LETTER

LETTRE

  We need a non-partisan National Citizens' Assembly on Electoral Reform

 

The National Observer's Lead columnist, Max Fawcett, has just published https://secure.fairvote.ca/en/index.php?q=civicrm/mailing/url&u=231683&qid=22939118 a sharp piece calling for action on proportional representation.  The opposition to proportional representation by Canada's two largest parties - the Liberals and the Conservatives - has been the main barrier to achieving PR.
    Earlier this year, https://secure.fairvote.ca/en/index.php?q=civicrm/mailing/url&u=231617&qid=22939118 Conservative MP Michelle Rempel Garner wrote promoting proportional representation in the Western Standard.  Her pitch was that PR could help Conservatives win again.  By amplifying articles in favour of PR such as this one by Max Fawcett, Michelle Rempel Garner's article, and  https://secure.fairvote.ca/en/index.php?q=civicrm/mailing/url&u=231618&qid=22939118 Chantal Hebert's piece, we can keep building momentum to get electoral reform back on the table.
    Conservatives blame the prime minister and his approach to anti-vaccine holdouts for the current political strife, while progressives fault conservatives and the alt-right information ecosystem they’ve built.  Either way, it’s clearly a problem standing in the way of level-headed policy and public leadership. 
    While parties once worked across the partisan aisle, the battle lines are now clearly drawn and heavily fortified. Embracing a more proportional electoral system would fix that. It would foster collaboration and force parties to talk more, fight less and find common ground. Fair Vote Canada will be campaigning  in the coming year to push the Procedure and House Affairs Committee  for https://secure.fairvote.ca/en/index.php?q=civicrm/mailing/url&u=231621&qid=22939118 a National Citizens' Assembly on Electoral Reform.
    Public momentum can help win that vote again in this Parliament!
            Proportional representation benefits all voters, no matter who they vote for.  PR treats every voter equally.  PR ensures that whether you're a Conservative voter in downtown Toronto or a Liberal voter in rural Alberta, you will have a voice, and your vote will help shape our Parliament. 
    With proportional representation, no party will have 100% of the power with 39% of the vote ever again.   That means better government for all of us.   We need a non-partisan National Citizens' Assembly on Electoral Reform!
Anita Nickerson, Fair Vote Canada
Ottawa