Fair Vote Canada
NEWSLETTER
July 28, 2002
CONTENTS:
1) Hugh Segal Joins Advisory Board
2) Sign Our Petition for a Referendum on PR
3) FVC-Law Commission Project Releases First Report
4) Tory Lanigan Appointed as FVC's Vice-President
5) Private Members Bill Aims at Referendum on Voting System
6) Quebec Government Releases Discussion Paper
7) Calling All Federal PC Convention Delegates
8) Chapter Updates
9) International Elections
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1) Hugh Segal Joins Advisory Board
Fair Vote Canada is pleased to announce the appointment of Hugh Segal to the Advisory Board.
Hugh Segal is president of the Institute for Research on Public Policy and a one-time candidate for the leadership of the Progressive Conservatives.
He joins the 28 other board members including current and former MPs of all major parties and representatives from cultural, academic and social spheres. To read about the Advisory Board members, follow the link on the About Us page of the website .
The FVC Advisory Board is comprised of high profile Canadians supporting FVC's mandate who can be called upon for public support, and strategic and expert opinion.
2) Sign Our Petition for a Referendum on PR
If you want to help Fair Vote Canada's campaign for a referendum on proportional representation, please help circulate our new petition. The peitition will be crucial not only for our efforts to lobby Parliament but also to strengthen FVC as a grassroots movement.
For copies of the petition, contact info@fairvotecanada.org, or 416-410-4034.
3) FVC-Law Commission Project Releases First Report
The report on the first phase of the joint project of Fair Vote Canada and the Law Commission of Canada is now available. Titled "Lessons From Aound the World", the research report, prepared by Dennis Pilon, York University, reviews the relevant experience with voting system reform from around the world, both past and present, and the degree and nature of citizen engagement in the process.
The joint project, Renewing Canadian Democracy: Citizen Engagement in Voting System Reform, has two main objectives: 1) determine how Canadian citizens can become actively engaged in a civic process to learn about voting system reform, and 2) develop plain language education materials for citizen engagement.
A copy of the report can be obtained through the Commission's web site at: http://www.lcc.gc.ca/en/themes/gr/er/Pilon_Paper.asp or
http://www.lcc.gc.ca/en/themes/gr/er/Pilon_Paper.pdf
4) Troy Lanigan Appointed as FVC's Vice-President
The National Council has appointed Troy Lanigan to the newly-created position of vice-president.
Troy has served on the executive committee since it was established a year ago. Among his many contributions to FVC is the leading role he has played in organizing FVC's annual general meetings.
Troy is also national communications director Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) based in Regina, Saskatchewan. Prior to that position, he served as CTF's spokesperson in British Columbia for five years, where he was founding president of the Electoral Change Coalition of BC.
5) Private Members Bill Aims at Referendum on Voting System
Lorne Nystrom, NDP MP for Regina Qu'Appelle, introduced a bill that will amend the Referendum Act and create the possibility of a national referendum on overhauling Canada's electoral system.
Bill C-478, which received first reading on June 17, would amend the Referendum Act, which currently only applies to constitutional issues, to allow it to be used to obtain citizens' opinions on the voting system as well.
"If electoral reform is to succeed in renewing the democratic process,
Canadians must be given the chance to participate in the process of reform itself," said Nystrom, who is also a member of FVC's Advisory Board.
6) Quebec Government Releases Discussion Paper
The government of Quebec released a discussion paper last month describing a broad program of democratic reform, including the adoption of proportional representation.
Jean-Pierre Charbonneau, the minister responsible for reform of democratic institutions, released the document, "Le Pouvoir Aux Citoyens et Aux Citoyennes" (Power to the Citizens), which offers Quebecers an outline of a complete institutional overhaul -- replacing the parlimentary system with an American-style, presidential system.
Meanwhile, a committee of the National Assembly is preparing a report on reform of the voting system which is to be released in September. Both papers will be the subject of public hearings in the fall.
