The Purple Party Paradox

Let’s imagine a new Canadian party. They pick purple as their colour because they are a perfect blend of red progressive human rights and blue conservative economic stability. Their platform has four pillars: cost of living relief, housing, healthcare, responsible immigration, and energy security with environmental stewardship. Each pillar balances compassion with fiscal responsibility.

Now let’s imagine that the Purple Party is second-past-the-post in each of Canada’s 343 ridings. How many seats would they win in the House of Commons? Zero. Yes, zero!

Map of Canada Public Domain/Horse Image by Mohamed Hassan from Pixabay

 Even though they won more of the popular vote, as the Conservatives did in 2019 and 2021, it could still be shut out of Parliament entirely. That's the fundamental flaw of first-past-the-post—millions of votes can result in zero representation.

Electoral reform with proportional representation would solve this unfairness. If the Purple Party won 35% of the vote, they would win 35% of the seats. Imagine knowing that your vote would count, help elect someone, never be wasted or split the vote, and make every riding matter in every election.

Unlike Canada, most OECD countries use proportional or mixed electoral systems. When votes are translated into seats, you are more likely to believe your voice matters. That belief builds trust in democracy. Trust creates a stronger sense of belonging, where you feel less ignored or shut out. A democracy you trust is more likely to stay united.

Support electoral reform with PR. Visit FairVote.ca or CharterChallenge.ca to learn how.

35% votes = 35% seats—simple math, fair representation

The Real Math of Representation

 What did you think about the unusual wave of floor crossings? In the aftermath of Conservative MP Gladu’s floor crossing, Prime Minister Mark Carney said, "If you really want to unite the country, you want people with lots of different views." This applies most clearly to elections, when diversity within a party is built transparently. After elections, when diversity is gained through defections, it can raise questions about legitimacy.

When someone crosses the floor, it blurs the connection between how people voted and who governs. That dynamic is sharper under first-past-the-post, where even a small shift can have outsized effects on power. This strengthens the case for proportional representation (PR), where seats reflect how people actually voted. Similar shifts would be less likely to dramatically alter who governs because power is usually shared among multiple parties and coalition agreements.

Image created by ChatGPT 9-Jun-2026

While majority governments elected with less than majority support may “get things done,” the policy lurch that follows can undo those gains and create uncertainty. GPC Leader Elizabeth May points instead to Lester B. Pearson’s minority governments, which worked closely with Tommy Douglas and the NDP to help deliver Medicare, the Canada Pension Plan, and major expansions of social programs.

Canadians cast ballots for representation, not surprises. PR would make sure the democratic math still adds up after election day.

Support electoral reform with PR. Visit FairVote.ca or CharterChallenge.ca to learn how.

35% votes = 35% seats—simple math, fair representation

Vote and Voice

At an elementary school event, I witnessed a great example of nurturing parenting. The parent announced it was time to go. One child protested and pleaded. The parent listened attentively and responded to the child’s words while playfully herding their two children to the door. The parent’s listening was not a surrender of authority, but a way of guiding the child through frustration. Nurturing parenting often means giving a child a voice, but not a vote.

Our first-past-the-post electoral system offers an opposite example. Even when your vote helps elect an MP, that MP often has no voice. As Andrew Coyne explains in The Crisis in Canadian Democracy, MPs historically used their voices to “consider, refine and pass” legislation. Increasingly, they are whipped by party discipline (and/or personal ambition) to keep their party in power. Omnibus bills and truncated debate times further muzzle our MPs, reducing Parliamentary voting to a rubber stamp.

Proportional representation (PR) would change this dynamic. Coyne also explains how PR governments promote stable, consensus-based policy. Those consensus-based policies are because MPs have a voice. Also, because the votes a party gets translates into seats, voters have a voice.

Image by Clker-Free-Vector-Images and OpenClipart-Vectors from Pixabay.

Which raises a timely question: if PR converts votes into voices—both in Parliament and across the country—would Alberta be holding a referendum on leaving Canada at all?

Support electoral reform with PR. Visit FairVote.ca or CharterChallenge.ca to learn how.

35% votes = 35% seats—simple math, fair representation

From "Can AI?" to "Should AI?"

If you had asked me five years ago if my instructional design work could be done by artificial intelligence, (AI), I would have said no. Now, I would say yes. The question has changed from can AI replace human workers to, should it?

