The Reform Act will give MPs more freedom to stand up for us, the people they represent. The bill is designed to challenge the growing centralization of power in the hands of party leaders. MPs of all political stripes support it but we need your help to make sure they work together to get it passed. Interest in the “Reform Act” exploded across the political spectrum when it was first introduced by Conservative MP Michael Chong1 , with pundits expressing hope that the bill could “change Canada’s parliament forever”.2 The bill would shift the balance of power, giving individual MPs more freedom to do their jobs and freely represent their constituents. The Reform Act contains 3 important changes to “business as usual” in Ottawa:3 1. It gives MPs, not the party leader, final say over who sits in their caucus. This would stop party leaders from unilaterally kicking MPs out of their party if they vote in the best interests of their constituents instead of toeing the party line. 2. It give MPs from a party the power to trigger a leadership review vote to remove an abusive party leader. This would make the process for reviewing the party leader explicit and the same across all parties instead of hidden away in each party’s by-laws. 3. It removes the ability of party leaders to block candidates from running for their party. This would ensure that MPs can speak freely, without fear that the party leader will force them out before the next election, and puts the power of candidate nominations back in the hands of grassroots party members in local riding associations. leadnow.ca/reform-act/
Posted on: Tue, 09 Sep 2014 22:17:43 +0000