Toronto – An undignified, unprecedented scene in which opposition MPPs photographed ministers’ empty seats and officials scrambled to seize their cameras has emphasized how touchy elected members are about being seen as absent from the Ontario legislature.
Liberal Premier Dalton McGuinty and 14 of his ministers were away attending a first-ever joint meeting with Quebec Premier Jean Charest and his cabinet in Quebec City.
This gathering was important not just for historical significance, but because the two provinces traditionally representing two-third’s of the nation’s economy have major concerns about the current federal system and agreed to work together.
This left only 13 Ontario ministers to attend question period, which is the most useful part of the legislature‘s sittings for opposition MPPs and gives them their only opportunity to hold the government to account face-to-face.
New Democrat leader Howard Hampton complained "there’s hardly anyone here" and Progressive Conservative Elizabeth Witmer asked for unanimous consent to have two question periods the next day, when McGuinty and his ministers returned, but the Liberals would not go for it.
Half-a-dozen New Democrats then pulled out disposable cameras and started snapping the empty seats of the ministers and other Liberal backbenchers had started to fill to suggest their party had a fuller turnout.
The Speaker, Steve Peters, ordered the sergeant-at-arms to confiscate the cameras, because the legislature has a rule MPPs cannot bring in cameras, and the New Democrats surrendered them.
MPPs are as sensitive about not being seen in the legislature as they might be about being seen with someone else’s spouse. They also should be there, because the legislature makes laws and sits only four days a week and less than half the year.
The legislature does not take a written record of MPPs’ attendance on the flimsy ground this might cause the public to think some are not putting enough time in their jobs when they have other legitimate calls on their time.
Ministers have duties related to cabinet, for instance, and all MPPs at times have events in their ridings they should attend.
The legislature has a rule, guarded as zealously as an 11th Commandment, an MPP should not mention another MPP’s absence, which gets broken at times such as when an opposition member draws attention to a minister he wants to question not being there or a minister notes an opponent he wants to respond to is not present. The Speaker invariably leaps to remind an MPP cannot refer to another’s absence.
The house leaders of the three parties also informally keep their counterparts informed when any of their MPPs are absent for legitimate reasons such as sickness, bereavements or events in their constituencies to make doubly sure no-one makes the dread charge they are missing.
The last time an MPP tried to photograph opponents in the legislature was nearly 40 years ago and for a different reason.
Morton Shulman, a colorful, hyperactive former coroner intent on burying the Conservative government, dashed home and brought back a camera during a night sitting and snapped two of that party’s backbenchers snoozing close to midnight.
Ellis Morningstar was sitting up fairly straight, with his head nodding, and Norris Whitney was sprawled in his chair with his mouth open. Both were in their 60s.
Shulman wanted to prove some Conservatives were not alert in their jobs, but Speaker Fred Cass demanded he give up his camera and, after some sparring, he did.
The incident did Shulman more harm than good, because many had become weary of his unvarying belligerence and some even felt sympathy for elderly politicians who dozed in dull, late debates.
The most efficient solution to the MPPs’ fear of being seen as absent would be a daily record of attendance and those marked as missing could explain why and the public could judge if their reasons were adequate — but the politicians are not all that keen on having such a close watch kept on how they spend their time.
Eric Dowd is a veteran member of the Queen’s Park press gallery.
