One phone call from Ottawa has prompted a number of professional changes for Bernadette Jordan.
“I had a call from the prime minister’s office and they indicated to me that I was now going to be the new parliamentary secretary for democratic institutions,” said the South-Shore St. Margaret’s MP. “I’m excited. I’m looking forward to the challenge.”
Jordan was plucked from the government backbenches August 31 when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau shuffled his roster of parliamentary secretaries. The rookie MP will now serve as the right hand to democratic institutions minister Karina Gould.
“It’s a new role for me, a little outside my wheelhouse,” Jordan said. But the democratic institutions file is one she expects to enjoy.
“I guess I’m a bit of a policy wonk in some cases,” she said. “I enjoy learning about these things and looking at our democracy, how it differs from other countries and how we can make it better.”
Parliamentary secretaries assist cabinet ministers and occasionally represent them in the House of Commons and at public events. This means Jordan can expect to be in the hot seat at times, responding to opposition questions during the cut and thrust of question period.
“That’s going to be a new thing for me,” she said. “I’m looking forward to it. As somebody who sits on the backbench, we all really want to get in there, too.”
As a parliamentary secretary, Jordan will no longer sit on committees. This means she’ll lose her position as chair of the fisheries and oceans committee, along with a $12,200 yearly stipend for holding the gavel. On the other hand, she will get $17,200 annually in her new role, meaning she’ll ultimately see a modest pay bump to her $175,600 MP’s salary.
In addition to a small raise in pay, Jordan will also get a better seat in the House. Parliamentary secretaries are typically seated in very close proximity to their ministers.
“I was in the back row in the corner,” she laughed. “I guess I’ll be moved out of my corner, although the corner can be nice sometimes.”
The democratic institutions file has at times been a lightning rod for controversy.
Liberals, including Jordan, committed in 2015 to ending the “first-past-the-post” balloting system before the 2019 federal election. The party maintained this pledge after forming government but dropped it after rejecting the findings of an all-party committee that recommended a national referendum on proportional representation.
“I think that it was something that we committed to that was not able to be achieved,” Jordan said when asked if her government had broken a promise to Canadians. The Trudeau Liberals have since turned their attention to other, less divisive electoral reforms, she said.
Passing Bill C-76, which proposes changes to campaign financing, transparency and security, will be “a priority” when the House resumes sitting Sept. 17, she said. “We consulted extensively, we listened to Canadians, and the one thing they said is they want to protect the integrity of our democracy.”
While speaking to LighthouseNow, Jordan was preparing for her first deep dive into the democratic institutions portfolio. “I’m heading into Halifax today for my first briefing,” she said. “The minister’s staff will be coming in to meet with me.”
Jordan said South Shore residents shouldn’t be concerned her new duties will take away from her constituency work. “I will continue to be the same MP I have always been for this riding,” she said. “That’s always going to be my number one priority.”
LighthouseNow Progress Bulletin
September 12, 2018
Scott Costen 