Fair Vote Canada
NEWSLETTER
Jan. 18, 2002
CONTENTS:
1) FVC Annual Meeting Plans Underway
2) FVC Vice-President Speaks to Liberal Women's Caucus
3) B.C. Government Will Act on Voting Reform
4) Labour Support Continues to Grow
5) Local Chapter Updates
6) Quebec Committee to Study Voting Reform
7) Lord Jenkins Says PR Would Increase Voter Turn-Out
8) Request for Participants in Research Study
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1) FVC Annual Meeting Plans Underway
Plans are underway for Fair Vote Canada's annual meeting. The meeting
will begin Friday evening, April 26 and go all day Saturday, April 27, and
will take place in 308 West Block of the Parliament Buildings. There will
be guest speakers, panels and discussion groups.
This year's meeting will coincide with the first election for the National
Council. All members have the right to participate and vote in this
election. Full information on procedures and deadlines will be sent to all
members later this month.
Election results will be announced at the annual meeting.
2) FVC Vice-President Speaks to Liberal Women's Caucus
Doris Anderson, FVC's vice-president, has been invited to address the
Liberal Women's Caucus on January 20. This is a golden opportunity for
FVC to bring its message to government MPs.
3) B.C. Government Will Act on Voting Reform
B.C. Attorney General Geoff Plant recently reaffirmed the government's
intention to re-examine the voting system through an open, democratic
process.
At a conference held by the Fraser Institute last November, Plant
repeated the Liberal's election promise that a citizens assembly would be
convened which would review and consider alternatives to the current
voting system. The public would then vote on its recommendations in a
referendum.
Observers expect that the attorney general will not open this file until the
spring, at the earliest.
Debate has already started on the creation, size and scope of the
citizens assembly. It is believed, however, that the government favours
a randomly appointed assembly of 20 to 25 people with a mandate to
consider only the voting system (rather than a broader list of governance
issues) and the nature and timing of a referendum.
During last spring's provincial election, Premier Gordon Campbell said
repeatedly that he was not opposed to a new voting system being in
place before the next election. (The date for the next election has already
been fixed for May 17, 2005.)
The Fraser Institute's conference, "Reforming Politics: The BC Blueprint,"
dealt with a variety of issues concerning democratic reform. The institute
is an economic policy think tank; the fact that it would host this event
speaks volumes about how far the discussion of voting reform has come
in the country.
Troy Lanigan, a member of Fair Vote Canada's executive committee,
attended the conference on behalf of FVC, distributed promotional
material and ensured that the moderator encouraged conference
participants to support our campaign.
4) Labour Support Continues to Grow
The Toronto and York Region Labour Council passed a motion this
month to support the FVC campaign and proportional representation.
Also, plans are underway to put forward a resolution at the Canadian
Labour Congress meeting in June in favour of endorsing FVC's
campaign. The CLC already officially supports proportional
representation.
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.
The Toronto Chapter will hold a workshop on comparative voting
systems on Tuesday, January 29, 7:00 p.m., at 130 Carlton Street. This
workshop will be an excellent opportunity for new and prospective
members to learn more about voting systems and problems. Gail Turner
will facilitate the workshop, which will include a mock election using
proportional representation.
Also, the Toronto Chapter's Executive Committee and all standing
committees will meet on Tuesday, January 22, 7:00 p.m., at 130 Carlton
Street.
-- National Capital Region -- The National Council has formally approved
the National Capital Region Chapter. The chapter's bylaws were adopted
and the first executive elected at a meeting in early January.
The members of the executive are: Brian Gibb, President; John Trent,
Co-President; John Baglow, Vice-President; Sarah Crowe, Executive
Secretary; Peggy Land, Recording Secretary; Cyndy Recker, Treasurer;
Ellen Penner, Communications Director; Maria Neil, Research Chair;
Catherine Woodgold, Elections Officer.
The fist executive meeting will be held on January 19. The NCR Chapter
will help to organize Fair Vote Canada's annual meeting in April. For
information, contact John Trent at jtrent@uottawa.ca or (819) 827-4407.
-- Peterborough and Area -- Another meeting of local supporters was
held on January 15 where plans for establishing a local chapter
proceeded. The group is planning a public information event for early
March involving a guest speaker and workshops. The group will hold its
next meeting on February 7th. Contact Mark Finnan -- mwf@nexicom.net
or 705-939-2556, or Raphael Thierrin -- raphael@infoshaper.com or
(705) 749-9890.
-- Greater Vancouver -- Local members met recently to set an agenda
and date for the inaugural general meeting: Saturday, April 6 from Noon
to 4 p.m. The meeting will feature an open house to launch the local
chapter, and include speakers and possibly a panel on electoral reform.
The Greater Vancouver Chapter will encompass members from the
Lower Mainland region of B.C. For more information, contact Arn
Keeling, vancouver@fairvotecanada.org.
-- Calgary -- Next meeting: Monday, February 4th, at 7:30 p.m., in the
library room (upstairs) at the The Rose & Crown, 1503 - 4th Street S.W.
A short presentation about the history of voting in Calgary, Alberta, and
Canada is being planned. Contact Matt Emmett --
fvc-calgary@emmett.ca.
-- Edmonton -- Doug Bailie, doug.bailie@fairvotecanada.org.
-- Victoria -- Bruce Hallsor, Hallsor@creaseharman.com.
-- 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.
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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
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6) Quebec Committee to Study Voting Reform
A committee of the Quebec National Assembly will soon begin to study
the possibility of changing the province's voting system.
The Committee on Institutions has been given a mandate by the
government to evaluate the current voting system, to study different
methods of reform and consider their effects.
The committee may consult the public and the province's chief electoral
officer. No date has yet been set for the committee to begin its work.
7) Lord Jenkins Says PR Would Increase Voter Turn-Out
Lord Jenkins, who chaired the British government's commission on
voting reform in 1998, told an all-party committee in December that the
adoption of proportional representation could increase voter turn-out by
about 10 per cent.
At a joint meeting of the Make Votes Count campaign and APGER (the
All-Party Group on Electoral Reform) on Dec. 5, Jenkins said that PR
would be the best way to reverse the increasingly low turn-out in general
elections.
"Under our present system, the great majority who live in relatively safe
seats know that whether they vote or not has no effect either on who is
their local MP or on the shape of the overall results. A proportional
system of voting would end that deadening lack of incentive."
For more news on voting reform in the UK, visit:
http://www.electoral-reform.org.uk
8) Request for Participants in Research Study
Fair Vote Canada asks you to consider the following request from June
Macdonald:
Dear fellow Fair Vote Canada members and supporters:
I am currently working on completing my Ed.D. at the Ontario
Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto and
I wonder if you would participate in a research study I am doing
that I think will potentially be of benefit to you and to Fair Vote
Canada?
The study overall is essentially about how people in online
groups make decisions or reach consensus on a problem of a
challenging public policy issue. In this case I am using the
Canadian voting system reform as content.
Essentially, you need to have access to the Internet and basic
email and surfing skills. That is, familiarity with using a browser
such as Netscape or Internet Explorer. I am looking at a mix of
people that reflects, as much as possible, the diversity of
Canada.
If you are interested in learning more, please contact me at
jmacdonald@oise.utoronto.ca
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