Burlington MP Karina Gould to hold a public meeting on how the government might change the way we vote.

By Pepper Parr

August 29, 2106

BURLINGTON, ON

“We will make every vote count.” That was one of the election promises made when the country decided it had had enough of Stephen Harper and elected Justin Trudeau as Prime Minister.

“We are committed to ensuring that 2015 will be the last federal election conducted under the first-past-the-post voting system”, he said

Then Liberal leader Justin Trudeau drops his vote in the ballot box as his daughter Ella-Grace and son Xavier look on.

And added that: “We will convene an all-party Parliamentary committee to review a wide variety of reforms, such as ranked ballots, proportional representation, mandatory voting, and online voting.”

“This committee will deliver its recommendations to Parliament. Within 18 months of forming government, we will introduce legislation to enact electoral reform.”

And that is what is behind a community meeting Burlington Member of Parliament Karina Gould is holding on Saturday September 10th at the Mainway Recreation Centre in the auditorium beginning at 12:30 and running until 3:00 pm
The government created an all-party committee on electoral reform.

The Government’s main objective is to replace first-past-the-post with a system that will deliver better governments for all Canadians and asks the committee to focus on five key principles to get this done:

The link between voter intention and election results;

How to foster civility in politics and increase voter participation;

Steps to strengthen inclusiveness and accessibility;

Ways to safeguard the integrity of our voting system; and,

Taking into account local representation.

That is what the town hall meetings, which are being held across the country by at least all the Liberal Members of Parliament,  are going to be about.

This is complex stuff; rife with the potential for “unintended consequences”.

Elections are about power and the right to govern want gets done with the public purse.

Starting tomorrow, Tuesday, the Gazette will publish a three part series on what the issues are; what the opportunities are as a background to understanding of what the issues are.

What are the options?  In a series of articles Jay Fallis, a University of Toronto student who recently completed a Master’s degree in political science sets out some of the possible options.  His three part series will begin tomorrow.