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A Question of Respect: A Qualitative Text Analysis of the Canadian Parliamentary Committee Hearings on The Protection of Communities and Exploited Persons Act

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 December 2017

Genevieve Fuji Johnson ,
Mary Burns  and
Kerry Porth
Genevieve Fuji Johnson*
Affiliation:
Simon Fraser University
Mary Burns*
Affiliation:
Simon Fraser University
Kerry Porth*
Affiliation:
Independent researcher
*
Department of Political Science, Simon Fraser University, AQ6069 - 8888 University Drive, Burnaby BC, V5A 1S6, email: genevieve_johnson@sfu.ca
Department of Political Science, Simon Fraser University, AQ6069 - 8888 University Drive, Burnaby BC, V5A 1S6, email: meburns@sfu.ca
Independent Sex Worker Rights Educator, Researcher, and Writer, C/O Department of Political Science, Simon Fraser University, AQ6069 - 8888 University Drive, Burnaby BC, V5A 1S6, email: kerrylporth@gmail.com
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Abstract

We evaluate the Canadian parliamentary hearings on The Protection of Communities and Exploited Persons Act to determine whether respectful and fair deliberation occurred. Our focus is on the content, tone, and nature of each question posed by committee members in hearings in both chambers. We find that, on the whole, the vast majority of questions met this baseline but that committee members were biased toward witnesses in agreement with their position and against witnesses in opposition to it. In addition to our substantive findings, we contribute methodological insights, including a coding scheme, for this kind of qualitative text analysis.

Résumé

Nous évaluons les audiences parlementaires canadiennes relatives à la Loi sur la protection des collectivités et des personnes victimes d’exploitation afin de déterminer si elles ont donné lieu à des délibérations respectueuses et justes. Nous portons notre attention sur le contenu, le ton et la nature de chacune des questions posées par les membres des comités lors des audiences tenues dans les deux Chambres. Nous constatons, dans l’ensemble, que la grande majorité des questions ont satisfait à ces conditions de base, mais que les membres des comités manifestaient une certaine partialité à l’égard des témoins qui étaient en accord avec leur position et à l’encontre des témoins qui y étaient opposés. À côté de nos constatations substantielles, nous apportons des indications d’ordre méthodologique, y compris un schéma de codage pour ce genre d’analyse de texte qualitative.

Type
Research Article
Information
Canadian Journal of Political Science/Revue canadienne de science politique , Volume 50 , Issue 4 , December 2017 , pp. 921 - 953
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Political Science Association (l'Association canadienne de science politique) and/et la Société québécoise de science politique 2017 

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