The recent federal budget cuts the federal public service by adopting AI tools. Imagine at 65, you defer your OAS benefits because you are still working. Then your checks start arriving. Your local Service Canada is closed. The automated phone menu is a maze. Your online My Service Canada Account is equally confusing. You give up trapped between AI systems with no human help.

Image by Alicia from Pixabay

Giving up has financial implications for you as OAS benefits are taxable. However, the larger harm is psychological. Being at the mercy of AI algorithms is likely to produce stress and alienation, undermining your wellbeing and civic trust.

Canada needs long-term AI policies that keep pace with technology and protect humans. But under first-past-the-post (FPTP), parties chase short-term wins, ignoring future consequences. Even if the current government implements good policies, the next government may change it to align with their politics.

To harness AI safely and for the common good, we need policies that prioritize humans and lasting solutions. Electoral reform with proportional representation (PR) fosters collaboration and consensus, encouraging long-term policymaking that benefits everyone. Support electoral reform with PR. Visit FairVote.ca or CharterChallenge.ca to learn how.

Full Dose Democracy

 Do we live in a democracy or a plutocracy? In End Times, Peter Turchin defines democracy as government “shaped by the collective will of common citizens” and plutocracy as government shaped by economic elites. The Pharmacare issue offers a revealing case study.

For decades, the majority of Canadians have wanted universal pharmacare as prescription drugs have eaten up a growing slice of health spending. Last year, the federal government passed the Pharmacare Act. At first glance, that looks like democracy in action. But is it?

Our collective will was for universal pharmacare covering everyone, regardless of income or private insurance. This model, recommended by the government’s own 2019 Advisory Council and four previous reports, would give Ottawa real power to negotiate lower prices and save billions. It’s a prescription for healthier finances and healthier citizens.

Yet Big Pharma resisted universal coverage because it threatened profits. They pushed for gap pharmacare, which preserves fragmented plans, high prices, and complex bureaucracy that confuses patients. Under gap coverage, the government lacks power to negotiate or unify drug policies. Turchin notes that in a plutocracy, the elite always get their way. Our case study is evidence we live in a plutocracy.

🄯 N Carswell

If we want policies shaped by people, we must strengthen our democracy. Adopting a proportional representation (PR) election system would dilute elite influence, boost accountability, and help deliver public priorities like universal pharmacare rather than watered-down, profit-protecting alternatives. PR is real reform, not a placebo. Learn more at FairVote.ca and/or CharterChallenge.ca. 

Review of the NFB Documentary "A Losing Game"

 TLDR

Québec’s political system favours the powerful and sidelines diverse voices—much like in Saskatchewan. This revealing video exposes how Québec falls short on fair representation, media access, and electoral reform. A must-watch for anyone questioning the state of democracy in Canada.

Directed by Jenny Cartwright - 2025 | 97 min

Summary

The critique of politics in Québec highlights a deeply entrenched imbalance in its democratic system. While nearly all adults can vote, real political power remains concentrated in the hands of a privileged few. Reforms in political party financing have disproportionately hurt minor parties, as public subsidies now depend heavily on previous election results, ignoring abstention and rejected ballots. This means that even those who do not vote still contribute financially to dominant parties, perpetuating their power.

Québec’s first-past-the-post electoral system is central to this inequity. Despite being simple to use, it produces distorted results, often awarding majority governments that do not reflect the popular vote. Since 1867, only five parties have held power, marginalizing new voices and ideas. Promises of electoral reform have repeatedly been broken, most recently by François Legault’s government.

Minor parties and marginalized communities—racialized people, women, youth, the disabled, and working-class citizens—remain underrepresented, not due to a lack of interest, but because systemic barriers and media exclusion prevent their visibility. The media, which prioritizes ratings over representation, favors major parties and sensational coverage over substantive debate.

The political system reinforces a cycle where established elites maintain control, silencing alternative visions and contributing to public disengagement. Voter turnout suffers, yet abstentions still fuel the very system many protest. In this context, the lack of meaningful diversity in the National Assembly leads to out-of-touch governance, where policies often fail to address lived realities. Ultimately, Québec’s democracy, as it stands, fails to reflect its people.

