Justin Trudeau questioned about poor attendance record in the House of Commons

If you've been watching Question Period in the House of Commons lately, you will have noticed that Liberal Justin Trudeau isn't there very often.

Instead, he's been crisscrossing the country, attending community events and trying to elevate the Liberal brand.

Well, thanks to the National Post, we now know exactly how many times Justin Trudeau hasn't been in Parliament:

Trudeau defended his 'truancy' in an interview with the Post.

"This government, and unfortunately this House of Commons, tends to be focused on attacks and insults much more than on the service that Canadians are expecting of their parliamentarians and their representatives," he said.

"People are struggling. And they want people who are listening to them, who are proposing solutions."

[ Related: 22 Minutes spoofs the birth of Justin Trudeau on Christmas special ]

Trudeau has had company: Former Liberal leaders Bob Rae and Michael Ignatieff also had poor attendance records.

In an interview with the Globe and Mail last year, Bob Rae explained his attendance like this:

"To be perfectly frank and very blunt, when there is a majority government and there is absolutely zero prospect of the government changing its mind on a particular bill, voting is largely symbolic," Rae said.

As for Ignatieff, his attendance record became one of the hot topics of the English language leadership debate during the 2011 leadership campaign.

At what one point, Jack Layton looked to then Ignatieff and said: "You know, most Canadians, if they don't show up for work, they don't get a promotion."

The NDP followed that up with an ad campaign.

But, according to Ipsos Reid pollster Darrell Bricker, Trudeau's strategy of criss-crossing the country and meeting with voters is a good one and it's working for him.

[ More Canadian Politics: Government spending on Aboriginal programs at 'all-time high': Fraser Institute ]

Incidentally, Trudeau isn't worried about gaffes while he's on the road talking to voters.

Last month, you'll recall, the Liberal leader was mocked for suggesting that he admires the Chinese administration.

But, according to Trudeau, that's par for the course when you're not working with scripted talking points.

"I'm reassured that, yes, even though every now and then I give a little extra fodder to my opponents to try and go after me, ultimately I'm right in trusting Canadians that they will understand that my focus is entirely on trying to serve them in the best and the realest way that I possibly can," he told the Canadian Press.

"I think Canadians are tired of politicians that are spun and scripted within an inch of their life, people who are too afraid of what a focus group might say about one comment or a political opponent might try to twist out of context, to actually say much of anything at all."

(Photo courtesy of Liberal.ca)

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