NDP MP Lise St-Denis Crosses the Floor to Join the Liberals
12 January 2012
MP Lise St-Denis, who represents the riding of Saint-Maurice-Champlain, has left the NDP to join the Liberals.
Here are the CBC and Globe and Mail reports on this story.
Ms. St-Denis' decision to change parties provides an excellent illustrations of two perceptions of how democracy works in Canada. On one hand, the NDP (as the party who lost a member) take the view that Canadians cast ballots for a Party (or in their case, a leader), and the seat belongs to the Party. This is a view that has some grounding in reality, if not in law. On the other hand, people who support Ms. St-Denis' decision or at least right to change parties believe that Canadians voted for Ms. St-Denis to represent them, and that she is free to represent them until the next election in the way which she feels is best.
Mr. Garon, Chair of the NDP's caucus, has called for Ms. St-Denis to resign and run again in a by-election. This view is consistent with Bill C-306, which was introduced by an NDP MP.