Procedure and House Affairs committee  It's the fact that you don't have to have a lot of money or a lawyer to get a blog running.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  I think a person who looks at the Internet right now to find out what people are thinking about prorogation sees a much more democratic space. Why I'm not a Pollyanna is because I see the downside of that, which is, of course, quality control. Tomorrow I'll be attending a meeting of the new public health ethics committee that's been set up by David Butler-Jones, and I know that one of the issues they're concerned about is the public health impact of the Internet.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Yes, I think it would be a little different. As a philosopher, I get paid to think critically, including about things we've done ourselves. I tend not to agree with myself an hour ago.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  One point you fastened onto there was that there is a generation of politicians, of which Mr. Harper is definitely a part, that just can't conceive, perhaps--it's just not in their DNA--of minority government as a state of normalcy and not an aberration that we will shortly be getting out of.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  I was hoping to make the point in a non-partisan way. As I said, I did get the criticism from a lot of editorialists that this is just somebody who's probably a Liberal or a New Democrat or a Bloquiste. I've never been a member of any political party. The hope I had and the gratification I had was from hearing from Conservative voters that this was an issue that is really non-partisan.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  That's as long as we still have Canadian teams in the playoffs. Let's hope that we have a longer run of them.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  The constitutional negotiations—my apologies, we are bargaining at the Université de Montréal—I mean, the constitutional conventions that govern us in terms of prorogation are already relatively well established. I did some thinking after writing the letter. Since, for most of our history, we had a tradition of governments with large majorities, prorogation was used for technical purposes, to indicate the time for a new Speech from the Throne, a new legislative agenda.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  I don't want to sound like an Internet Pollyanna, because I'm not one. I can see some limits. But one of the things I really think is a strength of the Internet as opposed to other forms of communication is the entry cost and how low entry costs are. Also, on obstacles to get there, you don't need a licence to broadcast on the Internet.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  I think you're absolutely right that we have to look at prorogation in a bigger context. It's a symptom of a wider malaise, perhaps both within this institution and in the perception of this institution by the Canadian population. This is another reason why the fix is the rules.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  I will leave all my expertise aside to answer as a father instead. I have three children, including a daughter of almost 15. TV is like an UFO to her. We could have no TV and that would not make a difference to her.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  There is the computer. She spends her life on the Internet. She learns stuff on the Internet. I imagine she also spends a little time chatting with her friends, but she learns things, and not only on Wikipedia. Let me go back to an argument that was raised in the context of cultural and generational shift.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Yes, I should. And hockey takes time, especially when the Montreal Canadiens are in the playoffs till May. I have a BlackBerry and an iPhone in my pocket. I am not exactly a technophobe, but, for people our age, using the Internet is not as deeply rooted a part of our way of life as it is for our children.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  For reasons that go back to the discussion I was having with Ms. Jennings, in the context of a tense and very partisan political climate right now you want to be careful about putting in mechanisms that are like “gotcha” mechanisms, mechanisms that have the potential to be one-shot sorts of....

Procedure and House Affairs committee  They say that every crisis is an opportunity. That is a truism, a cliché, but there is some truth in it. The public has a negative perception of politicians. Personally, I have always tried to fight against it, especially since profs are not far behind. It is often said they take four months of vacation, meaning they stop teaching at the end of April and start again in September...

Procedure and House Affairs committee  No, at university. The fact that we do a host of other things when we are not in class does not necessarily show up on people's radars. We do administrative work and we make sure we follow up with students. It is the same with parliamentarians and their work. I think we need a public relations exercise for that.