Over 60,000 people have signed anti-floor crossing petitions
· Toronto Sun
OTTAWA — As members and MPs of the federal Liberal party celebrate the floor-crossings that helped the Mark Carney government secure their majority , a growing number of Canadians want changes to how and when MPs are able to switch parties.
As well, questions are swirling both within and outside of the National Capital Region concerning the ethics, democracy and fairness to voters of how the Carney Liberals cobbled together that majority government.
Visit h-doctor.club for more information.
Cassell Zion, the organizer of one of the more popular petitions hosted on change.org , told the Toronto Sun it’s all a matter of maintaining basic democratic principles.
“You can’t take away peoples’ voices because once our voice is gone, where’s our democracy?” said Zion, who lives in Windsor.
“We’d not be living in a democracy. In that way, it’s more authoritarian and that’s unfortunate.”
RECOMMENDED VIDEO
Change.org hosting 10 petitions calling for reforms
As of late Tuesday afternoon, Zion’s petition sat at just over 24,200 signatures. His had the second highest number of signatures of the 10 petitions on the site currently calling for an abolishment of floor-crossing — with over 60,000 combined signatories.
“Floor-crossing can alter the balance of power in Parliament, potentially changing which party forms government or holds majority status, thereby affecting the democratic will expressed by all Canadians in the previous election,” says an excerpt from Zion’s petition.
“The current system allows MPs to switch parties without consequence, creating opportunities for political manipulation and undermining public trust in democratic institutions.”
What Zion wants are changes to the rules that require MPs who wish to switch parties to either be forced to resign their seat and stand for a byelection in their riding or forced to sit as Independents until the end of the current parliamentary term.
“It’s OK to change your mind, but when you’re an elected member of Parliament — you can still change your mind, but the people still have to have a say,” he said.