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A review by sashagrons
Turning Parliament Inside Out: Practical Ideas for Reforming Canada's Democracy by Kennedy Stewart, Michael Chong, Scott Simms
3.0
The idea of this book is beautiful: sitting MPs from all different parties each contributing chapters about how to make Parliament work better. The execution of the idea succeeds in part, if not in full. Much of the discussion is for the wonkiest (?) of wonks - if you've ever wondered about what Parliamentary committees do or how their members are chosen, then Michael Chong's chapter is a great read. If you've ever wondered about how the status of "officially recognized" vs. "unrecognized" (less than 12 seats in the HoC) came to be, and what powers such status confers to MPs, then Elizabeth May's chapter will enlighten you. I found some of the greatest value of the book to be in authors' descriptions of historical trends - how, for example, political parties and party leaders did not always have the control over MPs that they do today. To understand the historical trajectory of Parliamentary practices is to understand such practices not as given or natural, but as malleable and subject to reform. Indeed, party control is an important theme throughout the book and one I've been interested in for a while. Some chapters, however, fail to deliver. Niki Ashton, who I generally like, has a chapter on youth engagement and social media, but her ultimate point seems to be "youth use social media" -- not exactly ground-breaking insight. And the last chapter, Scott Simms' idea of an Assembly of the Federation, has too many holes and is too dismissive of provincial jurisdiction to be of any real merit.
Overall: some interesting, practical solutions for reforming democracy, at the level of granular detail of the workings of the House of Commons. Some broader ideas about politics that don't make their case terribly well. In the end, an impressive effort at cross-party collaboration among those who really do want to see Canada's democracy improved, regardless of party affiliation, which is a noble goal in my books.
Overall: some interesting, practical solutions for reforming democracy, at the level of granular detail of the workings of the House of Commons. Some broader ideas about politics that don't make their case terribly well. In the end, an impressive effort at cross-party collaboration among those who really do want to see Canada's democracy improved, regardless of party affiliation, which is a noble goal in my books.