Dear Editor,
I tried recently to find out who are the new members of parliament and it was difficult to know who they are and what expertise they bring to the parliament.
I would suggest, in this era of information technology that the parliamentary website take on a new and meaningful role in the dissemination of public information. Every member of parliament is now a public official and anything about them should and must be made public. Or so I assume in a democratically elected parliament.
I challenge the Speaker to ensure that a true and accurate bio of every MP be listed with a photograph of the member attached to the description. What must be included are the following (other than basis demographic information such as age, sex, race, religion, and party affiliation):
1. professional qualification – list any degree or certification
2. work experience
3. any initiative taken or philosophical beliefs the MP has
4. region or constituency they represent
5. party affiliation.
In addition to the above a roll call must be taken for all legislative votes and be listed on the website so we know where MPs stand on each issue.
I am assuming that the MPs who are not legal experts are trained to assess and analyse public policies so that they can have meaningful discussions on the issues. I might be overly enthusiastic but I believe it is necessary and important for the new parliament.
Yours faithfully,
Steve Hemraj
