MPs feel like 'trained seals' on Parliament Hill

The executive director of the organization that conducted the study explains details of the findings that suggest former MPs don't feel they accomplished much meaningful work while in office.

CTV News Channel: Andrew Telegdi, former MP

Andrew Telegdi, who participated in the survey that found former MPs frustrated with the party system in Canada, discusses the experience and what needs to change in Parliament.

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For an MPs salary, I would gladly jump through hoops, balance a ball on my nose, eat raw fish, and applaud everything that the ringmaster has to say! I would even show up to parliament more often than not!

Jimmy

MPs feel like 'trained seals' on Parliament Hill

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MPs feel like 'trained seals' on Parliament Hill

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CTV.ca News Staff

Date: Mon. Apr. 18 2011 10:47 PM ET

A new report based on exit interviews with former MPs serves as a warning to the hundreds of aspiring candidates around the country -- life on Parliament Hill can be frustrating.

The report from the Samara, a research organization on democracy, entitled "It's My Party: Parliamentary Dysfunction Reconsidered," suggests MPs' biggest source of frustration is with their own parties.

The report, based on interviews from 65 former MPs, including a former prime minister, said that the politicians felt little "real work" was done in public. Instead they thought work was best done in caucus meetings and committees.

Many said that question period was "staged" by party leaders, and they were expected to act like "trained seals."

Andrew Telegdi, a former Liberal MP who represented a Waterloo, Ont., riding from 1993 to 2008, took part in the survey.

"The Parliament desperately needs parliamentary reform," he said. "The members themselves really need to push for it but so does the public and the media."

The report said that many of the former MPs thought their behaviour in question period was an embarrassment.

"Many blamed this behaviour for contributing to a growing sense of political disaffection among Canadians," the report states.

Alison Loat, executive director of Samara, said she was surprised by how critical the ex-politicians were of the current system.

"I didn't expect the very actors in the play would feel as critical as they," she told CTV's Power Play.

The MPs also complained about party leadership and strict votes that meant they sometimes had to choose against their constituents' best interests.

"Decisions from party leadership were often viewed as opaque, arbitrary and even unprofessional," the report says.

Loat said that MPs from all parties were very consistent in their criticism of their own party.

All four of the main parties, the Conservatives, Liberals, Bloc Quebecois and NDP, have members of their own camp in the report.

All quotes and anecdotes are anonymous, although Samara names the 65 MPs at the end of the report.

Comments are now closed for this story

peter in mb
said

@ TO Red in the East�first of all I take offence to your post and the tone and language of which it was tendered�second scrapping the long gun registry was a campaign promise made by the conservatives in 2008 and has been made during this current campaign in 2011. All conservative MPs support it and run on it as part of their election platform. Finally the people who vote conservative know that this IS part of their platform and expect the MPs to keep their promise. What we are talking about here is when a party leader whips the vote of his party and threatens to kick them out if they don�t do what they are told like Iggy and jack did. The conservatives were just trying to keep their election promos. There is a big difference RED!!! get your facts right next time...

ROC in TO
said

Hello Jack - AB You are right that is the way it's supposed to work. Unfortunately somewhere along the line this changed and many voters only vote for the person. That is why the system is broken. I wish everyone would think that way. The party leaders know this very well and make sure that they get the right person in the riding that has the highest chance of winning.

Remarkable
said

Yes, all of our MP's regardless of which party are told to tow the party line or else. Politics is a nasty game and Question Period as mentioned is more for a show and for display to show Canadians their MP's and democracy at work in Canada. Though I hear many MP's and their exit interviews were rather disenchanted with the way things went on the Hill, I have yet hear of one who complains about all the perks, the free breakfasts, lunches, dinners and more and the salary isn't too bad either. But there are those drawbacks for every MP and that is all those blasted ribbon cutting ceremonies that they must attend when back in their ridings. Man, do they ever have it tough up on the Hill.

Scottish Terror
said

The spineless seals need to stand up to the party leader and whip...they need backbone.

Jack - AB
said

The party leaders make the decisions and the platform of the party. The leaders have all the control and are regarded as the CEO of the company (their party). When you oppose the CEO you get demoted or fired. Same concept in politics. The leaders force their party MPs to vote the same to show a united front. MPs voting against the party would likely get booted in next election or sooner. In provincial & federal elections citizens vote mostly on the basis of party association and not for the individual. These MPs are foolish if they think people are voting for them. If they changed parties then they would not get elected! Citizens vote to elect the political party not the person! So the MPs have no say and the leader and his cabinet decide what is best for their party and Canada. I and others vote for party X in my riding and that is how Joe Smith gets elected as our MP.

Gregoryd
said

Redfern I agree with you. I think there should be more plebicites on such things as the death penalty, assisted suicide and same sex marriage. BTW I am for the death penalty and assisted suicide and don't really care either way about the same sex marrage. However I think it would be nice to have a say in these issues. These arrogant politicians do not seem to think the public is smart enough to weigh the issue and decide on the merits of it and that's half the problem. They are just plain elitists.

Marc - Toronto
said

A couple of observations. The majority of the MPs interviewed were liberals. So as much as the Social left likes to blame the PM for being an autocrate it seems its worse in the Liberal Party. Second the definition of politics is: Politics (from Greek p???t????, "of, for, or relating to citizens"), is a process by which groups of people make collective decisions. The term is generally applied to the art or science of running governmental or state affairs. It also refers to behavior within civil governments. However, politics have been observed in other group interactions, including corporate, academic, and religious institutions. It consists of "social relations involving authority or power"[1] and refers to the regulation of public affairs within a political unit,[2] and to the methods and tactics used to formulate and apply policy. So what did these MPs think they were doing? The problem with exit poles is you are interviewing people who just got fired.

tedshep
said

Of all the Parliamentry Democracies in the world, Canada is the least democratic due to all Canadian political parties use of "party discipline". No wonder our MP's feel like "Trained Seals".

Red in the East
said

HEY PETER IN MB it's partisan comments like yours that are a detriment to our democracy, we are hoping to make things better, and you pissing in a bucket isn't helping Canada, if you want a pissing match, you have to be joking to think that all of the Conservative members were allowed to vote their own minds on the most recent long gun vote. Put your gun down, and join the rest of Canada at the table.

Phil in London
said

These MPs have only themselves to blame. If more stood on their own principal (hello rural Lieral and DIpper MPs who did not vote to end the wasteful gun regsitry) parties would not have so much control. There is a need for rule changes one that would be great is a mechanism to limit the votes that could be considered a confidence vote.

Gregoryd
said

How old is this system. The world has changed and the only thing in this democracy that hasn't changed is how government is run. In this party system we only have democracy every four or so years then it becomes a dictatorship. It is outdated and a joke. We need to overhaul the system and bring it into this century. MPs should start going independent if it is not working and take the party politics out of it.

ROC in TO
said

I am absolutely amazed that a 100% of the comments on this story agree. This story is just the tip of the iceberg. The media should really investigate this one further. Not enough voters truly understand this.

Susan in GTA
said

Trained seals? Every thinking Canadian knows this! So thinking MPs should gang up take a page from the Bloc and form the Seal Liberation Party. SLP should believe in proportional representation. Abolish the Senate. Hold their party leader's to honest ethic standards and blow the whistle on crooked cabinet ministers and influence peddling MPs past present and future. If they can do that and actually provide servant-leadership to the Canadian people they could free themselves from the tyranny of the Leader (Der Fueher) and the back room party hacks.

Greg - Signs and Wionders
said

what a shocker.... ask Garth Turner what happens to would-be mavericks! flounder anyone?

