The government’s new position gives up their numeric advantage on the committee — and, hence, the Liberals’ ability to dictate the committee’s recommendations. There is not the slightest chance the NDP or Greens will opt for a referendum that is likely to kill electoral reform stone-dead. The new structure will comprise five Liberals, three Conservatives, two New Democrats, and one member each of the Bloc and Green Party. By steamrolling the opposition, the Liberals would have turned Canada from a parliamentary democracy into an administrative democracy, in effect becoming what they criticized so loudly during the election campaign. The whole saga raises the question: Why didn’t the Liberals do the politics of it differently in the first place?

Source: National Post June 02, 2016 22:30 UTC