Fair Vote Canada
NEWSLETTER
Sept. 7, 2001

CONTENTS:
1) New Committees Working on Fall Projects
2) Local Chapter Updates
3) Media Comments on PR
4) Claude Ryan Signs Up For Voting Reform
5) No New Referendum in New Zealand
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1) New Committees Working on Fall Projects

As Fair Vote Canada gears up for an active fall campaign, a number of new committees have begun work on key tasks:

-- Doris Anderson, Troy Lanigan and Bruce Hallsor will be contacting high-profile Canadians to sign the FVC petition and join a national advisory council.

-- Julian West, Andre Larocque, Richard Swift, Doris Anderson, Larry Gordon, Gail Turner and Dennis Pilon will be working on the Law Commission of Canada projects related to citizen engagement in electoral reform.

-- Gail Turner, Cara MacDonald, Gregg Hill, Wayne Smith, Doug Bailie and Larry Gordon will be developing model FVC presentations and workshops to be ready by September 15.

-- Julian West and Larry Gordon will be working on outreach to political parties and MPs.

-- Dean Laffan has volunteered to help set up and manage databases for FVC.

-- Doug Bailie will be working on expansion of educational materials on the web site.

Doris Anderson met with a group of PR activists, including J'Nan Brown, in Prince Edward Island and wrote a feature article for the Charlottetown Guardian which was published on Aug. 31. She will be speaking to the University Women's Club of Toronto on Sept. 13 and the University Women's Club of Brockville on Oct. 22.

FVC has also hired a part-time administrative assistant and a part-time website developer to help us keep up with our increased acitivities and expanding membership.

2) Local Chapter Updates

Vancouver - An organizational meeting will be held for the Vancouver chapter on Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2001, 7-9 p.m. at Mount Pleasant Neighbourhood House, 800 East Broadway, Vancouver. Ask at the desk for the room. Parking is available on the street. Contact Arn Keeling keeling@interchange.ubc.ca for more information.

Toronto -- The Toronto Chapter of Fair Vote Canada will hold its official Founding Meeting on Tuesday, September 25 at 7:00 p.m. at 130 Carlton Street in Toronto. At this historic meeting, the chapter will formally adopt its constitution and elect its first official Executive Committee. The meeting will also discuss the formation of committees and working groups, and begin to develop a strategic plan for promoting the cause of fair voting reform in Canada. For more Information contact: Wayne Smith wayneon@hotmail.com.

Ottawa -- Contact Dan Biocchi dbdata@home.com for information.

Edmonton -- Contact Doug Bailie doug.bailie@fairvotecanada.org for information.

3) Media Comments on PR

The opinion pages of the National Post heated up with discussion of proportional representation last week. Andrew Coyne, William Watson, Tom Flanagan and an unsigned editorial all raised the issue of voting system reform, pro and con.

All articles are available online at www.nationalpost.com.

4) Claude Ryan Signs Up For Voting Reform

Claude Ryan, former leader of the Quebec Liberals, has put his name to a petition demanding that the Quebec government set up a commission to examine voting system reform. The petition is spearheaded by Le Mouvement pour une démocratie nouvelle (MDN).

Ryan was Liberal leader in the late 1970s and early 1980s, and before that was editor of Le Devoir.

5) No New Referendum in New Zealand

The parliamentary committee examining New Zealand's voting system has not recommended any significant changes at this time. Nor has the committee recommended another referendum on the voting system.

Of the 161 groups which made presentations to the committee, 111 favoured keeping the country's current proportional voting system.

The opposition National party is pushing for another referendum.

For more information on the committee's report, go to http://www.elections.org.nz/elections/news/.

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