http://www.hilltimes.com/news/politics/2012/01/14/trudeau-supports-pr-ev...

To the editors of The Hill Times:

Re: Trudeau supports PR, even though he would have lost his seat under it - The Hill Times, Jan. 13, 2012

“We should seize this historic opportunity for us to formally embrace the principle of proportional representation as an absolute necessity for the future of Canada,” says Justin Trudeau (Trudeau supports PR, even though he would have lost his seat under it – Hill Times, Jan 14).

A pity then, that that is not what the Liberal Party of Canada did at their policy convention this past weekend. What the convention endorsed, urged on by Trudeau and by democratic reform critic Stéphane Dion, was “a preferential ballot” in our current, single-member constituencies. This would give us what is called the Alternative Vote (AV) or Instant Runoff Voting (IRV) system.

Despite the confusion in the minds of many politicians and apparently even some journalists, the Alternative Vote is emphatically not proportional representation. It is also not “modified proportional representation” or “a form of proportional representation”, or even “a move towards proportional representation”. It is just another winner-take-all voting system like the one we have now.

The Alternative Vote is phony reform.

Although voters get to vote sincerely without losing their ‘strategic’ vote, pretty much the same people get elected. We would still have single-party governments without the support of a true majority of voters. The Alternative Vote is just a distraction on the road to proportional representation, and a barrier to real reform.

We can see how the Alternative Vote works in Australia, the only major country to use this system. AV/IRV would not give voters more viable political choices. It would not elect more women. It would not give us a parliament that better reflects the diversity of our society. It would not give us a more consensual type of government or a more civilized style of politics. Ironically, it would probably not even elect more Liberals.

The Liberal Party has made a huge tactical error in endorsing a system that was just massively rejected in referendums in New Zealand and the U.K. Fortunately, there will be at least one more Liberal policy convention before the next election. They still have time to get it right and support real reform—proportional representation—instead of the illusion of reform.

Wayne Smith
Executive Director
Fair Vote Canada
416-407-7009
http:FairVote.Ca