Windigo Thinking

First, my apologies to Darrens who know how to share. Robin Wall Kimmerer tells of a stand in her community where gardeners shared excess produce. Someone stole the stand, ending the sharing. She named the thief Darren comparing him to Darren Woods, CEO of ExxonMobil, who takes more than he needs. In 2024, Woods’ pay was $44.1 million—equal to 801 Canadians’ annual earnings.

Modified image by Mohamed Hassan from Pixabay

Kimmerer’s Potawatomi culture teaches about the monster Windigo “who suffers from the illness of taking too much and sharing too little.” “Windigo thinking jeopardizes the survival of the community by incentivizing individual accumulation far beyond the satisfaction of ‘enoughness.’” Produce Stand Darren and Profit First Darren are Windigo thinkers.

How many Darrens with Windigo thinking did we elect to our House of Commons? The cost of entering the race suggests many. Darrens must give up paychecks and have an employer willing to grant leave. Then they need Darren-like donors (who benefit from tax credits). How can we reform our system so Darrens don’t dominate?

Proportional representation (PR) produces more diversity because it allocates seats by vote share. This leads to legislatures that better reflect our identities and perspectives. While there are Darrens in the legislature, there are also Alices, Benjamins, Chen, Deepa, Ethans… In 2025, Saskatchewan elected 13 Caseys and 1 Lane. With PR, we’d have elected 9 Caseys, 3 Lanes, and 1 Nicky or benefited from more diversity without strategic voting.

Support electoral reform with PR. Visit FairVote.ca or CharterChallenge.ca to learn how.

Democracy Needs More Women in the Room

 The documentary Pray the Devil Back to Hell chronicles how Liberian women used nonviolent protest to end 14 years of civil war. After pressuring the male president and male rebels into peace talks, they blocked the exits when negotiations stalled, forcing the men to stay until an agreement was reached. Having endured years of restriction, often without basic necessities, the women wanted the men in the room to taste that same hardship. 

Screengrab from Pray the Devil Back to Hell

What the documentary does not show are the countless hours the women spent after each protest, reflecting and strategizing. One organizer reflected, “If we had not had different women from different walks of life banding together, we may not have been able to solve the problem.” At its core, democracy exists to address the problems of its people. It flourishes when diverse voices are heard, and inclusive decision-making fosters policies that are both equitable and responsive to all.

Countries with proportional representation (PR) elect more women to the legislature, bringing a shift in legislative priorities. Research shows that women in government are more likely to champion policies that support education, healthcare, family well-being, and social equity. They also prioritize collaboration and long-term solutions over partisan conflict. With more women in the room, diverse problem-solving approaches lead to stronger, more equitable policies—this is, in essence, real democracy.

This federal election, ask you candidates if they support electoral reform with proportional representation. Visit FairVote.ca and/or CharterChallenge.ca to learn more.

Rising Billionaires and Receding Democracy

Have you lived a billion seconds? Hint: You’ve lived a million seconds if you are 12 days old. If you’ve lived a billion seconds, you are almost 32.

Now, imagine if dollars were seconds and your lifetime earnings were $2.2 million. How many days is that? About 26 days. But billionaires? They’ve got 32 years' worth of dollars to burn. They only need to spend 12 days' worth to flood election campaigns with donations, channel lobbyists into key positions, and submerge politicians in a tide of influence. With just a 0.00094 of their fortune, they shape policies, cut themselves tax breaks, and rig the system in their favor.

Under first-past-the-post (FPTP), winning isn’t about representing the most people; it’s about gaming the system. A party can win total control with just 39% of the vote, leaving the majority without a voice. And who benefits? The ultra-rich.

Modified mage by Alex Yomare from Pixabay

Proportional representation (PR) is a remedy. PR ensures seats match votes, making it harder for wealthy donors to buy governments. More diverse voices in the legislature mean fewer policies to benefit the wealthy and more policies that serve people and the planet.

If you’re tired of a democracy that prioritizes profit over people and our planet, support PR. It’s time to reclaim our democracy for everyone. With electoral reform through PR, we can take the next step—transforming our economy from a linear system of extraction and exploitation to a circular one centered on sustainability and justice. Visit FairVote.ca and/or CharterChallenge.ca.

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. 

