Article content continued

That means the government will have to garner the support of at least one other party to win a vote at the committee table.

Democratic Institutions Minister Maryam Monsef announced the decision to back the NDP motion on Thursday morning, effectively guaranteeing it easy passage through the House. She also put forward several minor amendments, including one to set an Oct. 14 deadline for MPs to report back on their consultations with constituents (they had originally proposed an Oct. 1 deadline).

As sponsor, Cullen had to agree to accept the proposed changes, which he did. In fact, he told the House, he “welcomed” the minister’s suggested tweaks.

Speaking with reporters outside the House, Monsef said that her priority is — and has always been — to get the committee up and running.

“It’s time for them to get out there, to hear from Canadians,” she pointed out.

“We know there’s a lot of passion on this, we know there are a lot of good ideas out there, and the purpose of coming together with the parties across the aisle today was to demonstrate that cooperation in this place is possible. We intend to do politics differently, and this is us demonstrating that.”

Cullen called it a good first step.

“If the process is seen and is fair and trusted by Canadians, then it greatly improves the chances that the outcome will also be fair and trusted by Canadians,” he told reporters shortly after the announcement.

“The government has agreed with us today that no one party should have the power to unilaterally push through changes to our voting system.”