It was cruel in a way. The uncaring Conservatives of Barrie—Springwater—Oro-Medonte sent a boy to Ottawa. They threw him to the wolves. He was unprepared and unknowing. He was hardly ready for the task.
But he has been heard from. He has found his way to Ottawa from the backwaters of our electoral district. He has written. He has found work. He tells us in a taxpayer-paid mailing that “We need a referendum.”
It seems that the Conservative Caucus in our nation’s capitol has decided that the Liberals are wrong to suggest that there is no need for a referendum over the question of changing how Canadians vote for their members of parliament. The Conservatives are taking the stand that the only way is to allow the voters to decide. It sounds democratic.
And this Liberal agrees. It is because we do not really need to change how we vote.
The facts are that we have a method of electing MPs that, while obviously not perfect, is much better than any alternatives we have heard about. The only change we would suggest is that if no candidate has a majority of the votes, we have another vote between the top two contenders. A run-off election can ensure the winner is the choice of a majority of the riding constituents. That seems to be the only real problem with first-past-the-post voting. And it would hardly need a referendum to implement.
All that this solution requires is Internet voting. Internet voting is easy and inexpensive to implement. You can vote from work, home, your local library or convenient voting places. Some safeguards are needed but they are easy to include.
This is much preferred to the suggestion of preferential voting that asks voters to mark the candidates on the basis of first, second and third choice. This is a system that also attempts to seek a majority selection. The difference is that it does not allow voters to rethink their ballot choice. In effect, the losers become the choosers. When the selection comes down to the top two contestants, you need to have the opportunity to reconsider your choice. That is the democratic answer.
And after the recount we had in this riding when the Conservative was elected over much more able and suitable candidates, we can only agree that first-past-the-post needs fixing. If we only make sure the winner has a majority of the votes, there is no need for a referendum. If we make a material change to some form of proportional or preferential voting, then a referendum would be necessary.
-30-
Copyright 2016 © Peter Lowry
Complaints, comments, criticisms and compliments can be sent to [email protected]