Government Parliament

For members of the Liberal Caucus, all votes will be free votes except those that implement the Liberal platform, traditional confidence matters, and those that address the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Liberal Platform Page 30 October 5, 2015

Broken

Oct 2017

New Brunswick MP kicked off 2 committees for breaking Liberal ranks on tax changes

CBC News October 05, 2017

Saint John-Rothesay Liberal MP Wayne Long has been kicked off two parliamentary committees for breaking party ranks over proposed small business tax changes.

"I am deeply disappointed to be removed from my committees, but I respect and understand the party's decision," he said in an emailed statement to CBC News.

On Tuesday, Long supported a failed Conservative move that would have extended the consultation period on the federal government's proposed changes to the small business tax regime.

The Opposition motion Long supported does not seem to be in direct contradiction with the Liberal electoral platform, nor is it a confidence matter or has anything to do with the Charter. That specific vote was whipped and Long appears to have been punished for voting against his party line. As such, this promise is now marked as broken.

Apr 2016

Liberal MP Doug Eyolfson breaks ranks with party on Air Canada bill

CBC News April 28, 2016

Liberal MP Doug Eyolfson says voters were skeptical last year when he claimed a Liberal government would allow its backbenchers greater freedom to vote as they saw fit.

"A lot of people said, 'I'll believe it when I see it,'" he says. "So now I can look people right in the eye and say, 'Believe it.'"

In a little noted act the evening of April 20, Eyolfson stood and voted against Bill C-10, the government's legislation to amend the Air Canada Public Participation Act. He was the only Liberal to vote nay. And, perhaps most importantly, he says he has not been punished for doing so.

This promise status will be updated accordingly if evidence surfaces that votes (other than the exceptions mentioned in the promise) are not "free".