Editor;
Our MP Dan Albas’ recent piece on electoral reform truly misses the mark. (RE: Everyone needs a say in electoral reform, May 24)
The first and most basic flaw in his argument is that no change should be made without a referendum. That referendum was in fact held in our last federal election. The Liberals, NDP and Greens all included a change to proportional representation in their platforms. These parties received a total of 62% of the popular vote, clearly a majority of Canadians.
Given that the current Liberal government and the previous Conservative governments both achieved majorities in the House with 39% of the vote illustrates the problem. We have in fact had 14 of these phony majorities since the 1920’s. This is most definitely undemocratic.
In most cases where a politician proposes a referendum, he or she is in fact opposed to the proposal. The Conservatives prefer to current system as it facilitates them achieving a house majority without true popular support from voters. The last Conservative government which was run from the PMO with omnibus bills illustrates the problem.
Mr. Albas goes to great lengths describing what each party sees as an electoral system that benefits them. The discussion should be what system is best for our citizens. The current system is clearly not working for voters. We have “strategic voting” where people vote not for candidates they support, but for candidates they think can defeat the candidates they don’t support. The major parties engage in a similar strategy by concentrating on key “swing ridings.”
Canada is alone with the USA and the United Kingdom as the only democracies not using some form of proportional representation. It is time for Canada to join this majority and change our electoral system to one that values the votes of all citizens.
Tim Larsen
Merritt
