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Quarterbacking Question Period
Innisfil Enterprise
February 7, 2007
By Peter Van Loan, MP, York-Simcoe
One of the roles I assume as Government
House Leader is to co-ordinate our responses
in Question Period. On its face – this is
simple. The Prime Minister answers the
Questions from the other Party Leaders, and
Cabinet Ministers answer questions for their
respective area of responsibility. But it’s
not so simple.
First comes preparation. Everyone tries to
know their file and breaking issues. Every
day, an hour before Question Period, I chair
a meeting of the Ministers to try to
anticipate the Questions we will face, and
try out answers. Our average is very good.
Few questions come at us that we do not
reasonably anticipate.
As Minister for Democratic Reform, I have to
be prepared to answer questions in my area,
including Senate Reform, political
financing, and the Canada Elections Act. As
Government House Leader, I also take some of
the unanticipated questions, or those for
which there is no apparent Minister
responsible.
When we arrive in the House, I sit behind
the Prime Minister and play quarterback,
directing questions to the most appropriate
Minister. This is not always obvious. For
example, a question on Afghanistan could be
directed to the Foreign Minister, the
International Development Minister (foreign
aid), or the Defense Minister. A question on
transfers for health to the provinces could
go to any of the Finance, Health or
Intergovernmental Affairs Ministers.
In addition, some Ministers may be away on
official business. In these cases, I must
direct the question to a Secretary of State,
Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister, or
the acting Minister in that area. On top of
this, there are considerations like
language, and region. There is often more
than meets the eye to quarterback Question
Period.
The Opposition Parties do a different kind
of preparation. They also have meetings to
prepare – but they get to set the agenda,
write the questions, and practice them. On
our side – we can only guess what is coming.
It’s like being a goalie on a penalty shot!
A strength of our Government is the strong
performance of our Ministers in Question
Period. Frankly, while the structure favors
the Opposition, our Ministers do so well
that Government MPs look forward to the
daily theatre. My Conservative colleagues
generally leave Question Period in a cheery
upbeat mood.
By far the strongest performer in the House
is the Prime Minister. Stephen Harper knows
his stuff, and communicates where he is
leading the country in a clear and direct
way. It’s not the obfuscation, spin and
dodging that we’ve seen from previous Prime
Ministers. It’s one reason why Canadians
credit Stephen Harper with giving Canada
strong leadership focused on their
priorities. It makes my job much easier!
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