Capital Scandal: Politics, Patronage and Payoffs-Why Parliament Must be Reformed

J.L. Granatstein is a history professor at York University and author of
War and Peacekeeping and For Better or For Worse.

No one could deny that parliamentarians have a difficult job. Unless
they are in the cabinet, they have little power, they are bombarded with
constituents’ complaints, and their main task is to sit in the House
and look interested for the cameras during interminable speeches. That
they are entitled to reasonable pay and good working conditions is a
given. But Canadians have become increasingly aware, as the cover of
this slashing attack suggests, that MPs and Senators have acted like
pigs at the public trough: generous indexed pensions that come into play
early; trips for wives, children, nieces and nephews, all at public
expense; unlimited telephone calls; subsidized meals; jobs for
offspring; and senatorial pay for sessions unattended. And those are
just the tip of the iceberg; underneath the surface are patronage posts
on public bodies that give a former politician a high salary on top of
his or her pension. It is a rare book that performs a public service.
This well-written one, by two veteran Ottawa journalists, blows off the
lid, and if the public lets this capital scandal continue it will be no
one’s fault but the Canadian people’s.