Fair Vote Canada
NEWSLETTER
Dec. 16, 2001
CONTENTS:
1) Ontario Federation of Labour Endorses FVC Campaign
2) National Advisory Board
3) Head of Quebec's Elections Says It's Time for Change
4) BC Greens Launch "Free Your Vote" Initiative
5) Local Chapter Updates
6) UK MPs Call for Democracy Commission
7) Law Commission Requests Research Proposals
---------------------------------------
1) Ontario Federation of Labour Endorses FVC Campaign
The Ontario Federation of Labour passed a resolution in support of Fair Vote Canada at its convention earlier this month in Toronto.
"The OFL's support is very important to Fair Vote Canada," said Larry Gordon, FVC president. "Building support among labour and other organizations is crucial to FVC's goal of establishing a democratic movement that no government will be able to ignore."
Before debating the resolution, Larry Gordon spoke to the convention about Fair Vote Canada's organization and objectives. He emphasized the importance of the non-partisan nature of FVC and that the campaign was uniting people from all points on the political spectrum to further a common goal. This point was echoed by many of those who spoke in favour of the resolution.
Also, last month, the Southern Ontario Newspaper Guild (Communication, Energy and Paperworkers Union Local 87-M) voted in favour of donating $10,000 to Fair Vote Canada. The membership approved the donation in a referendum. Their support is greatly appreciated.
FVC has established an outreach program to labour organizations. Contact John Deverell, deverell@song.on.ca, for more information.
2) National Advisory Board
In January, Fair Vote Canada will announce the membership of its National Advisory Board. The board's duties will be to provide advice, assist with strategy and contacts, and publicly support FVC.
Members of the board will include current and former MPs from all major national parties, as well as notable Canadians from political, social and cultural circles.
3) Head of Quebec's Elections Says It's Time for Change
Quebec is ready for a revision of its voting system, asserts the Director General of Elections, Marcel Blanchet.
Blanchet's remarks were reported in Le Devoir on November 30, just a few days before he presented a new electoral map to the National Assembly. He referred to the boundary redistribution as "a difficult exercise" and suggested that the public consultation requested by Mouvement pour une démocratie nouvelle (MDN) should be taken into consideration.
"We think that the time has come to reflect deeply upon the method of representation," he said.
4) BC Greens Launch "Free Your Vote" Initiative
The BC Green Party has launched a citizens' initiative to change the province's voting system.
The "Free Your Vote" campaign aims to use BC's initiative process to force the provincial government to hold a referendum on the Green Party's proposed new voting system. Starting in Spring 2002, volunteers around the province will begin trying to collect the required number of signatures -- at least 10% of registered voters in all 79 constituencies.
Party leader Adriane Carr filed the necessary papers for the citizens' initiative with Elections BC on November 26.
The Greens' proposal would cut the number of MLAs from 79 to 68. Half of the MLAs would be elected to represent constituencies, the boundaries of which would match federal riding boundaries. The other 34 seats would "top-up" each party's share of the total 68 seats so that its total share of seats matched its share of the province-wide vote. Voters would have two votes: one for their preferred constituency candidate and one for their preferred party.
The government of BC has stated its intention of reviewing the voting system through a citizens' assembly, which would then be followed by a referendum.
For more information of the Free Your Vote campaign, visit www.freeyourvote.bc.ca.
5) Local Chapter Updates Here are the updates and contact information for Fair Vote Canada local chapters:
-- Toronto -- Wayne Smith -- toronto@fairvotecanada.org or 416-407-7009.
-- Peterborough -- A group of members in Peterborough and surrounding area have met and formed an ad-hoc committee, which will meet again in mid January to consider forming an official chapter, planning a public information-education event for early 2001, local outreach campaign through talks to various community groups. Contact Mark Finnan -- mwf@nexicom.net or 705-939-2556.
-- Calgary -- The next meeting will be on 7 January at 7:30 p.m., location TBA. We'll be having a workshop on balloting methods among other things. Matt Emmett -- fvc-calgary@emmett.ca.
-- Edmonton -- Doug Bailie, doug.bailie@fairvotecanada.org.
-- Vancouver -- Arn Keeling, vancouver@fairvotecanada.org.
-- Victoria -- Bruce Hallsor, Hallsor@creaseharman.com.
-- Ottawa -- The Ottawa members of FVC will hold a meeting at 7 pm on Monday, 7 January with the aim of forming a chapter. All members from eastern Ontario and western Quebec who are interested are welcome to attend. For information on the meeting place or other questions contact John Trent at jtrent@uottawa.ca or (819) 827-4407.
-- Winnipeg -- Chris Billows, cpbillows@gatewest.net.
If you are interested in helping start a local chapter in your area, please contact info@fairvotecanada.org or phone 416-410-4034.
--------------
FVC memberships are payable by cheque, VISA or Mastercard. Membership forms are available on the "Join Fair Vote" page of our website: http://www.fairvotecanada.org/eng/join/enter.html
---------------
6) UK MPs Call for Democracy Commission
A committee of the UK House of Commons has called for the establishment of a "democracy commission" to combat the crisis in public participation in democracy. The Public Administration Select Committee report on November 6 pointed to the record low turnout in June's General Election - just 59% - as evidence of widespread "civic disengagement." Further information: Public Administration Select Committee website: http://www.parliment.uk/commons/selcom/pubahome.htm
7) Law Commission Requests Research Proposals
The Law Commission of Canada is pleased to announce a request for Proposals for research on values and the electoral system.
As part of its research on governance relationships, the Law Commission of Canada is undertaking an examination of the electoral system in Canada. The Commission intends to encourage public dialogue on alternatives to the current voting system, including an opportunity for citizens to voice their opinions on the values they want represented in the Canadian voting system.
As part the electoral reform project, the Law Commission is seeking proposals for research that examine the values and conditions that are associated with Canada's electoral system, as well as the model(s) that best accommodate these preferences.
The total budget for the proposed research project should be within the range of $15,000-$20,000. The deadline for submitting proposals is January 18, 2002.
For comprehensive information about this request for proposals, please consult: http://www.lcc.gc.ca/en/contracts/20011128.html.