How often do Quebec MNAs show up to vote at the National Assembly?

Since the 2014 provincial election, Liberal members of the National Assembly have had the highest voting attendance as a whole, according to new data obtained and analyzed by the Canadian Press.

The Canadian Press pulled attendance information and crunched the numbers on which politicians were present for voting on bills and motions from 2014 to last Tuesday.

The data shows that Liberal MNAs are the most present of all, with an average voting attendance of 89 per cent.

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Liberal MNAs Pierre Michel Auger and Guy Hardy had the highest of anyone, with an average rate of 98 per cent.

The Canadian Press notes that these calculations are not a perfect representation of overall attendance at the National Assembly and don't account for an MNA's presence during question period, participation in parliamentary committees or any work-related external activities.

Couillard falling behind

Since his election victory in 2014, Premier Philippe Couillard was present 71 per cent of the time during voting, less than his predecessors Pauline Marois (with 76 per cent) and Jean Charest (with 89 per cent from 2009 to 2012).

This could be explained by Couillard's semi-regular trips abroad, including one to Morocco last November during which he missed three votes. Days later, he took another trip to Paris.

Another consideration to note is that Pauline Marois was premier for only 18 months, whereas Couillard has been premier for three years.

"The premier was present in the National Assembly chamber as well as internationally to promote what our workers, entrepreneurs, and researchers do," said Couillard's spokesperson Harold Fortin.

Opposition juggling portfolios

MNAs representing the other three main parties in the province were not far behind the Liberals.

Parti québécois MNA Agnès Maltais and Coalition avenir Québec's Nathalie Roy also shared top numbers with 96 per cent.

Meanwhile, Québec solidaire's Manon Massé came out with an average 82 per cent since 2014.

Québec solidaire MNA Amir Khadir fared less well with an almost 65 per cent voting rate. A spokesperson for his party told CP that it's important to take into account the workload for representatives from smaller parties.

"MNAs for other parties usually participate in only one commission, or serve as the critic for only one dossier. That's not the case with our MNAs who each are responsible for nearly a dozen dossiers and participate in multiple commissions," Élise Tanguay told The Canadian Press in an email.

Khadir also took several trips outside of Quebec, meeting with politicians in Brussels and in Mexico.

Wearing two hats

Martine Ouellet, who became leader of the Bloc Québécois in March, chose to stay on as an independent MNA in her South Shore riding of Vachon rather than force a byelection.

The numbers show Ouellet missed 11 of 42 votes since taking on the role of leader in March, including votes on three bills and a nomination of the ethics commissioner.

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Ouellet's press attaché confirmed she was out of the province twice due to her new role in Ottawa, for the federal budget announcement and for last week's emergency caucus meeting.

Overall, she has a voting record of around 70 per cent. Her office noted that Ouellet also missed time due to an operation on her knee and due to her father's declining health.

Working abroad

Some MNAs, including the Minister of International Relations, Christine St-Pierre, were less present in the National Assembly because of work-related trips outside of Quebec. St-Pierre participated in 71 per cent of the votes.

Other Liberal MPs including Guy Ouellette, Robert Poëti and Julie Boulet were absent due to parliamentary missions abroad as well. PQ MNAs Alexandre Cloutier and Mathieu Traversy also took trips abroad for work.

Valid excuses

When it came to MNAs whose records were below average, many were found to have excuses relating to health issues and work-related travel.

For instance, Treasury Board President Pierre Moreau missed full months of work because he was dealing with health issues.

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This was similarly the case for MNAs Karine Vallières (Richmond), Raymond Bernier (Montmorency) and Jean Rousselle (Vimont).

Political science professor at Université Laval Éric Montigny highlights the "enormous" amount of work done by MNAs, citing his own findings that Quebec politicians work more diligently than their counterparts in Ottawa or even France.

"The vast majority of these MNAs work 80-hour weeks," he said. "There are misconceptions about the workload of being an MNA and the constraints this imposes on their personal lives."

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The Canadian Press notes that these figures do not paint a clear picture of the total work of an MNA and that there are many valid reasons why an elected representative might have cause to miss time in the National Assembly.

The data was collected using an algorithm developed by The Canadian Press to search the logs of the National Assembly one by one. The data collection and number crunching that followed accounted for MNAs who left their posts early or were elected later on in byelections.

In addition, journalists at CP went on to verify certain facts personally by consulting the transcripts and videos made available online.