"No more evasion on electoral reform" (January 11, 2006)
January 11, 2006
"No more evasion on electoral reform"
Fair Vote Canada and prominent supporters call on next government to hold national referendum on PR
Citing disappointment with the Liberal, Conservative and Bloc leaders for their failure to support electoral reform, Fair Vote Canada, joined by 65 prominent Canadians, called on the next Government and all Parliamentary parties to: 1) initiate a public consultation on instituting a more proportional voting system, and 2) provide Canadians with a referendum process to choose the best voting system.
"It's time to stop dodging the issue," said Wayne Smith, President of Fair Vote Canada. "The 60 percent of the electorate who still vote are about to go to the polls again. We will try to elect a representative Parliament and we will fail because the voting system will distort what we say. Enough is enough."
In contrast to the federal government, the Liberal governments in B.C. and Ontario have committed to citizen-driven electoral reform and referendum processes, without government or partisan interference.
"It's time to pry the fingers of the government and the political parties off the voting system and off the reform process itself," said Larry Gordon, Executive Director of Fair Vote Canada. "If the governments of British Columbia and Ontario can acknowledge their conflict of interest and accept that the voting system belongs to the electorate, not politicians, then the federal government and parties can do likewise. Give Canadians a fair process and we can choose the best proportional voting system for Canada."
Fair Vote Canada's call for a national referendum process (text and list of signatories below) has been endorsed by a wide range of prominent Canadians from across the political spectrum, including: Tom Kent, former advisor to Prime Minister Pearson; Lincoln Alexander, former Ontario Lieutenant Governor and federal cabinet minister; Maude Barlow, Chairperson, Council of Canadians; David Suzuki, scientist and broadcaster; Nancy Ruth, Senator; Lois Wilson, former Senator; Patrick Boyer, former Progressive Conservative MP; Michael Cassidy, former leader Ontario NDP; Alan Redway, former cabinet minister and Progressive Conservative MP; Rick Anderson, former advisor to Preston Manning; Ursula Franklin, scientist; Rafe Mair and Judy Rebick, political commentators ; John Trent, former secretary, International Political Science Association; Peter Russell and Hugh Thorburn, former presidents of the Canadian Political Science Association; Sylvia Ostry, economist; Don Ferguson, Roger Abbott, Luba Goy and Max Ferguson, entertainers; and Nkem Anizor and Dave Farthing, youth leaders.
NATIONAL REFERENDUM PROCESS
We the undersigned believe the next Parliament and Government must make Canada's democratic renewal an urgent priority. We can no longer afford to ignore our democracy deficit or postpone substantive reform to our core democratic institutions, including voting system reform.
The present voting system wastes millions of votes, distorts election results, exaggerates the regionality of our political parties, and denies fair representation to many Canadians. We call on the next Government of Canada and all other Parliamentary parties to: 1) initiate a public consultation on instituting a more proportional voting system, and 2) provide Canadians with a referendum process to choose the best voting system.
Roger Abbott, Royal Canadian Air Farce
Lydia Adams, conductor/musician
Lincoln Alexander, former Ontario Lieutenant Governor, former federal cabinet minister
Rick Anderson, consultant, columnist, former advisor to Preston Manning
Nkem Anizor, Black Youth Taking Action
Harry Baglole, founding Director, Institute of Island Studies
Patricia Baird, former Chair, Royal Commission on New Reproductive Technologies
Maude Barlow, author, activist and Chairperson, Council of Canadians
John Beckwith, composer, writer and educator
Avie Bennett, Chair, McClelland & Stewart, and Chancellor Emeritus, York University
Meyer Brownstone, professor emeritus, international election monitor and advisor
J. Patrick Boyer, QC, lawyer, author, former Progressive Conservative MP
June Callwood, author, former chair of Writers' Union of Canada and P.E.N.
Barbara Caplan, former activist, political organizer and City of Toronto senior manager
John Cartwright, President, Toronto & York Region Labour Council
Michael Cassidy, former NDP MP, former leader of the Ontario NDP
James Clancy, National President, National Union of Public and General Employees
Paul Copeland, criminal lawyer, active with Law Union of Ontario
Bonnie Diamond, Executive Director, National Association of Women and the Law
Howard Dyck, conductor & artistic director, CBC radio host
Margrit Eichler, professor, sociology and women's studies
Dave Farthing, co-founder and Executive Director, YOUCAN
Don Ferguson, Royal Canadian Air Farce
Max Ferguson, former broadcaster and satirist on the CBC
Ursula Franklin, Professor Emerita, physicist, author, activist
Margaret Fulton, educator, former President of Mount St. Vincent University
Graeme Gibson, author
Katherine Govier, author
Luba Goy, Royal Canadian Air Farce
Elizabeth Gray, writer
Margaret Hancock, Hart House Warden, University of Toronto
Marjorie Harris, Editor at large, Gardening Life
Mel Hurtig, author, publisher, activist
Richard Johnston, former President, Centennial College, former Ontario MPP
G. Alex Jupp, retired public affairs consultant
Tom Kent, former advisor to Prime Minister Pearson, former royal commission chair
Bruce Kidd, University of Toronto professor and former Olympic athlete
David Langille, Executive Director, Centre for Social Justice
Troy Lanigan, National Communications Director, Canadian Taxpayers Federation
Frances Lankin, Pres. & CEO United Way of Greater Toronto, former Ont. Cabinet Minister
Jeannie Lea, former Prince Edward Island cabinet minister
Betty Lee, author, journalist, editor
Nick Loenen, founder, Fair Voting B.C.
Rafe Mair, radio host, writer, political commentator, Hall of Fame broadcaster
Henry Milner, professor, author, electoral reform expert
J. Fraser Mustard, founding President, The Canadian Institute for Advanced Research
Nancy Ruth, Senator, feminist and social activist
John Oostrom, former PC MP 1984-88
Sylvia Ostry, economist, Univ. of Toronto, former Chair, Economic Council of Canada
Bernard Ostry, former chairman and CEO of TVOntario; former deputy minister
Erna Paris, author
Walter Pitman, former president of Ryerson Polytechnic Institute
Judy Rebick, Sam Gindin Chair in Social Justice and Democracy, Ryerson University
Alan Redway, former Progressive Conservative MP, cabinet minister
Walter Robinson, former Federal Director, Canadian Taxpayers Federation
Virginia Rock, Professor Emerita, D. Litt., York University, American, Women's Studies
Norman Ruff, political scientist and media commentator
Peter Russell, former President, Canadian Political Science Association
Linda Silver Dranoff, family law lawyer, writer, law reform activist
David Suzuki, broadcaster, scientist
Hugh Thorburn, former President, Canadian Political Science Association
John Trent, former Secretary, International Political Science Association
Nycole Turmel, National President, Public Service Alliance of Canada
Lois Wilson, former Senator and former chair, World Council of Churches
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