NDP’s Malcolmson seeks secret ballot vote of MPs to save bill on abandoned boats
OTTAWA — In a show of backbencher strength, NDP MP Sheila Malcolmson could become the first MP in history to force her colleagues in the House of Commons into a secret ballot to save a piece of legislation.
Malcolmson plans to appeal directly to House of Commons Speaker Geoff Regan today hoping he’ll let her private members’ bill to establish a national strategy on abandoned vessels proceed to debate.
The bill, first introduced in 2016 and then updated last spring, was deemed earlier this month to be “non-votable” by the House of Commons procedural committee because it deals with the same issue now being dealt with by a government bill.
That legislation, C-64, was introduced by Transport Minister Marc Garneau in October, more than six months after Malcolmson’s bill. Although they both deal with abandoned vessels the bills are not identical.