Visit to Vietnam Regional meetings in Newfoundland and Labrador and Quebec Serving independently YOUR ORGANIZATION Vietnamese study tour Feb. 4th until the 18th, 2020. Hon. Eleni Bakopanos. Dorothy Dobbie and Ian Waddell. A fountain in the courtyard of Sophie’s Art. Warren Redman and Dr. Hélène Bertrand. Charlette Duguay gets her temperature taken as she enters a restaurant. Danielle and Massimo Pacetti pose with the server Léo Duguay luxuriates in one of the VERY comfortable Ken Hughes. at the restaurant where we made our own dinners. National Assembly chairs. Page 2 Beyond the Hill • Spring 2020 Beyond the Hill • Spring 2020 Page 3 Beyond the Hill Canadian Association of Former Parliamentarians Volume 16, Issue No. 1 Spring 2020 CONTENTS Lynn McDonald’s private member’s bill ............25 By Matt Reekie Vietnamese study tour ........................................2 How it works ....................................................26 Canadian Association of Former Parliamentarians By Hon. John Reid – who we are and what we stand for .............4 Election Observation: Social media and China’s treatment of the Uyghurs rings alarms ....28 accessibility on the agenda .................................5 Reworded by Gina Hartmann from By Gina Hartmann Hon. David Kilgour’s text and notes Update from the President: Oh what a year! ......6 Do Canadian elections meet the accessibility By Dorothy Dobbie challenge? .....................................................29 By Wade Morris CAFP Delegation tours Vietnam .........................7 By Francis LeBlanc Peter Stoffer puts parliamentary experience Quebec hosts meeting of provincial formers ....12 to use ...........................................................30 By Gina Hartmann Meeting in St. John’s, Newfoundland ...............14 Centre Block restoration: Keeping historical Jack is back: One man’s journey in and out of the craftsmanship in a modern space ................31 House of Commons .....................................16 By Gina Hartmann By Gina Hartmann Bill Casey was a winner ....................................17 From the Bookshelf: By Dorothy Dobbie Too Dumb for Democracy? ...........................32 Reviewed by Wade Morris The secret lives of independents: What does it mean when a member of parliament From the Bookshelf: breaks with their party? ................................18 The man who built 24 Sussex ......................33 By Matt Reekie Reviewed by Geoff Currier It seems to me .................................................20 By Dorothy Dobbie From the Bookshelf: Bootstraps Need Boots ................................34 How comedy cuts the tension in Parliament ....22 Reviewed by the Hon. Bill Blaikie By Wade Morris Political Passages .............................................35 A trick on a trickster ..........................................23 By Daniel Birru, Gina Hartmann, Wade Morris By Arnold Malone and Matt Reekie Social media and politics: Connecting with constituents authentically .............................24 Geoff @ 30 ........................................................46 By Gina Hartmann By Geoff Scott Page 2 Beyond the Hill • Spring 2020 Beyond the Hill • Spring 2020 Page 3 YOUR ORGANIZATION The Canadian Association of Former Parliamentarians Who we are and what we stand for s individuals, former members of Parliament and senators mirror the values and expectations of the citizenry. We are a dependable source of Apractical experience in government and are the keepers of a vast store of knowledge and parliamentary wisdom. Entrance to My Son Hoi An, Vietnam. Canada has the highest turnover of MPs in the world, averaging 30% and Photo by Dorothy Dobbie. ranging to as high as 60%. The Canadian Association of Former Parliamentar- ians acts as a stabilizing resource for the good order of government. Editor-in-Chief The goal of the Canadian Association of Former Parliamentarians is to put Dorothy Dobbie this collective experience at the disposal of Canadians and their replacement Associate Editor representatives. CAFP is here to: Geoff Scott 1. Preserve and promote Canadian democracy at home and abroad. 2. Preserve the corporate memory of Parliament and serve as a resource for Assistant Editor serving, retired and incoming members. Gina Gill Hartmann 3. Advise and inform young people about the processes and exercises of Editorial Interns power and good government. Daniel Birru, Wade Morris 4. Encourage democratic participation by new generations. and Matthieu Reekie. 