If federal politicians don’t turn down the rhetoric, young Canadians will stay turned off of federal politics, says a UWO student who has organized a petition for greater civility in the House of Commons.
Shouting matches and insults have become the norm during Question Period on Parliament Hill, said Patrick Beatty, a fifth-year student in the political science program at the University of Western Ontario.
He is part of a non-partisan coalition looking to reform Question Period — Canadians Advocating for Political Participation at canadaparticipates.ca — and he is author of an online petition the group expects to send in printed form to the government next January.
“Politics is increasingly becoming a hostile environment and Canadians, especially young people, are disengaging from the process,” Beatty says. “They’re saying , ‘these people aren’t representing me. It’s not something I believe.’ “
MP Michael Chong (C — Wellington-Halton Hills) has introduced a bill that would enforce decorum during Question Period and make it easier for backbenchers to ask questions, and for those questions to be answered.
The movement has received support from Glen Pearson (L — London North Centre), who in his blog last month called Question Period “a theatre of the absurd
.. . It’s time to get back to decent, respectful and boring politics.”
deb.vanbrenk@sunmedia.ca
Twitter.com/debatlfpress
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