OPINION: Who should pay when politicians quit before their term ends?

Ex-MPP Caroline Mulroney's move into a senior role at Royal Bank triggered an expensive byelection — so perhaps it's time for someone other than taxpayers to pick up the cost, columnist argues Marcellus, in the Shakespearean play Hamlet, says, "There's something rotten in the state of Denmark." To partially copy that line, I would say, 'There's something rotten in Canadian politics'. Recently, I read the Royal Bank of Canada has hired former York-Simcoe MPP Caroline Mulroney as vice-chair starting Sept. 14. That is a great move for her, and we can congratulate her on her ability to turn her political nous into a very lucrative position. In our current political arrangements, her move is totally above board and legal. The question that needs to be asked is, 'Is it ethical?' or 'Does it serve the community?' My grandmother taught us that when one breaks something, one has to fix it or replace it. When we cause harm to someone, we have to mitigate that harm and make good. The last general election in Ontario was held in February 2025, and elected the 124 members of the 44th Ontario Parliament. That means 124 members were vetted and selected by their parties to run and were, presumably, ready to serve the life of the 44th Parliament. I understand that if one has a stroke with lasting effects that one may have to resign one's seat. In that case a byelection may have to be called even though it will be costly. When a member resigns because a better job prospect has turned up and they take that job, it shows that 'serving' was a possible cover word for 'self-serving'. That in itself is understandable, even admirable, as most people aim to improve their station in life. What bothers me is that when people run they in effect say, 'Pick me, I'm the best candidate to serve you, the public'. That means the candidate makes a commitment to not hurt their electorate or community at large. When they resign, they inflict a huge cost on the taxpayer in forcing a byelection. That is not fair. Parties vet their candidates, so maybe to avoid self-serving retirements, that party needs to pay for the byelection costs, or maybe the candidate who retires or quits early pays for the byelection, or maybe whoever drew the No. 2 position in that election automatically takes the place of the person who resigned. Our political parties, to be fair, should be able to come up with a solution/agreement that no longer puts the financial burden on the tax-paying public. The above are but a few of many solutions that might be applied to stop people resigning early. Switching parties (which should lead to automatic disqualification and a byelection) to which they were not elected, should be treated the same. The term 'serve' is, in our current vernacular, terribly abused by many politicians considering their remuneration and benefits. They are fully cognizant about those terms before they decide to run. Caroline, et al, no matter how much good they do in this 44th Parliament, appear to have self-service as their dominant motivation. We can and deserve better from our elected leaders. For democracy's sake, we must do better.