[BCFSN] Fw: Graphic Novel about Food Security

[Barbara Seed]

Dear BCFSN members,

Thank you for your email regarding Michael Chong's Reform Act.

I’m glad Mr. Chong has raised these important issues about our parliamentary conventions and democratic institutions—this is a conversation that needs to take place.  I look forward to further studying and debating his bill in the House of Commons.

NDP Critic for Democratic and Parliamentary Reform Craig Scott is supporting Mr. Chong’s bill in principle.  All NDP MPs have a free vote on this issue.

New Democrats are always interested in working on ways to improve democracy.  That is why we have consistently put forward initiatives like putting a stop to MPs crossing the floor, banning Senator's partisan activities and advocating for proportional representation and democratic reform.

We also conduct our internal party affairs in a democratic manner: the NDP has a leadership review mechanism at every party Convention and we hold elections to choose our caucus chair.

What's more, we have always stood up against the Conservatives’ undemocratic use of omnibus legislation—we consistently called on the Conservatives to break their massive bills into digestible pieces so that the legislation can be fully studied and debated.  And, we continue to condemn their use of time allocation—they regularly shut down and limit debate in the House of Commons preventing us from raising the important concerns of our constituents and communities.

Please know that New Democrats welcome this discussion and look forward to finding ways to increase accountability and improve our democracy—including breaking the stranglehold of the Prime Minister’s Office.

Thank you again for contacting me about this bill.

Sincerely,

Alex


Merci de votre courriel concernant le projet de loi sur la réforme du député Michael Chong.

Je suis heureux que M. Chong ait soulevé des enjeux importants au sujet de nos conventions parlementaires et de nos institutions démocratiques, auxquels il est nécessaire de réfléchir. J’ai hâte d’en apprendre davantage au sujet de son projet de loi et d’en débattre à la Chambre des communes.

Le porte-parole du NPD en matière de réforme démocratique et parlementaire, Craig Scott, appuie en principe le projet de loi de M. Chong. Tous les députés néo-démocrates pourront voter librement sur cette question.

Les néo-démocrates ont toujours été désireux de trouver les moyens d’améliorer la démocratie. C’est pourquoi nous proposons continuellement des initiatives comme celles d’empêcher les députés de changer d’allégeance en cours de mandat, d’interdire aux sénateurs de mener des activités partisanes et de mettre en place un mode de scrutin proportionnel et une réforme démocratique.

Nous menons également les affaires internes de notre parti de manière démocratique : le NPD effectue une révision de la direction du parti à chacun de ses congrès et nous tenons des élections pour désigner le président de notre caucus.

De plus, nous nous sommes toujours opposés à l’utilisation antidémocratique des conservateurs des projets de loi omnibus. Nous leur demandons constamment de scinder leurs projets de loi monstres en parties plus facilement assimilables, afin de pouvoir les étudier et en débattre sérieusement. Et nous continuons à condamner leur utilisation de motions d’attribution du temps, qui limitent et empêchent les débats à la Chambre, nous privant de notre devoir de soulever les préoccupations importantes de nos commettants et de nos collectivités.

Sachez que les néo-démocrates sont ouverts à cette discussion et que nous allons contribuer à rechercher les moyens d’accroître la reddition de comptes et d’améliorer notre démocratie, ce qui inclut de mettre fin à la domination au bureau du premier ministre.

Merci encore une fois d’avoir communiqué avec moi relativement à ce projet de loi.

Alex

ALEX ATAMANENKO, MP
BC Southern Interior
New Democratic Party | Nouveau Parti démocratique
_________________________________________________
(T)250.365.2792 | (TF)1.800.667.2393 | (F) 250.365.2793
ndp.ca | ndp.ca


From: food [mailto:food-bounces at bcfsn.org] On Behalf Of Lydia Travers
Sent: Tuesday, September 09, 2014 10:20 PM
To: food at bcfsn.org
Subject: [BCFSN] Please Send Parliament message it is easy to do

http://www.leadnow.ca/reform-act?t=te
The Reform Act will give MPs more freedom to stand up for us, the people they represent. The bill is designed to challenge the growing centralization of power in the hands of party leaders. MPs of all political stripes support it but we need your help to make sure they work together to get it passed.

Interest in the “Reform Act” exploded across the political spectrum when it was first introduced by Conservative MP Michael Chong1<http://www.leadnow.ca/reform-act/?t=te#note-499-1> , with pundits expressing hope that the bill could “change Canada’s parliament forever”.2<http://www.leadnow.ca/reform-act/?t=te#note-499-2>  The bill would shift the balance of power, giving individual MPs more freedom to do their jobs and freely represent their constituents.

The Reform Act contains 3 important changes to “business as usual” in Ottawa:3<http://www.leadnow.ca/reform-act/?t=te#note-499-3>

1. It gives MPs, not the party leader, final say over who sits in their caucus. This would stop party leaders from unilaterally kicking MPs out of their party if they vote in the best interests of their constituents instead of toeing the party line.

2. It give MPs from a party the power to trigger a leadership review vote to remove an abusive party leader. This would make the process for reviewing the party leader explicit and the same across all parties instead of hidden away in each party’s by-laws.

3. It removes the ability of party leaders to block candidates from running for their party. This would ensure that MPs can speak freely, without fear that the party leader will force them out before the next election, and puts the power of candidate nominations back in the hands of grassroots party members in local riding associations.

This bill won’t fix our democracy overnight, but it will start to change the conversation. MPs have been forced to become the voice of party operatives when speaking to their constituents; the Reform Act will give them more freedom to represent the voices of their constituents to Ottawa.

We elect Members of Parliament to represent our interests and hold government accountable, but too often, the reality of party discipline means that individual MPs are not able to speak their minds and vote according to their conscience. Whipped votes and pressure from unelected insiders and the Leaders’ offices means that individual MPs risk harsh consequences – from removal of privileges to expulsion – if they refuse to toe the party line.4<http://www.leadnow.ca/reform-act/?t=te#note-499-4> , 5<http://www.leadnow.ca/reform-act/?t=te#note-499-5>

Canadians support vital democratic reforms. Let’s empower our elected officials to do their job and more freely represent their constituents.

Send a message to your MP and all the party leaders right now to show your support for what the Reform Act is setting out to achieve.

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