Evidence of meeting #11 for Procedure and House Affairs in the 40th Parliament, 3rd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was general.
A recording is available from Parliament.
1 p.m.
Prof. Peter Russell
No, I think I got your question.
1 p.m.
Some hon.members
Oh, oh!
1 p.m.
Prof. Peter Russell
The Governor General, in making a judgment call on whether an alternative Prime Minister--in that case, Mr. Dion--could command the confidence of the House of Commons, would not be governed by Gallup polls. Polling is not a good gauge of what people in high office should be doing for the will of the people. It's based on all kinds of vagaries of the day. It's not a good way of testing the “will” of the people.
What the Governor General would have to be very clear about is whether that government would have the confidence of the House of Commons. That's the licence to govern, not a day-to-day referendum of the people, but would a majority of the members of the House of Commons support it. That's the consideration.
As someone who was involved in advising the Governor General, the Gallup polls, steamed, I might say, by some tremendous publicity about the evil of coalitions, which are almost the norm in the parliamentary world, would not be considered an accurate view of the will of the people.
1 p.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Joe Preston
Thank you, Professor Russell. You have moved to the top of my favourite witnesses, and that's a tough hill to climb, I'll tell you.
Thank you so, so much for coming today. It has been an education for me.
1 p.m.
Prof. Peter Russell
I wish you real success. I think many Canadians do. You have a big challenge. I hope you're up to it.
1 p.m.
Some hon. members
Hear, hear!
1 p.m.
Conservative
1 p.m.
NDP
David Christopherson NDP Hamilton Centre, ON
I've been trying to get the floor for a while.
All I wanted to do was to see if we could get agreement to ask Mr. Walsh to give us his opinion on the notion of the Speaker being able to give advice to the GG.
1 p.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Joe Preston
I will ask that. Mr. Walsh has made himself available to the chair for that, so I will ask that question.
