I have not worked on QP. I did mention that this was an issue, but I haven't done anything on question period. I am interested in the British model, which the Prime Minister isn't talking about, but the prime minister's questions is a one day a week thing and a different structure than we have in Canada now. I'm not saying it's better, but I think it would be interesting to compare to see whether there's something that could be learned from that system.
We do know that one of the issues that has come from the televising of question period is the way in which MPs, particularly on the government side, are schooled to answer questions so they correspond with the media clip they want to see broadcast on the news. The last time I was visiting question period, and another government was in power at the time, by the way, I was interested to see cabinet ministers giving the same answers to a set of questions, even though the questions had changed, and for the simple reason that at the first time they answered the question, the microphones had turned off, and the second time they answered it, they cut it a little better so they got it within the time in which the microphone was on.
The microphones are not for each other, as you know; they're for the media who were listening. Clearly what they were trying to do was to get the clip in.... What do you do with that? That has changed considerably. People are recommending now that the Senate be televised. I think it's a really good idea, so we can't go backward on that one. That media influence on the way in which question period is functioning is a huge issue in a way people understand what question period is and the impression that they're getting from it. I think it's changed the behaviour of members.