Environmental Stewardship

"PICTURE IT" #6 ENVIRONMENTAL STEWARDSHIP: CANADA WITH PROPORTIONAL REPRESENTATION

Picture it— Canada 2015. There is no need for Justin Trudeau and Liberal candidates to promise electoral reform 1,813 times during the election campaign. 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 ensured that our environmental policies are determined by scientific evidence, not political ideology.

After the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change was established in 1988, Canada used it to guide our response to climate change. We consistently meet and exceed our Kyoto Protocol and Paris Agreement greenhouse gas reduction targets. This is largely due to the active youth vote that prioritizes planetary care over corporate profit.

We experienced a fair and just transition to renewable energy unlike the United States. It fell prey to climate change denial lobbying powered by a coalition of well-funded fossil fuel companies and industry groups. Canada's basic annual income supported fossil fuel workers as they retrained for jobs in the renewable energy sector. Canada is currently a world leader in renewable energy innovation and usage.

Canada immediately signed the "4 per 1000" initiative and committed to implementing its regenerative agriculture strategy to mitigate climate change and increase food security. Regenerative agriculture not only sequesters carbon dioxide reducing greenhouse gas emissions, but it increases soil health while creating sustainable incomes.

Canadian voters trust proportional representation to secure environmental stewardship through social justice.

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

View the video at #6 Environmental Stewardship.

Strong Economy

 "PICTURE IT" #5 Strong Economy: CANADA WITH PROPORTIONAL REPRESENTATION

Picture it— Canada 2005. There is no need for a report on electoral reform to the House of Commons because 1921 was the last election using the undemocratic, unfair, first-past-the-post system. Since 1925, our proportional representation system has been a positive economic force in our lives.

With proportional representation, Canada has enjoyed a balanced and inclusive economic policy framework for decades including a national energy policy. Our electoral system ensures our fiscal and economic policy is strongly rooted in the economic and social realities experienced by Canadians. Our policy does not lurch from right to left as it does in winner-take-all systems. Progress is made on issues like labour relations, corporate regulation, poverty reduction, and tax reform. Progress that is inclusive, informed, and long term. Progress that is good for business, labour, and the environment. And like other countries using proportional representation, Canada enjoys stronger economic growth than countries using plurality-majority electoral systems.

Canadian voters trust proportional representation to ensure that strong budget, trade, fiscal, and tax policies serve all of us.

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

View the video at #5 Strong Economy.

Social Trust

 "PICTURE IT" #4 SOCIAL TRUST: CANADA WITH PROPORTIONAL REPRESENTATION

Picture it— Canada 2004. There is no need for the independent Law Commission of Canada to conduct a three-year study on electoral reform and recommend proportional representation. There is no need because 1921 was the last election using the undemocratic, unfair, first-past-the-post system. Like other countries using proportional representation, Canada ranks high for income equality and other indicators of well-being.

Canadians enjoy a host of benefits linked to income equality. The benefits include higher life satisfaction, better physical and mental health, better social mobility, fewer children in poverty, fewer teenage pregnancies, less crime, and less incarceration. Central to all these is a sense of trust that is commonly low in winner-take-all electoral systems. People in more equal societies trust each other more. Trust leads to goodwill, compassion, and connectedness. These in turn lead to more community involvement and civic participation. Community involvement and civic participation generates more trust creating a virtuous cycle.

Canadian voters trust proportional representation to distribute power fairly so no one income group has power over the others.

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

View the video at #4 Social Trust.

Healthier Citizens

 "PICTURE IT" #3 HEALTHIER CITIZENS: CANADA WITH PROPORTIONAL REPRESENTATION

Picture it— Canada 1979. There is no need for a task force on national unity nor does Pierre Trudeau, Stephen Harper, or Ed Broadbent make arguments for proportional representation. There is no need because 1921 was the last election using the undemocratic, unfair, first-past-the-post system. Canada's proportional representation system has proven to be more responsive to the diverse health needs of our population.

Like other countries using proportional representation, Canadian's life expectancy increased, and its infant mortality decreased. Because Canada could plan the use of its resources democratically, Medicare was established and then expanded to Dentalcare. When over 90% of the voters wanted Pharmacare, their elected representatives delivered. Pharmacare's bulk buying made prescriptions affordable. This reduced costly medical interventions downstream while freeing up resources for effective prevention upstream.

