COLUMN: View from the Legislature – Co-operation in politics still exists

It would be easy to assume, by just watching the daily news, that there are no longer places where elected officials of different political parties co-operate. And while it is certainly true that partisan politics has become much more divided, and some would say toxic over the past several years, there are still some parts of the political system that function on a relatively bipartisan basis.

This past week I was in Halifax, Nova Scotia, to participate as a presenter and panellist in a conference related to public accounts in Canada. For the past year I have served as the chair of Manitoba’s public accounts committee. Most people who have not been involved in the political process are likely unfamiliar with the public accounts committee. It is the only committee in the legislature that is chaired by a member of the opposition, not the government, and it is made up of members of all political parties.

The purpose of the committee is to review financial statements and the audit reports that are produced by the provincial auditor general. The auditor general is an independent officer of the legislature who is empowered to review programs in government and to produce the public accounts. These reports then come to the public accounts committee whose members are able to question both the auditor and the officials of the departments which the reports are the subject of.

While not every public accounts committee in Canada manages to operate in a collegial manner, Manitoba has, especially over the past decade or so, set a co-operative tone. Together with the NDP co-chair of the committee, longtime MLA Jim Maloway, we work together on meeting schedules and ensure that reports are reviewed on a timely basis. Questions at the committee come from all members and are a mix of suggestions from the auditor general and those which members generate individually. At its best, it is a committee where members not only learn about the operations of many parts of government, but suggestions are put forward on how to improve programs in departments with the goal of continuous improvement.

In Manitoba, members of the committee often express how they appreciate being able to work co-operatively across party lines to examine programs and make suggestions. For many, it fulfills the expectation of the role of MLA that they had when they were first elected. It was one of the reasons that I wanted to serve as chair of the public accounts committee following the last provincial election. In Halifax, I was pleased to participate in several sessions including how to ensure public accounts operates in a way that it does not get stifled by partisan politics.

I was also pleased to share my experience as a minister of several large provincial department’s that had programs reviewed by the auditor general, how the process in many cases worked to provide helpful suggestions that were implemented to improve service delivery.

Even in times where it seems that partisan bickering is at an all time high in politics, there remains places elected officials across party lines collaborate. Hopefully it is an example that can find its way into other parts of our democratic system.