What Do Our Representatives (MPs or MPPs) do Anyways?

by Apathy is Boring Intern Patrick Burkhard — July 19, 2007

    I don’t know about you, but I have often asked myself this question.  So I decided to do a little internet digging to find out what we pay our representatives for.  What I found out is that the lives of representatives are crazy!  Who the hell would ever want this job?  The pay itself is pretty good, at $147,700 as of 2006, but despite the good pay, the demands placed on members of Parliament are extreme.  So next time you hear that the House of Commons will be shut down for the summer, don’t think this means that you’ll find your MP sitting in front of their house in a lawn chair with a beer in hand all summer long (well maybe on the long weekends).  When representatives are not in Parliament or in their respective “house”, they are back in their home ridings working their butts off trying to meet with and help out their constituents, the people who voted them in and whom they represent.  So let’s begin now and explore how representatives spend their time. 

    The first thing to mention is that much of what will be said applies to and comes from information about the lives of members of the House of Commons.  The lives of elected provincial representatives would be not any less hectic then federal MPs, although travel times may be a little less between their home riding and wherever the legislative house is.  So for the purpose of this discussion and mostly because there are dozens of acronyms that could apply here, MP will be used to as the global tag for all “representatives”, provincial and federal included.  No offense intended to all you provincial cats out there!

    So we have established one thing about MPs so far.  They are busy, busy, and busy!  Their work takes them not only to legislature buildings, but they must also spend time in their home ridings and balance other commitments.  Ministers spend a lot of time traveling, visiting foreign countries, investigating issues as part of special committees and other fun stuff like this.  Becoming an MP also makes your popularity skyrocket.  Imagine how many facebook friend invites an MP gets a day….wow….that’s a lot.  They are also constantly hob-knobbing with influential and important people who are often trying to influence the legislative process.  This means lots of fancy dinners and socializing.   They also go to fundraisers and support various organizations and causes they may be aligned with.  There are also party meetings and events to attend as well.  MPs get invited to literally everything, which often means having to juggle different obligations.   

    Apart from all of this extra-curricular stuff are the regular MP duties.  This means sitting in sessions of Parliament, essentially arguing and hustling for the party’s cause all day.  In this function, MPs work not only for their party’s causes, but are also there to represent their constituents.  Some MPs are also part of committees, as there are a ton of established standing committees that examine legislation on various issues.  They could also be part of special committees that get set up to look at specific laws.  Sometimes committee work involves traveling across a country, holding hearings and listening to witnesses and stakeholders (people who care).  In terms of when MPs are in Parliament, question period is also a fun one, a time each day when MPs get lambasted and the media does its best to embarrass, or should I say question, MPs about government and policy.  We Canadians love our political satire though, so taking jabs at our MPs is in our blood.  That makes the age-old practice forgivable, right?

    When they are in their home ridings, MPs do their best to fulfill the duties to their populace.  This means meeting with concerned citizens, as well as stakeholders an MP might want an opinion from on specific issues.  One of the roles MPs are most proud of, and like to do best, is to help average constituents with their problems.  That’s right, calling or contacting your MP can sometimes get you somewhere.  MPs will often intervene on the behalf of citizens when it comes to legal issues, or even dealings with government bureaucracies (health care system, driver’s license).  The greasy wheel gets the oil, remember this people.  So stop yelling at that poor student loans officer who won’t give you a bigger bursary and see if your MP can help. 

    On top of this, they are ‘regular’ people like the rest of us.  This means families, kids’ hockey games, dogs to walk, garbage to take out; the list goes on and on.  Sadly though, MPs' families often get the short end of the stick and have to be faced with a bit of neglect now and again.  This can be one reason why you don’t see as many younger MPs.  Leaving a spouse and kids at home and traveling across the country to Ottawa all the time is not great for domestic life, nor is it easy on the MP or their family.  The grind politics puts on one’s personal life can also explain why some politicians only hang around for one or two four year terms; the strain on the family is just too much.  Being an MP also means a lot of lonely nights in hotel rooms, or when on the road.  But all this familial strain can’t be that bad, who needs love anyways?  Nothing a good therapist can’t fix, right?  After all, it is for the good of the people they represent!

      This covers some of the basic operational roles of MPs.  Most get into politics in the first place because they love the people they represent.  One of the most interesting discussions around MPs and their role is whether in Canada, when we elect people, we elect them to a be voice for the community, in that they relate a riding’s view to the government, or if we elect people to represent us.  In the latter example, we would essentially be putting faith in a person to make wise discussions on our behalf.  Personally, I prefer to have my leaders acting as a messenger for the community; but as a recent piece I read mentioned, not everybody in a community always agrees on what is best.  This discussion was in a speech by the current speaker of the House of Commons, so scroll down below, click on the link and check it out yourself!

    To close out this little dialogue of our earnest and hardworking representatives, remember that these people work their butts off for us, and the nation.  Some may do it for the power or prestige that comes with the job, but given the grind of political life, you need to be addicted to more then power to stick with it.  And I am not talking about any kind of coke, speed, or illicit substances either!  These people work hard to help people, and this kind of work makes you all warm and fuzzy inside – that’s the reward.  So love your representatives.  Contact them, because they are there to help you, and they will if they can find the time!

The discussion doesn’t end here though; check out these links for more:

http://www.parl.gc.ca/information/about/infonotes/onthejob/index-e.asp  - This piece originates from the House of Commons website and is a short discussion of what MPs do in their own words.

http://www.parl.gc.ca/information/about/people/House/Speaker/speeches/speeches_4_1_e.html - This is a really interesting speech by the current speaker of the House of Commons.  In it, he discusses the roles that MPs take on.  Enlightening to say the least!