Legislative reform in Canada A question of capacity? Paul Thomas - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Legislative reform in Canada

A question of capacity?

Paul Thomas PhD Candidate

1

Capacity of legislatures

• All legislatures in Canada have same functions:
• Representation (symbolic, service to constituents)
• Legislation
• Scrutiny

2

• Avg. government bills introduced per year

52 47 49 57 56 56 43 45 47 33 30 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 Fed NL PE NB NS QC ON MB SK AB BC

3

Capacity of legislatures

• Not all legislatures have same capacity to

accomplish these tasks

• Capacity is not efficiency
• Burden falls primarily on opposition

4

Capacity of legislatures

Capacity = size x time x resources x backbench independence

1) Size: number of members 2) Time: sitting days, number of venues (e.g. committees) 3) Resources: officers of the legislature, research support, constituency staff, travel funding 4) Backbench independence: willingness of backbenchers to defy party line

5

Size: members per legislature

308 48 27 49 51 125 107 57 58 87 85

50 100 150 200 250 300 350 Fed NL PE NB NS QC ON MB SK AB BC

6

Size: impact on representation

114,150 10,973 5,378 15,431 18,447 65,242 126,523 22,193 19,109 46,266 53,906 20,000 40,000 60,000 80,000 100,000 120,000 140,000 Fed NL PE NB NS QC ON MB SK AB BC

Population per member

7

Size: impact on representation

308 48 27 49 51 125 107 57 58 87 85

50 100 150 200 250 300 350 20,000 40,000 60,000 80,000 100,000 120,000 140,000 Fed NL PE NB NS QC ON MB SK AB BC

Number of members Population per member

Pop per Member Members

8

Size: impact on legislation

5.9 1.0 0.6 0.9 0.9 2.2 2.5 1.3 1.2 2.7 2.9

0.0 1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0 5.0 6.0 7.0 Fed NL PE NB NS QC ON MB SK AB BC

Average government bills introduced per year, per legislator

9

Annual government spending ($BN)

236.5 6.5 1.5 7.6 8.9 83.7 104.3 11.7 11.3 39.0 38.3

0.0 50.0 100.0 150.0 200.0 250.0 Fed NL PE NB NS QC ON MB SK AB BC

Annual gov spending $BN

10

Size: impact on scrutiny

1.3 7.4 17.8 6.4 5.8 1.5 1.0 4.9 5.2 2.2 2.2

0.0 2.0 4.0 6.0 8.0 10.0 12.0 14.0 16.0 18.0 20.0 Fed NL PE NB NS QC ON MB SK AB BC

Legislators per $BN in government spending per year

11

Capacity of legislatures

Capacity = size x time x resources x backbench independence

1) Size: negatively affects representation, legislation; little impact on scrutiny since small legislatures spend less

12

Time: sitting hours per year

812 191 156 327 215 402 516 365 333 351 304

100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 Fed NL PE NB NS QC ON MB SK AB BC

13

Time: sitting hours per year vs. # members

812 191 156 327 215 402 516 365 333 351 304 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 Fed NL PE NB NS QC ON MB SK AB BC

Number of members Sitting hours per year

Sitting hours per year Members

14

Time: impact on legislation

16 4 3 6 4 7 12 8 7 11 10

2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 Fed NL PE NB NS QC ON MB SK AB BC

Sitting hours per bill

15

Time: impact on legislation

16 4 3 6 4 7 12 8 7 11 10 0.0 1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0 5.0 6.0 7.0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 Fed NL PE NB NS QC ON MB SK AB BC

• Gov. bills introduced per year, per legislator

Sitting hours per year per gov. bill introduced

Sitting hours per government bill Legislators per government bill

16

Cumulative impact: size x time

= 308 MPs x 812 hours per year = 48 MHAs x 192 hours per year

17

Size x time: total legislator sitting hours/year

250,170 9,180 4,212 16,013 10,975 50,250 55,212 20,777 19,321 30,537 25,857 50000 100000 150000 200000 250000 300000 Fed NL PE NB NS QC ON MB SK AB BC

18

9,180 4,212 16,013 10,975 50,250 55,212 20,777 19,321 30,537 25,857 10000 20000 30000 40000 50000 60000 NL PE NB NS QC ON MB SK AB BC

Size x time: total legislator sitting hours/year

19

9,180 4,212 16,013 10,975 50,250 55,212 20,777 19,321 30,537 25,857 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 10000 20000 30000 40000 50000 60000 NL PE NB NS QC ON MB SK AB BC Total legislator sitting hours per year Number of members

