Regardless of what some Conservative MPs might think, the country would be better off if we elected more bus drivers to represent us in Parliament.
As Amarjeet Sohi, the minister of infrastructure and Liberal MP for Edmonton-Mill Woods, rose in Parliament to respond to a question from a Conservative MP about public transit, he expressed his shock and concern that a bus driver in Winnipeg had been stabbed to death that day.
鈥淢r. Speaker, as a former bus driver, I want to convey our thoughts and prayers,鈥� Sohi said. Conservative MPs, it seems, found that funny 鈥� loud laughter could be heard from the Opposition benches.
Assuming the Tory MPs were not laughing at the news that a bus driver had been killed while on duty, we can only surmise that they were amused that a former bus driver could be elected to Parliament.
Sohi鈥檚 response was suitably dignified.
鈥淚 take pride in my background,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 think it does demonstrate a streak of elitist attitude in the Conservative party, where maybe they don鈥檛 appreciate we have working-class people in Parliament in the Liberal government who are making a difference in the lives of Canadians.鈥�
Conservative House leader Candice Bergen refused to censure the scornful MPs or apologize for their disrespectful behaviour, other than saying: 鈥淲e absolutely respect and honour all of the jobs that we鈥檝e done, and the experience we bring to this House.鈥�
There are occasional low points in parliamentary discourse 鈥� this was one of them. If some MPs find it laughable that someone drove a bus for a living, what do they think of other blue-collar occupations? Do they subscribe to a career class system?
Their derisive laughter was not a commentary on bus driving, but a sad reflection on how easily well-paid politicians lose touch with reality.
Parliamentary video does not show which MPs were laughing, and that鈥檚 a pity. They should be held accountable before their constituents and the nation for their contemptible behaviour. While they are guilty of stereotyping a certain type of career, they are also furthering the stereotype of entitled, arrogant politicians whose main purpose is to get elected so they can live in comfort and collect a fat pension.
Let鈥檚 consider, for a moment, the merits of electing a bus driver to public office. Bus drivers obtain their positions after rigorous training and strict licensing. They get their jobs through merit and ability, not through political connections and who owes them favours. To keep their jobs, they must perform to a certain standard.
Bus drivers have daily contact with the public. They hear from people when fares go up, so they have a firsthand understanding of cost-of-living issues. They see daily the good and the bad of humanity, the sad and the happy. They know vastly more about the nitty-gritty realities of life than do most politicians.
Bus drivers must be aware of what鈥檚 happening on both the left and the right, and their decisions are based on what is proper and safe. In setting out on a prescribed route, a bus driver makes a tacit promise to follow that route correctly, courteously, safely and on time. Rarely is that promise not fulfilled.
Instead of laughing at bus drivers, those easily amused and small-minded MPs should be learning from them.
