Mr. Smith goes to Ottawa : life in the House of Commons

Compares the 34th (1988-93) and the 35th (1993-97) Parliaments, where, despite major electoral shifts, the majority of the men and women who go to Ottawa end up accepting limited policy roles, effecting only minor shifts in government. In Mr Smith Goes To Ottawa, David Docherty Compares The 34th (1988-93) And 35th (1993-7) Parliaments. The 35th Parliament Appeared To Offer A Radical Change. Over Two-thirds Of Mps Were Rookies And Over One-third Represented Two New Parties - The Bloc Quebecois And The Reform Party - Both Of Which Came To Ottawa Promising To Alter The Current Political Status Quo. This Led Some People To View The Session As A Crucial One, Holding The Potential To Modify Substantially The Type Of Representation Canadians Had Known For Decades. But The Combination Of New Parties, New Mps, And New Agendas Did Not Translate Into Changes In The Commons. As Docherty Shows, Most Of The New Mps, Regardless Of Party Affiliation, Accepted A Limited Policy Role And Learned To Appreciate The Importance Of Constituency Work. Basing His Arguments On Surveys And Extensive Interviews With Members Of Both Parliaments, Docherty Examines The Implications Of These Findings For Larger Questions Of Legislative Reform And Governance. In Doing So, This Book, The First In-depth Look At The Realities Of Political Service, Makes A Valuable Contribution To Our Knowledge Of Canadian Politics And The Canadian Parliamentary System.--jacket. David C. Docherty. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. In Mr Smith Goes to Ottawa, the author compares the 34th (1988-93) and the 35th (1993-97) Parliaments. The former, the second consecutive Conservative-led majority government, could not appear more different from the Liberal one which followed. Over two-thirds of its members were rookies. More significantly, over one-third represented two new political parties - the Bloc Quebecois and the Reform party. Yet, for all this change, Docherty shows that the new agendas of the 35th Parliament have not translated into changes in the legislative behaviour or socialization of new members. Unlike Jimmy Stewart in Washington, the majority of the men and women who go to Ottawa end up accepting a limited policy role.