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Posted by Scott Tribe on November 21, 2007, at 4:04 pm |
The best way to summarize Conservative House Leader Peter Van Loan and the Harper Government’s attitude to the province of Ontario on their complaints of being short-changed on the proposed seat re-distribution in Canada where BC and Alberta are getting seats that will accurately reflect their increase in population. while Ontario does not is this:
“We don’t understand why Ontario would be crybabies over our attempts to add more seats in areas of the country where we are more likely to win them”
As we saw yesterday, this continues a pattern of attempting to demonize a rival by the Cons government – it’s painfully obvious to others as well, [...]
Posted by Scott Tribe on November 7, 2007, at 8:24 pm |
I have to disagree slightly with Impolitical. I don’t think Jack Layton and the NDP are being used at all by Harper. I think they’re using each other in another partisan attempt to embarrass the Liberals over this motion to hold a referendum to abolish the Senate (which would have no legal standing, since it requires the majority of provinces and the feds to agree to make such a change). I think Jack was well aware that Harper and the Cons would probably support this motion when he put it forward. As far as I’m concerned, it’s a not-so-disguised joint effort – even if not formally talked about by [...]
Posted by Scott Tribe on October 22, 2007, at 1:24 pm |
Proof that electoral reform isn’t dead, Part 2. This from Stephane Dion at a Q&A session in Winnipeg is very encouraging:
During a 90-minute question and answer session with the audience at the Gas Station Theatre, Dion was asked to give his thoughts on electoral reform…The Liberal leader mused out loud about how a preferential ballot would be better…Dion finished by saying this would lead to more respectful debate between parties and leaders since “if you’re a Green or NDP voter, I don’t want to insult you so you’ll consider me as your second choice.” Then, he said he wouldn’t want to make this part of an election campaign [...]
Posted by Scott Tribe on October 16, 2007, at 10:14 am |
I hope Ian Urquhart and the Toronto Star editorial board have a subscription to the Hill Times. It might make their heads explode after reading the results of this poll:
When asked whether there should be a national referendum on PR in Canada’s next general election, 48 per cent said yes nationally, 32 per cent said no, and 20 per cent said they don’t know. When asked how they would vote if a such referendum was held, 45 per cent said they would support a system of PR, 28 per cent said keep the current First Past the Post system, and 27 per cent didn’t know.
Very impressive, but [...]
Posted by Scott Tribe on October 13, 2007, at 2:22 pm |
If people were to listen to the Toronto Star editorial board and some of their columnists like Ian Urquhart, the defeat of the proposed MMP electoral reform in Ontario means those of us who believe that electoral reform is needed should all disappear and go away and stop talking about it, and the current system is just fine and dandy, and nothing needs fixing.
Well, Toronto Star and Ian Urquhart, my particular response is, we aren’t going to disappear into the night, and the current electoral system is definitely in need of fixing. Some proof of that are the following:
- When only 52% of eligible voters bother to [...]
Posted by Scott Tribe on October 9, 2007, at 10:00 am |
Quite remarkably, the Toronto Star has decided to attack MMP a 2nd time within a week in their editorial section and again recommend it be rejected. This time in their editorial, they decided to stay away from charging there would be “appointed MPP’s”, a feature of their column last week, but they repeated the “unstable government” theme, as well as the fear of radical fringe parties holding the legislature hostage.
I’m not going to get into attacking their charges; they’ve used the same stuff before which has been easily refuted – what I find of interest is that they are so concerned about MMP that despite some polls showing [...]
Posted by Scott Tribe on October 8, 2007, at 11:04 am |
Another Canadian electoral reform expert – Professor Dennis Pilon from the University of Victoria – urges Ontarions to vote for MMP in the referendum:
The proportional representation system that Ontarians have an opportunity to approve during the Oct. 10 referendum is simple, modest, and addresses many of the major problems with contemporary Ontario democracy that have long been identified by academics and political commentators from right to left. Imagine more accurate election tallies, a more competitive political environment where every vote would count for something, and better representation of Ontario’s diversity. These are not hypothetical possibilities, but the actual experience of countries similar to Canada that have proportional representation, [...]
Posted by Scott Tribe on October 5, 2007, at 10:43 am |
Some of our anti-MMP folk are chortling because all of the major Toronto newspapers have rejected MMP in their editorials. I’m not particularly surprised that mainstream establishment papers would do so – but what is more important to me is that several grassroots groups have officially endorsed it.
Amongst our minority groups/ethnic communities, MMP was given a strong endorsement by several groups, including the South Asian community, Chinese-Canadian groups, and the Canadian Tamil Congress.
Student groups across the province are also recognizing MMP as a system they can get behind. 16 student unions across Ontario have endorsed MMP, as has the Canadian Federation Of Students Ontario branch, believing that [...]
Posted by Scott Tribe on October 4, 2007, at 10:36 am |
This kind of came out of nowhere to some of us who support MMP, but I think we’re all delighted to see that Garth has come out yesterday with a long detailed column at his blog declaring himself in favour of MMP passing on October 10th:
A proportional representation system empowers voters. It gives them more choice. It ensures the majority opinion is reflected in government. It is fairer. It allows smaller parties a role. It encourages compromise. It lets parties increase the role of women and minorities as list candidates. It permits citizens to decide on the best local candidate, and also the best party to govern. One [...]
Posted by Scott Tribe on October 2, 2007, at 4:33 pm |
The folk at Liberals For MMP received an email from the Ontario Liberal Campaign that states that the party will select its list MPP candidates through “a democratic and transparent process” if MMP passes on October 10th.
With this announcement, all four major Ontario parties – including the PC’s – have now committed to selection of List MPP candidates through democratic means. This has now completely kneecapped and destroyed the argument that “party hacks will be appointed by party leaders” that the NO MMP side and the Toronto Star editorial board has been trying to use to fear-monger about MMP.
It’s time to get the word out to the [...]
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