Submission to the Citizens’
Assembly
I believe in fair representation whereby parties receive seats
in the Legislature proportional to the percentage of votes they get
during the election. Fairness also requires more gender
equity to correct the disproportionate ratio of men to women.
Fairness is not upheld within the first past the post electoral
system which distorts election results
-
giving exaggerated majorities in Parliament
-
giving government status to parties second in the popular
vote
-
shutting out a huge number of voters.
I believe in accommodating the diversity of political voices
that are part of the Canadian make up. I
also believe in negotiating our differences so that Canadians share
their public space peacefully and ethically. We need to
acknowledge our differences, discuss them and negotiate how to
accommodate them best so that peace, order, and good government are
sustained. With the dominance of one party,
and party loyalty, many political voices are lost in the
wilderness. Decision making becomes influenced by the
most vocal or moneyed interest groups.
As Canadians, we are very fortunate to enjoy rights and know
that they are respected. I believe that
responsibilities come with rights: To our family, community,
country, the environment. Unfortunately our
media-consumer culture celebrates individual
indulging. (Please do not ask schools to
fix one more societal problem.) Changing
the first past the post system will be child’s play
compared to changing the prevalent culture. Ideally
people should earn the right to vote. Making voting
compulsory would be a step in the right
direction.
I believe in collaboration and in consensus building to find the
best possible solutions while adhering to a set of ethical values,
ie values which promote the social, economic and environmental
well-being of the country. The first past the post
system encourages confrontation and polarization.
I believe in stable, long term planning government. Polarization
and frequent changes of governments such as in B.C. are
counterproductive to achieving these desirable results.
I believe in a democratic process for choosing
Canada’s Prime Minister and Premiers. They
should be elected, not chosen by
parties. The present system
allows individuals to hijack the process, as Mr. Paul Martin just
did. We now have a self-anointed Prime Minister who did
not even debate within his own party.
I believe in sustaining the integrity of the land.
We need to get away from the urban-rural polarization which
exaggerates the weight of rural votes. No matter where
we live, cities, towns or countryside, we are all dependent on the
land. More than ever, we need to reconnect to the land
which gives us our sustenance. Our electoral system
could support this reconnecting by establishing constituency
boundaries that closely match ecological
regions.
Recommendations
I support
-
proportional representation
-
a mixed proportional system [MMP], where electors cast two
votes, each determining approximately half of the seats; one vote
for the local candidate, and one vote for the party of his choice,
with a choice to rank his party’s candidates.
-
the election of Premiers and the Prime Minister
-
gender equity in representation
I recommend that we consider redrawing constituency boundaries
to match ecological regions.