Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.1 6/24/83; site ubc-cs.UUCP Path: utzoo!utcsrgv!ubc-vision!ubc-cs!robinson 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