I’m a pediatric neurologist. Over four months in 2026, I wrote 16 parallel letters via email to the Alberta and federal governments on eight public policy topics. The letters were individually written, evidence-based and non-partisan, but relevant to current political discourse in Alberta.

What I observed were four patterns that raised concerns about structural governance failure. Across all party lines and levels of government, elected officials and their offices appeared to avoid substantive engagement in a consistent and similar manner.

It’s worth understanding these patterns as the first step towards improving public trust in democratic accountability.

Read more: Power to the people: How Canada can build a more connected and responsive Parliament

The parliamentary system in the United Kingdom has official guidelines describing this issue and a requirement for a substantive ministerial response within 20 working days.

Municipal offices in Ontario follow this standard. Provincial and federal offices do not. I received a response on the federal climate file 111 days after the original letter.

A 30-day requirement would therefore be a reasonable standard for both federal and provincial governments to adopt.

Shunting and stonewalling

The first pattern I encountered after sending my emails was bureaucratic shunting. Correspondence was bounced among departments without an identified respondent. Sometimes, routing decisions were not clearly communicated.

An email I sent on vaccination to Prime Minister Mark........

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