'What's Happened to Politics?': Bob Rae says authenticity is amiss

"The leaders are disconnected with what the citizens want."- Bob Rae on this year's election

Now, if you have an hour or two to kill sometime,  you might just want to wander into any coffee shop in this country and ask the regulars a simple question -- Ask, "What's wrong with Canada's political system?"... no doubt the answers will flow as freely as the double-doubles.

From chronic problems with the Senate... to money spent on lobbying..... to a lack of citizen input, and uninspiring leadership. In fact, these are the type of systemic problems with our politics you may be more likely to hear discussed at a local café than inside our houses of parliament.

"Parliament is a show, it is style over substance."- Bob Rae

Well, now that he's finally retired from a long career inside those halls of power, Bob Rae has decided to take up some those problems.

After starting his career as an NDP MP, Bob Rae became the NDP Premier of Ontario in the 1990s. In 2008, he found himself back in the federal arena as a Liberal MP.  And he closed out his career with a two-year stint as the Liberal Party of Canada's interim leader. 

Bob Rae has a new book out titled, "What's Happened to Politics?" and he joined us in our Toronto studio.

If you would like to add your thoughts on what's happened to politics in this country, you can tweet us @thecurrentcbc, Post on our Facebook page, or email us directly from our website.
 

This segment was produced by Ottawa producer, Max Paris.