Ottawa, 6 February 2025 – At a press conference held on Parliament Hill in Ottawa today, Frank Baylis announced a targeted package of government reforms aimed at improving parliamentary debate and enabling Parliament to function effectively as a legislative forum.
His reforms target three key areas:
- Imposing term limits on Members of Parliament and of the Senate
- Giving a voice to MPs and to citizens
- Introducing a 2nd debate chamber
Instituting term limits for Members of Parliament and for Senators.
Our electoral system today attracts career politicians. As Prime Minister, Frank Baylis will impose a term limit for Senators and MPs of 10 years. This measure ensures that MPs remain motivated to accomplish what they were elected to do, while ensuring that space is created for new voices.
Giving a voice to MPs and to citizens.
Party politics can be an enormous drain on the energy and brain power of Members of Parliament, while others are relegated to the back bench and rarely, if ever, invited to speak during parliamentary debates. This point aims to restore power to The Speaker of the House to decide who speaks, rather than having parties decide. Second, by introducing the Citizens Initiative, all Electronic House of Commons petitions that garner the support of 75 000 signatories or more will be debated in Parliament, giving a voice to the people.
Introducing a secondary debate chamber to address legislative backlogs.
A secondary debate chamber will be created to pass uncontested orders of business, receive petitions, and other matters benefiting from a broad consensus. This measure will enable more legislation to pass through parliament, increasing the productivity of government. Australia introduced a second debating chamber in 1994, and the United Kingdom introduced an additional debating chamber within the House of Commons in 1999.
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Source :
Justine McIntyre
Media Relations
Frank Baylis LPC leadership campaign team
438-495-2884
[email protected]