Thank you, Mr. Chair. It's a pleasure to speak with the committee today.
My name is Sabreena Delhon, and I'm the CEO of the Samara Centre for Democracy, which is a non-partisan charity dedicated to making Canada's democratic culture more accessible, responsive and inclusive.
We have been studying the lived experience of elected officials for over 15 years through our MP exit interview project, which has produced several publications and two podcasts. This material serves as a key resource for aspiring politicians. It is used by high school and post-secondary educators across the country to teach about active citizenship, and it has received extensive media attention. Over 160 exit interviews have been conducted with former members of Parliament since 2008. Today, I'll be drawing on our most recent cohort of interviews to guide potential changes to the workplace harassment and violence prevention policy.
In these interviews, former MPs across parties have expressed concerns that their conditions of work create significant barriers to achieving a Parliament that is representative of Canadian society. They call for modernization in the form of more flexibility, stronger HR policies and formalized protocols to prevent harassment. Our interviewees feel that these changes are crucial in order to attract and to retain parliamentarians. This was a defining theme in this group, more so than in previous cohorts. MPs repeatedly shared concerns that a failure to improve Parliament as a workplace would undermine the faith and the trust that Canadians have in this institution.
The way forward isn't through policies alone, but through the formation of a healthy culture that can reverse this normalization of an increasingly hostile environment online and off-line.
This requires considering the following questions. What are the rewards for good behaviour? How are parties incentivized to contribute to civility and collegiality? What other healthy boundaries can be put into place to foster a more productive condition of work?
I'll turn now to specific feedback about the working conditions from former MPs. Encountering racialized comments were identified by interviewees as a significant risk when serving in the House of Commons. This problem was compounded by the absence of mechanisms to address these instances, which brought forth a sense of alienation.
In terms of gender equity, harassment of younger women MPs was brought up as a point of concern amongst a number of our interviewees, both men and women. Some interviewees spoke of the negative effects of harassment or bullying during question period, which they connected to the broader harassment and silencing of women and under-represented groups in the political arena.
The effect of online harassment of MPs was also a recurring theme. Our interviewees explained how harassment affected their mental health and extended to their families. This is a particular concern from those that are from minoritized communities who receive a high volume of online abuse.
Recently, we've seen numerous politicians in all orders of government leave the political arena because of hate and harassment that came to define their job. This isn't just about having a thick skin or being more resilient. In our interviews, the women we spoke with frequently mentioned receiving death threats and struggling to get the appropriate security that they required.
If safer working conditions aren't put into place, then the leaders that we need—the leaders that reflect Canada's diverse communities—won't stay, or they'll stop stepping forward altogether. The context that I've outlined here takes a significant toll on staff and has a chilling effect on public engagement. People are pushed away from democratic engagement instead of being drawn in.
None of our interviewees regret devoting years to public service, and they share their stories with us to help evolve life in Parliament. In this period of global democratic backsliding, it's never been more urgent to secure healthy conditions of civic engagement.
We're willing to partner to support a safer and more inclusive workplace, should the committee see a role for us.
Thank you.