Seit der Konföderation haben mehr als 300 Abgeordnete im Parlament das Wort ergriffen
More than 300 MPs have crossed the floor in Parliament since Confederation
Seit der Konföderation haben mehr als 300 Abgeordnete im Parlament das Wort ergriffen
More than 300 MPs have crossed the floor in Parliament since Confederation
5 Kommentare
Yep and I’m sure many more will continue to in the future going every which way. Same as every other Westminster country.
Floor crossing should come with a by-election in the floor crosser’s riding. If MPs can change their mind on allegiance, then voters should be granted the same opportunity.
The problem is that these numbers are pumped up by temporary moves, which makes it seem more common than it is. When 7 Bloc MPs joined „Quebec Debout“ as a protest for a couple of months, and then rejoin the Bloc again, it counts as 14 floor crossings, despite the fact that it shouldn’t even count as a single floor crossing. Same with the dozen MPs temporarily in the „Democratic Representative Caucus“.
Do these numbers include the Reform Party disbanding into the Canadian Alliance, the Canadian Alliance and PCs disbanding into the CPC, and the Stockwell Day leadership revolt resulting in like 15 MPs joining the „Democratic Representative Caucus“ for a few months then going back to the Alliance?
If those count as „floor crossings“, it’s over half of the 300.
You know what? It’s ok. Although I’m sure many of these crossings were likely opportunistic, I like to think they are also the result of MPs putting forward the interests of their constituents.