The party of ideas

While the Cons complain incessantly about ethical lapses among the Liberal government without suggesting any way to improve, Ed Broadbent is once again the one actually putting forward some suggestions:

The seven-point NDP package proposes:
— MPs should not be permitted to change parties without resigning and running in a byelection.
— Election dates should be fixed and held every four years.
— Reforming the electoral process by combining proportional representation with the current first-past-the-post system.
— There should be spending limits and transparency conditions on leadership contests within political parties.
— Tougher laws to end unregulated lobbying and political cronyism.
— A fair process for government appointments to end unfair and unethical patronage practices.
— Better access-to-information legislation to make government more transparent.

The ideas won't be without some controversy, and indeed I disagree with a couple of them. In particular the party-switching legislation strikes me as pointless, and fixed election dates seem both impractical in a parliamentary system, and potentially dangerous in their tendency to lead to perpetual (and ever-expanding) campaign cycles like in the U.S.

Those doubts aside, the NDP platform contains several great ideas which will make both elections in particular, and governance in general, more accessible to the public. And with neither the Libs or Cons looking to actually propose any substantive reform, it looks like once again any positive change will come because the fourth-largest party in Parliament is still #1 on substance.