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From: robinson@ubc-cs.UUCP (Jim Robinson)
Newsgroups: can.politics
Subject: Re: A Letter to Brian
Message-ID: <892@ubc-cs.UUCP>
Date: Sat, 15-Dec-84 21:10:59 EST
Article-I.D.: ubc-cs.892
Posted: Sat Dec 15 21:10:59 1984
Date-Received: Sun, 16-Dec-84 21:44:56 EST
References: <756@ubc-vision.CDN> <885@ubc-cs.UUCP> <760@ubc-vision.CDN>
Reply-To: robinson@ubc-cs.UUCP (Jim Robinson)
Organization: UBC Department of Computer Science, Vancouver, B.C., Canada
Lines: 44
Summary: 

*
It looks like we're going to get a free vote in the Commons concerning
capital punishment and at least one person in this group has called
for a free vote concerning a bilateral verifiable nuclear weapons
freeze. So my questions/comments are:

-Is it reasonable to expect a "free" vote to be genuinely free in 
 that each MP votes his/her conscience? If the leader of the party 
 lets it be known what his stand is and also lets it be known that
 he feels very strongly about the particular issue then what chance
 is there that a party full of *prospective* cabinet ministers, 
 senators, and ambassadors is going to go against their leader's
 wishes? I may be cynical, but I tend to think that the likelihood
 of that happening is rather small.

-What is the criteria for deciding that a vote be free? Why should
 the vote on capital punishment be free, but not the vote on, say,
 street solicitation? It seems to me that the Canadian people would
 be better served by a system in which an MP's vote truly represents
 the interests of his constituency and not necessarily those of the
 party.

-Should foreign policy be decided by free votes as would be the case
 in a free vote on the freeze? Given that the Cabinet probably is privy
 to information that is denied to not only  average Canadians but also
 those MPs who are not in the favoured inner circle of power, then does
 it not make sense that Canadians should trust their Government in 
 foreign policy matters? ( I've previously aired my views concerning
 trusting governments, and I do not think that the above argument, even 
 if it is mine, changes my mind on the subject ) Also, shouldn't all
 members of a Government at least *appear* to be solidly behind its 
 leader in foreign policy matters?

-This doesn't have anything to do with free votes but I figured I'd
 throw it in anyway. Can anyone explain to me why a self-professed man
 of peace like Pierre Trudeau, who would probably shoot ( figuratively,
 of course ) anyone who accused him of attempting to curry favour in
 Washington, was in favour of cruise missile testing and against
 the freeze? Remember External Affairs Minister Allen McEachan (sp?)
 saying that the freeze was "a half-baked idea that wouldn't stand
 the test of time".

                                                  J.B. Robinson