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Constituent Meeting with the Honourable Marc Garneau

Fair Vote Canada is calling for a National Citizens’ Assembly on Electoral Reform. On December 17, 2019, six constituents met with the Honourable Marc Garneau to ask for his support. Their visit prompted them to write an open letter to the Honourable Marc Garneau in the local newspaper, the Westmount Independent. It was published and copied below.

 

Open letter to the Hon. Marc Garneau, MP 

January 6, 2020 

Dear Mr. Garneau, 

We are citizens who met with you on December 17 2019 in order to present the idea of holding a Citizens’ Assembly on electoral reform. A Citizens’ Assembly, as we explained to you, is a highly democratic, non- partisan process by which a representative group of citizens from across Canada would be chosen by lottery (similar to the way that juries are selected), in order to study all options for electoral reform and come to a decision. 

You acknowledged from the outset of the meeting that the LPC broke its 2015 electoral promise about electoral reform, adding that Liberals had endured much criticism for doing so (implying, it would seem, that penance had been achieved). You concluded firmly that the Liberal party had no intention of ever reopening that dossier. “That ship has sailed.” 

You also issued a familiar challenge: If we were not happy with you or with the Liberal government, we could always “turf” you out. This sounded a bit ironic to my ears, given that the Liberal party is currently in power with only 33.1% of the popular vote, due to the broken FPTP system. Canadian citizens want electoral reform more than ever, but we are in a bit of a quandary, since in order to chart a course to a system that benefits the many, we have to appeal to politicians who came to power precisely because of the dysfunctional electoral system. 

To our dismay, you mentioned that you liked the option of Alternative Vote (which you referred to as “Preferential ballot.” It also goes by the name “Instant runoff voting.”) Whatever name one uses, AV is used to choose a single winner, not a coalition government as would be characteristic of a proportional system. Also, simulations show that it would benefit the Liberals. So we felt that it was a bit disingenuous to introduce it in a conversation about proportional representation. 

We know that there are open minded Liberal MPs out there, and electoral reform activists like ourselves are actively seeking them out, through meetings such as the one we had with you. Launching a Citizens’ Assembly is an opportunity for the Liberal party to be on the right side of history. Consider, for example, Finland, which is governed by a five party coalition, that has the support of 55.7% of voters. In Finland, as in the 87 other countries with PR, cooperation is not a buzzword, an illusion, or a temporary inconvenience on someone’s path back to power – it’s how real democracy works. 

You in particular, as a long-serving MP, could seize this opportunity to propel the country, and with it the Liberal party, forward, on a path to address crises like climate change. Attachment to traditional ways of governing, once the ballast that kept the Liberal ship afloat, may, in times of shifting societal values, have become a dead weight that is dragging it down. 

We are asking you to chart a new course, to a better future for Canada. We know that it is possible. 

Sincerely, 

Krystyna Gardner, Cymry Gomery, Beate Hewel, Aeron MacHattie, and Pat Winston
Fair Vote Canada activists in the Notre-dame-de-Grace-Westmount riding in Montréal, Québec.

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