OTTAWA—There are 1,066 duly elected members of the House of Commons, provincial and territorial legislatures in Canada.

Tuesday, not a single one sat in their legislative chamber.

Not a single prime minister, premier, federal or provincial cabinet minister was formally being held to account under our Parliamentary system anywhere, from Victoria to St. John’s, from Ottawa to Iqaluit.

Yes, January is traditionally a dark month in our legislative chambers, but that does not diminish a growing trend in this country of governments under fire merely turning off the lights in their legislatures, leaving ornate buildings to tourists and political aides.

Even those with comfortable majorities treat their legislatures like a nuisance, often with the tacit approval of provincial members who are quite happy to guard their turf in home constituencies, making noise only if they believe they are being denied a chance to go after a government in trouble or a minister grappling with scandal.

Queen’s Park has been closed since Dalton McGuinty prorogued the legislature last Oct. 15 and a frontrunner to replace him, Sandra Pupatello has suggested she will keep it closed until she can win a seat in a by-election, and good luck making a constitutional argument for that as a reason to keep elected representatives from doing their jobs.

But Ontario is hardly alone.

By the time British Columbia goes to the polls this spring, the legislature in Victoria will likely to have sat a grand total of 19 days in the previous calendar year, according to the number crunching of Mark Jarvis in a blog for Maclean’s.

Premier Christy Clark just shut it down last May 31.

In Alberta, where Progressive Conservative Premier Alison Redford is facing a new era with a real opposition and the province is facing an oil glut and plunging revenue, the Edmonton legislature will not return until March 5 and is scheduled to sit 39 days.

The opposition Wildrose, ignoring years of such behaviour by Ralph Klein, the king of the sporadic sittings, said Alberta is becoming a “national embarrassment.’’

That may be overstating the fact, but government House leader Dave Hancock brought them closer to that status by telling the Edmonton Journal the length of the legislative sitting has “no bearing on whether democracy is alive or not.’’

Remember your Christmas break?

New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island legislators don’t come back until March 26. Manitoba, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador and Yukon haven’t even bothered to set return dates.

Newfoundland Premier Kathy Dunderdale didn’t recall her legislature for six months after her 2011 election, but did allow the legislature to sit for 73 days in 2012.

Doesn’t sound like much? Only Ontario sat longer, according to the Parliament of Canada website.

In 2012, the 13 provincial and territorial legislatures sat a combined 728 days.

Twenty years ago, the 12 legislatures (minus Nunavut) sat a combined 842 days; 25 years ago the dozen chambers sat for 838 days.

Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading...

The House of Commons sat for 129 days in 2012, longer than any other legislative body and will be the first one to open its doors in 2013 when MPs return next Monday.

But a generation ago, the Commons routinely sat between 165 and 185 days in non-election years.

Anecdotally, it appears Canadians don’t much care about this and that’s why leaders feel they can get away with it.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper brought prorogation back into the vernacular and was re-elected with a majority in 2011.

Anyone who spends any time in Ottawa knows that too much time is wasted here on picayune partisan posturing and MPs do have responsibilities in their constituencies.

But these 1,066 men and women are elected to represent our interests in a Parliamentary forum.

“If you work in the private sector or are a public servant, you work at least 220 days per year,’’ said Duff Conacher, the coordinator of Your Canada, Your Constitution.

“This is not to say MPs don’t work when the House is not sitting, but they have staff to deal with most constituency issues. Their other job is to solve systemic problems and you need to pass legislation to do that.’’

When they don’t sit, governments are not held accountable, Conacher says.

Canadians are disengaging from politics. That could be because they rarely see their representatives in action. Or perhaps our politicians are using this disengagement as cover for their empty legislatures.

Neither conclusion is good news for those who lament the erosion of democracy in this country.

Tim Harper is a national affairs writer. His column appears Monday, Wednesday and Friday. tharper@thestar.ca

Read more about: