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THE SUNDAY

OBSERVER

THE OTTAWA CITIZEN, SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 1999, PAGE A14

Under pressure

A new study says the life of a backbench MP

is filled with dangerously high levels of stress.

 

BY SUSAN DELACOURT

■ On the heels of Statistics Canada's findings the previous month about the alarmingly high levels of stress in the population, the Parliamentary Centre has isolated one demographic group - MPs - and taken a close look into particular stresses of political life. Titled Stress and the MP, the study was conducted through interviews with doctors and politicians and compared against several leading medical studies into the causes of stress.

 

■ "It comes as a disturbing surprise to many newly elected MPs that their powers are substantially circumscribed," Peter Dobell, head of the Parliamentary Centre, writes in his report. "When they decide to seek office, many assume that, if successful, they would be in a position to participate centrally in debating and forming national policy. Instead, they discover that most policy is formulated by public servants working closely with the ministers and that power is actually wielded by the prime minister."

 

■ Politics attracts high-strung workaholics who arrive in Ottawa only to discover that they are mere cogs in the government machine, with about as much say over their "product" as a worker on an assembly line.

 

■ Dr. Mark Walter, who served as the physician responsible for treating MPs at the National Defence Centre from 1990 to1994, also talked to Mr. Dobell for the study. After seeing about half of the sitting MPs during his four years on the job, he concludes: "Politicians have one of the most stressful jobs imaginable."

 

■ "The Board of Internal Economy is aware of the (stress) problem, but cautious about providing certain kinds of support for fear that the public, and especially the media, will slant their report on the services made available. Indeed, fear of criticism seems to have been a reason for terminating the service provided by Dr. Mark Walter."

 

■ But a real stress reliever, Mr. Dobell says, would be substantial institutional reform in Ottawa. "If private members could review and propose changes to draft legislation and vote for some modification of departmental estimates, their sense of self-worth would grow.

 

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THE SUNDAY

OBSERVER

THE OTTAWA CITIZEN, SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 1999, PAGE A14

Under pressure

A new study says the life of a backbench MP

is filled with dangerously high levels of stress.

 

BY SUSAN DELACOURT

Finally, something that unites politicians and their voters - stress, lots of it, in the corridors of Parliament and.in the homes and businesses of Canadians.

On the heels of Statistics Canada's findings this month about the alarmingly high levels of stress in the population, the Parliamentary Centre has isolated one demographic group - MPs - and taken a close look into particular stresses of political life. Titled Stress and the MP, the study was conducted through interviews with doctors and politicians and compared against several leading medical studies into the causes of stress.

Frazzled voters may be too busy dropping off the kids or working long hours to care that much about the well-being of the folks they send to Ottawa - let alone contemplate ways to make politicians lives more healthy.

But the Parliamentary Centre's study is more than a mere comment on the lifestyle of politicians or a whine from the privileged. Just as the StatsCan stress studies force us to ask bigger questions about what kind of society or economy takes this toll on individuals, the stress stories of MPs ask some hard questions about the political system. How has politics evolved to make individual representatives so drained and powerless? Can we really expect good government if a health warning has to be issued to its participants?

"It comes as a disturbing surprise to many newly elected MPs that their powers are substantially circumscribed," Peter Dobell, head of the Parliamentary Centre, writes in his report. "When they decide to seek office, many assume that, if successful, they would be in a position to participate centrally in debating and forming national policy. Instead, they discover that most policy is formulated by public servants working closely with the ministers and that power is actually wielded by the prime minister."

This is why it's wrong to assume that Jean Chrétien would be the most stressed politician in Canada, Mr. Dobell says. Unlike his MPs, Mr. Chrétien actually has control over his work and his life. Moreover, his family is close at hand, formally recognized as part of his professional world.

The study lists all the ways in which MPs lose power over their lives and plunge themselves into a pool of unhealthy stress: membership in a caucus where so-called friends are actually rivals for prominent positions; being forced to swallow one's principles for the sake of the "team;" job security that depends on the whims of the electorate - a reputation that waxes and wanes with the vicissitudes of the media's agenda.

The lifestyle makes this mix all the more toxic: separation from family and friends; too many days on the road; too much coffee, too many hours sitting in meetings or talking on the telephone; bad food, hastily and erratically consumed; late nights and endless opportunities to mask misery with alcohol at the rounds of receptions and parties.

Liberal MP Carolyn Bennett, a successful medical doctor from Toronto in her previous life, was one of the physicians and politicians consulted for this study.

In some ways, she says, the political life presents fewer lifestyle problems for her - no longer is she woken regularly in the middle of the night to deliver babies-, for instance.

However, Dr. Bennett notes: "When I was running around with bags under my eyes, exhausted from the long hours treating patients, people understood I was doing something valuable. Now when I'm just as exhausted, working just as long hours but in meetings or in the House or in my constituency office, people are'nt sure what I've been doing - whether I deserve to be tired."

When she looks around at colleagues in the political milieu, she can't help but notice some of the symptoms of stress. "There's a selection effect, too," she says. Politics attracts high-strung workaholics who arrive in Ottawa only to discover that they are mere cogs in the government machine, with about as much say over their "product" as a worker on an assembly line.

Dr. Mark Walter, who served as the physician responsible for treating MPs at the National Defence Centre from 1990 to1994, also talked to Mr. Dobell for the study. After seeing about half of the sitting MPs during his four years on the job, he concludes: "Politicians have one of the most stressful jobs imaginable."

He describes how people come to Ottawa enthusiastic and energetic and quickly decline. "They are not happy, not well balanced," Dr. Walter says. "There are some danger signals, such as not being able to concentrate, mood swings and lack of energy. They start off with energy and idealism and six months into it, they start to wear down."

Some of Mr. Dobell's recommendations are bound to be as warmly received by the population as the prospect of pay raises for MPs. He urges, for instance, that the gym facilities be upgraded and that a massage therapist be retained on a full-time basis on Parliament Hill.

He acknowledges that any move in this direction would be controversial. "The Board of Internal Economy is aware of the (stress) problem, but cautious about providing certain kinds of support for fear that the public, and especially the media, will slant their report on the services made available. Indeed, fear of criticism seems to have been a reason for terminating the service provided by Dr. Mark Walter."

Dr. Walter argues that the politicians should stop being so cowed by potential criticism, for the sake of their health, if nothing else.

"If you try to run things to please the media, you'll never be happy. The men and women that come here as parliamentarians have a tough job and they need support. I have always believed that. I was a voice in the wilderness. Surely it is silly to go to all of the expense of having a whole democratic system and then not provide support for the men and women who are elected to office."

In the immediate term, Mr. Dobell says that there are a number of things that MPs can do as individuals to reduce their stress. Much of it revolves simply around attitude, recognizing the limitations on the job and seizing whatever bits of control and support are possible. He also strongly urges MPs to think about moving their families to Ottawa, arguing that this is not as politically contentious in the riding as people assume.

But a real stress reliever, Mr. Dobell says, would be substantial institutional reform in Ottawa. "If private members could review and propose changes to draft legislation and vote for some modification of departmental estimates, their sense of self-worth would grow.

"However, unlike the suggestions listed above, a change of this significance would not be introduced in order to ease the stress experienced by members. If a government party were to moderate discipline, members would feel more important, but the decision to make such a change would be taken for quite different reasons."

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