Beyond the Writ: The Expansion of the Caretaker Convention in the 21st Century Published in the Saskatchewan Law Review

Posted on 2024/05/13 by J.W.J. Bowden

 

The Saskatchewan Law Review just published my and David Brock’s article “Beyond the Writ: The Expansion of the Caretaker Convention in the 21st Century,” presumably available at fine law school libraries everywhere.

Here we chronicle and try to explain why most scholars, politicians, and civil servants believed as recently as twenty years ago that the caretaker convention, or principle of restraint, only applied the post-writ and transfer of power between governments after an election but why the caretaker convention rapidly and suddenly expanded to include the writ and even the pre-writ since 2010 or so. We traced the hinge upon which this transformation turns to the federal election of 2005-2006 and the aftermath of the transfer of power between Paul Martin and Stephen Harper in January and February 2006. The trend toward expanding the caretaker convention accelerated yet further after the Privy Council Office released the second edition of the Guidelines upon the dissolution of parliament in 2015. The provincial and territorial civil services followed suit.

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Posted in Caretaker Convention & Government Formation, Constitutional Conventions | Leave a comment

When The Speaker Admonishes the Prime Minister for Asking the Opposition Questions

Posted on 2024/05/06 by J.W.J. Bowden

House of Commons Procedure and Practice states clearly that the House of Commons holds the prime minister and ministers to account for their actions and decisions:

“While there may be other purposes and ambitions involved in Question Period, its primary purpose must be the seeking of information from the government and calling the government to account for its actions.”

Consequently, MPs must ask questions “within the administrative responsibility of the government or of the individual Minister addressed.” Previous Speakers have already ruled that questions must pertain to the administrative responsibility of the Government of Canada, which precludes anything relating to what provincial governments do, or even to what the political party of the government has done on matters like election expenses.[1] Furthermore, allowing ministers to ask the opposition questions inverts the entire purpose and function of Question Period and cannot logically be permitted. House of Commons Procedure and Practice also acknowledges under the heading “Conduct of Question Period” that “Ministers do not ask oral questions, neither of other Ministers nor of private Members.”

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Posted in Parliament, Speaker of the House of Commons | 1 Comment

When the Speaker Diffuses Tension with Humour: The “Choral Welcome” of October 27th, 2004

Posted on 2024/05/01 by J.W.J. Bowden

The Conservative opposition benches erupted into the chorus of Steam’s “Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye” when John Efford, the Minister of Natural Resources, rose in response to a provocative question in which Conservative MP Norman Doyle accused his fellow Newfoundlander of treason by likening him to Benedict Arnold. The Two Newfoundlanders squared off over the what The Globe and Mail described that week as “the collapse of an offshore oil royalty deal” between Ottawa and St. John’s:[1]

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Posted in Decorum, Parliament, Speaker of the House of Commons | 1 Comment

Out With The 338 & In With The 343: The New Federal Electoral Boundaries Just Entered into Force Today!

Posted on 2024/04/23 by J.W.J. Bowden

Any dissolution of Parliament on or after 23 April 2024 will mean that Canadians vote in a general election using the new electoral boundaries established in 2023. The House of Commons grew from 338 to 343 MPs, with Alberta gaining three new MPs and British Columbia and Ontario each gaining one new MP.

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Posted in Electoral Redistributions | 3 Comments

Mimetic & Mendacious Mirth: The Secret to Jean Chretien’s Political Success and Enduring Appeal

Posted on 2024/03/05 by J.W.J. Bowden

The accolades poured in for Jean Chretien, Prime Minister of Canada from 1993 to 2003, as he became a nonagenarian in January. They came even from some unlikely sources, such as former Conservative prime minister Stephen Harper.[1]

Chretien’s enduring success flows from his mimetic, mirthful mendacity, his masterful dissembling which envelopes everything in a fog of confusion and yet also simultaneously seems good-natured, entertains us, makes us laugh, and then makes us forget why we were angry at him in the first place. I genuinely had a lot of fun finding and listening to these olds excerpts of Chretien’s greatest hits and leafing through his memoirs; he does make me laugh, and you can’t stay angry at someone who makes you laugh. I hope that you will enjoy some of the highlights as well.

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Posted in Humour & Satire | 2 Comments