Not just a classic Devo jam

There was a fun political science tidbit in one of the articles I mentioned in yesterday’s post about the Marty Cheliak debacle. Let me quote directly from the source:

“The vote on the gun registry’s future is to take place Sept. 22. The first vote is on a Liberal motion to kill the Hoeppner bill. If that fails, there will be a vote on scrapping the program [which is what Hoeppner's bill proposes].

“It is not clear which way any of it will go. Twelve NDP MPs initially supported the Hoeppner bill on second reading. Eight Liberals did the same but they have been since been whipped, meaning they’re under orders to vote against it with their caucus on third reading.”

If you’ve ever heard the term “whip” in a political context, and you haven’t been sure what it means, then there you go. The Liberal MPs have been whipped on the gun registry vote, so they can be expected to vote along party lines.

For the NDP, it’s a different story. “The New Democrats are not whipping their vote, and [NDP MP] Mr. [Joe] Comartin suggested about six of his colleagues could vote with Ms. Hoeppner [to scrap the program].”

Personally, I’d like to know the names of those twelve MPs, particularly the six on Comartin’s mind. These are the people to contact if you think, quite rightly, that the gun registry is worth preserving. But there’s also a lot to be said for getting in touch with Jack Layton and encouraging him to break out the whip.

Do bear in mind that this is a serious issue, and that there’s a right way and a wrong way to speak to your MP. Believe me, I understand the temptation to write to Jack and encourage him to whip the NDP into shape – to shape it up, to get it straight – now that the gun registry problem has come along. But let’s all agree to get that out of our system before we drop him a line, okay?

Posted in Save the Gun Registry