Scott Reid: The populist Reformer who stood alone in supporting the pot bill

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Scott Reid stood alone on the Conservative benches as the House of Commons gave its final say on landmark legislation to legalize the recreational use of marijuana.

Of the 74 Conservative MPs in attendance for the late November vote, he was the only one to support the bill. He was also the only MP in the Chamber who could say with some level of confidence that his vote represented the wish of his constituents.

Nearly 3,100 of Mr. Reid's constituents in the Eastern Ontario rural riding of Lanark-Frontenac-Kingston responded to a mail-in referendum on the bill, resulting in a narrow finding of 55-per-cent support. Mr. Reid voted accordingly.

First elected as a Canadian Alliance MP in 2000, the 53-year-old had been an active member of the Reform Party of Canada, which advocated for populist principles such as more free votes, citizen-initiated referendums and the ability to recall unpopular MPs. Years later, Mr. Reid views his mail-outs as a way of keeping those principles alive.

"You should vote the will of your constituents," he said in a recent interview, dismissing "the idea that my conscience is somehow superior to those of the people who elected me."

Such ideals are easier to maintain in opposition than in government. Throughout the entire time of Prime Minister Stephen Harper's Conservative government, Mr. Reid was Deputy House Leader. Given that leadership role, Mr. Reid said he felt an obligation to toe the party line and his use of referendums diminished.

He held five referendums during his first period as an opposition MP, polling constituents on a pay raise for MPs, changes to the Species At Risk Act, the 2001 Anti-Terrorism Act, riding boundaries and the 2005 same-sex marriage vote.

In government, he held just one referendum. In 2012, he voted against a private member's motion that was viewed by some as a reopening of the abortion debate in Canada based on his constituent feedback.

The marijuana question was the second referendum Mr. Reid has organized since returning to the Opposition benches. He had also asked his constituents in the spring of 2016 whether he should vote for or against Bill C-14, the legislation legalizing medically assisted death. Mr. Reid voted in favour of the bill based on 67-per-cent support from his riding.

Support for legalization in a staunchly Conservative riding may seem surprising, but the area is home to Tweed Inc., one of Canada's largest cannabis producers. The company operates out of a former Hershey's chocolate factory in the town of Smiths Falls. Shawn Pankow, the mayor of Smiths Falls, said his sense is that the community does support legalization and praised Mr. Reid's referendum efforts.

"I think it's refreshing when we have an elected official who is going to take a little bit of risk and take the pulse of the community," he said. "It may not always be truly reflective of the actual sentiment of the people of the riding, but at least he attempts to gain that perspective."

Mr. Reid is the Conservative critic for Democratic Institutions and has studied referendum models in American states and around the world. He has a particular fondness for Swiss cantons, where direct democracy practices date back to the Middle Ages.

The wonkish MP from rural Eastern Ontario has clearly given a lot of thought to the question of how often he should be seeking guidance from his riding, but hasn't settled on an answer. "I'm not sure how far one goes before one says, 'We've gone too far here,' " he said.

Beyond the theory, he takes pride in the practice of his local referendums. The vehicle for polling his riding is a flyer called a householder. All MPs are allowed to send up to four of these pamphlets a year to every household in their riding. Usually, MPs pack the flyers with promotional photos and a laundry list of recent accomplishments.

When sending out a referendum-style householder, Mr. Reid aims to avoid partisanship. He includes information on both sides of the argument in question with the goal of being as unbiased as possible. He also compares the ballots to the voters list to ensure no one is voting more than they should. He then destroys all of the ballots.

An obvious downside to the process is that the ballot is not secret. "I just don't know how to overcome that problem, because I have to verify they are who they say they are," he said.

He also has some guidelines of what kind of questions to ask. He won't ask about policies that were included in the party platform he ran on. He also has to weigh the practical matter of whether there will be enough time to conduct a referendum before the House of Commons casts its final vote. The questions he would put to the riding generally come down to high-profile questions of conscience.

"As an old Reformer, we actually singled these out and said these are issues where you should be either voting your own conscience, rather than the party line, or else the wishes of your constituents, rather than the party line," he said. "And I still thinks that makes sense to this day."