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JAY GOLDBERG: Federal recall the only cure for Ottawa’s floor-crossing fever

Canada has just seen one of the busiest stretches of floor-crossing in years, and it is raising real questions about how accountable MPs are to the people who elect them

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Floor-crossing by members of Parliament is gutting voter trust and making a mockery of democratic accountability in Canada. The only real fix is to give voters the power to fire them through federal recall legislation.

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Canada has just seen one of the busiest stretches of floor-crossing in years, and it is raising real questions about how accountable MPs are to the people who elect them.

JAY GOLDBERG: Federal recall the only cure for Ottawa’s floor-crossing fever Back to video

So far, four Conservatives and one NDP member of Parliament have abandoned the will of their constituents and crossed the floor to the governing Liberals.

The floor-crossings, combined with three Liberal byelection wins on April 13, gave Prime Minister Mark Carney a majority government.

And if media reports are to be believed, more floor-crossings might be in the offing.

Voters choose party, platform

Every MP who has crossed the floor so far says they are acting for their constituents, even though they were elected as opposition MPs less than a year ago. By their telling, those same voters now want them sitting on the government benches.

In announcing her decision, Tory-turned-Liberal MP Marilyn Gladu put it this way: “I’ve heard clearly from constituents that you want serious leadership and a real plan to build a stronger and more independent Canadian economy.

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“That is why I have decided to join … Carney and Canada’s new government as the newest member of his caucus,” she added.

But that is not how elections are supposed to work. Voters choose a party and a platform. When an MP crosses the floor, that choice changes without voters having any say. In practical terms, the decision made at the ballot box is no longer the one being carried out in Ottawa.

Floor-crossing has not always been this way. At times, MPs have moved because of deep policy disputes, including one over constitutional change and Quebec separatism. What is happening now looks far less about principle and far more about political advantage.

Recall legislation offers a way to deal with that. It is the only option that gives voters a direct say when an MP breaks with the platform they were elected on.

Under a recall system, constituents can collect signatures to trigger a byelection. If enough signatures are collected, the MP must run again mid-term and face voters.

British Columbia and Alberta already have versions of recall legislation. It is rarely used, but it exists as a backstop when trust breaks down. The number of signatures required can be set high enough to prevent constant challenges while still allowing action in clear cases.

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It doesn’t solve the problem

Other proposals focus on banning floor-crossing altogether. The NDP has introduced legislation in every Parliament since the 1990s that would require MPs who leave their caucus to sit as independents rather than join a new party.

That might change the optics, but it does not solve the problem. An MP could still break with the platform they were elected on and face no test from voters until the next election.

Some recent cases would likely meet the bar for recall. In Gladu’s riding of Sarnia-Lambton-Bkejwanong, which has voted Conservative since 2006, she was elected as a Conservative just last year with 53% of the vote. She now sits as a Liberal. Under a recall system, voters would decide whether she should still be allowed to represent them.

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has expressed support for recall legislation at the federal level.

“I am a longstanding supporter of the concept that voters should be able to recall their member of Parliament,” he said. “If you work as a barber or a mechanic or a waitress or a businessperson and you mess up at work and you don’t do what you’re saying, you get fired, but in politics, you get the rest of your term and your paycheque, so let’s take a look at it.”

Recall legislation also makes sense for another reason. All too often, MPs facing very serious allegations are forced to leave their caucuses but sit as independents until their term ends. Voters in those ridings deserve to be able to choose a new representative as well.

Without recall, MPs can change parties and carry on until the next election cycle. Recall would not stop that, but it would force those decisions back to voters. If Ottawa wants to rebuild trust, it should give voters the power to fire their representatives.

Jay Goldberg is a fellow with the Frontier Centre for Public Policy 

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