Meanwhile, back in Canada. . .

[Larry Storch]

First of all I'd like to say that I'm about as apolitical as possible. I'm not promoting any party over another. This just fit into the best results of a google search: Canadian electoral reform October deadline

Liberals move on electoral reform as deadline looms.

"Alongside the committee’s work, Monsef is proposing that each member of Parliament be invited to hold town halls in their riding to discuss electoral reform. Those MPs would have to offer a written submission to the committee no later than October."

There doesn't appear to be much coverage of this on the news. Haven't heard much lately. (to be fair I only listen to talk radio and don't watch tv, so maybe I'm just not seeing it). Seems as though it's being rushed through as I haven't heard of any "town hall meetings" being arranged by our local politicians.

Thoughts?

(Try to keep it civil.)

 

[overdone]

there is/was no public outcry for this, Zoolander brought it up during the election, it wasn't an election issue as far as the public was concerned

the only one's who really want it are the Liberals who want preferential, cause they think it will keep them in their anointed position of superiority and the Conservatives from every getting a majority again

and the Commies who crave power so badly, through the proportional system, so they can finally force their delusions on us

either will probably create a minority gov't in general, like almost everywhere they're used

allowing fringe parties, like the block/green/even the NDP to gain power with a small % of the vote

either aren't any better than the first past the post, only people wanting change are the power hungry pos politicians thinking they can gain an advantage

put it to a referendum, like they already have in a couple of provinces, see what happens, people will vote it down

it isn't going to make things better, if the politicians really gave a shit about democracy, they'd be doing what people want already, more free votes, actually compromising on issues

too many examples of them doing the opposite of what polls suggest, look at Assisted dying, neither the Cons or Libs did what the public wants, ect....

nothing wrong with system we have, people involved are the issue

plus lets face it, the general public are morons who can barely put an X on a piece of paper, (how else do you explain the Wynne/Notley/Clark gov'ts?) you want to add having to choose/rank more than one? or add in a vote for a party and a local candidate somehow?

 

[Walk Softly]

Actually, mixed proportional representation is in use in much of Europe and in all but a few (notable) cases, seems to be working well. With a little attention paid to which countries' versions are functioning well and which are not, (eg. Greece) we should be able to come up with something that is much more responsive to the will of the voter and still relatively stable.

As an aside, I got an invitation in the mail today to a town hall meeting!

 

[westwoody]

Current first past the post does not accurately reflect the votes cast.
A party can have a huge majority of seats but not a huge majority of the vote.
Other parties may win zero seats but get lots of votes.

My riding often has candidates that disgust me from all three major parties. I would like to vote for an alternative.

 

[rlock]

First of all I'd like to say that I'm about as apolitical as possible. I'm not promoting any party over another. This just fit into the best results of a google search: Canadian electoral reform October deadline

Liberals move on electoral reform as deadline looms.

"Alongside the committee’s work, Monsef is proposing that each member of Parliament be invited to hold town halls in their riding to discuss electoral reform. Those MPs would have to offer a written submission to the committee no later than October."

There doesn't appear to be much coverage of this on the news. Haven't heard much lately. (to be fair I only listen to talk radio and don't watch tv, so maybe I'm just not seeing it). Seems as though it's being rushed through as I haven't heard of any "town hall meetings" being arranged by our local politicians.

Thoughts?

(Try to keep it civil.)

I've been to some of these things. I am absolutely for it.

As systems go, First Past The Post sucks. Delivers absolute power to a minority of voters, and wastes most of the votes. Distorts the results and amplifies small differences; encourages parties that fracture the country according to regional concentration. Discourages voter choice and causes people to vote strategically. Protects the corrupt, and promotes dishonesty during elections. So get rid of First-Past-The-Post ASAP! The argument "it has worked well for us since Confederation"? Bullshit, I say, it really hasn't. It is a 19th century system, and has been obsolete for nearly 100 years - as soon as we stopped being a 2 party system (that would be around the end of WW1 for those counting). It is garbage, and the only thing it has going for it is that our voters have no experience with anything else. If they got a taste of something better, they would never go back.

The real question is what you'd want to replace it with. Lots of things to consider - proportionality (getting the parliament to resemble how people actually voted), local representation, ease of use, transparency. Germany has a good system - far better than ours. They are a federal and parliamentary state also; they have to consider a system that can represent both overall and local concerns. The bottom line is voters should be able to freely choose what they want, and parties should be getting what they deserve - no more, no less.

Fuck any referendum - as people in BC have already seen, it's just a way for some to throw yet another obstacle to any changes to the status quo, by telling lies and spreading hysteria. If the Libs have any balls and integrity, they'll keep their promise at get rid of FPTP, period. Contrary to what some think, that was not some meaningless promise that can be altered or shelved (like the budget one). This one matters - a test of whether they are serious about improving this country, or just out for themselves. They should nix FTTP, and then follow through with a new system for the next election. And if people feel butthurt for not having a referendum first, they can punish the Libs at the next election.