Give Singh his chance

Is the Trudeau government shortchanging democratic rights for partisan advantage?

That certainly appears to be the case after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau failed to name a date this week for a byelection in the Vancouver-area riding of Burnaby South — where it just so happens NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh is vying for a seat in the House of Commons. Indeed, no other explanation stands up to scrutiny. After all, can the Liberals really expect Canadians to believe they are holding off on the byelection out of respect for voters in the riding who also have to mail in their vote on B.C.’s electoral reform referendum by Nov. 30?

If that were the case, Trudeau could have called the Burnaby South byelection for Dec. 3, the date he set for the Ontario riding of Leeds-Grenville-Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes on Sunday.

Yes, Singh could have run in other byelections during his first year as leader, as the Liberals point out. But he has a right to choose one he thinks is winnable, just as other leaders from other parties have done before him.

And, of course, the prime minister has the right to wait 180 days after a vacancy occurs to call a byelection, which gives him until mid-March to set a date for this one. But just because he can, doesn’t mean he should.

In this case, he should not wait. For while the Liberals stand to gain by delaying the byelection for as long as possible — they keep Singh out of the political spotlight if he wins and make it more difficult for the NDP to replace him before next fall’s election if he doesn’t — voters have much to lose.

First, 300,000 of them in Burnaby South currently have no representative in Ottawa. That should be rectified sooner rather than later. Second, voters across the country are best served by having all opposition leaders in the Commons doing their job of holding the government’s feet to the fire.

Trudeau should stop gaming the system and call the vote in Burnaby South as quickly as possible. That may not be best for his party, but it would be good for democracy.