Taking It to the Hill: The Complete Guide to Appearing Before Parliamentary Committees

From Here to There

From Here to There "From there to here, from here to there, funny things are everywhere." - Dr. Seuss, One Fish, TwoFish, Red Fish, Blue Fish] Ottawa is a flurry of standing committee activity, departmental consultations , caucus work, and private one-on-one meetings between Canadians and parliamentarians. While there are many ways to channel concerns to government, this book makes one part of the public policy process more transparent: the role of House of Commons and Senate committees. The reason for doing so is clear. Parliamentary committees link Canadians to their parliamentarians . There is simply no other forum for Canadians to hook into the legislative and policy-making process on a regular, formal, and public basis. However, getting a good grasp on committees is no easy matter. Parliamentary committees are unique (when compared to other consultative mechanisms). Committee performance is measurable. Did their recommendations or amendments get picked up or not? Committees are (somewhat) accountable. They are, at least, open to public scrutiny (incamera meetings aside), and their evidence is published. Also, being bound by Standing Orders and conventions, they operate with a certain amount of due process and a level of openness (although a lot goes on behind the 255 CHAPTER EIGHT THE NATURE OF COMMITTEES 256 TAKING (IfO THE H!Ll scenes). Knowing procedure and process is helpful, but this may not reveal what can drive committee activity. With apologies to Dr. Seuss, politics is everywhere on Parliament Hill. The unseen hand of the whip, minister, or leader's office can shape what committees do or hope to accomplish. Members can coalesce along party lines for a vote (despite the merits of the case). Reports can get sidelined. Funny things happen on the Hill. Recognizing the political undercurrents buffeting committees completes the picture. Things dont always go swimmingly for witnesses. Committees often do what is expedient. With the backing of the majority, a committee can basically do what it pleases,within certain limits. Questioning can take sudden turns from one subject to another. The ebb and flow of members, reporters, and interest groups at committee can alter the dynamic and tone of each meeting. Committee work can be sideswiped by political sniping. Witnesses have to navigate through all of this. Witnesses, for their part, do not always maximize the opportunities presented at committee. Many expert witnesses are not expert communicators . Harried members need crisp information. This guide provides a shopping list of options and techniques to enhance witnessperformance. But coping with or capitalizing on a committee visit requires more. At times, witnesses have to know how to ride out any rough moments and perservere persistent jabs, aggressive questioning, or a reporter's microphone . It's also all about grasping the procedural opportunities. It's about sharpening your key messages and knowing how to deliver them in an upredictable setting. This guide sets the foundation for prospective witnesses to take a series of tactical decisions in managing a parliamentary committee appearance. Moreover, for many (especially national associations, larger organizations , and public servants), dealing with committees is about managing a long-term relationship. What you say today could have implications for a future visit. As a rule of thumb, each committee appearance requires a tailored response. ;- /»fii Mt-»< -fi *iiftn 257 THE ROAD AHEAD Is the desire by members for more committee authority like raising a teenager's curfew by an hour? Nothing much happens under the new limit that didn't already occur under the old, but the emboldened teenager now presses for an even later curfew. The recent history of parliamentary standing committees is that members want more: they want more respect, seek more independence, and desire a more relevant policy role. The pressure to want more isinevitable. While this book is not about assessing committee performance, it is apparent, however, that committees have considerable scope to tackle just about any matter as it is. Their formal authorities assure it. Plus, a unified committee, dedicated to a common purpose with a determined chair, presents a formidable team. (The right issue pursued at the right time helps, too.) Changes are enabling committees to tweak their performance, such as allowing Senate committees to seek a government response to its reports. Elections of House committee positions mark a progressive milestone. Televised proceedings and enhanced committee websites have improved committee visibility, accessibility, and the quality of information available to Canadians. (But virtual hearings via video-teleconferencing will not supplant physical hearings—members will still prefer to look across the table into the eyes of witnesses.) Parliamentary committees are a work in progress. They also must continue to work with limitations. Committees are ultimately beholden to the House or Senate chamber. For House committees especially, partisanship often chips away at effectiveness. No committee can wiggle away from the constraints placed on all by the parliamentary calendar. Workloads can be overwhelming: too many public appointees to review, too many estimates to consider, too many public policy issues to engage. Finally, limited funding for research and travel, although improved, curtail, what committees could do. Still, parliamentary committees will continue to bind Canadians directly to the legislative process, engage their views on the public record, and seize media and political attention on a national platform. The challenge for witnesses is customizing the appearance when so many variables 258 I IT TO THE HILL are at work: the issue, the political context, the players, the timing. A No matter what new authorities committees have gained recently—or could gain (or even lose) in the future—and despite the constraints that they work under, one point persists: the calibre of their work depends on the motivation of their members themselves and how they are prepared to take on an issue. For witnesses, this also explains why appearing before a committee is primarily a communications exercise. You have to do your part in making the most of the opportunity. Effective messaging ismission essential. Testifying is more than reciting a predictable position and serving up polished answers. It is an opportunity to captivate the committee. This alone does not secure success, but it helps to advance your cause one member at a time. When taking your issue to Parliament Hill involves a visit to a parliamentary committee, this guide marks the necessary steps to get you from here to there. ENDNOTES 1. Theodore Seuss Geisel, One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish (Toronto: Random House of Canada, 1988), 9. TAKING FINAL WORD ...