The Draft Reform Act

 

Conservative M.P. Michael Chong, as we know, is about to table his draft Bill which if passed, will change forever the workings of Parliament.

I support it … subject to amendment.

Chong as you may also remember resigned from Cabinet in 2006 on a matter of principle – he was opposed to Prime Minister Harper and his fellow cabinet colleagues recognizing Quebec as a distinct State.

In this Chong, is the only member that I can recall in recent Parliamentary history to resign on a matter of principle.

He is therefore is most unique and someone who I believe is deserving of our respect.

Now back to his draft Bill:

• it would enable 15% of a Party’s ‘MP Caucus’ to call a leadership vote which oblige all Caucus MPs to vote and if a simple majority – that is to say, 50% plus 1 vote for a change in leadership – the Leader is history.  We saw such take place with the late Margaret Thatcher.
• it would return the power to select candidates for election to the individual riding associations instead of the current system where the candidate is required to obtain the Party Leader’s authorization. finally,
• it would allow the caucus to determine chairmanship for the various House Committees.

A general comment first.

The late Prime Minister Trudeau once famously said, that “MPs are nobodies when they are 50 yards from Parliament Hill”.

He was correct but since then even more power has devolved to the Prime Minister’s Office so an updated version of Trudeau’s statement would classify MPs as nobodies even when they are on Parliament Hill.

From my perspective, anything that can be done to return power to the Member of Parliament is well worth doing and is democracy in action.

Some argue though it is the reverse … that it would be undemocratic to have a relatively small and select group – i.e. the Party’s MPs - decide whom their Leader should be, in the place of the Party’s general membership.

I take the attitude that life is a trade off and better to give the ordinary MP more power than see it reside in the PMO.  After all, the MPs are elected in theory to do their constituents'’ bidding. 

So bring it on.

That said, some amendments are in desperate need.

First off – the 15% requirement for a leadership vote needs to be increased – I would increase it to 50% of all Party MPs outside of Cabinet.  I would then increase the vote needed to vote out a sitting Leader to two thirds and it would be by secret ballot.

The 50% numbers would rule out a cadre of rogue MPs who are simply just trying to cause trouble / disruption. The two third vote needed to change leadership would ensure that sitting Leaders are only replaced in exceptional circumstances; otherwise the system would apt to bog down in chaos.

Finally I would add provisions to the clause that would allow caucus to nominate and appoint their own Committee Chairs.  A mechanism is needed to see that the Committee deliberations and recommendations can go forward and be voted on in the House of Commons.  That is to say, they could bypass Cabinet indorsation.

This latter amendment would require thought and thus I would suspect it should await further study. Perhaps it could go to the Committee on Parliamentary Procedure for consideration?

As I see it…

‘K.D. Galagher’

We Just Cannot Take Much More Of This …

 

Good News.

Ontario’s Minister of Energy … the Honourable Robert (Bob) Chiarelli stood up at Queen’s Park yesterday and laid out his Liberal Government’s long term plan for energy usage.

It consisted of one good news item after another:

1. Although energy costs will rise 43% over the course of the next five (5) years … “it could have been worse”.
2. One of the reasons Ontario has a surplus of power generation is thanks to the reduction of ‘old style manufacturing’.
3. Ontario has saved its taxpayers billions of dollars due to the Liberal Government’s decision to cancel plans to build new Nuclear facilities.  It will though continue with the building of windmills and solar. finally,
4. We in Ontario are raking in millions of dollars through the sale of our excess power to neighbouring provinces and states.

Does it get any better?  I ask you.

Let’s take these good newsies one by one:

1. Energy costs will only rise by 43% over the next five years.  We already pay two to three times more than most other jurisdictions in North America.  Another 43% rise will add another $100 per month to the median monthly electric bill.  Not chump change.
2. We have surplus power generation thanks in part to the reduction in old style manufacturing – eg stelco, car manufacturing, canning factories, refineries etc etc.

     See my Blog of October 31/13 where I point out that it is these old fashion manufacturers that hire thousands of workers and pay fair wages.  Ontario’s manufacturing base is being hollowed out and Chiarelli finds this to be all for the good.

          Moreover, we are paying electrical generation facilities to stand idle – the annual costs for same total in the multi billions per annum.  Chiarelli does not even bat an eye.

3.  Nuclear is producing nearly 50% of all Ontario power and is the most efficient / economical.  Given our vast generation capacity, new nuclear plants are not needed – but for the Liberals to continue with their green energy program – and costly inefficient wind and solar power construction is simply criminal.  and,  

 4.  “Ontario makes millions selling our excess power” is the biggest whopper of them all.  Just today it was announced that in the first 10 months of this year – Ontario lost 1.2 Billion Dollars by having to sell its excess power way below cost.  So Chiarelli says we make millions on the sale – whereas in truth we lose billions as per the report of the Province’s Auditor General.

The Grit Green Energy Program has to go down in the annals of government history as the biggest scam ever played on the hapless Ontarian. And this said about a Government that wastes billions of dollars with everything it touches.

Front men like Chiarelli would have made Nazi Propaganda Minister Goebbels proud.

As I see it…

‘K.D. Galagher’