OTTAWA - His zigzag journey has lasted more than a year, but Michael Chong is about to cross one critical finish line in his bid to rebalance power between MPs and party leaders.
The Conservative MP's bill, known as Reform Act 2014, is poised to pass the House of Commons today during a third-reading vote.
It has been through hours of debate, amendments, and plenty of negotiations behind the scenes with colleagues from all parties.
If passed, it would give MPs the power to trigger leadership reviews, suspend and reinstate caucus colleagues, and to select their own caucus chairs.
Chong credits average Canadians with helping to give the bill the traction it needed -- something he says the public has the power to do with any piece of legislation.
The bill would also remove the power of a party leader within the Canada Elections Act to approve election candidates. Individual parties would determine how candidates would be approved, with the option of leaving that power with the leader.