5. Provide the public with non-partisan information and experienced analy- Editorial Board ses of how government works. Dorothy Dobbie, Hon. David Kilgour, Our programs include: Derrek Konrad, Lynn McDonald, 1. Beyond the Hill. The magazine carries informative and inspiring stories Hon. John Reid, Geoff Scott about political life and situations from the past. 2. Parliament to Campus program. Speaking to schools and universities. Editorial Board Emeriti 3. Speaker’s Bureau. Participating with the media and speaking to groups Hon. Jim Fleming, Claudy Lynch, about the Canadian Parliamentary system. Keith Penner, Doug Rowland 4. Overseas Election Observation. Fielding members to do work in other Contributors countries. Hon. Bill Blaikie, Geoff Currier, 5. School of Public Service. Members provide advice to new federal re- Dorothy Dobbie, Hon. David Kilgour, cruits. Arnold Malone, Hon. John Reid, 6. Equal Voice. Members provide the mentorship to encourage women to Geoff Scott. become involved in politics. 7. Parliamentary Interns. CAFP has supported this and many other initia- Production Assistants tives supporting democracy. Céline Brazeau Fraser, Carina Legault 8. Website and Social Media. CAFP is an active participant on the Internet Meek, Susan Simms, Karl Thomsen and on social media platforms to engage in debate, provide information and serve as a resource for the community. ISSN 1920-8561 Our Mission Statement Beyond the Hill, a magazine for former parliamentarians, is designed to engage, enlighten and inform its readers about each other, their Association and its Edu- cational Foundation. Its aim is to encour- age participation in the Association and to promote democracy. The views of the contributors to this publication do not necessarily represent those of CAFP nor its Educational Foundation. Beyond the Hill welcomes letters to the editor, submis- sions and suggestions. P.O. Box 1, 131 Queen St., House of Commons Ottawa, ON, Canada, K1A 0A6. Telephone 1-888- 567-4764, Fax: 613-947-1764 E-mail: ex- Editorial interns from left to right: Matthieu Reekie, Wade Morris, Daniel Birru and Gina [email protected]. Website: www.exparl.ca. Hartmann. Page 4 Beyond the Hill • Spring 2020 Beyond the Hill • Spring 2020 Page 5 DOP Election Observation Social media and accessibility on the agenda By Gina Hartmann DoP group photo. Hon. Consiglio Di Nino. ormer senator, the Hon. Con- Security and Cooperation in Eu- the distribution of misinformation.” siglio (Con) Di Nino has been rope (OSCE), which describes itself Though it’s difficult to monitor Fobserving election processes as dealing with the human dimen- social media and technological de- for some time now. As a Senator, he sion of security. During Con’s time velopment, Con believes the focus of travelled the world to monitor elec- in the Senate, he was one of a group the conference on identifying prob- tions and continues to participate in of international parliamentarians lems and successful solutions will reviewing electoral best practices. within the OSCE that was involved continue to improve election pro- “I participated in International in election monitoring. cesses and participation worldwide, election observation missions for Keeping things fair particularly in countries where de- about ten years, when I was in Par- “Observing” elections is critically mocracy is evolving and developing. liament. It’s one of the truly positive important in making sure elections Accessibility activities for Parliamentarians. Help- around the world are fair and have Another topic discussed at the ing to improve democratic practices up-to-date rules and technology,” meeting in Poland was voting acces- leaves a lasting legacy. I have moni- said the former senator. “You deal sibility and how participation can be tored elections or participated in with problems discovered while ob- improved by allowing more persons conferences in a number of coun- serving elections and recommend with disabilities, full access to their tries, including Ukraine, Georgia, changes to insure future results bet- right to vote. Azerbaijan, Albania, Serbia, Russia, ter represent the will of the people. “It was an incredibly positive ex- USA and, on behalf of ODHIR, led Like you would in any endeavour, perience, indeed a welcome surprise. electoral missions in Kazakhstan you are constantly upgrading and I have been involved with the issue and Kyrgyzstan” said Con. updating.” of recognizing the abilities of all Con goes to Poland The Warsaw conference took a citizens and in creating ways to im- In Nov. 2019, Con agreed to closer look at social media, technol- prove opportunities for those with participate on behalf of CAFP in a ogy and the impact on elections. The disabilities for many years and the recent visit to Warsaw, Poland for variety of sources now bombarding subject was keenly and positively the Declaration of Principles for society, demands that accurate and discussed. The fact that accommo- International Election Observation reliable information be provided