When corporations lobbied to privatize Canada's world-renowned Connaught Medical Research Laboratories, it was nationalized instead. [insulin, diphtheria, heparin, tetanus, typhus, blood processing, penicillin, polio, smallpox] Connaught continues its cutting-edge research, is profitable, and produces many generic drugs used by the Pharmacare program. In a pandemic, Connaught stands ready, willing, and able to produce profit free vaccines for Canadians in Canada.

Canadians trust proportional representation to allocate resources democratically, ensuring a healthier population.

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

View the video at #3 Healthier Citizens

Diverse Representation

 

"Picture It" #2 Diverse Representatives: Canada with Proportional Representation

Picture it— Canada 1937. There is no need for a second all-party committee on electoral reform because 1921 was the last election using the undemocratic, unfair, first-past-the-post system. In the four federal elections since, Canada's parliament and cabinet have grown increasingly diverse with proportional representation.

In a winner-take-all system, parties are compelled to select the one winning candidate. Historically, in Canada, the candidate has been White, cis, and male. With proportional representation, parties actively recruit women and minorities to reach a wider range of voters. Like other countries using proportional representation, Canadian statistics show women should soon claim 40% of the seats. The percentage of women in power measures not only the quality of democratic representation but serves as an indicator of how well minorities are represented.

The legislature is a more respectful, caring workplace as women's leadership style generally favours collaboration. The perspectives and priorities of women and minority groups, including Indigenous people, bring balance and fairness into the decision-making process. For 100 years, Canadian voters have trusted proportional representation to produce legitimate long-term laws and policies that represent and meet the needs of the full diversity of voters.

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

View the video at #2 Diverse Representatives.

High Voter Turnout

 

"Picture It" #1 High Voter Turnout: Canada with Proportional Representation

Picture it—Canada 1921. The upcoming election will be the first with not two but three major parties vying for power. The Liberal Party approved electoral reform with proportional representation in 1919. Proportional representation is a system in which voters are represented in proportion to how they vote. The Liberal campaign promises that 1921 will be the last election using first-past-the-post where votes may fail to legitimately reflect voter choice.

After the election, the Liberals keep their campaign promise. They keep the promise even though it was clear to them that the old system, the undemocratic, unfair, winner-take-all system, could deliver 100% of the power with a minority of votes while wasting the majority of votes. After all, they reasoned, how could they ethically and legitimately represent people who had not voted for them?

The federal election in 1925 used a proportional representation system. If 20% of Canadians voted for a party, that party got 20% of the seats. Our representatives elected to govern, oppose, question, and engage, legitimately speak for their voters. For 100 years now, Canada, like other countries using proportional representation, has ranked high for voter turnout.

Canadian voters trust proportional representation to make their votes count because the number of seats a party gets is proportional to the number of votes they get.

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

Picture It! Benefits of Proportional Representation

I was inspired to make these videos in the hope that showing the benefits of electoral reform with proportional representation would inspire you to support it. I used Golden Girl's Sophia's famous catchphrase "Picture It" to help communicate a vision of Canada with proportional representation. Each video is based on evidence.

Please help promote the benefits of proportional representation by sharing one, some, or all videos in this series of seven videos:

#1 Higher Voter Turnout 3-Jul-2021

#2 Diverse Representatives 10-Jul-2021

#3 Healthier Citizens 17-Jul-2021

#4 Social Trust 24-Jul-2021

#5 Strong Economy 31-Jul-2021

#6 Environmental Stewardship 7-Aug-2021

#7 Stability and Harmony 14-Aug-2021

#1 Higher Voter Turnout

I shared a preview of Picture It: Canada with Proportional Representation #1 High Voter Turnout with long time proportional representation (PR) supporter Lynn Oliphant. My heart was moved when he confessed he was saddened at the end because for a brief moment he had suspended disbelief. He had a vision of what Canada could have been with 100 years of proportional representation.

#2 Diversity

"Our voting system is crazy" said my young new neighbour recently as we talked politics. They support universal basic income (UBI) but have no hope of it becoming a reality. I do have hope that the candidate diversity evident in other countries using proportional representation will prove true in Canada. The perspectives and priorities of women and minority groups, including Indigenous people, would bring balance and fairness into the decision-making process about things like UBI. Diversity in representatives has proven to produce legitimate long-term laws and policies that represent and meet the needs of the full diversity of voters.

