Fair Vote Canada
NEWSLETTER
March 28, 2001
CONTENTS:
1) Last Minute Registrations
2) Participate Online
3) FVC in Toronto
4) Next FVC Meeting in Ottawa
5) Quebec Liberal Party Supports PR
6) Fair Voting BC Campaigns Across Province
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1) Last Minute Registrations
The "Making Votes Count" conference organizers have made arrangements to accept last minute registrations. Parliament's security requires that we present a list of participants names in advance of the conference, but we will be able to add some names at the last minute.
If you haven't registered yet, you may send a short message to or 416-410-4034 indicating you will be attending. We will confirm your registration and accept your cheque at the conference Friday morning.
Full details of the Ottawa conference, March 30-31, can be found on our website.
2) Participate Online
If you are not able to participate in the conference at Ottawa, you can still make your voice heard. Please take some time to read and consider the discussion papers, which can be downloaded from our website's "What's New" section. Either send your comments to , or contribute to our discussion list (instructions for subscribing to the list can be found on our "Links" page).
The new National Council will want to hear your opinions on these very important proposals before any final decisions are made.
3) FVC in Toronto
The Toronto group of FVC supporters met for their second meeting on March 20 to discuss the position papers being presented at the March 30-31 national conference. The Toronto group will next meet on April 23. Contact Larry Gordon for details: gormoer@web.ca.
4) Local FVC Meeting in Ottawa
The next meeting of local FVC supporters in Ottawa will be on April 9, at 7:00 pm on the Hill, Room 209 of the West Block. Please tell Dan Biocchi if you will be attending so he can put your name on the list for the guards in West Block.
5) Quebec Liberal Party Supports PR
The Quebec Liberal Party adopted a policy which supports proportional representation at its convention earlier this month in Trois Rivières. The resolution proposes a mixed system whereby about 70 per cent of the seats would be elected in single-member ridings and 30 per cent elected under "a compensatory procedure."
6) Fair Voting BC Campaigns Across Province
Fair Voting BC spokesperson Stuart Parker has been travelling across the province this month, promoting electoral reform in the run-up to the provincial election.
FVBC supports changes to make BC's electoral system more proportional. It is this lack of proportional representation which resulted in the BC NDP forming a majority government with only 39% of the vote in 1996 while the BC Liberals won 42% in the same election.
"Regardless of where people sit on the political spectrum," Parker states, "there is a real appetite for electoral change. Our group includes New Democrats, Liberals and supporters of virtually every other provincial and federal political party in BC. No matter what people's views are on other issues, there is a consensus in this province that people are tired of the lack of accountability of politicians and want real institutional changes to address this."
In 1996, more than one third of voters in Vancouver voted in favour of proportional representation at the municipal level. Currently, all BC political parties except the NDP support a process to reform BC's electoral system culminating in a province-wide referendum allowing British Columbians to choose a new voting system.
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