‘The Undemocratic World of Canadian Members of Parliament’

“In the crazy, Leninist world of Canada’s leader-centric parliamentary politics, maybe the only proper role for any MP, other than the one who has been selected as leader, is to be silent and obedient — like a Victorian child, to be seen and not heard, except when they are reading a speech prepared for them by a staffer from the PMO or the Leader’s Office…” 

“Leaders habitually make decisions on behalf of their caucus without full consultation. Votes are virtually never taken in Caucus. Rules of order are non-existent. The leader decides what will be done by “reading the room”—when he or she can be bothered—and any person who complains out loud about the abuse of process is ruthlessly punished for breaking ‘caucus confidence’.”

“This means that, by the end of the 42nd Parliament, the ‘Conservative’ {Party} caucus had become as dictatorial in its demands, and as opaque in its management practices, as Justin Trudeau’s ‘Liberals’.”