David Tilson, the eldest member of the Conservative caucus, has been in politics for almost 30 years. The 77-year-old has witnessed or participated in eight different governments at both the provincial and federal level, and he is easily one of the most experienced MPs in Her Majesty’s Loyal Opposition.
But since the current Parliament opened on Dec. 3, 2015, Tilson has not uttered a single word during question period.
He says it’s not because he’s disengaged or uninterested. He just doesn’t see the point.
“I’ve been a politician for many years and I must say, why play that silly game?”
The Star reviewed Hansard — the official transcript of Parliament — in search of the least loquacious MPs during question period. From the beginning of the Liberals’ term until May 11 of this year, three MPs have never spoken during question period.
They are: Tilson and Liberal backbenchers Nathaniel Erskine-Smith and Robert Nault. Five others, all Liberal backbenchers, have asked just one question.
Three of the five who have spoken once were elected in December by-elections and have only been in the House since Jan. 29. The other two are first-term MP Robert Morrissey and five-term MP Francis Scarpaleggia.
The Star reached out to all eight MPs, plus an additional MP who asked his second question the day we interviewed him. Nault and Scarpaleggia did not respond to multiple interview requests.
Tilson said he doesn’t ask any questions because government ministers never answer them. They dodge and dissemble.
“I listen to the answers that are given by the ministers in the Liberal government and it’s just garbage,” he said. “If I stood up and asked a question I guarantee you 100-per-cent it will not be answered.”
Tilson said things were different under the Conservatives. He may be forgetting that those apparently halcyon days included Conservative MP Paul Calandra’s tearful apology to the House for a series of absurd non-answers.
It’s not just the opposition that feels frustrated by the performative ritual.
Asked if he thought question period is a good use of his time, first time MP Robert Falcon-Ouellette laughed.
“Question period isn’t a good use of anyone’s time,” he said.
The 41-year-old former university professor — who asked his second question of the term on May 10 — said he doesn’t like how question period is orchestrated by the respective party whips, who assign friendly questions and decide who gets to ask them. He would like to see it opened up so that all members are free to ask questions of the government that are relevant to their constituents.
“Who am I here for?” he asked. “Am I here for the government or am I here for the people of Winnipeg Centre?”
Morrissey said question period is primarily for the opposition and serves little purpose for government backbenchers like him.
“Let’s be candid,” he said. “In question period, the opposition spends most of its time trying to embarrass the government.”
Churence Rogers, one of the recently elected Liberal backbenchers, admits that part of question period is about “scoring political points,” but he disagreed with Tilson’s assessment that it’s a waste of time.
“There are lots of questions on a regular basis and there are many answers provided,” he said. “Whether or not they feel like they got the answer they’re looking for, that’s another matter.”
Erskine-Smith, a first-term Liberal MP who has occasionally voted against his own party, says the opposition sometimes uses question period effectively by highlighting issues in a “coordinated” way to push them onto the agenda. Sometimes that can push media to pick up the story, which can then pressure the government into action.
Erskine-Smith said he would like to see less partisanship from all parties. “The opposition would move away from misleading and cheap attacks, and the government would engage directly in answering questions with substance.”
He added question period always has the potential to be an effective way to hold the government accountable in a public forum.
“In practice, it is not always a good use of our time.”
Data analysis by Andrew Bailey
