FVAlta: Opposition Parties agree on Citizens' Assembly on Electoral Reform (4 Nov 2004)
November 04, 2004
Thursday, November 4, 2004
Opposition Parties agree on Citizens' Assembly on Electoral Reform
PCs will consider electoral reform if Albertans express a desire
Calgary - "I am delighted to announce that the Alliance, Liberal and NDP provincial parties have all endorsed the concept of a Citizens' Assembly on Electoral Reform," said Alfredo Louro, Calgary spokesperson for Fair Vote Alberta. "Though not endorsing a Citizens' Assembly, the Progressive Conservatives told us 'The PC Party of Alberta is open to new ideas, and would consider electoral reform if Albertans express a desire for it.'"
"On October 22nd, Fair Vote Alberta launched a campaign to call on the Government of Alberta to initiate a Citizens' Assembly on Electoral Reform. The Citizens' Assembly would assess all possible models for electing the Members of the Legislative Assembly. If it recommends changes to the electoral system, that option would be put to a province-wide referendum."
"There is a problem with our electoral system," said Harvey Voogd, Provincial spokesperson for Fair Vote Alberta, "because under Alberta's first-past-the-post voting system, there is almost always a substantial difference between each party's popular vote and the number of seats they win. This distorts the popular support for each party."
"For example, in the 2001 provincial election the Liberals received 27 per cent of the vote, but only won 7 seats. If seats were determined by the popular vote, the Liberals should have won 24 seats. Conversely, in the same election, the Progressive Conservatives received 62 per cent of the vote, but won 74 seats. If their seats had been determined by the popular vote, the PCs would have won 52 seats."
According to Louro, "Alberta should follow the lead of British Columbia which has instituted a citizens' assembly. There is no excuse for the Alberta Government not to follow B.C.'s lead because our provincial situation resembles B.C. in many ways. We have growing political apathy and falling voter turn out. We have a large, majority government with a small opposition."
"The B.C. assembly's recent recommendation to change B.C.'s electoral system will be put directly to voters in a referendum to be held with the next provincial election scheduled for May 17, 2005."
"There can be no more deeply democratic exercise than citizens determining what is the best voting system for their province," said Voogd. "It is absolutely imperative that citizens undertake this initiative because only they can discharge this duty without being in conflict of interest. MLAs elected by our current voting system have a built in bias to the system that got them elected. Why would they change a system that works for them?"
The actual text of the Fair Vote Alberta campaign is as follows:
We, being citizens of the Province of Alberta call on the Government of Alberta to initiate a Citizens' Assembly on Electoral Reform.
The Government of Alberta should appoint a Citizens' Assembly on Electoral Reform to assess all possible models for electing the Members of the Legislative Assembly, including preferential ballots, proportional representation and our current electoral system.
The Government of Alberta should give the Citizens' Assembly on Electoral Reform a mandate to hold public hearings throughout Alberta, and if it recommends changes to the electoral system, that option be put to a province-wide referendum.
Individuals and organizations that have endorsed the campaign to date include:
* John Carpay, Canadian Taxpayers Federation (Alberta Division)
* Hon. Dr. Thelma Chalifoux, retired Senator
* Bob Hawkesworth, Calgary Alderman
* Mel Hurtig, Author
* David King, former Alberta Cabinet Minister
* Karen Leibovici, Edmonton City Councillor
* Terry Wickham, Edmonton Folk Music Festival
* YWCA of Edmonton
Fair Vote Alberta is a campaign of Fair Vote Canada. It is comprised of voters from all parties, all points of view and all walks of life. We are helping Albertans learn about the problems with our voting system and the availability of better alternatives.
[ This Message was edited by: admin on 2005-02-26 17:00 ]