The next step in the government's program will be to call a constitutional convention to discuss democratic reform. For more information, see .
7) Calling All Federal PC Convention Delegates
If you are a FVC member and will be a delegate to the federal Progessive Conservative convention in Edmonton in August, please contact Larry Gordon, FVC's executive director, at or 416-410-4034.
The convention is expected to deal with the party's discussion paper on democratic reform, which harshly criticizes Canada's current voting system.
Fair Vote Canada will have an information table at the convention.
8) Chapter Updates
Following are the updates and contact information for Fair Vote Canada
local chapters. Further information is available on the Chapters page of
the FVC website.
-- Toronto -- Wayne Smith, toronto@fairvotecanada.org or 416-407-
7009.
The Annual General Meeting of the Fair Vote Canada Toronto Chapter will take place on Tuesday, September 24, at 130 Carlton Street in Toronto. The meeting will elect the five-member executive committee and consider amendments to the chapter's bylaws.
For more information on the election or bylaw amendment process, contact the Chair, toronto@fairvotecanada.org.
There will be no business & strategy meeting in August.
The Toronto Chapter will hold a barbecue and social at Fair
Vote Canada National Headquarters at 26 Maryland Boulevard on Saturday, August 10, 4-8 p.m. Admission is $20.00, which includes all you can eat (proportional degustation) and soft drinks. B.Y.O.B., and B.Y.O. lawn chair. Tickets are available in advance, and attendance will be limited, so get your tickets now.
-- National Capital Region -- Contact info@fairvotecanada.org.
-- Peterborough and Area Raphael Thierrin, raphael@infoshaper.com or
(705) 749-9890. In Port Hope-Cobourg area contact Wilf Day,
dayphope@on.aibn.com or (905) 885-5456.
-- Greater Vancouver -- Arn Keeling, vancouver@fairvotecanada.org or
(604) 874-9046.
-- Calgary -- Matt Emmett, fvc-calgary@emmett.ca.
The next chapter meeting will be in September, but you can join us on-
line for summer at http://fvc.emmett.ca or by email at fvc-
calgary@emmett.ca.
-- Edmonton -- Doug Bailie, doug.bailie@fairvotecanada.org.
The next general meeting will be held in the fall.
-- Victoria -- Bruce Hallsor, Hallsor@creaseharman.com.
-- Manitoba -- Chris Billows, chris.billows@fairvotecanada.org, 204-488-4091.
The Steering Committee of Fair Vote Manitoba met for its initial meeting on July 24 in Winnipeg. The group made a commitment to build a province-wide chapter that would work for voting system reform at both the federal and provincial levels. A founding convention is being planned for October.
--Saskatoon -- Jason Hanson, komrade@shaw.ca.
If you are interested in helping start a local chapter in your area, please
contact info@fairvotecanada.org or phone 416-410-4034.
9) International Election News
-- New Zealand -- The Labour government was re-elected on Saturday in the country's third PR election. The party was aiming to win a majority of seats, but in the end fell nine seats short. However, several parties are open to supporting Labour, either in a coalition or on an issue-by-issue basis.
The National Party, the second largest, suffered a historic loss as its popular vote was reduced to 21 per cent. It failed to benefit from the 10-percent decline in Labour support during the campaign. Those votes went instead to several small parties which have now strengthened their position.
New Zealand's election system is called Mixed Member Proportional
(MMP). About half of the MPs are elected in single member districts by
"first past the post," and the other half from party lists. The system was
first used in 1996. General elections are held every three years. For full results, see .
-- Tasmania, Australia -- Tasmania's Labor government was re-elected on July 20, increasing its position in the 25-seat house from 14 to 15. But the state's Green party was the main beneficiary of declining Liberal fortunes as the Liberals dropped four seats and the Greens gained three.
Tasmania has used the single transferable vote (STV) since 1909. The state is divided into five constituencies electing five members each. Voters rank the candidates in order of their preference, and they are not bound to vote for the candidates of one party. For full results, see .
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