Ten Canadian Recommendations for Proportional Representation

Wilfred Day at http://wilfday.blogspot.ca/2014/01/ten-canadian-commissions-assemblies-and.html offers up the "expert evidence" that has accumulated in the past decade in support of proportional representation.

1. The Law Commission of Canada (2004) recommends a mixed system.  "Like all proportional systems, it will let every vote count, and promote consensual, cooperative and cross-party law-making. Since each province would still have the same number of MPs, no constitutional amendment would be needed."
2. Quebec’s Estates-General on the Reform of Democratic Institutions (2003).  Of the 825 people who deliberated, only 10% want to keep first-past-the-post (FPTP).
3. Prince Edward Island's Justice Carruthers "presented his report recommending a Mixed Member Proportional System (MMPS) based on the system now in use in Germany, New Zealand, Scotland and Wales" (2003).
4. The BC Citizen's Assembly "proposed the single transferable vote (STV) system, used in Ireland, for British Columbia."
5. A Quebec government study under Jean Charest "presented a draft bill proposing a new mixed electoral system like the Law Commission recommendation but with very small regions."
6. New Brunswick’s Commission on Legislative Democracy (2003) "recommended a regional MMP system that would combine 36 single-member riding seats with 20 regional 'top-up' PR seats, elected within four approximately equal-sized, multi-member, regional districts."
7. Quebec Citizens Committee Report (2006) "proposed a MMP system similar to that used in Germany, with a two-vote system."
8. Quebec Select Committee Report modified the 2006 report "to give greater consideration to the multiplicity of political expressions."
9. Ontario’s Citizens Assembly (2007) "recommended a MMP system combining members of provincial parliament elected in local districts and members elected for the whole province from closed province-wide party lists."
10. Quebec’s Chief Electoral Officer’s Report (2007) "reviewed a number of options for the design of a mixed proportional model for Quebec, leaning towards a nine-region model with an open list system giving voters the choice of using their second ballot to vote for a party or one regional candidate."

Day concludes that it is not surprising that polls show 70% of Canadians support a move to proportional representation. Please talk about proportional representation within your circles of influence and let's make 2015 the last unfair election in Canada.