Larry Gordon Responds to Gagnon

Larry Gordon, Fair Vote Canada's Executive Director wrote to the Globe & Mail refuting Lysiane Gagnon's recent opinion piece which was critical of electoral reform. His letter is below.

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Lysiane Gagnon is too hasty to bury the electoral reform movement because of the recent B.C. referendum loss (Thank B.C. For Winning Its PR War - May 25). Voter rejection of one alternative to first-past-the-post does not mean Canadians have rejected the principles of voter equality and true majority rule. What it means is the search for the best Canadian approach to fair voting in the 21st century will continue.

Unstable minority governments in Ottawa are a direct result of our current system. The large parties know an increase in voter support from 35 per cent to 40 per cent may be enough to give them an undeserved majority of seats. That motivates mindless partisan bickering, obsession with wedge issues and relatively frequent elections.

With proportional systems and fair election results, governing parties have to form stable and effective majority partnerships.

Fair Vote Canada,