NDP motion will force Liberals to admit they misled Canadians

OTTAWA – On Wednesday, the NDP announced it will be forcing a vote on the Liberals decision to break their promise to change Canada’s electoral system and make 2015 the last election held under the current outdated and unfair voting system.

“The Prime Minister’s promise to improve our voting system could not have been clearer,” said Nathan Cullen, NDP Critic for Democratic Reform. “Their brazen decision to abandon this promise has angered many of their supports and breeds cynicism in our politics.”

In the days following the broken promise, an E-Petition urging the Liberal government to follow through on their campaign commitment has surpassed 80,000 signatures, making it the most signed petition on the Parliament of Canada’s website.

“We’ve also seen Liberal MPs who were surprised and disappointed in their own government’s decision,” said Alexandre Boulerice, the NDP Deputy Critic on Democratic Reform and sponsor of the motion. “Now they have the chance to admit they misled Canadians and rightfully apologize.”

The NDP’s motion will be debated on Thursday February 9th and will subject to a vote by all Members of Parliament in the coming days.

Full text of the NDP motion:

That, in the opinion of the House, the government misled Canadians on its platform and Throne Speech commitment “that 2015 will be the last federal election conducted under the first-past-the-post voting system”, and that the House call on the government to apologize to Canadians for breaking its promise.