I once won thetop prize in a contest being run by a place I've never been to. Normally, this would be brushed off as a scam. That is unless your name is Ruth Ellen Brousseau.
The Ottawa barmaid was parachuted into the riding of Berthier-Maskinonge by the NDP. Nobody thought she would win. Even Brousseau didn't think she had a snowball's chance. Then she did win. She won without ever visiting the Quebec riding, speaking to constituents, learning French, or even being in the country. Instead, she gambled the election away at the hottest slots in Las Vegas.
Brousseau is the classic example of the absentee MP. It's why so many people have become disillusioned with Canadian politics. She only won because Quebec wanted Layton. Not because of anything she actually did.
Sadly, she isn't the problem, just a part of it. Political parties absolutely love parachuting in star and not so star candidates into ridings they don't live in. The Liberals dropped Michael Ignatieff into Etobicoke-Lakeshore. He doesn't live there. He's in Ottawa. His constituents said he was usually nowhere to be seen, and impossible to get ahold of. No wonder he lost!
You can't possibly understand the needs of your constituents if you don't even live near them. You cannot possibly represent them in parliament. You can't possibly call that democracy.
At the municipal level, councilors are required to live in their wards. In the United States, senators and congressmen have to live in the states they represent. Why doesn't this rule apply to Canada's federal MPs? Dropping people in creates a huge disconnect between the electorate and our leaders. People are getting fed up.
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The Ottawa barmaid was parachuted into the riding of Berthier-Maskinonge by the NDP. Nobody thought she would win. Even Brousseau didn't think she had a snowball's chance. Then she did win. She won without ever visiting the Quebec riding, speaking to constituents, learning French, or even being in the country. Instead, she gambled the election away at the hottest slots in Las Vegas.
Brousseau is the classic example of the absentee MP. It's why so many people have become disillusioned with Canadian politics. She only won because Quebec wanted Layton. Not because of anything she actually did.
Sadly, she isn't the problem, just a part of it. Political parties absolutely love parachuting in star and not so star candidates into ridings they don't live in. The Liberals dropped Michael Ignatieff into Etobicoke-Lakeshore. He doesn't live there. He's in Ottawa. His constituents said he was usually nowhere to be seen, and impossible to get ahold of. No wonder he lost!
You can't possibly understand the needs of your constituents if you don't even live near them. You cannot possibly represent them in parliament. You can't possibly call that democracy.
At the municipal level, councilors are required to live in their wards. In the United States, senators and congressmen have to live in the states they represent. Why doesn't this rule apply to Canada's federal MPs? Dropping people in creates a huge disconnect between the electorate and our leaders. People are getting fed up.
