Hansard editor pens unique parliamentary novel

 

The blurb for this novel by the former editor of Hansard at the House of Assembly says it all:

Verbatim: a novel is a hilarious and scathing exposé of parliamentary practice in an unnamed Atlantic
province. Dirty tricks, vicious insults, and inept parliamentary procedures are some of the methods members use to best represent their constituents.

Infighting about petty matters within the staff of the legislature is captured by Hansard, its recording division, complete with typos unique to each correspondent. But when the bureaucrats begin to emulate their political masters, the parliamentary system’s supposed dignity is further stripped away.

Jeff Bursey reveals how chaotic and mean-spirited the rules behind the game of politics are, and how political virtue corrupts everyone. Verbatim is an inventive and blackly humorous work that speaks to the broken parliamentary practices found across the country.

About the author:

“Jeff Bursey has worked for Hansard in Atlantic Canada for seventeen years, first as
a transcriber, and then as an editor. Born in St. John’s, Newfoundland and currently
living in Charlottetown, PEI, Jeff has only ever lived on islands.”

What others are saying:

“Jeff Bursey has written a clever, highly innovative and highly readable novel about Newfoundland, specifically modern Newfoundland politics. The satire is sharp, sometimes hilarious, the language perfectly suited to the subject.“-- Wayne Johnston, author of The Colony of Unrequited Dreams.

Bursey’s work also enjoyed a very favourable review in the Winnipeg Free Press.

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Where the NL MPs sit - the despun version

At left is a seating plan for the opposition benches in the current session of the House of Commons. 

The seating chart is laid out from the perspective of the speaker, who would be positioned at the bottom edge.  These seats are to his right.

As the largest opposition party, the Liberals sit closest to the speaker's chair.  Next come the Bloc Quebecois and at the top of this picture - farthest away from the speaker - are the New Democrats.

The orange coloured squares show the members of parliament from Newfoundland and Labrador.

1.  The Liberals are seated from front benches to rear in order of precedence, that is in the order they were elected.  Thus, Gerry Byrne sits in the second row from the front (second column from the right in the picture).  Todd Russell and Scott Simms come next and in the back are the three newbies, Judy Foote, Siobhan Coady and Scott Andrews.

2.  That lone seat way down the back, right next to the door and almost the farthest away from the speaker of any seat in the Commons is Jack Harris.  He may be in the front bench but, since the parties have largely done away with the old practice of seating shadow cabinet people on the front benches, Jack has a seat that means something only within the New Democrat caucus.

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