Maurice Vellacott gives notice of motion on Democratic Restoration of Private Members’ Business

Nice motion Mr. Vellacott.

This is the fourth Motion of late that Vellacott has put on the Notice Paper. 

One is his equal parenting bill. And his other two Motions are here.

The only question left is, which one will Mr. Velacott choose? 

I guess we'll just have to wait and see which one he decides to go forward with.

For Immediate Release                                                                                  January 27, 2014

OTTAWA – MP Maurice Vellacott gave notice today of a Private Member’s Motion that would reform the way Private Members Business is conducted. The motion will be on the Notice Paper tonight.

The motion would fix a current vulnerability in the system that has led to a situation where a small group of MPs are able to control, often from behind closed doors, what issues are and are not allowed to be voted on in the House of Commons.

“Private Members’ Business is one of the few mechanisms a backbench MP has to speak out on issues of the day that are of deep concern to them and thousands of Canadians” said Vellacott. “Yet a handful of MPs who, for whatever reasons, don’t want an issue to come to a vote, actually have the power to prevent their colleagues in the House from voting on that issue” Vellacott said, “--even if a majority of Canadians want that issue to be voted on! That kind of a muzzling is a blight on democracy!”

“The motion I am proposing is a bulwark against arbitrary and capricious decision-making when it comes to Private Members Business. Were this motion to pass, decisions on the votability of private members’ bills and motions would be made in a fair and objective fashion, free from any sort of political interference or shenanigans. It will be an important step forward on the road to restoring Canadians’ trust and confidence in our political institutions.”

Vellacott concluded: “This motion will help prevent the erosion of democracy and transparency in Parliament. It will help to restore respect for the rights of individual MPs from all parties to represent Canadians on significant issues. And it will help to restore our freedom to stand up and be counted.”