Liberal MPs hailed the House of Commons’ vote to pass their binding motion to ban out-of-riding ten-percenters as a victory against cynical politics.
“It’s a done deal. This clear and unequivocal motion is binding. We will live by it, and the other parties in Parliament will have to as well,” said Liberal MP Wayne Easter. “The passage of this motion means that Parliament must now suspend the printing and mailing of out-of-riding ten-percenters.”
The passage of the Liberal motion will save $20 million in government waste and stop Conservative overuse and abuse of this privilege through dirty smear tactics. Conservative MPs accounted for 62 percent of ten-percenter printing costs in 2008-09, compared to 16 percent for the Liberals.
“The Liberal Party will immediately suspend the printing of ten-percenters for unheld ridings and cancel ten-percenters that have not already been printed,” said Liberal House Leader Ralph Goodale. “The passage of this clear and unequivocal motion means that the Board of Internal Economy must now work out how to implement it.”
On a per-MP basis, the NDP are not far behind the Conservatives in the use of ten-percenters. The Conservatives spent an average of $49,680 per MP on printing costs for ten-percenters and householders, while the NDP spent $33,825 per MP, which is nearly double what Liberals spent, at $18,400 per MP.
“Taxpayers will no longer have to pay for Conservative slander like accusing Irwin Cotler of anti-Semitism in his own riding,” continued Mr. Goodale. “This is a victory for all Canadians who want to see a higher level of political discourse and better government in this country.”
Liberal MP Irwin Cotler has a privilege motion before the House of Commons to protest Conservative attacks on him through ten-percenters.
