"Liberal Bullying"

February 12, 2003

Only in Canada, can the country’s leader draw his only remaining source of power from the fact that he probably couldn’t get elected again.   

With barely a year left before he quits, Canada’s semi-retired Prime Minister, Jean Chrétien, is using the threat of a snap election to retain control over his Liberal MPs.  Either they vote with him for legislation before the House of Commons or he’ll lead them into a general election before his year is up. 

It’s not as though the Liberal Party normally allows its MPs to freely decide how they will vote.  Even when a bill is not subject to a confidence vote that could topple the government, the Liberals have a reward system in place that ensures the obedience of caucus.   Coveted positions as cabinet ministers, parliamentary secretaries and committee chairs or perks like international travel are revoked or dangled before hopeful MPs.   

Yet it’s become apparent that as an outgoing PM Mr. Chrétien can no longer use this reward system to control his wayward caucus.  Late last year, several Liberal MPs voted in favour of a Canadian Alliance motion, allowing it to pass. 

In response, an infuriated Mr. Chrétien began subjecting a wider variety of government legislation to confidence votes.  Should a bill get voted down, his party gets the election they don’t want.  This was how Mr. Chrétien was able to get the Kyoto Accord passed despite deep concerns held by many Liberals MPs and their constituents.   

This degree of party discipline is not found in other democratic countries.  Making MPs accountable to their party leaders instead of their constituents is an entirely “made in Canada” mutation implemented by the old-style political parties. 

In contrast, just last week in Britain, the birthplace of our system of Parliament, Labour Prime Minister Tony Blair saw his proposal to reform the House of Lords (Britain’s version of the Senate) voted down by 179 of his own Labour MPs and four of his cabinet ministers.  Not one minister was fired and not one MP faced the wrath of their leader.  Mr. Blair has simply gone back to the drawing board to revise his legislation. 

It’s a similar concept in the United States, where senators or congressmen, whether Democratic or Republican, choose to support or oppose a bill without the threat of reprisals from the President or their party’s house leader. 

The Canadian Alliance believes that confidence votes should be restricted to legislation related to the federal budget.  Beyond that, MPs should vote freely based upon their own convictions and those of their constituents.  I believe that as an MP, I am accountable to the constituents of Prince George-Peace River, not my party leader. 

The democratic voice of constituents is lost among the punishment, rewards and threats within the Liberal Party, and it won’t end once Jean Chrétien makes his exit.  Despite his vague promises of democratic and parliamentary reform should he become the next Liberal leader, Paul Martin will not reject the only system he has known throughout his political career … a system of bullying and bribing his colleagues.