Niagara Falls Review
Published: Thursday, April 15, 2010

MPs can carve out niche on Parliament Hill

Given present happenings on Parliament Hill, these are not good times to be a federal politician, or as Michael Ignatieff poorly mused, a member of the so-called political class. Canadians have become blase if not immune to political scandals and just accept them as the same old, same old.

This is a dangerous situation with Canadians across all age groups, professions and income groups tuning out of the daily happenings in Ottawa, from the absurd theatre of question period to the more substantive work of committees. At the risk of belittling the role of our 308 MPs, much of it is routine, from EI concerns to passports to immigration issues. An MP is very much an ombudsperson for their constituents, helping them navigate the complex and ever-growing halls of the federal bureaucracy.

Since relatively few MPs ever get the chance to serve in cabinet, where most MPs can distinguish themselves -- either in opposition or in the shadow of their own government -- is by becoming political entrepreneurs and championing a cause or issue through framing public debate, getting a private member's bill passed or moving a government to act in the international sphere.

Former Conservative MP Patrick Boyer was an expert on referendums and the role of parliamentarians; he addressed the democratic deficit before we called it the democratic deficit.

And former Reform then Canadian Alliance now Liberal MP, Dr. Keith Martin, is pushing the government on maternal health in the lead up to this June's G8 and G20 meetings.

Martin, a doctor, has seen first-hand the issue of maternal health around the globe. He has practised medicine in some of Canada's aboriginal communities as well as participating in diplomatic and medical missions to the far reaches of the planet.

As he noted when we chatted a few weeks back, a pregnant woman dies every minute of every day on our planet, mostly in the developing world. More than 80% are preventable through better primary care, nutrition, clean water and power.

Martin has created a Facebook group -- Saving Mothers Lives -- written newspaper pieces and is reaching across the aisle to his colleagues in all parties to form a consensus on maternal health and assist the government in responding to some of its own members, and other MPs, who have fundamental and deep-seated concerns with the family planning aspect of the maternal health initiative.

Moreover, he believes Canada could meet its maternal health goals by re-allocating monies within existing development funding envelopes.

More of this political entrepreneurship from our parliamentarians, on a host of issues, would quickly change the daily headlines and I dare say, help to restore our faith in the political system to boot.