Straight thoughts 54

December 18, 2000

Election reform is more than just changing the way we elect our government representatives. Their role must be clarified.
Some people expect a Member of Parliament to 'Do things for his constituents'. This concept is faulty and creates situations of conflict of interest and favouritism.
Nobody disputes the fact that they should represent the constituents (i.e: the citizens inform their representative of their concerns), but not the other way around (e.g.: the PM tells a bank manager what to do).
Members of Parliament are paid by taxes, thus they are essentially bureaucrats. They should not intervene on what people are doing. It is hard to believe that they could do better than what people are already doing, each one within his own field.