| Crossing The Floor |
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The term has passed into general use in other Westminster parliamentary democracies, such as Australia , Canada , New Zealand or South Africa even though most of these countries have semicircular or horseshoe-shaped debating chambers and mechanisms for voting without Members leaving their seats. It is most often used to describe members of the government party or parties who defect and vote with the Opposition against some piece of government-sponsored legislation. It is also sometimes used to describe a member who leaves their party entirely and joins the opposite side of the House, such as leaving an opposition party to support the government, or even leaving one opposition party to join another. This usage exists not only in Westminster System parliaments, but also in Legislature s in Presidential System s. In Canada , the term "crossing the floor" is used exclusively to refer to switching parties which occurs occasionally at both the federal and provincial levels. In April 2006, Manitoba 's premier Gary Doer ( NDP ) proposed banning crossing the floor of the Manitoba legislature. The legislation would be the first of its kind in Canada and, according to Mr Doer, it "responds to the concern some voters have expressed over the high-profile defections of three federal MPs from their parties in just over two years" ( Michelle Macafee, Proposed reforms would ban floor-crossing in Man., Canadian Press, April 11, 2006 ) SEE ALSO
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