport temper tantrum. They can rise and represent the people who elected them and have the most powerful people in the country hear it.
And that, at its heart, is what we elected them to do.
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