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Babies in the House

Listening to "As It Happens" this evening, there was an interview with Minister for Democratic Institutions, Karina Gould (pictured below left, source Hill Times), who has taken flack for breastfeeding in the House of Commons. It seems there is a distinction between being a Minister and a plain old parliamentarian in the back benches or opposition. Here's another call-out box I've written for the chapter on women representatives for the book. It gives some background on the breastfeeding in parliament issue and how the House of Commons is adapting to the increasing number of younger women in the House.


Babies in the House



Parliamentary tradition holds that anyone not a Member or an officer of Parliament is a ‘stranger’ in the House of Common, in other words, not really supposed to be there. Today a convention is taking hold that would have babies and young children exempt.

In 1980 Liberal MP Sheila Copps was the first woman to bring her baby into Parliament, including the Members Lobby behind the curtains of the House of Commons. As the number of female MPs has risen, so too has the presence of young children on the Hill. In the late 1990s, Nova Scotia NDP member Michelle Dockrill (pictured below right) became the first woman to bring a baby into the Commons Chamber proper, holding her son as she stood for a vote (LeBlanc, 2012). After the 2015 elections babies have become even more ubiquitous. For example, NDP member Christine Moore brings her infant daughter into the Commons, NDP MP Niki Ashton has set up her office to accommodate new born twins, BQ MPs Xavier Barsalou-Duval and Marilene Gill are the first sitting MPs to have a child together, and Minister for Democratic Institutions, Karina Gould, is the first sitting federal minister to give birth while in office (Aiello, 2018, Stone, 2018). 



Without provision for parental leave or substantive medical leave and limited on-site day-care, MPs who are new parents, particularly breastfeeding mothers, have little choice but to bring their babies to work and that includes the Commons Chamber. The House, for the most part, has adapted to the presence of the little ‘strangers.’ There has been the odd hiccup. For instance, in February 2012, NDP MP Sana Hassaina (pictured below, source Ottawa Citizen) understood the Speaker had ordered her to remove her 3-month-old son from the chamber. It turned out that the Speaker had actually requested that she and members taking photos of the mother and child return to their seats as “there are strict rules about using a camera in the House.” “Miss Hassaina said she had received guarantees that she could bring her son to the House again if ever her husband was not there to take care of him” (Leblanc, 2012). The Parliamentary Committee overseeing House rules has recommended formal recognition be given to what is now a fairly common occurrence and it would appear a new parliamentary convention. 





Daniel Leblanc. 2012. Babies Welcome in the House of Commons After All. Globe and Mail. 8 February 2012. https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/babies-welcome-in-the-house-of-commons-after-all/article546622/


Rachel Aiello. 2018. Babies in the House No Parental Leave for MPs. CTV News. 18 January, 2018. https://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/babies-in-the-house-no-parental-leave-for-mps-1.3764923

Laura Stone. 2018. Karina Gould hopes becoming become Canadas first Cabinet Minister to give birth while in office will set precedent. Globe and Mail. 5 January, 2018.  https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/karina-gould-set-to-become-canadasfirst-cabinet-minister-to-give-birth-while-in-office/article37516244/

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