“A majority of Canadians say members of Parliament should not be allowed to cross the floor to another party and should face an ‘immediate’ byelection if they do so, a new poll suggests.”

[sanderde@mstdn.ca]

“A majority of Canadians say members of Parliament should not be allowed to cross the floor to another party and should face an ‘immediate’ byelection if they do so, a new poll suggests.”

That seems reasonable, but suppose an opposition party member begins voting in support of the government (or a government member votes against the government) and they are kicked out of the party’s caucus for violating the orders of the Chief Whip.

Does that justify calling a byelection? Or does it justify them crossing the floor rather than sitting as an independent?

Canadians want floor-crossing MPs to face ‘immediate’ byelections: poll - National | Globalnews.ca

The Ipsos poll conducted for Global News found Canadians' displeasure with floor-crossing MPs has not hurt the overall approval for Prime Minister Mark Carney or the Liberals.

Global News (globalnews.ca)

[zenheathen@beige.party]

@Sanderde I am strongly in favour of Members being there to do the job the electorate put them there to do, with some expectation of how they'll do it known in advance.

However. Given that election promises mean less than zero in these modern days, that's pretty much out the window anyway.

In which case, I'm strongly in favour of Members being the sort who will vote their conscience, good or bad, in defiance of party if necessary, even if that means party status needs to change. Someone willing to speak truth to power is the sort who *should be* in the House, not someone to immediately pitch out.

[sanderde@mstdn.ca]

@ZenHeathen

Scott Reid has been my Conservative MP in Lanark-Frontenac since 2000 (originally Reform Party). He’s done several constituent referenda starting in 2001 where he sought input on how to vote on government bills and other matters (like MP pay raises) during Liberal and Conservative governments. He did not always vote in accordance with other Conservatives.

However, since Poilevre became Conservative leader he’s not done another referendum which I find very strange given some of the controversial bills of late.

Constituency Referenda - Scott Reid MP

Constituency Referenda Latest Blogs Latest Publications

Scott Reid MP - (scottreid.ca)

[zenheathen@beige.party]

@Sanderde Yeah, see--I like the sound of the start of that, and I am not at all surprised where it's gone. Though it was far from perfect, I miss politics as it was a generation ago.

[buffaloseven@mstdn.ca]

@Sanderde This is concerning...crossing the floor is a part of our democratic system; it is a critical component of allowing your elected MP to work best with the people that will further your interests. If the MP felt their party was best positioned to further the concerns of their constituents, why would they cross the floor?

The system of party allegiance above all is toxic. If floor crossing happens, it happens, and sort it out in the next regular election.

[virtuous_sloth@cosocial.ca]

@Sanderde
In my opinion parties are a double-edged sword. Party discipline helps push things through that perhaps should be done, even when difficult, but it can also be used by the powerful to do things that no one wants.

It is not obvious to me that crossing the floor absolutely means an MP has betrayed their constituents.

That being said, the idea of an MP disobeying their party whip and being ejected from caucus and then working with another party is a nice compromise, sans byelection.

[canadianglen@mstdn.ca]

@Sanderde if it was MPs crossing to the Cons, this issue would not exist. Global, official IDU media.

[sanderde@mstdn.ca]

@buffaloseven

I don’t disagree but it appears many do.