Editor:
A postcard is coming to you. It asks you to go online and answer questions about electoral reform. Please take the time.
The currently used first past the post (FPTP) voting system, or winner take all in each riding of the country, means the Trudeau and Harper governments with 39 per cent of the vote won 100 per cent of the power.
Because the government has 100 per cent of the power, it can skew policy to suit its party’s beliefs rather than setting policy that’s built on cooperation of all parties. With FPTP, the next government can (and does) come in and undo much of the previous government’s work. It is because of this seesaw reality that most western democracies choose some form of proportional representation (PR).
Why PR? The research from those western democracies reveals that when the popular vote is manifest in actual party seat count, politics naturally becomes more co-operative and civil, because the government can’t bully its way to its own ends. With co-operation comes more egalitarian policies which serve a greater portion of the electorate. This, in turn, creates stability with long-term solutions to issues.
Stability and good policy are cornerstones of democracies and that means less power to extreme groups, less corporate influence, and more long-term planning. Some form of PR is really the only way forward to improve our democracy.
The Liberals promised 2015 would be the last election to use FPTP. Let’s hold the government to its promise.
Linda Hoechstetter, Alliance for Democracy
