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Submission MAUSER-0359 (Online)

Submission By Gary Mauser
AddressCoquitlam, BC,
Organization
Date20040510
CategoryElectoral system no change
Abstract
It is a bogus claim that 'proportional representation' is 'fair'.  The only winners under PR systems are the party hacks who work for political parties. Good people, I'm sure, but the system's no more democratic than the current system. [2 pages]

Submission Content
It is a bogus claim that 'proportional representation' is 'fair'.

This claim is based upon the tendency that under proportional representation (or PR) systems the division among PARTIES in the parliament reflects the division among partisan opinion in the country. That's not bad, but it's not enough to be 'fair.'

Unfortunately, PR systems are typically so complex that virtually no one understands the details. Thus, in Europe where several countries use this system (eg, France, Germany, Switzerland, Belgium, Italy), many people refuse to vote because they are alienated by the process. Sound familiar?

Second, PR systems increase the CONTROL OF THE MPs by the PARTIES even more than under the current system. Under PR, you will NOT HAVE AN MP. You will just be a STATISTIC.

Many Europeans are turned off by this and many refuse to vote.

The only winners under PR systems are the party hacks who work for the political parties. Good people, I'm sure, and they probably do know more about politics than the average voter. But that's not any more democratic than the current system. I thought we the PR systems were being promoted as 'more democratic' not less than the current 'first past the post' system?

Finally, the problems with PR get worse not better as countries get more diverse and geographically dispersed. PR may work for more homogeneous countries like Israel or Denmark, but it is incompatible with the huge geographic and cultural diversity of Canada.

I think if would promote Quebec or Western Separatism if Canada moved to a system of proportional representation. The logic of PR is to increased centralization and our present system is already too centralized. We need to find a better balance between centralization and decentralization

The primary problem with Canada currently isn't the voting system; it's the ignorance and laziness of far too many voters. Too many citizens prefer to sit on their hands and let a few groups of organized groups [eg, unions or ethnic groups].

Even though I disagree with the supporters of PR, I applaud their activity, and interest in our country. Thank you for considering my remarks,

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