They are where government legislation is typically amended; they are where government spending of tax dollars is approved; and they hold the government accountable, he said.

But these standing committees have become an extension of the Prime Minister’s Office, Chong said.

The members of committees are proportionate to the seats in parliament, and they are appointed by party leaders.

“As a result, it is almost unheard of in Canada for government legislation to be substantially amended by committee,” Chong said. “It is unheard of for government spending to be properly reviewed, and it is unheard of for a prime minister to be called in to account in front of the parliamentary committee.”

He suggested taking away the power of party leaders to appoint committee members and instead allow MPs to select the members by secret ballot vote.

“If we could accomplish that one little change, we would radically alter the balance of power in Ottawa,” Chong said.

Current instability and the rise of populism highlight the need to restore the balance of power, he said, referencing the U.S. political landscape.

“It’s precisely at times like this that we need to strengthen our democratic checks and balances,” he said. “We are just as prone to populist impulses here in Canada as other countries are ... The strength of our system depends on ensuring that we have a democracy that has democratic checks and balances on power to ensure that power can be contained and power is not misused.”

In beginning her portion of the talk, May made sure to highlight the fact that her power as a party leader is restricted in Parliament due to the Green party’s small number of seats.

That being said, May noted “the power of well-organized, well-financed political parties has been increasing steadily and with it the centralization of power in the office of the prime minister.”

May agreed with Chong that committee work is important, but she also emphasized the importance of the work of individual MPs.

“Your job is to represent your constituents every single day and go in and ask the government hard questions,” said May, noting also that she cannot sit on committees unless they are “special.”

She said she has many ideas for reforming the parliamentary system, but went on to focus more of her talk on the way that Canadians vote.

“Canada so desperately needs to have a voting system that does not allow a big gulf to develop between the popular vote and the seat count,” May said.

It is important in Canada — even more so than south of the border, she said, because a majority Parliament automatically means the prime minister controls the legislature and the executive.

“We’re in an era where almost anything weird and fluky can happen,” May said. “And you don’t want to run the risk that some outlier, party or leader with views that would never be held by the majority of Canadians can hold a majority government with less than the support of the majority of Canadians.”

Canada’s first-past-the-post voting system leaves us vulnerable to this, she said.

It was an election promise of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to replace this system, but it is one on which he hasn’t followed through.

May was asked by an audience member to offer insights on this, and she noted that she was more disillusioned by the decision to abandon electoral reform than any other government decision.

“I thought Justin Trudeau meant what he said when he said it,” she said.

She said she thought he made the promise on the fly in the middle of an election campaign and there were back room people in the Liberal party who never wanted to change the voting system.

She also noted that Trudeau genuinely does not believe that proportional representation is a good system.

“I really think he looks at proportional representation in the same way that I see the threat of another person like Stephen Harper or worse getting 100 per cent of the power with 39 per cent of the popular vote,” May said.

She explained that if five per cent of the voters were racist, Trudeau believes that potentially those voters could allow a racist, extreme right-wing party to get voice in the government.

But May’s response to that argument is that by reforming first-past-the-post, we would ensure that a party like that could never get a majority of power with a minority of the vote.

The fact the parliamentary committee on electoral reform recommended proportional representation, as well as a referendum, may have been a factor, too, May said.

“Bottom line, I’m not giving up on Trudeau’s promise,” she said.

She said every person who voted Liberal because they believed him needs go to their MPs to express their concerns to ensure “we’re not letting him off the hook. He has to keep that promise.”