Joe Spumolio
said

Time to ditch the Westminster Parliamentary system and partisan politics. Our representatives must work together on behalf of their constituents, not under the thumb of some egomaniacal dictator like [ INSERT NAME HERE ]. Abolish parties, let each MP run as an independent and then they have to pick a leader and work together. The Westminster system was designed to oppress the Scotts and Welsh, not build a better Canada

peter in mb
said

(strict votes that meant they sometimes had to choose against their constituents' best interests.) Oh kind of like when the opposition coalition (iggy and jack) whipped their parties vote on the long gun registry? And like back in 1996 when 7 liberals back benchers broke ranks and voted against the original bill C-68 were kicked out of the liberal party. And they have the nerve to call Harper a dictator�

charlie in ottawa
said

Politicians were invented so that one person could represent many persons. With computers we can do away with politicians. Lets get an information system that can democratically represent all Canadians. Obviously the human politicians aren't working properly.

zoltan
said

We need democracy under the controlling umbrella of a people's dictatorship. The dictatorship decides what can and cannot be done, sets the ground rules, sets and controls the boundaries of government, looks out for the peoples best interests, and basically keeps the politicians honest. The politicians work together to set policy and the dictatorship (which is totally unpartisan and unbiased) has final say based on the peoples best interests. The problem with our system is that it is partisan party controlled. It makes the politicians, their parties, and their friends rich. We need to end this way of governing.I could be part of the controlling dictatorship becuase I have no ego and am always looking out for the best interests of my friends and family.

Paul
said

The time has come to remove the TV cameras and force proper decorum within the House. Quit the charade of talking through "Mr. Speaker" to throw barbs and just ask your questions within Parliament like ladies and gentlemen. Heck, it certainly couldn't hurt!

Michael (Ottawa)
said

Ignatieff undemocratically muzzled his MP's on the long gun registry vote how else do you think MP's are going to feel?? Ignatieff is an embarrassment to the cause of the Liberal party. (Source: SNN)

Richard in New Brunswick
said

My observation is that parliament is almost as irrelevant as the senate these days. It is the cabinet and PMO that have the real power and actually run things. The rest is just VERY EXPENSIVE window dressing. It might be frustrating to those who naively thought they'd actually matter in Ottawa but with that kind of financial compensation, who cares?

David H
said

Having read Eric Nielsen's book "The House Is Not A Home" some years ago, this isn't a big surprise......nor is it a recent phenomena. As it is pointed out by one poster on this board - why wait until one leaves to vent in an Exit interview or in a book......the power Dear Back-bencher - is yours - so fix it and be part of the soloution......

Colin Gee
said

Yes, it certainly bad-mouths trained seals. These vacant-eyed, slack-jawed clowns on the Hill couldn't hold a job in any decent aquatic act.

Prof. Pye Chartt
said

Question Period might be less of a shallow partisan "show" if the political news media didn't rely on it for nifty sound bites and witty quotes. As it stands, MPs know that they're "performing," and that surface-trolling journalists will likely run with some scripted inflammatory allegation or accusation -- posed, of course, in the form of a question -- to which there is always a smarty-pants response or clever justification that was pre-discussed. The taxpaying and consuming public deserves better, all around.

Remi Rheault
said

For the last 18 years or so I have been telling the people that I have met that the system was breaking/broke. I also mentioned that it is old school and needs to be drastically overhauled. This can only be done when you have another type of system ready and acceptable to take its place, one that looks at equal representation among all Provinces. We need a system that is founded on Respect, Honesty, Truth, and for the betterment of all Canadians. We need to create a system that is uniquely Canadian built on Canadian values and ethics and morals. Well that is all i am going to say for now till after the elections. Just in case anyone wants to know ...Yes i do vote and have for many years ( so i do believe in the freedom of speech) There is also a group of us that have been working on this for over 15 years ... and the truth be know not one of the political Parties that it was presented to wanted to bring it to the Canadian People. I remain Truly First Proud Canadian .... " For Humanitarian Concerns"

KJ in Kingston Ontario
said

I hope they didn't pay anything for this revelation. If we can get seals to work without the Parliamentary pensions let's talk.............

