Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Democratic Institutions Mark Holland (right.) THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Chiasson

NDP MP Kennedy Stewart’s private members bill to promote gender equity at the nomination ballot raised concerns from other party members about its potential to interfere with democratic representation during its first debate in the House of Commons Tuesday night.

The Candidate Gender Equity Act — also known as Bill C-237 — was first put forward by Stewart in February. The bill would amend the Canadian Elections Act to provide “a financial incentive for political parties to run more women candidates and move towards parity in their nominations,” his press release said.

Currently, political parties are eligible for 50 per cent of their reimbursement from Elections Canada on their campaigns if they meet certain conditions. The proposed changes to the Act would decrease the subsidy if 45 per cent of the party nomination candidates weren’t women.

Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Democratic Institutions Mark Holland raised concern that parties’ right of freedom of expression could be challenged during the nomination process by this proposed legislation.

“In general, parties should have the ability to organize their affairs as they see fit,” he said.

He said the long-term implications of this bill need to be thought through: do we put penalties on parties if they don’t represent the diversity of all Canadians?

“If we do that, what is the implication of that?”

It’s a constitutional issue, he said.

The legislation could have the unforeseen consequence of placing people who are voting in the nomination in a tough spot: either meet the quota — so the party is not punished — or potentially lose the best person for the job.

“That is a serious concern.”

He said the nomination process should be designed to encourage everyone to run, but also understands that the barriers that stop women from running need to be addressed.

Conservative MP Karen Vecchio said the bill was “not only undemocratic but actually belittles my own victory as becoming the candidate for my party and then the member of Parliament.”

She said this bill would make her feel like a “second-class citizen” whose hard work and merit didn’t count. For her — it’s about who is the best fit for the position — not pitting men against women.

“We are talking about making some people eligible for a job while making some people ineligible for a job.”

This is why Vecchio said she supports gender equality — but not the bill.

When asked by NDP MP Sheila Malcolmson if the bill would be compliant with other types of electoral systems, Stewart said he designed the legislation to be universal in its application.

“This exactly matches with our plan for electoral reform in this House and in fact, it would be a great first step to say our electoral system is designed so that we have a House of Commons that is gender balanced,” said Stewart.

When asked if she supports the bill earlier in the day, Minister of Status of Women Patty Hajdu said, what “we really need to make sure is that there’s not unintended consequences to one-off measures and that we’re looking at democratic reform as a whole.”

In the 2015 federal election, women made up 26 per cent of the House of Commons – a historic achievement. However, Canada ranks 61st in gender equity in Parliament — behind countries like Afganistan and Sudan — according to the Inter-Parliamentary Union.