#3 Healthier Citizens

I received a phone call from a senior on a fixed income. They expected they would need to use the money diligently saved to celebrate their birthday for an unexpected prescription drug cost. I was heartsick.

Nine out of ten Canadians support the idea of pharmacare. Translated to our House of Commons, the recent pharmacare bill to establish a legal framework should have had 90% support. Was it defeated because our Members of Parliament are so whipped they do not represent their voters? Does our winner-take-all electoral system give Big Pharma a big whip to crack? Why does Canada remain the only country with universal healthcare and no universal pharmacare? Why can't we democratically allocate resources to ensure healthier citizens? What other health benefits enjoyed by countries with proportional representation might we gain with electoral reform?

#4 Social Trust

In Bowling Alone, author Robert Putnam writes "Trustworthiness lubricates social life.  Frequent interaction among a diverse set of people tends to produce a norm of generalized reciprocity." Putnam uses the term "social capital" to describe the wealth available to communities and countries with strong networks of relationships. Equality, a characteristic evident in countries with proportional representation, supports "interaction among a diverse set of people." Equality increases the sense of "us" and decreases the sense of "them" enhancing social trust.

#5 Stronger Economy

What is the latest example of policy lurch you can think of? For me, it is crime legislation. The 2012 Omnibus Crime Bill was "Tough-on-Crime." Even though the Canadian Bar Association and other experts tried their "darndest to get the Conservatives to listen to reason," the bill passed because the Conservatives held the majority of seats. Now the Conservatives are concerned that the Liberals will pass a "Soft-on-Crime" bill and are doing their darndest to get the Liberals to listen to reason. While crime legislation may appear unconnected to economics, the justice system—policing, courts, and incarceration, is a player in our economic system.

In countries with proportional representation, the proportion of power each party gets is relatively consistent. Their politics lean towards collaboration rather than competition. Progress can be made on issues like labour relations, corporate regulation, poverty reduction, and tax reform. Progress that is inclusive, informed, and long term. Progress that is good for business, labour, and the environment. Other countries using proportional representation enjoy stronger economic growth than countries using plurality-majority electoral systems like Canada's.

#6 Environmental Stewardship

Evidence shows that countries with proportional representation have stronger environmental policies. They score high for protecting the environment and other indicators of environmental stewardship. This is not because their citizens are more concerned about the environment but because citizens' voices influence policy. Planetary care for all is prioritized over corporate profit for the few.

Using Golden Girl's Sophia's famous catchphrase "Picture It", _#6 Environmental Stewardship_ imagines Canadians enjoying a host of benefits linked to strong environmental policy. It shows Canada experiencing a fair and just transition to renewable energy and securing environmental stewardship through social justice.

#7 Stability and Harmony 

"We can bomb the world to pieces, but we cannot bomb it to peace", lines from a Michael Franti song, has long been one of my favourite memes. While I envisioned many things for Canada in the previous videos this one is the biggest. What would happen if our government had to prove it had exhausted all non-violent alternatives to war?

While parts of my video are visionary, other parts are the reality in many countries with proportional representation. When the proportion of power between parties is stable, parties collaborate with each other to produce thoughtful, long-term legislation. Proportional representation's stability would allow our decision makers to focus on social justice, safety nets, and environmental stewardship. 

Ontario Liberal Karma: What Goes Around, Comes Around

The Ontario Liberal Party experienced its own form of Karma last week by losing not only the election, but official party status.

In 2007, the McGuinty Liberals promised a referendum on electoral reform. They held the referendum but posed a question that few would understand, including myself. They also did not provide funding or an educational program in inform people the importance of ER; it was designed to fail.

In the Ontario election, 52% of the votes casted were ineffective or wasted as result of our first-past-the-post electoral system. The Liberal suffered the most of the four main parties with 89% of their supporters’ votes being wasted.

Comparison of Ontario Election 2018

Ontario is now saddled by another false majority government, this time it’s the PCs that won the brass ring. Ontario has not had a true majority government supported by the voters since 1937 when Hepburn’s Liberals won a majority with 51.6% of the popular vote.

“The case for proportional representation is fundamentally the same as that for representative democracy. Only if an assembly represents the full diversity of opinion within a nation can its decisions be regarded as the decisions of the nation itself." ‒ Encyclopedia Britannica 

The Ford’s Conservatives enjoy a false majority via an outdated electoral system, therefore it is unlikely we will see any initiative to make the next election fairer to voters. 

