Quality of Democracy Envy

  Do you distinguish between jealousy and envy? I do. Jealousy is wanting something someone else has and not wanting them to have it. Envy, on the other hand, is wanting something someone else has while being fine with them having it too.

I envy the quality of democracy in Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Ireland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, and Switzerland. These countries, among others, use proportional representation (PR) to elect their national legislatures. PR ensures political parties win seats based on the percentage of votes they receive. This system encourages people to vote because they know their vote truly counts. In Canada, a dispiriting 50% votes elect no one; in Belgium, it’s less than 5%.

PR systems lead to higher voter turnout (especially among younger people), more diverse representation (in terms of age, gender, and occupation), and greater voter satisfaction. With more women in legislatures and a structure that encourages cooperation over competition, PR fosters collaboration. This leads to thoughtful, long-term legislation that builds voter trust. Greater trust, in turn, leads to increased civic engagement—a key indicator of a healthy democracy.

As the Saskatchewan election approaches, ask your candidates if they support electoral reform with PR. If they don’t, ask how they plan to improve civic engagement and the quality of our democracy. Share your conversations with facebook.com/FairVoteSask and learn more at FairVote.ca.

Success Promoting PR at Saskatoon Pride

 At our Saskatoon Pride booth, we drew inspiration from a Fair Vote Canada session that used Lego to illustrate the math behind first-past-the-post (FPTP) and proportional representation (PR). The speaker's dramatic gesture of sweeping wasted votes into a garbage can had a profound impact on me. Could I replicate this visceral experience for voters? Absolutely!

I prepared two garbage containers labeled “Winners” and “Wasted” and brought my Tile Rummy game. We asked visitors, “Did the candidate you voted for in the last provincial or federal election win?” (Emphasizing that we were not interested in the candidate or the party.) Those who answered “Yes, my candidate won,” picked a black tile and tossed it into the Winners bucket. Those who answered “No,” picked a colored tile and tossed it into the Wasted bucket. Many of the “No” respondents shared my sense of the unfairness of wasted votes.

Next, we compared the number of tiles in each bucket. This comparison often led to a “Really?” moment for both “No” and “Yes” voters. Even though we clarified that our sample at Pride was not representative of the general electorate, many were surprised by the outcome. If our tiles represented an election, 10 voters would have picked the winner, while 79 votes would have been wasted.

FPTP Wasted Votes 79 to Winner Votes 10

A big thanks to volunteers Lynn and Sherry for personing our booth. We had lively conversations throughout the day with people who asked questions and people who responded to our questions. When things finally quieted down, I thought I could relax and have supper, but I was delighted to put my food aside as more questions came in.

Fair Vote Canada Saskatchewan Chapter at Saskatoon Pride

I’m pleased to report that more people are becoming aware of electoral reform and proportional representation. Let’s celebrate our progress!

Mature Politics with Proportional Representation

Decades ago, one of my children visited Saskatchewan’s Legislative Assembly. Expecting to learn about governance and democracy, they were instead appalled by chaos and incivility. Elected officials, who were supposed to represent us with dignity, behaved like squabbling children.

Image by Dmitry Abramov from Pixabay

Recent sessions amplify the worst tantrums of past decades. MLA Ken Francis confessed he gets sucked into trash talk almost daily. Speaker Randy Weekes’ final speech alleged threats and harassment from fellow Saskatchewan Party MLAs. He also alleged Deputy Leader Jeremy Harrison brought a gun into the Assembly.

Premier Scott Moe’s response? Weekes is a “sorer loser” and Moe dismisses the alarming allegations against Harrison as false. No investigation necessary. He also categorizes the texts to Weekes as “ambitious” rather than “harassment.” Ambitious? To what purpose? Partisan purposes as the sender attempts to have the non-partisan speaker favour a side?

The first-past-the-post produced Assembly fosters an environment where yelling and intimidation mock dialogue and collaboration. Reform with proportional representation could address these issues. By ensuring that legislative seats more accurately reflect the diverse views of our population, evidence proves proportional representation encourages coalition-building and cooperation. Instead of a winner-takes-all approach that fuels partisanship, this system promotes a more inclusive and respectful political culture.

Proportional representation offers a path to a more mature and effective legislative process. To improve our democracy in provincial and federal elections, vote for candidates who will enact electoral reform with proportional representation. Learn more at FairVote.ca or facebook.com/FairVoteSask.

Escaping Our Groundhog Day Campaigning Loop

Are you familiar with the movie Groundhog Day? Phil Connors, the main character, realizes that he is trapped in a time loop. It feels like Canadians are stuck in a political version of Groundhog Day with our first-past-the-post (FPTP) electoral system.

Modified image from Clker-Free-Vector-Images/nathallie_art/Katie White from Pixabay.

FPTP’s permanent campaign loop has become our political alarm clock, waking us up each day to the same hollow promises and slogans. This endless cycle interferes with effective governance. Our leaders are so busy perfecting their campaign smiles that they forget about the real issues – it's like they're stuck in a time loop, determined to look good to maintain or gain power.

How does permanent campaigning disrupt effective governance? It diverts those in power from long-term comprehensive inclusive policy planning to short-term narrow selfish electoral gains. It encourages politicians to prioritize image over substance, neglect complex issues, and fosters a polarized environment. Politicians direct resources towards winning elections rather than securing social justice and environmental stewardship.

