Internet must be harnessed to improve political process, MPs tell conference

The Internet could well change the way politics is practised in this country. But political will needs to be exercised with caution to ensure that unelected officials do not usurp power, a conference in Ottawa earlier this month was told.The Crossing Boundaries conference was a follow-up to a report released by the Centre for Collaborative Government last month (NL, Apr. 22/03). Politicians, public servants and academics were among those who gathered in Ottawa on May 7-9 to discuss how new technologies can be used to promote involvement in the political process. Liberal MP Carolyn Bennett told delegates to a session called Parliamentary Reform: Empowering Members Through Digital Democracy that democratic reform is urgently needed. Recent elections have seen a decline in voter turnout, especially among younger voters, she stated. She presented figures that show only 6% of Canadians belong to political parties and 8% are members of non-governmental organizations. She called for four-pronged democratic reform: electoral reform, Parliamentary reform, party reform, and citizen engagement. "One of the cornerstones of democracy has been to provide public spaces in which citizens can discuss ideas," the Toronto MP said. "The web provides a new and important space." One of her colleagues from across the aisle in the House of Commons maintained that several structural restrictions inhibit democratic reform. Canadian Alliance MP James Rajotte blamed the concept of party discipline for hindering progress. The large number of confidence votes results in true democracy only occurring during elections. Most ministers do not provide meaningful responses during the daily Question Period in the House of Commons. The first-term Edmonton MP called for more government data to be online to provide voters with information they need to make decisions on important issues. He urged giving Parliamentary committees the ability to create their own web sites to provide background and to solicit opinions on issues. Bennett agreed with him. "We do see the best of Parliament in committees," she remarked. "We do not see the best of Parliament in Question Period." An outside observer echoed that sentiment. Arthur Kroeger spent 34 years in the public service, serving as deputy minister in six departments. More recently, he was chancellor of Carleton University. He contrasted the dilemma of problem solving with the "theatrics" found every day in the House of Commons' major proceeding."Whatever the benefits of Question Period are, solving problems isn't one of them," he opined. Both politicians cited the online poll conducted by This Hour Has 22 Minutes, but came to vastly different conclusions. (The comedy show got over a million hits to a site demanding then-Alliance leader Stockwell Day change his name to "Doris".) Bennett said the manipulation of the Alliance pledge to hold citizen-initiated referenda by the CBC program demonstrates why plebiscites should not be instituted. But Rajotte recounted a conversation he had with party founder Preston Manning at the time of the satirical campaign. "We could have used that as a perfect example to educate people on direct democracy," Rajotte explained. "For one thing, changing names is a provincial responsibility. We could have shown how this tool could be used to decide major issues of concern to Canadians." Bennett worried that dialogue between the governors and governed could be hampered by lack of commitment by the public service to e-democracy. She quoted a survey done for the Institute of Public Administration of Canada three years ago. While 68% of the general public endorsed the concept of grassroot consultation, only 29% of the elites and 36% of the public service agreed. Kroeger worried that ICT may result in diminution in the role of MPs, a fear raised by many participants. During the question-and-answer session, one delegate expressed the belief that e-democracy could result in the death of political parties. Concern about unelected people The proper role of MPs and bureaucrats was a mainstay of the previous conference session, E-Democracy: Extending Public Space. Former Finance minister Paul Martin expressed concern that unelected people would take over the role of Parliamentarians."I don't want to see the public service turned into an alternative type of legislature," the Liberal leadership frontrunner told a packed house. The Library of Parliament should be mandated to teach MPs how to use Internet tools to consult with their constituents, he said.Those voters have their own work to do, another panelist asserted. David Zussman, president of the Public Policy Forum, said people have a responsibility to understand the topic being discussed by the MPs. Rajotte provided concrete evidence of how that is not currently happening. He said his office was inundated with emails after the war with Iraq began. Some commended the Alliance for its support of the Americans; others condemned the party for blindly following the White House. "There was no middle ground," the MP lamented. "No one wrote in to say, 'how can we make the UN more effective so this doesn't happen again?'" Martin said it is often difficult to deal with issues because so much information is housed in different silos. The public servants may have some data, NGOs have other facts, and politicians are dealing with even different information. He cautioned against using public input as the only criterion for action. "Consultation is consultation," he offered. "You can't make it binding."Bennett called upon the inner circle of political power to be more receptive to consultation. She told of receiving emails from the Prime Minister's staff asking for suggestions for the Speech from the Throne when she knew that the speech was already written and being printed. "My cynicism thermometer goes up when that happens," she complained. She hopes that e-democracy can empower MPs in six specific roles. First is MPs as representatives of specific ridings. Next is MPs in non-geographic constituencies, such as acting as spokespeople for particular causes or groups. Politicians as members of Parliamentary committees is the third aspect in Bennett's list. Fourth is MPs working in collaboration with the federal government, and fifth is the MP as a member of a particular political party. Bennett added MPs working with other legislatures as a final thought.

Internet must be harnessed to improve political process, MPs tell conference

News | May 20, 2003

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