正式党派地位是赢来的，不是赠送的

 

当安省自由党在2018年6月7日输掉大选时，自由党在安省议会中的席位也大幅下降。自由党当选的省议会议员人数从原来的55人变成到7人。大选前，安省议会只有107个席位。2018年6月7日大选后，议席数字增加到124。增加议席的原因是安省调整了选区，使各选区的区域与联邦议会的相同。

When Ontario Liberal Party lost the provincial election on June 7, 2018 their ranks were also decimated. Their number of elected members of Provincial Parliament (MPP) went from 55 to 7. In the 41st Ontario Parliament, there were only 107 seats. On June 7, 2018 that number was increased to 124 to realign all Ontario provincial ridings and make them identical to those of the Federal Parliament.

 

大选后，安省自由党丢失了正式政党的地位。自由党没有夺到规定的作为正式政党的8个席位。随着正式政党地位的丧失，自由党失去了许多议会赋予的特权，包括党的调研办公室的资金拨款以及在议会开会时提问的权利等。

After the election, the Liberals are no longer recognized as an official party. They fell one seat short of the minimum requirement at that time. With the lost of Official Party status, parliamentary privileges are taken away. These privileges include but are not limited to funding for party research offices and the right to ask questions during the “Question Period”.

正式政党地位的规定不是法律，而是管理议会的内部规则。因此，如果议会的议员们愿意，可以通过一项动议，免除规则，并给予未能符合规定的政党一个正式地位。

The rules on official party status are not laws, but are internal rules governing the legislature. Therefore, the members of a legislature may, if they choose, pass a motion to dispense with the rules and grant official status to parties that would otherwise fail to qualify.

这方面的例子可以追溯到1999年。当时的安省新民主党在大选后只拿到9个席位，而当时正式政党的规定是至少12个席位。当时的安省保守党省长哈里斯将议会席位从130减到103。为此，他仍赋予只有9个席位的新民主党正式政党的地位。

An example of this can be found in 1999 when the New Democratic Party (NDP) were reduced to nine seats in the legislature. The requirement at that time was a minimum of 12 seats. The then Progressive Conservative (PC) Premier Mike Harris citing the reduction of seats from 130 to 103, lowered the required number of seats to 9 and granted the NDP Official Party status.

 

2003年省选后，新民主党只赢得了7个席位。自由党省长麦坚迪拒绝给新民主党正式政党的地位。相反，他向新民主党拨了一些额外的资金。由于新民主党并未被承认为“政党”，新民主党的议员们只好以非党派议员在议会上发言。最终，霍沃斯在2004年5月的补选中当选，新民主党重新获得了正式政党的地位。

Fast forward to the election in 2003, the NDP won only 7 seats. The Liberal Party Premier Dalton McGuinty refused to accord official party status to the NDP. Instead, he offered them some additional funding. The NDP was not recognized as a “party” and its members were not addressed in the Legislation by party affiliation. Eventually, Andrea Horwath was elected in a by-election in May 2004 and the NDP regained Official Party status.

 

当另一名新民主党议员辞职参加2006年联邦选举后，新民主党的席位又变成7个，自由党政府决定允许新民主党保留正式地位，等待补选结果。结果是新民主党在补选中获胜。

After another NDP member resigned to run in the 2006 federal election, bringing the party to only seven members again, the government decided to allow the NDP to retain official status pending the results of the by-election to replace her, which the NDP won.

 

目前，安省保守党政府将把正式政党的规定从现在的8个席位提高到12个。保守党理由很简单，要想成为正式政党，你必须在安省议会席位中占席位的10％。现在安省议会有124个席位（过去是107个），因此，正式政党的数字将不得不调整。令人惊讶的是，新民主党似乎已经忘记了他们在2003年如何被自由党“惩罚”的历史，他们对保守党的这一举动毫无支持热情。

The current Ontario PC government is about to raise the requirement for Official Party status from 8 to 12. Their rationale is very simple – the magic number is always 10% of the total number of MPP's.  With the 124 seats now (increased from 107), the number will have to be adjusted. Surprisingly, the NDP seemed to have forgotten how they were “punished” by the Liberals in 2003 and they reacted to the PC proposal without much enthusiasm.

前安省自由党省长韦恩要求现任省长改变规则，以便让下台的自由党可以在省议会中获得正式政党地位。作为在今年省选中一败涂地的党魁，韦恩在选举结果出来之后的当夜辞去党魁一职。她本应该也辞去议员一职，但鉴于她只比对手多了171票，自由党离正式政党的数字只差一个，韦恩别无选择，只能在议员的席位上坐下去。

Former Liberal Party Premier Kathleen Wynne has asked Premier Doug Ford to change the rules so the defeated Liberals can obtain official party status in the Legislature. As a party leader who was trashed in the last election, Wynne resigned on election night. She should also be resigning her own seat. Given the fact that she only won her seat by 171 votes and the Liberals were only one seat away from the Official Party status minimum, Kathleen had not choice but to stay on. 

 

问题是，安省自由党怎能在没有补选的情况下迅速获得一些席位呢？要做到此，它必须动员其他党的议员跳槽加入自由党。但要做到此会有很多困难。历史证明，当一个议员跳槽后，该议员通常会在下次大选中落选。那些有些资历的省议员不会冒着丢失信誉和与选民的关系的风险跳槽。

So how can the Liberal Party pick up some seats quickly with no by-elections in sight? It has to entice existing members in the legislature from the other parties to cross the floor! There are a number of obstacles to getting this done. When party affiliations are changed during the seating of legislature, the member will typically lose the seat in the next general election. Established MPP's will not risk their reputations and relationships with constituents to cross the floor as well.

虽然左派媒体暗示保守党增加正式党派的数字是防止那些不得志的后座保守党议员们跳槽，但他们却有意无意地忽略了新民主党现任议员们也有跳槽的可能性。新民主党和自由党在意识形态方面很接近，新民主党议员更容易跳槽加入自由党，并为自己的跳槽行为找借口。同样，跳槽后的新民主党议员下次再当选的机会也很大。

While the left leaning media suggest that the PC party tries to change the minimum number to prevent their own disgruntled back benchers from defecting, they purposely ignore the potentials for NDP members to cross the floor. With similar ideologies, it is far easier for the NDP members to join the ranks of the Liberals and justify their moves. It would also be easier for them to get elected next time.

正式政党身份所需的最低议员数量的增加不可避免。当这种情况发生时，韦恩将会辞去她的席位，因为达到正式政党身份的目标将无法实现，而她在安省议会的席位已经没有任何意义了。

The change to the minimum required number of members for Official Party Status will come soon. When that happens, Kathleen Wynne will resign her seat shortly after as the goal to achieve Official Party status will no longer be attainable and her seating in the Ontario Parliament has no meaning any more.