Private member’s bill proposes to give MPs more power over leaders

OTTAWA – A private member’s bill that would give ordinary MPs significant power — including the ability to vote out their leader — has been tabled in the House of Commons.

Conservative MP Michael Chong says too much power has been centralized in the Prime Minister’s Office and over the years successive Canadian governments have allowed a U.S.-style presidential system to take hold.

The proposed legislation would also give party riding associations the ultimate say over who gets nominated, removing the requirement that the party leader sign nomination papers.

Chong says critics who suggest that passage of the bill would lead to instability are wrong.

He says both Britain and Australia use this system.

The measures are likely to stir heated debate, but Green Party Leader Elizabeth May says she agrees with every word Chong has said and it was “brave” of him to table such a bill.