FVAlta: Quebec & Prince Edward Island move forward (17 Dec 2004)
December 17, 2004
Friday, December 17, 2004
Quebec & Prince Edward Island move forward on electoral reform
When will Government of Alberta address our provincial democratic deficit?
Edmonton - "Canadians desire for electoral reform has moved one step closer with Quebec and PEI's announcements that they are looking to introduce proportional representation into their provincial elections," said Helene Narayana, Edmonton spokesperson for Fair Vote Alberta. "Quebec and PEI's initiatives means five provinces (British Columbia, Ontario and New Brunswick) are now seriously looking at their democratic deficits. The question is why is the Government of Alberta not moving forward to address our democratic deficit?"
"Alberta's recent provincial election was a dramatic example of this province's democratic deficit. Premier Klein's party received 61 or 73 per cent of the legislature's seats while receiving 47 per cent of the popular vote. Voters are the losers when a party can form a majority government with a minority of votes."
"Fair Vote Alberta renews its call for the Government of Alberta to initiate a Citizens' Assembly on Electoral Reform," said Narayana. "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."
PEI's Premier Pat Binns announced December 15th that islanders will vote in a plebiscite in November 2005 on whether to adopt a mixed member proportional voting system. If the new system is adopted, Binns stated the changes could be in place for the next provincial election in 2006 or 2007.
Quebec announced December 15th that it will become the first provincial government to produce a draft bill for a proportional representation voting system. The first election decided by proportional representation could be in 2013.
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.