The Inconvenience of Political Life

"This government, and unfortunately this House of Commons, tends to be focused on attacks and insults much more than on the service that Canadians are expecting of the parliamentarians and their representatives."
"People are struggling. And they want people who are listening to them, who are proposing solutions."
"But at the same time, you don't have to step too far away from the bubble of Ottawa to realize that Canadians aren't particularly focused on what happens here. They're focused on what's going on in their lives."
Liberal leader Justin Trudeau

Justin Trudeau needs to discipline himself, to focus on what's going on in his professional life. In that way, he could learn something from the people with whom he communicates while out stumping, whom he perceives as being focused on "what's going on in their lives". To serve them better, he should be appearing more often in Parliament to serve in the role he was popularly voted into.

Justin Trudeau feels called to present himself as an approachable, public celebrity. He enjoys attention, he feels entitled to meet and greet and listen sympathetically to peoples' complaints. Not that Canadians have all that much to complain about in a country with a sound economic foundation and where employment is available for the most part, and we enjoy peace and security and abundance.

They may not, in their aggregate, be focused on what happens in Parliament, but they most certainly expect their elected lawmakers to be focused on what they were sent to Ottawa for, to take their MPs'
undivided attention. Mr. Trudeau may call what he's doing, circulating his presence in the public arena rather than the House of Commons as useful, but useful to what end other than electioneering?

He is simply far more suited, given his outgoing personality and people-skills to be sociable, rather than cooping himself in the House for Question Period, a big bore. He hasn't had the good fortune to be able to project in the House of Commons. His presentations are pallid and unconvincing,k quite unlike the probing questions and jibes the government suffers under the leader of the official opposition.

Who, quite unlike Justin Trudeau, is not as photogenic, but certainly quotable. Mr. Trudeau speaks of proposing solutions to the struggles of ordinary people, but the problem here also is that solutions have been scant, hardly pouring out of the mouth of Mr. Trudeau. He excels in criticizing, in actual fact, while failing to present possible solutions to what he's critical of.

He seems to forget quite conveniently that he was elected as a parliamentarian. To sit in the House of Commons as an elected member of Parliament . To do the work delegated to lawmakers. To make his presence known, to demonstrate that he takes his position seriously enough to actually, you know, show up for work, on time and prepared to slug it out.

Since October 16 there have been 34 question periods in the House of Commons following the throne speech. Much has been discussed, including free trade with the European Union, aboriginal affairs, railroad transportation safety and the Senate expense scandal. In almost two months' time Mr. Trudeau was present for no more than two question periods in a week. He managed to be absent for 22 of those events; two in every three question periods.

Prime Minister Harper, despite his heavy work schedule, his national and international obligations, trips abroad and countless meetings, was absent for fewer question periods, 19 in all, while NDP Leader Tom Mulcair who has managed to distinguish himself by his piercingly aggressive questions during Question Period has been absent for 14 sessions.

Mr. Trudeau hammers on about the plight of the middle class, along with other 'issues of note' to ordinary Canadians. He has managed to be present for most of the votes in the House of Commons, missing a mere 4 of 41. But allocating his time abstemiously to the House of Commons while using the lion's share of his time to get out and stump for the next election is a little premature.

The late Jack Layton, when he was leader of the NDP spoke directly to the problem when he chastised then-Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff for his poor attendance record by stating during a debate: "If you want to be prime minister, you'd better learn to be a member of Parliament first. You know, if most Canadians, if they don't show up for work, they don't get a promotion."

Jack, you up there...? Hear, hear!