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COMMENTARY: On floor crossings and constitutional elections

Lately, in various letters to the editor in a number of publications, there has been a certain amount of moaning, if not outright howling. With the flurry of floor crossings, the moaning/howling takes this form: I voted for this party, and they have – what? – dishonoured that in leaving, I guess, without my say so?

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Now be very clear, I do not belong to the Liberal party. In fact, I belong to no political party, because, in an article published in The Guardian, maybe a decade or even two decades ago, I said the following: “There is more independence of thought in most churches today than there is in our political parties.”  And I like my independence of thought. So I am not beating any drums for the Liberals in this.

What I want to say to the moaners is this: you did not, repeat, not, vote for a party in the election. It may seem that way, but technically, legally, and constitutionally, you voted only for a person, the person you wanted to “deputize” to carry your ideas, questions, concerns to the House of Commons or, on the provincial level, to the House........

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