Ottawa — Prime Minister Stephen Harper is choosing which Conservative MPs will become chairs of Commons committees, reversing a parliamentary reform that he championed while leader of the Official Opposition.
Opposition members are concerned that the role of MPs will be significantly weakened as a result, because the chairpersons' loyalties will be to the Prime Minister rather than the MPs on the committees, who may at times wish to publish reports critical of government policy.
The new selection process is expected to be used next week, according to Saskatoon-Wanuskewin Conservative MP Maurice Vellacott, who issued a press release titled "Vellacott accepts Prime Minister's Nomination as Committee Chair."
Mr. Vellacott is one of the more controversial MPs in the Conservative caucus, an evangelical pastor who frequently issues anti-abortion press releases.
Mr. Vellacott told The Globe and Mail he has been told he is the Prime Minister's choice to chair the Commons aboriginal affairs committee and is therefore unlikely to be challenged when chairs are selected next week.
Mr. Harper was a vocal critic of appointing chairs when he was leader of the Official Opposition. In 2002, he co-wrote a letter to The Globe with Chuck Strahl, now the Minister of Agriculture, accusing the Liberals of "posturing" on parliamentary reform.
"Standing committees of the House should not simply be extensions of the Prime Minister's Office, and members of Parliament should choose their committee chairs by secret ballot and set their own agenda, free from the Whip's direction," Mr. Harper and Mr. Strahl wrote.
In the fall of 2002, Mr. Harper successfully divided the Liberal caucus by proposing a motion that committee chairs be elected by secret ballot, rather than appointed directly by the Prime Minister. The motion passed when Paul Martin and his supporters in the Liberal caucus broke ranks with then-prime-minister Jean Chrétien.
At the time, Mr. Harper scoffed at Mr. Chrétien's suggestion that the prime minister must select the committee chairs to ensure regional and gender balance.
But now in office, Mr. Harper is planning to avoid the elections by pre-selecting one Conservative MP per committee to put their names forward as chair. This would mean that the person would be acclaimed and a secret ballot unnecessary. Earlier this year, all MPs approved new rules stating that all committee chairs except three must be a government MP.
Mr. Vellacott said the appointments are based on a range of issues and ensure no one is elected chair who has a large workload in other areas.
"If you just bring in a total crap shoot, that probably doesn't serve the interests of the members or the party, because one of those members may be assigned to another committee that has [a] heavy meetings schedule or they may have some other responsibilities," Mr. Vellacott said in explaining the need for nominations.
Mr. Harper's spokeswoman, Carolyn Stewart Olsen, said other Conservative MPs are free to trigger a vote by putting their names forward to challenge the government's recommendation.
"I don't believe there's any kind of restriction at all. If someone else on the committee wanted to stand for chair, they probably could stand for chair and then the vote would be a secret-ballot vote," she said. "I don't believe there would be any objection from the [Prime Minister's] office, as long as they were qualified to chair a committee."
Liberal MP Mark Holland said the move is a sharp change from Liberal practice under former prime minister Paul Martin, where there was no direction from the centre. Mr. Holland said Liberal MPs on a committee would meet and decide who would be the party's choice for chair.
"It's a big change and a disturbing one," he said. Committee reports are a key area where backbench MPs can influence policy debates in Ottawa, he added, predicting the change could limit the likelihood of committee chairs advocating controversial recommendations from MPs.
Mr. Holland said Mr. Harper's plan to nominate committee chairs is part of a larger trend of centralizing power in the Prime Minister's Office in contradiction of previous promises, pointing to the appointment of the Conservative caucus chairman instead of elections and Mr. Harper's limits on cabinet ministers' interaction with the media.
"There's really a sense here that they said one thing to get elected and now have really reversed course and have brought forth some very autocratic measures that I think are undoing a lot of the progress that was starting to be made -- and frankly, I think a lot more needed to be made -- on this idea of democratic renewal," he said.
New Democratic MP Judy Wasylycia-Leis disputes Mr. Holland's assertion that committee chair elections were free from interference under the Liberals.
Ms. Wasylycia-Leis predicts the only impact will be on the Conservatives' image as reformers.
