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That last caveat, though doubtless not unwelcome, will likely do little to still the growing concerns within the office of Democratic Institutions Minister Maryam Monsef, who currently serves as Team Trudeau’s first (and often only) line of both offence and defence on the electoral reform front, which means she’ll be on the hook — both at the cabinet table and in the House — when it comes time to show that there really is popular support for the government’s plan.

That doesn’t necessarily require a referendum to prove, of course, but from how the process has unfolded thus far, Monsef might want to start rethinking her obvious reluctance with the prospect of taking the matter to the people en masse.

In July, she appeared before the committee to make a pitch for MPs — and anyone else with a hankering to get involved — to host “dialogues” on the issue, and prepare summaries of those discussions, which would subsequently be included in the committee’s report to the Commons later this fall.

Judging from the calendar on the Democratic Institutions website, although some MPs have taken her up on the offer, the majority are, perhaps unsurprisingly, Liberals, although there are a few New Democrat-organized events popping up, as well as a couple of Conservatives and, of course, Green Party Leader Elizabeth May.

Still, barring a caucus-wide change of heart on the part of the Conservatives — who are, of course, adamant on the need for a referendum — it’s hard to see how the resulting conclusions can be presented as some sort of exhaustive cross-section of the views of the country.