Constructive Partisanship

Constructive Working Relationships

PACs are most effective when government and opposition members work constructively together.

• Encourage committee members, regardless of political affiliation, to develop constructive working relationships with each other.
• Strive for consensus or unanimity in PAC decisions and recommendations.
• Have the Chair declare meeting objectives at the start of a meeting and inform members when they stray from those objectives.
• Discourage ministers, parliamentary secretaries, political party leaders, house leaders, and party whips from being a member of the PAC.
• Ministers should be called as a witnesses before the PAC only in exceptional circumstances.

Focus on Administration of Government Policy

Constructive working relationships are strengthened when PACs focus on administration of programs rather than the merits of policy.

• Leave policy discussions to other legislative committees.
• Call deputy heads of departments and heads of agencies as witnesses (call ministers only in exceptional circumstances).
• Focus on corrective action rather than “blaming and shaming”.
• Work towards a constructive dialogue with witnesses.

Practice Highlights

• The Quebec PAC has developed a tradition of making unanimous decisions.
• In Nunavut and the Northwest Territories, consensus style government extends to the PAC so that formal votes are rarely held or required.
• The House of Commons, Newfoundland and Labrador and Quebec PACs do not allow the leader of the opposition, political party leaders, house leaders or whips to be members of the PAC.
• In Alberta, Manitoba, Nova Scotia, Nunavut, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Quebec, and Saskatchewan, parliamentary secretaries do not attend PAC meetings as either committee members or witnesses.