A local independent MLA says whips are harmful to government.
Cape Breton-Richmond MLA Alana Paon introduced legislation, in February, which would prohibit whips in an official and unofficial capacity.
Paon tells The Hawk party whips are enforcers and bullies.
“If you don’t agree in saying either yes or no with everybody else that’s within your caucus on certain pieces of legislation, let’s not be fooled, there’s a price to pay,” she says. “I know a lot of people see it as party discipline, but really it’s coercion and sometimes even threatening behaviour.”
Paon says whips are a symptom of the problem with party politics.
She says she’d rather see a system where MLAs work together to represent constituents through consensus building.
Paon was removed from the Tory caucus in June, following a public dispute with party leader Tim Houston about the accessibility of her office.
