Michael Chong, fresh from having laid the basis for last winter" removal of Erin O'Toole from his failed leadership of the Conservative Party (it's not Chong's fault the party reverted to a vote-buying orgy in which the Poilieve campaign offered the highest bid -- c300K "memberships" purchased), is taking further steps to ensure he will be remembered as the most -- really, the only-- consequential backbencher in 21st century Canadian politics.
Three parliamentary reform ideas:
— Michael Chong 🇨🇦 (@MichaelChongMP) August 23, 2022
1. Restore Speaker’s right of recognition & MPs’ right to speak.
2. Reform committees to make them independent of party leaders, particularly the PM.
3. Remove PM’s power to make key appointments in House of Commons administration.#cdnpoli pic.twitter.com/hY6ScahuEz
Will they pass? I guess not. (Stranger things have happened, but signs of independent thought in the Liberal and NDP caucuses have been few and far between.) But in a couple of years, if the Conservative caucus solves its Poilievre problem by removing him and installing someone else as party leader, remember Michael Chong. Here the idea may be more important than the fate of the bill itself.
Jagmeet Singh's reaction: 'We don't need this parliamentary stuff, whatever it is. We just want PR -- to make party leaders even more important.' Too bad the NDP caucus doesn't believe in reviewing its leaders' performances.
