Friday, June 17, 2005

On when to close the barn door

The Cons wish Stronach had been forced to run in a by-election:
One month after Stronach's departure sank their hopes of toppling the Liberals, her jilted former mates tabled a private member's bill Friday. The bill would force a byelection call within 35 days in any riding where an MP switched sides to join a new party.

The bill also requires that an MP leaving a political party sit as an independent during the time before the writ.

One fun loophole in that it doesn't appear that independents are covered by it - would this lead MPs to run as independents in order to choose which party to join based on how the session worked out?

And on a more snide note, is there any chance this bill would have been introduced if Kilgour or O'Brien had joined the Cons?

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