You sometimes get the impression from Canada’s Green Party candidates that they want us to keep them as pets. They are too nice and they are always trying to prove how green they are. You would think they would check to see what other parties are offering to do for our environment. Maybe they would cut out some of their holier-than-thou attitude.
But most of the time, we take a live and let live approach. At least that was the case until our local Greenie-weenie here in Barrie used his free advertising space in the local Postmedia newspaper to promote his version of electoral reform. Since Liberals are never given the time of day by Paul Godfrey’s newspapers, we are unlikely to send a letter-to-the-editor to correct the misinformation that was being spread.
He makes the point in his unpaid column that almost two-thirds of federal voters last year voted for a party supporting reform of how we vote. The assumption he makes is that we all support all of our favoured party’s promises. Even if we did, there are many forms of voting reform and there is no agreement between political parties on which reforms are preferred.
And he goes on to tell us that we have no need for a plebiscite on any voting change as we extended the franchise to women and indigenous peoples without a vote other than in parliament. It is strange that three provinces have said in this century that they would only change the voting system if it was approved in a referendum. Extending the franchise is a decision for parliament; changing how we vote is a decision for voters.
We might be lucky that this frequent Green candidate with his reliance on surveys has not been elected to parliament. He believes that the majority of Canadians are dissatisfied with our current system and would accept a change without due consideration and discussion. Provincial referenda have found that Canadians will turn down voting system changes that they do not clearly understand because of the limited discussion or a lack of clarification. There is also the possibility that we really do like the easy to understand system that is now in use.
There is no question but that any changes to the simplicity of our present first-past-the-post system of voting will need careful thought. And we could be headed for trouble if we try to make any changes with which most Canadians might disagree.
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Copyright 2016 © Peter Lowry
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