Electoral Reform 4 of 6
I suspect that the idea that our electoral system is ‘broken’ and needs ‘fixing’ is a reflection of voters dissatisfaction with government.
But is democracy ‘broken’ and can, not will but can, changing the electoral system ‘fix’ what is ‘broken’?
On the question of whether democracy in Canada is ‘broken’ read “The Unbroken Machine: Canada’s Democracy in Action” by Dale Smith (2017).
Continue reading Proportional Representation [Electoral Reform] 4 of 6
Electoral Reform 3 of 6
Growing up, one of the questions my parents posed was “So, if everyone was jumping off a bridge, you would jump too?” whenever I tried ‘everyone is doing it’ to justify my action.
‘Just because everyone’ was not an acceptable excuse for not thinking it through myself.
If we are considering a change as far reaching and impactful as a proportional representation electoral system, we had better think it through carefully to avoid surprises and unwanted consequences.
Continue reading Proportional Representation [Electoral Reform] 3 of 6
Ottawa
June 18, 2018
Contemplative Canadians reacted to Canadian Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould’s statement that she was “extremely disappointed” because the Senate opposed legislation granting police the power to conduct random breathalyser tests, with support for the Senate’s “upholding of Canadian values” against the “appalling assault” by Federal Justice Minister Wilson-Raybould.
Wilson-Raybould’s actions were judged as making it clear the testing really needed was electroencephalograms [EEGs] for politicians to confirm – or deny – the presence of brain activity.
