By Alison@Creekside
Probably the most attention-grabbing and modern concept to return out of the first assembly of the all-party Particular Committee on Electoral Reform, or ERRE, was Nathan Cullen’s suggestion, seconded by Elizabeth Might, to permit members of the general public entry to query the professional witnesses earlier than the committee in actual time by way of e-mail or twitter hashtag.
Cullen (paraphrased @mark 18:00; see video at hyperlink above): As MPs we can have the privilege and benefit of engagement with consultants from around the globe, and with televised conferences Canadians will be studying proper alongside us. It’s at all times doable a Canadian will discover one thing we’ve got missed or have a very completely different perception or perspective on professional testimony that can open up avenues we had not thought of earlier than. Their questions will be despatched to the neutral clerk of the committee and skim out by the Chair within the equal of 1 MPs talking slot. [That would be about six minutes for Q&A.]
Might: Seconded. The extra Canadians are in a position to work together with this unprecedented committee and its witnesses, the extra and knowledgeable they are going to be. As an alternative of considering — gee I want they’d requested this query, they will submit it. This may attain tens of hundreds extra Canadians.
Matt DeCourcey: Open and accessible is nice however we’re already conducting consults in our ridings. What if the identical particular person sends in questions time and again? [Note: Clerk could deal with that!] Ship movement to subcommittee for research. [DeCourcey warmed to the idea as debate progressed.]
Jason Kenney: “My major concern about this movement is that it proposes a elementary change within the position and nature of parliamentary committee thereby making a precedent earlier than we’ve studied the implications of such a precedent. This can be a parliamentary committee … woof woof woof … We’re not right here to be conduits for twitter or different platforms of social media in which there’s typically a strong and vulgar public debate … woof woof woof…”
Kenney prompt if Cullen have been so eager on this concept, he may quit one in every of his personal allotted talking slots to questions from the general public; Cullen mentioned he could be keen to try this.
Might: This isn’t radical, will have interaction younger individuals and lend to the legitimacy of this course of.
Cullen: “This course of shouldn’t be ours — This whole dialog belongs to Canadians.”
A majority vote in favour despatched Cullen’s movement to the untelevised subcommittee for research … from whence it might or could not return. We’ll see.
Meantime, ship @ElizabethMay and @nathancullen kudos for his or her glorious work right here.
Cullen’s movement: “That the committee allot the equal of 1 MP’s talking spot per assembly to listen to questions instantly from Canadians at every assembly with witnesses, that the committee obtain questions from Canadians by way of the committee’s e-mail deal with and twitter hashtag #yourvotecanada #yourvotecda, and that questions be reviewed and chosen by the clerk of the committee and posed to the witnesses by the Chair.”