Wellington-Halton Hills MP Michael Chong re-introduced an amended Reform Act in the House of Commons on Monday and expects it will make its way through the legislature in May.
“Since its introduction last December, there has been considerable debate and discussion about the Reform Act,” Chong said in a News release. “Many Canadians, including many MPs, have provided their suggestions regarding the bill. Based on these suggestions, an amended version of the bill has been prepared. The short title of the amended bill is Reform Act, 2014, to differentiate it from the original bill introduced last December, Reform Act, 2013.”
He spoke on the issue at a reform forum held in Guelph on April 6 along with Wilfrid Laurier University professor Brian Tanguay, an expert on electoral reform. The forum was sponsored by the local chapter of Fair Vote Canada.
The amended bill is based on the same principles as the original: it restores local control over party nominations, mandates caucus votes for the election of caucus chairs and the expulsion of caucus members, and defines the rules for the review of the party leader by caucus.
The amendments increase the number of caucus members required to trigger a review vote from 15 to 20 per cent, mandate that the names of those requesting a review vote of the party leader be made public, redefine a majority vote in a review as that of the entire caucus rather than just those caucus members present, replace a locally-elected nomination officer for each electoral district association with one for each province and the territories, maintain the power of party leaders to de-register a local EDA and put the leader review rules in the Parliament of Canada Act, rather than the Canada Elections Act.
“When the Reform Act was introduced last Dec., I welcomed suggestions on how to improve the bill. Based on the suggestions received, an amended version of the bill has been introduced. I want to thank everyone that provided suggestions on how to improve the bill,” Chong said.
Chong added, “We need to reform Parliament to make it more responsive to Canadians. The Reform Act, 2014 will … make MPs and political parties more representative, responsible and accountable to Canadians.”
