Over the summer, CBC Radio’s The House spoke with several MPs in their homes. A common theme that emerged from many of the conversations was the intense level of partisanship and division that sometimes grips Ottawa. This high intensity of partisanship can sometimes erupt into high-pitched debate during Question Period. “We need to do a better job as politicians at calling out this bad behavior; we wouldn’t let a five-year-old say whatever he wants while someone else is talking, so why would we let an adult fight another adult?” said Laila Goodridge, Conservative MP for Fort McMurray—Cold Lake.
“It’s a vicious circle”
Liberal House leader Mark Holland called on all MPs to adopt a more respectful tone earlier this week. “I don’t think it’s a time for games. It’s not a time to try to be clever or use rhetorical tricks or pretend to be things or solutions that aren’t. I think Canadians will see that.” he said during a press conference outlining the government’s priorities this fall. As deputy speaker, Conservative MP Chris d’Entremont is often tasked with moderating when things get particularly heated. LISTEN | Conservative MP Chris d’Entremont speaks in Parliament: CBC News: The House14:20 Backbenchers’ backyards: CPC MP Chris d’Entremont “We have an opposition that is very aggressive. We have a government that doesn’t like to answer questions. So of course people are going to be disappointed,” he told The House during a tour of West Nova earlier this summer. “It’s a vicious cycle that really, as adults, as MPs, we have to come to terms with. We can’t keep doing the same thing.” Conservative MP Chris d’Entremont poses next to Digby Wharf in Nova Scotia. He says encouraging casual connections between MPs could help civility. (Mary-Catherine McIntosh/CBC) D’Entremont credits Speaker Anthony Rota — a Liberal — as a mentor in this difficult job. A lot of it, he said, comes down to cultivating the simplest of connections: getting to know each other better. “I think between Anthony and I, what we really need to do is kind of bring these … members of the government together, [to] let’s get to know each other,” he said. “The more you know them personally – what are the names of their husbands or wives, what are the names of their children, what are they interested in – it will make a difference to what happens in the House of Commons.”
Voters’ views on the tones are mixed
Bloc Quebecois MP Nathalie Sinclair-Desgagné said whoever sits in the president’s chair must do more to silence voices that sometimes erupt. But he said he thinks some MPs may feel compelled to make noise, so to speak, because their party’s staunchest supporters love to see it. “In the long run, it would be for the public to stop giving credit to this kind of behavior,” he said. Nathalie Sinclair-Desgagne, who represents the riding of Terrebonne for the Bloc Québécois, says some MPs may feel compelled to panic. (Jennifer Chevalier/CBC) Greens MP Mike Morris, meanwhile, heard constituents’ displeasure at the level of rhetoric they regularly see in Parliament. But he’s also concerned that some other Canadians have chosen to use the same militant language they see circulating in Ottawa. “When I hear certain words being used in the House of Commons — dictator, for example. [or] call [Bill] C-11 censorship — those are the same words I see appearing in the emails,” he said. Morris has been outspoken about the “infighting” between politicians not only on TV’s Question Time, but also in his own party. According to Sinclair-Desgagné, the tone is more collegial in committee meetings. “Of course we disagree on some issues, fundamental issues, but we tend to work together,” said Sinclair-Desgagnes, who, among other roles, is vice-chair on the Standing Committee on Public Accounts. He notes, however, that it is much easier to maintain decorum among a dozen or so MPs than it is in House conflicts involving potentially hundreds of members. LISTEN | Bloc Quebecois MP Nathalie Sinclair-Desgagné speaks to The House: CBC News: The House14:05 Backyards: Bloc MP Nathalie Sinclair-Desgagné
Has the pandemic made things worse?
Bonita Zarrillo, NDP MP for Port Moody—Coquitlam, says it’s possible tensions have risen during the pandemic, as virtual sessions have forced many of the face-to-face interactions common among members in Ottawa. He says that doesn’t give everyone involved a pass, however. “I struggle with it because some of it, I think, is completely unacceptable,” he said. Bonita Zarrillo, the NDP MP representing Port Moody-Coquitlam in B.C., says it’s possible tensions have risen during the pandemic. (Christian Amundson/CBC) She noted that having more women in politics could make a difference. “We’re not that tolerant of that banter, the locker room banter,” he said. Michael Coteau, Liberal MP for Toronto’s Don Valley East, remembers having a conversation at a local restaurant with two Conservative members from Alberta. Their views and political values, he said, felt “night and day” compared to his own. “To me, it’s like we’re speaking two different languages, almost,” he said. “I just can’t understand where that’s coming from … but that’s their position.” LISTEN | Liberal MP Michael Coteau speaks on The House: CBC News: The House15:10 Backbenchers’ backyards: LPC MP Michael Coteau He argues that, as Canadians, MPs likely share some “universal” beliefs that cut across party or geographic lines—that access to education and health care are universal rights, for example. He says he sees part of his job as maintaining a conversation between different points of view and acting as a “table maker.” But he worries that it is becoming increasingly difficult to find common ground on many important issues — and that the problem is not limited to Parliament. “I see it eroding every day in politics, not just here in Canada, but around the world. You know, it’s at a disadvantage to us as a country.” Liberal MP Michael Coteau grew up in Toronto’s Don Valley East – the riding he represents in the House of Commons. (Christian Paas-Lang/CBC)
