NDP leader urges MP to resign after defection

An MP formerly of the NDP then later defecting to the Bloc Quebecois is urged to resign from his seat in the House of Commons.

According to CBC News, NDP leader Thomas Mulcair is urging Claude Patry to resign as an MP after his defection to the separatist party. He is pushing for a by-election in the Jonquiére-Alma riding.

Patry’s defection comes on the heels of a critical vote on a B.Q. private members bill. If passed, the bill would repeal the Clarity Act drawn up thirteen years ago, which sets rules for future referendums on separation from Canada.

Patry’s defection is the third to affect the NDP since the orange wave swept Quebec during the last federal election in twenty-eleven. One defected to the Liberals and another MP is now sitting as an independent.

The change now brings the number of Bloc Quebecois MPs in the House of Commons to five.