The solution? Let's break free from this political Groundhog Day with electoral reform, specifically through proportional representation (PR). It would inject vital variety into our political landscape, ensure that diverse voices are heard, and prevent the same old script from playing on repeat. It's time to ditch the permanent campaign loop of FPTP. Let’s embrace the collaboration of PR that numerous democracies use to produce effective and visionary governance.

Support FairVote.ca, NationalCitizensAssembly.ca, and CharterChallenge.ca and ask your MP to vote for M-86 Citizens' Assembly on Electoral Reform.

By Nancy Carswell

Our Shared Ecosystem Credit Card

 Are you familiar with layaway plans? Layaway plans are payment by installments and you take possession of the merchandise after you have paid in full. An advantage of layaway over buying on credit is you don’t pay interest. (Not paying interest is good because making only minimum payments, I would pay $38,000 in interest on my latest bill.)

Are fossil fuel-based industries on a layaway plan or are they using a credit card? While their extraction is payment by installments—infrastructure, equipment, and labour, they are charging gigantic sums on our shared ecosystem credit card.

Modified image by Alistair Whyte from Pixabay

Ecosystems are circular. Withdrawing elements like water unbalances the cycle. One example is the Alberta tar sands tailing ponds’ water. Recycling the 1.2 trillion litres of toxic water to rebalance the ecosystem will absorb 50% of the estimated $130 billion total clean up. Less than $2 billion has been secured from industry.

Government issues industry our shared ecosystem credit card. It sets environmental limits and charges interest. Sadly, our first-past-the-post electoral system does not support diversity. Our representatives are mostly wealthy lawyers and executives who prioritize the economy over the environment. Their wealth insulates against environmental devastation. To keep Earth habitable for humans, we need diverse representatives, some who comprehend we depend on balanced circular ecosystems and prioritize the environment over the economy. We need electoral reform with proportional representation (PR). Support FairVote.ca, NationalCitizensAssembly.ca, and/or CharterChallenge.ca. Also, mention to your elected representatives that countries that have evolved to PR get better environmental report cards.

By Nancy Carswell

Cost of Keeping First-Past-the-Post Electoral System

 Are you loath to upgrade to a new cell phone? I was and I regret it. My new cell has upgraded my life. This may sound exaggerated but it is not. My new cell’s space allows for audiobook downloads. Listening to them turns joyless boring chores into joyful interesting experiences. Its software supports a fitness app and its feedback inspires more steps and more sleep.

Image by Bruno from Pixabay

It is impossible to calculate the cost of keeping my old cell. What is possible to calculate is the years Canadians have been cheated out of an upgraded democracy. Before 1921, Canadian elections were between two parties. The 1921 election had three. This made our majoritarian electoral system of first-past-the-post (FPTP) undemocratic. Winning a seat no longer required a majority of votes. As the number of parties increased, our democracy decreased. In the 2021 federal election, the Conservatives won more votes but with FPTP the Liberals won 160 seats to the Conservatives 119. The Bloc won 32 seats with 8% of the vote compared to the NDP’s 25 seats with 18% of the vote. Not upgrading our democracy has cost us over a hundred years of distorted election results.

Since 1921, commissions, reports, politicians, and citizens have consistently and repeatedly recommended electoral reform with proportional representation (PR). Parties have promised it (and reneged after getting 100% of the power with FPTP). Other countries using FPTP have upgraded their democracy with PR. It is time we did the same. Support FairVote.ca, NationalCitizensAssembly.ca, and/or CharterChallenge.ca.

By Nancy Carswell

Stability and Harmony

 

"PICTURE IT" #7 STABILITY AND HARMONY: CANADA WITH PROPORTIONAL REPRESENTATION 

Picture it— Canada 2016. There is no need for a third all-party committee on electoral reform nor do the Liberals break Canadian hearts when they break their promise of electoral reform. There is no need because 1921 was the last election using the undemocratic, unfair, first-past-the-post system. Since 1925, our proportional representation system has promoted stability for harmony inside and outside Canada.

The last 100 years has seen the United Kingdom's policies lurching from left to right. In recent decades, the Conservative Party wins a majority and policy lurches to the right. Then the Labour Party wins a majority and policy lurches to the left. Meanwhile, in Canada, proportional representation minimizes policy lurch. Because the distribution of votes between parties is relatively stable election to election, the proportion of power between parties is stable. Parties collaborate with each other to produce thoughtful, long-term legislation. During elections, parties focus on honouring and winning voters, not humiliating and beating opponents.

Elections in Canada have high voter turnouts and between elections there is high civic participation. Rather than negative protesting, citizens find positive ways of engaging with their representatives. One of these was a national citizens assembly on peace. A Nobel Peace Prize winning outcome was that the government must prove to Canadians that it has exhausted all non-violent alternatives to war. 

Like other countries with proportional representation, Canada enjoys human security. Human security is a product of our political stability and diversity, social justice and safety nets, and environmental stewardship. However, Canada is aware that no one is safe until all are safe. It is leading a global security initiative based in nonviolent action which the Canadian military has embraced.

Canadian voters trust proportional representation to secure stability and harmony because it fosters stability and harmony within the political process.

If you wish this picture were true, help make it true. Support electoral reform with proportional representation.