Tom Mulcair: Lori Idlout’s move to Liberals brings rewards to Far North

CTV News’ Political Commentator Tom Mulcair on why NDP MP Lori Idlout crossing the floor is ‘big news’ for the Liberals

Tom Mulcair is a former leader of the federal New Democratic Party of Canada between 2012 and 2017. He’s a political commentator for CTV News and a columnist for CTVNews.ca.

Former NDP Nunavut MP Lori Idlout took her time crossing the floor to join Mark Carney’s Liberals, but when she did, she unleashed a flood of consequences.

From controlling parliamentary committees to the prospects of an early election, Idlout has shaken up Canadian politics well beyond her gesture and her riding.

After last April’s federal election, she appeared to be already musing about what the Liberals might be able to do for the North.

In January, she wouldn’t rule out crossing over to the Liberals, simply saying that it wasn’t something that she’d be doing “at this point.”

For anyone experienced in Canadian politics, that was a clear indication that she was willing to go to the red team. She was also signalling that the needs of the North are so great, that she would only contemplate the move if it could help the hard-pressed people and communities of Nunavut.

Just last week she attended an event with NDP leadership frontrunner Avi Lewis, which many took to be an endorsement. That presence made the sting of Idlout’s floor crossing particularly sharp for the NDP and came after the last remaining NDP MP in Quebec, Alexandre Boulerice, made preparations to jump ship and run for the provincial separatist party, Quebec Solidaire. After his departure, the NDP will be down to a mere five MPs.

Carney’s major coup

When Idlout finally announced that she was going to become a member of the Liberal caucus it was a major coup for Carney, who has been using floor crossing as a way to gain the majority that voters denied him in last year’s general election.

It could also forestall an early election that Liberal apparatchiks have been salivating about, as they look at their increasing lead over Pierre Poilievre’s Conservatives.

If he gets his majority, Carney is far less likely to listen to their siren songs; he’s prime minister and would remain so, even if it’s razor thin.

With the expected Liberal wins in the upcoming Toronto byelections, the Liberals would only have to prorogue Parliament to reset the parliamentary committees and regain the chairmanship of most.

That might seem like inside baseball, but control of key parliamentary committees remains with the opposition parties for now and that’s where the bulk of legislative work gets done or, increasingly, gets blocked.

Carney appeared beside Idlout on Wednesday as they were both about to enter the Liberal caucus together. Carney was sagely understated but had trouble suppressing his trademark smile.

Idlout delivered a pitch perfect prepared line that referenced the complex discussions that had preceded her decision and was promptly escorted by Carney into the caucus room.

This is no ordinary floor crossing. Idlout is the only MP for Nunavut, a vast territory that, as Carney pointed out, is larger than Mexico.

The needs of the North are as great as its landmass. During the time that MP Idlout had been assessing her future move, there have been important announcements about the creation of a university, increased aid for housing, better health and social services for young people and efforts to lower the outrageously high price of food in the North.

Were any or all of these government moves part of the “complicated” discussions Idlout referred to? We may never know for sure, but it sure appears that way.

Time for reform?

Don Davies, the interim leader of the NDP, was left sputtering at how unfair it all was for voters, just as Poilievre had done during the three preceding floor crossings from his caucus over to the Carney Liberals. But it would be a mistake to dismiss his reaction as simple sour grapes; he has a point.

Floor crossing, always a feature of Canadian politics, has taken on epidemic proportions this year.

Coincidentally, a great book by three top tier political science experts, called: “No I in Team, Party Loyalty in Canadian Politics” was recently published. It comes at a great time and covers the vast landscape of people who switch party loyalties. There are far more than one might suspect.

One of their ideas is that there should be a cooling off period, say six months, before you could join the caucus of another party.

That is something that could be easily accomplished by a rule change in Parliament. However, like another rule change that looks good on paper, changing our voting system to make it fairer than the current first-past-the-post formula, it’s easier said than done because of the vested interests of the major parties.

Perhaps we’ve hit a critical mass this time around and the Lori Idlout case will bring about some thoughtful reflection on how we can better respect the desires of voters as they expressed them during the election.