"It certainly does affect the pretense that they created of having more democracy," she said.
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Opposition members are concerned that the role of MPs will be significantly weakened as a result, because the chairpersons' loyalties will be to the Prime Minister rather than the MPs on the committees, who may at times wish to publish reports critical of government policy.
The new selection process is expected to be used next week, according to Saskatoon-Wanuskewin Conservative MP Maurice Vellacott, who issued a press release titled "Vellacott accepts Prime Minister's Nomination as Committee Chair."
Mr. Vellacott is one of the more controversial MPs in the Conservative caucus, an evangelical pastor who frequently issues anti-abortion press releases.
Mr. Vellacott told The Globe and Mail he has been told he is the Prime Minister's choice to chair the Commons aboriginal affairs committee and is therefore unlikely to be challenged when chairs are selected next week.
Mr. Harper was a vocal critic of appointing chairs when he was leader of the Official Opposition. In 2002, he co-wrote a letter to The Globe with Chuck Strahl, now the Minister of Agriculture, accusing the Liberals of "posturing" on parliamentary reform.
"Standing committees of the House should not simply be extensions of the Prime Minister's Office, and members of Parliament should choose their committee chairs by secret ballot and set their own agenda, free from the Whip's direction," Mr. Harper and Mr. Strahl wrote.
In the fall of 2002, Mr. Harper successfully divided the Liberal caucus by proposing a motion that committee chairs be elected by secret ballot, rather than appointed directly by the Prime Minister. The motion passed when Paul Martin and his supporters in the Liberal caucus broke ranks with then-prime-minister Jean Chrétien.
At the time, Mr. Harper scoffed at Mr. Chrétien's suggestion that the prime minister must select the committee chairs to ensure regional and gender balance.
But now in office, Mr. Harper is planning to avoid the elections by pre-selecting one Conservative MP per committee to put their names forward as chair. This would mean that the person would be acclaimed and a secret ballot unnecessary. Earlier this year, all MPs approved new rules stating that all committee chairs except three must be a government MP.
Mr. Vellacott said the appointments are based on a range of issues and ensure no one is elected chair who has a large workload in other areas.
"If you just bring in a total crap shoot, that probably doesn't serve the interests of the members or the party, because one of those members may be assigned to another committee that has [a] heavy meetings schedule or they may have some other responsibilities," Mr. Vellacott said in explaining the need for nominations.
Mr. Harper's spokeswoman, Carolyn Stewart Olsen, said other Conservative MPs are free to trigger a vote by putting their names forward to challenge the government's recommendation.
"I don't believe there's any kind of restriction at all. If someone else on the committee wanted to stand for chair, they probably could stand for chair and then the vote would be a secret-ballot vote," she said. "I don't believe there would be any objection from the [Prime Minister's] office, as long as they were qualified to chair a committee."
Liberal MP Mark Holland said the move is a sharp change from Liberal practice under former prime minister Paul Martin, where there was no direction from the centre. Mr. Holland said Liberal MPs on a committee would meet and decide who would be the party's choice for chair.
"It's a big change and a disturbing one," he said. Committee reports are a key area where backbench MPs can influence policy debates in Ottawa, he added, predicting the change could limit the likelihood of committee chairs advocating controversial recommendations from MPs.
Mr. Holland said Mr. Harper's plan to nominate committee chairs is part of a larger trend of centralizing power in the Prime Minister's Office in contradiction of previous promises, pointing to the appointment of the Conservative caucus chairman instead of elections and Mr. Harper's limits on cabinet ministers' interaction with the media.
"There's really a sense here that they said one thing to get elected and now have really reversed course and have brought forth some very autocratic measures that I think are undoing a lot of the progress that was starting to be made -- and frankly, I think a lot more needed to be made -- on this idea of democratic renewal," he said.
New Democratic MP Judy Wasylycia-Leis disputes Mr. Holland's assertion that committee chair elections were free from interference under the Liberals.
Ms. Wasylycia-Leis predicts the only impact will be on the Conservatives' image as reformers.
"It certainly does affect the pretense that they created of having more democracy," she said.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20060418.wxchairs18/BNStory/National/home