Federal New Democratic Party leader Don Davies has introduced a private member's bill in Parliament that would require MPs who cross the floor to resign their seat and face a byelection, or sit as an Independent. While this has a performative aspect to it, in that private members' bills rarely become law, it will allow for a public discussion of a contentious issue.
Context of the Bill
Prime Minister Mark Carney has gained a narrow majority through recent defections by five MPs to his side of the House. Four Conservatives and one New Democrat have abandoned the parties they represented during the general election to join Carney's Liberal government. In a statement announcing his bill, Davies said floor-crossing undermines the democratic process. It's open to abuse because voters have no idea what backroom machinations may have occurred before an MP defected.
"When MPs cross the floor, they unilaterally override the decision made by voters. That has serious consequences for the integrity of our democracy," he said.
Impact on Voter Will
When an MP crosses the floor, it usurps the will of voters. And in last year's general election, voters gave Carney and the Liberals a razor-thin minority government. That wasn't a premeditated outcome. Voters didn't hold a conversation ahead of time and decided on a minority. But the electorate has an uncanny knack of producing an electoral outcome that mirrors the will of the people. And last year, they put Carney and the Liberals on a short leash. Now, five defectors have crossed the floor and changed that political calculus.
When an MP betrays voters by switching allegiances, we need more transparency than the smug grins that usually accompany such desertions.
Historical Perspective
It will be difficult to change the system. In the Westminster style of government, an MP's seat belongs to the individual, not the party. There have been famous floor-crossers in history. Britain's wartime prime minister, Sir Winston Churchill, crossed the floor twice. But he did so not so much out of opportunism as political conviction. He disagreed with his party's policies.
In British parliamentary slang, a floor-crosser is called a "rat." "Anyone can rat, but it takes a certain amount of ingenuity to re-rat," Churchill famously said after his second defection. Carney's floor-crossers may want to reflect on his words. It does, after all, take a rat to know one.
This editorial underscores the need for a public debate on such defections, which betray the trust of voters and alter the balance of power without a mandate.
