The act was championed as a private members bill by Tory MP Michael Chong.
[5][6] The Act amended the Canada Elections Act to require each party to designate a person or entity to approve the nominations of candidates, the original version of the bill would have stripped the party leader of the power to approve nominations, but that portion of the bill was watered down as a compromise so it could pass the House of Commons.
As a result, the new provisions for approving candidacies still leave it open to parties to vest that power into the leader.
The expelled member may be readmitted if either they win the next election as a candidate of the party, or if a majority of the caucus approves their re-admission in a secret ballot following a similar petition.
[13][14] O'Toole's removal marked the first time since the Reform Act was passed into law seven years prior, that a party caucus formally challenged and dismissed its leader.