So, was anyone surprised by Wednesday’s front-page headline, ‘Legislature stifles serious debate, Allred’?
Retiring St. Albert MLA Ken Allred said there’s no serious debating in the legislature, “just a bunch of silliness, half of it.”
Thank you, Ken. Finally a politician who readily admits that what goes on the legislature is little more than a puppet show, with the premier and the speaker holding the strings. And since the public gallery is rarely full, the assumption could be made that the show is simply for the politicians themselves, something to laugh about over beer with their buds later on.
It’s more likely, however, that it’s about campaigning. Elections may only come every few years — Alberta’s will be next spring — but chasing votes is never far from a politician’s mind. And one thing a politician doesn’t want to be is forgotten. Better to be remembered for silliness in the legislature than not remembered at all between elections.
The reality is, the more ridiculous the comments — or the longer and more often a politician can stand and ramble — the better the chance of making the evening newscast.
Let’s face it, at the provincial level, where the PCs have had a majority government for decades, the decision has usually already been made before a bill even gets into the house. What the majority wants, the majority will get, so any debate in the house is really just for show.
And that’s the downfall of party politics. Shift over to the municipal level, where city councillors have no allegiances — other than, one supposes, to the electorate — the debate is more honest and civilized. Councillors support motions they believe in. They can oppose motions without fear of party reprisals, although they still have to worry about how the voters will react. When they bring forth a motion their job is to convince the other councillors to support it and it will usually be honestly debated.
In party politics, the cabinet heavily influences every decision and their political beliefs are very similar. And not many backbenchers are willing to go against their wishes. As Allred said, it’s all politics from the top down. Premier Alison Redford said the same thing during the leadership campaign this fall.
Private member’s bill? Good luck with that. Even government MLAs who aren’t in cabinet have difficulty getting party support for private member’s bills, unless it adheres to the party plan.
Probably the key point Allred makes is that private member’s bills should be subject to free votes — forget party lines, let MLAs vote with their individual consciences, just like at the municipal level.
It’s great that Allred makes those statements. It’s unfortunate he’s doing so as he’s leaving the silliness behind. And it’s unfortunate the comments are coming from a backbencher who has little if any influence on the government or the conduct of the house.
All is not lost, however. Perhaps Allred’s comments will spark others to get serious about their role in the house. In her year-end interview with the Gazette, Redford agreed with Allred, saying she would like to “elevate the standard of debate in the legislature.”
She admits that there’s been an awful lot of non-constructive comments. In other words, useless silliness that does little more than waste everybody’s time.
It’s easy to understand the frustration of opposition members. Rarely does a government minister give a straight, honest answer to their questions. It’s always about evading the question, fudging the truth, playing a stupid game of trying to tick off the other side.
It really is time for politicians to grow up and start acting like adults in the house. If one can’t ask a legitimate question without throwing in politically-motivated criticism of the government, or if the government member can’t give an honest, thoughtful answer without taking cheap shots at the opposition, then just sit down, shut up and let some intelligent members have the floor, no matter where they sit.
