Now that our federal representatives are off campaigning for yet another election, it’s the perfect time to do a makeover in the House of Commons.
You know the place — it’s that stuffy, old-fashioned, rectangular room where our MPs (Members of Parliament) meet for Question Period on Parliament Hill.
I don’t mean any disrespect when I describe the House of Commons this way. After all, it is our government’s most important place to do business. But, I must admit, I find it hard to believe a room such as this, where people sit quite literally in opposition to one another, can be conducive to collaboration or civil conduct.
Wondering why would we subject the people we elect to such horrid working conditions, I decided to look into the history books. Did you know the floor space between the two facing sets of seats was designed to be two sword lengths apart? (Can you spell c-o-m-b-a-t-i-v-e?) Oh, and that invisible line that runs down the middle of the room? That’s the line in between the two swords, the line that you dare not cross, the party line that you must “toe.”
Our House of Commons in Ottawa is steeped in this confrontational tradition started many years ago by the British House of Commons. But, like many old ways of doing things, such as playing hockey without a helmet, the tradition of our government’s oppositional seating arrangement has lost its usefulness and relevance in modern-day society.
Given that we subject our elected representatives to such old-fashioned and out-of-date working conditions, it’s no wonder we see all the childish antics of yelling and finger pointing going on during Question Period. Whatever happened to professional conduct? Frankly, I can’t think of any employer who would tolerate this immature and disruptive behaviour on the job, yet we allow this type of conduct in our government. In fact, we seem to foster it, being tied to traditions that no longer serve us. And, it should come as no surprise the logical extension of the bad behaviour we see in Question Period is the practice of using attack ads during an election.
While this behaviour in our government is an embarrassment to Canadians, I think we citizens have to shoulder some of the blame for it. More importantly, I think we need to do something about it.
I propose we create an economic stimulus package on Parliament Hill for construction workers, hardware and office furniture suppliers, space planners, and interior decorators. All we need is a talented pool of people working furiously over the next few weeks. Their mission will be simple: to tear out the old seating arrangement and replace it with a new one — like the kind that the Knights of the Round Table used — before election day on May 2.
The seating solution we so desperately need is elegant in its simplicity: what we really need is a circle.
Imagine the possibilities this would present. What if MPs of different political stripes sat side by side, amongst each other, instead of facing each other off, as if in competition against each another? Imagine a Speaker of the House smack in the middle and seated on a swivel chair. And imagine a penalty box, a “sin bin” as it were, where MPs could be sent to the middle of the room for 10 minutes misconduct.
The circle is a shape that connects people, one that embraces what we have in common. The circle rejects the usual patterns of dominance and separation that focus on differences. Circles have been proven to shift energy and to create collaborative, creative, and respectful atmospheres. Perhaps the circle would help our politicians work together, transforming our society for the better. Maybe this concept of circular seating would help attract and retain more good people to a life of politics.
And, why wouldn’t it? Being in a circle gets people involved. It keeps them engaged. It values their contributions. Circles lend those inside them to dialogue, not monologue. They remind us of nature, of continuous cycles of life. In short, the circle facilitates collaboration, not confrontation.
It’s time we made it possible for our elected officials to act in a way that would make their mothers, and us, proud. A “House” reno involving circular seating — now that’s in our best interest.
