Gomery Rec #7: Membership and its privileges

Recommendation 7: The members of the Public Accounts Committee should be appointed with the expectation that they will serve on the Committee for the duration of a Parliament.

This is an odd one. Committee lists don't change much in the duration of a Parliament. But if it makes you happy, whatever.

However, Gomery really missed an opportunity here.

Any committee has full members, and substitutes. The subsitute list is quite long. It allows that if a regular member is unavailable, then a subsitute can replace them.

What happened during the sponsorship hearings was an abismal abuse of this. Certain members would show up as 'substitutes' to ask a few questions designed to get headlines more than answers, and leave. Normally they would leave at around, oh, 11.50 am, so they could scrum, get on the news and leave.

It was clear to most observers that it was a choreographed media strategy. Not a strategy to get provide information, but a strategy to provide media time. This was party politics, not accountability.

Publius Recommendation 3a: No subs until half-time.

Allow only two substitutes per party, and no one else. Then change the rules of order to allow subs only a specific junctures. Consistency, corporate memory and expertise are as important during the whole session of Parliament as they are between breakfast and lunch. Sure, they can have the expectation of an appointment through a whole Parliament, but they should also expect to stay more than 20 minutes.

If you really want this to work, elect the PAC membership. Let MP's vote, just as they do for the speaker, on who's on, and who's off.

Publius Recommendation 3b: Change the channel.

It's time to get the TV cameras out of these hearings. Technology now exists for almost instant transcription, and it is possible to make texts available to ensure access, and freedom of the press.

But the PAC became a circus.

That's not helpful if the goal is accountability and transparency.

Again, these are the same dudes who "...often admitted—sometimes with regret—that they did not pay much attention to the Estimates, that they had only a weak idea of what level of resources was expended to achieve program results, and [that] they did not know what financial instruments departments use to achieve their assigned results."

I'm sorry if I keep harping on about that, but... wow... I tried this out on my wife last night when a cheque bounced, "You know sweetie, it's hard to keep on those numbers straight, and I wasn't paying attention..."

I have to go now, I have a toilet to scrub before my wife gets home.