Make collaboration the rule, not the exception

NDP Democratic Reform Critic Daniel Blaikie made the following statement:

“During the pandemic, Parliament has done its best work for Canadians when political parties have negotiated the way forward. By electing a minority parliament, Canadians made that cooperation necessary. It should not take the coincidence of a public health crisis and a minority parliament to get political parties to work together on important issues.

Parliament was at its worst when Justin Trudeau abandoned cooperation to try and force an election, despite the real public health risks of holding an election during a pandemic. A voting system that offers 100% of the power to a political party with less than 40% of the vote encourages and rewards this kind of reckless behaviour.

By changing our voting system, Canadians can make collaboration the rule in Parliament, rather than the exception. New Democrats believe we must continue to move the conversation forward, rather than letting Justin Trudeau’s broken promise on electoral reform be the end of the story.”

Earlier this week, the NDP sent a letter to the Prime Minister asking for action on democratic reform.