Zebulon Pike
said

Is this a surprise? Mr. Harper has been running a minority government for the past five years. He needs all the votes he can get. Persuasion may work for some but not all. If he has to lay down the law, so be it. It's for the best: only he opposes Kyoto, backs our warfighters in Afghanistan and Libya, and wants to help the common people outside of Toronto. Mr. Harper's methods are necessary.

orcdoubleax
said

Canada needs a nonpartisan democracy. Over the last 100 years the Canadian political system has become infected with partisan politics, corruption and ever growing influence from corporations. The voters of Canada are showing record high levels of apathy has they feel powerless in a system ruled by money and political manoeuvring. Currently Political parties show far more interest in their own power then running the country. They spew hatred and ideological rants instead of understanding and compromises. They prevent MPs from voting in the best interest of the country and instead have them oppose the other party. Every issue becomes an all or nothing battle of us versus them. It seems that there is no solution without radical change to our system and even that may not solve the problem. In reality, however, there is a very simple solution. The Canadian Parliamentary system was designed to work without political parties. The government of Canada is the House of Commons and the Prime Minister is simply the MP who can gain the confidence of the majority of the house. We would simply remove all political parties from the equation and elect only independent members of parliament. The Prime Minister would be chosen by parliamentary consensus. Then he/she could select their caucus from the most capable MPs of the entire house. This would mean decisions could made not on ideology, but on the consensus of all members of parliament and the people they represent.You may think this is just a "pie in the sky" idea, something that could not possibly work. How would they agree on who should be Prime Minister? Would they get anything done? Has this ever been done? Well, it has been done before and in fact right here in Canada. All three Northern Territories use nonpartisan democracy. The only thing you elect under the current system is a proxy vote for one of the four leaders, Would you not rather elect a true representative of your riding.

Jimmy
said

geebee
said

The trained seals go back to the Chretien days, when there was a worn path to the PMO's office and a line-up waiting to kiss his ring in order to obtain advancement.

allan
said

Most of them are not as smart as trained seals.

Mike in Pembroke
said

Come on TheOtherLowellInBC, did you not read the article. It said "MPs' biggest source of frustration is with their own parties." NOTE the word parties. Put your hate aside and think about what these MPs are saying. Its the leaders of all that parties that are controlling the MPs. All MPs from every party have to start saying no to their party leader when it come to voting on issues that they know is not in their constituents' best interest. If all MPs from all parties laid the law down to the party leaders then maybe some work would get done in the HOC. I doubt it will ever happen though.

Redfern
said

To TheOtherLowellInBC: Really disappointing to see your comments. Your comments really exemplify what's wrong. You are so partisan that you cannot have a decent, adult discussion without acting out along party lines. That's exactly what the article was saying, and that the control crossed ALL party lines, not just the Conservatives.

Redfern
said

The system needs to change, but not to MMP, which would leave us even more dysfunctional than we are now. They need to consult with Canadians more, have more plebicites, and do much less behind closed door committee meetings. There should also be more ordinary citizens on those committees, and there should be more opportunity for ordinary citizens to have standings at hearing and inquiries than present. Currently only "groups" can go before committees, and those groups are always coached by certain parties. That said, the first real change I would like to see is an end to televised question period. It's dreadful, degrading to the participants, and embarassing to Canadians as a whole.

Gerry
said

What a bunch of cowards. Could none of them stand up for the public? How cowardly to only say these things in exit interviews. Shameful.

Cambob in Toronto
said

Interesting article. I'm not sure whether to laugh or cry. We, the taxpayers, pay these people to act on our behalf, but once they earn the position, they succumb to party rules and trained seal behaviour. So... ultimately... stop being sheep and stand up for yourselves AND your constituents. if necessary, stand as an independent!... yeah, right.

TheOtherLowellInBC
said

Yes the head seal is Stephen Harper who controls everything and everyone around him.

Ryan, Guelph
said

I'm amazed to hear that politicians dislike Question Period as much as I do... I've seen toddlers act better than them! It's like a zoo, and one thing I constantly wish they would change. To hear it's staged by a select few makes me feel like those select few need to go...

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