Size x time: total legislator sitting hours/year

20

Size x time: impact on legislation

195 86 279 195 897 1,274 462 411 931 874 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400 NL PE NB NS QC ON MB SK AB BC

Total legislator sitting hours per year, per bill

21

Size x time: impact on scrutiny

1,058 1,415 2,778 2,095 1,238 600 529 1,774 1,717 782 675 0.0 500.0 1,000.0 1,500.0 2,000.0 2,500.0 3,000.0 Fed NL PE NB NS QC ON MB SK AB BC Legislator hours per $BN in government spending per year

22

Time: impact on scrutiny

0.0 2.0 4.0 6.0 8.0 10.0 12.0 14.0 16.0 18.0 20.0 0.0 500.0 1,000.0 1,500.0 2,000.0 2,500.0 3,000.0 Fed NL PE NB NS QC ON MB SK AB BC

Legislator sitting hours per $BN in gov spending Legislators per $BN in gov spending

23

Time: committee activity

24 4 4 3 8 9 9 6 6 6 2

5 10 15 20 25 30 Fed NL PE NB NS QC ON MB SK AB BC

# of active/moderatly active committees

24

Capacity of legislatures

Capacity = size x time x resources x backbench independence

2) Time:

• Longer hours can help smaller legislatures compensate for

their size, but shorter hours can aggravate size gaps

• Larger legislatures tend to have more committees, allowing

more parallel activity.

25

Resources: total legislative budget

429.0 15.6 4.5 13.6 21.9 122.0 127.8 18.0 26.3 71.4 71.2

0.0 50.0 100.0 150.0 200.0 250.0 300.0 350.0 400.0 450.0 500.0 Fed NL PE NB NS QC ON MB SK AB BC

Total legislative budget in $M

26

Resources: budget per member

1393 325 166 278 429 976 1194 315 453 821 838

200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400 1600 Fed NL PE NB NS QC ON MB SK AB BC

Total legislative budget per member in $K

27

Resources: impact on representation

4.4 1.3 0.4 1.4 1.7 5.6 5.0 3.5 1.7 2.4 3.0 0.0 1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0 5.0 6.0 Fed NL PE NB NS QC ON MB SK AB BC

Partisan staff per member

28

Resources: impact on legislation

27 7 3 5 8 17 28 7 10 25 28 5 10 15 20 25 30 Fed NL PE NB NS QC ON MB SK AB BC

Legislative budget in $K per member per government bill introduced

29

Capacity of legislatures

Capacity = size x time x resources x backbench independence

3) Resources:

• Larger legislatures also tend to have more resources,

amplifying size gaps

• Ontario better resourced than Quebec despite having fewer

members

30

Backbench independence: government caucus

52% 60% 67% 53% 63% 55% 55% 65% 83% 62% 56%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% Fed NL PE NB NS QC ON MB SK AB BC

• Gov. caucus as % of total members

31

Backbench independence: cabinet size

13% 27% 30% 27% 29% 22% 25% 33% 31% 21% 24% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% Fed NL PE NB NS QC ON MB SK AB BC

• Gov. caucus as % of total members

Cabinet as % of total members

32

Backbench independence: executive size

22% 38% 30% 27% 29% 38% 53% 44% 48% 32% 39% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% Fed NL PE NB NS QC ON MB SK AB BC

• Gov. caucus as % of total members

Cabinet as % of total members Executive as % of total members

33

Capacity of legislatures

Capacity = size x time x resources x backbench independence

4) Backbench independence: growing number of parliamentary secretaries, etc. can harm legislation, scrutiny functions

34

Conclusion

• All legislatures have the same functions, but their

capacity differs

• Largest impact on performance is size:
• Legislatures in more populous provinces are larger, but they

have not kept pace with population or spending growth

• However, larger legislatures are better able to handle

legislation

• Time can lessen or aggravate size differences:
• Small legislatures may increase capacity by sitting longer

(NB, ON)

• However, general trend is that larger legislatures sit longer,

reducing difference in scrutiny capacity

• Larger legislatures also tend to have more committees

35

Conclusion

• Resources aggravate size differences:
• Larger legislatures have far more resources for scrutiny, etc.
• Capacity of some legislatures harmed by lack of

backbench independence

• Growth of parliamentary secretary and legislative assistant

positions erodes number of true government backbenchers

• A gap at any point can undermine capacity for

legislative effectiveness

36

Thanks!

Questions?

Email: paul.thomas@utoronto.ca

37