Guest Blogger Dan Desson

Reducing Policy Lurch

John Thorton and Todd McKay wrote about the Saskatchewan Transportation Company (STC) issue in the May 12 Shellbrook Chronicle. Together they provide an educational contrast.

 

John's letter presents a history of the STC under the Sask Party. Initially, a decrease in fares produced an increase in revenue. Yet, fare increases made it "too expensive for nearly 100,000 riders in five short years." John emphasizes that the STC is and should remain a public service.

 

Todd's article presents the case that the STC "didn't serve everyone even though we all subsidized it through our taxes."  He gives the example of the AV Transit company.  It may offer more timely and less expensive service between Martensville and Saskatoon. Todd concludes the STC is best privatized.

 

John's and Todd's writing reveal the potential policy lurches possible in our first-past-the-post electoral system. Imagine the next Saskatchewan government is pro-public services. We could lurch back to a public bus service.

 

 

 

When the seats in government are in proportion to the way people voted, there are fewer policy lurches. Proportional representation (PR) creates a cooperative decision-making process.  PR produces sustainable and durable policy outcomes. This is why over 80 democracies have evolved to some form of PR.

 

Evidence heard by the all-party electoral reform committee (ERRE) overwhelmingly favoured PR. Find your MP at http://tinyurl.com/memberbypostalcode.  Ask them to be a democracy hero by voting to accept the ERRE report at the end of May. Let's make every vote count federally, then provincially.

 

Nancy Carswell, Co-spokesperson Fair Vote Saskatchewan

Shellbrook, Saskatchewan

Proportional Representation and Pharmacare

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau didn’t just break a promise to the Canadian people when he recently abandoned electoral reform. He also abandoned his country to a costly pharmaceutical system that favours powerful drug companies at the expense of taxpayers, an advocacy group says.

Trudeau’s "appalling" reversal on February 1 makes it nearly impossible to achieve a vastly more efficient pharmacare program, despite 90 percent of Canadians wanting such a system, says Saskatchewan Fair Vote Canada (FVSK). "The majority of Canadians expressed their desire to see a more cooperative and inclusive form of politics in the House of Commons," when they voted for electoral reform, said FVSK co-spokesperson Lee Ward. But Trudeau’s flip-flop in support of the current electoral system will inhibit the formation and enactment of policies in the public’s interest.

National pharmacare programs already exist in advanced democracies with proportional representation – a more representative system achievable through electoral reform. Thus pharmacare systems in Norway, Denmark, Sweden and Finland control drug costs and save their taxpayers huge sums of money. In Canada, that money goes to drug companies with lobbyists in Ottawa.

"Anyone’s spending is somebody else’s income," said Bob Evans, a Professor Emeritus with the University of British Columbia’s Vancouver School of Economics. "Universal pharmacare could save billions to Canadians, so there are powerful corporate interests that will do everything they can to make sure it does not happen."

An Angus Reid poll found 91 percent of Canadians support the idea of a national pharmacare program. But the national electoral system fails to represent Canadians' wishes, says the FVSK’s Nancy Carswell.

"If we had proportional representation, we could better turn this pharmacare concern into policy," Carswell adds. "Instead, we have a flip-flop. A two percent change of the vote can mean a 100 percent change in power and a counter-productive, 180-degree change in policy direction."

By contrast, proportional representation fosters political consensus-building, which in turn produces policies and laws that recognize "the rights and concerns of most Canadians," Ward says. The current systems disproportionately serves "a narrow subsection of electorally significant voters in a few key swing ridings."

Canada’s drug costs have quadrupled since the 1990s, according to study of the nation’s healthcare costs. Scandinavia’s pharmacare programs have prevented such increases, writes Anu Partanen, author of the acclaimed book The Nordic Theory of Everything.

"The most obvious advantage is that it helps the country control health-care costs by weeding out expensive yet ineffective treatments, or drugs that have a more affordable alternative," says Partanen.

Lead Now has a campaign focusing on Liberal MPs at https://act.leadnow.ca/democracy-heroes/.

FVSK encourages all voters to connect with their MP and insist the government keep its electoral reform promise to make every vote count. MP contact information available at http://tinyurl.com/memberbypostalcode.