“Finally,
issues important to each MP’s constituents will get a chance
Ottawa
– Today,
Garry Breitkreuz, MP for Yorkton-Melville, did something he never thought he
would do, he seconded a government motion.
“Yesterday, we voted to elect Standing Committee Chairs by secret
ballot rather than appointed by the Prime Minister.
Today, the government approved a change in House procedures to make all
Private Members’ Bills and Motions votable.”
What’s next?” asked the Saskatchewan MP.
“Making
all Private Members’ Business votable may not seem like a big thing, but it
means everything to all opposition and backbench MPs who have found it
impossible to get issues voted on in the House of Commons,” said Breitkreuz.
“It has taken almost a year and a half to work out all the details
since the government voted to support the Official Opposition’s Supply Day
motion on this issue on June 12, 2001. But
better late than never I always say. This
is another big win for our party and the democratization of Parliament."
Today,
the House of Commons passed a motion of concurrence by unanimous consent to
adopt the Fourth Report of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House
Affairs. The amendments to the
Standing Orders will permit each eligible MP to have at least one item debated
in the House and all admissible bills and motions on the Order of Precedence “shall
be votable, unless the sponsor opts to make it non-votable.”
Breitkreuz said, “Even though this new procedure is only being adopted
on a provisional basis until the end of this Parliament, I don’t think Private
Members’ Business will ever go back to the way it was.”
“I’ve
been here for nine years and I’ve never had one of my 15 Private Member’s
bills and motions made votable,” reported Breitkreuz.
“Thanks to the unanimous support of all parties in this House, this is
about to change. These amendments to our procedures promise to do more to
change the dynamics of Parliament than any other change I could contemplate –
other than making all legislation a free vote.”
“This
is a huge win for democracy and for the people of Canada.
No longer will the government be able to duck issues that are of vital
interest to our constituents. This
has been the most incredible two days in the nine years I’ve been here,”
concluded Breitkreuz.
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