Trick or Treaty? 
Submission of the Bruce-Grey-Owen Sound NDP Electoral District Association to the Commons Standing Committee  on International Trade regarding the Trans-Pacific Partnership 
October 2016 

Authored by David McLaren

The Bruce-Grey-Owen Sound Electoral District Association of the New Democratic Party is responsible for nominating candidates for federal and Ontario elections and generally conducting the business of the Association in the riding. Currently, our principle concern is the poor state of the region’s economy, particularly the precarious work that constituents must accept now that manufacturing jobs have left the area. We have studied the impact of precarious work on constituents and note that it has significant adverse consequences for people’s health and their ability to participate in the economic and social life of their communities. This is a problem common to many rural communities in Canada. We have hopes that ‘retooling’ for an innovative economy will alleviate this situation; but we fear that the ratification of the Trans-Pacific Partnership will put that goal out of reach.

​How the Guiding Principles of the Electoral Reform Committee are Fulfilled by PR
​
The five ERRE principles The five guiding principles of the Electoral Reform Committee are included in the motion that created the Committee and that are included in its mandate.
In brief:
1. Effectiveness and legitimacy,
2. Voter engagement,
3. Accessibility and inclusiveness,
4. Integrity, and
5. Local representation. Fair Vote Canada has no qualms about any of these principles, but would like to elaborate on them to help the committee and the voting public assess whether different reform proposals live up to Canadian values. 

​Electoral Reform Town Hall in Owen Sound
When: Wednesday October 26, 7 PM
Where: Harmony Centre, 890 4th Avenue E., Owen Sound
Contact: BGOSERRE@gmail.com

For the past four months, the all-party committee on electoral reform (ERRE) has heard from expert witnesses from Canada and around the world, travelled Canada holding public open mic sessions, and received hundreds of reports from MP town halls and citizen dialogues. ERRE is in the final days of witness testimony and over the next few weeks, they will be meeting to negotiate a recommendation for a new electoral system for Canada. This is the best chance in history to make every vote count.

Please show up to learn about and discuss electoral reform, and voice your support for a made-in-Canada system of proportional representation.

When: Wednesday October 26, 7 PM
Where: Harmony Centre, 890 4th Avenue E., Owen Sound
Contact: BGOSERRE@gmail.com

Although an overwhelming majority of experts at ERRE with an opinion on electoral reform so far (89/99) and the majority of citizen opinion during the consultations has been for proportional representation, the report MP Larry Miller submitted to ERRE from this riding concluded that his constituents want to keep first-past-the-post and they want a referendum.

There is still time to influence the ERRE committee. The feedback from this town hall will be sent to ERRE. Please share this event with friends,

Thanks for supporting the campaign to make every vote count!

Anita Nickerson
Fair Vote Canada Action Coordinator

Resources

Dialogue Resources
Fair Vote Canada's Submission to ERRE

1) How the all-party committee's guiding principles relate to PR

2) Systems: PR-STV (see also STV+), MMP and MMP with ranked ballot and Rural-Urban Proportional Representation.(pamphlets for all three are available at https://secure.fairvote.ca/sites/secure.fairvote.ca/modules/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=210382&qid=7860125)

3) Evidence for Proportional Representation - a good summary of the research on PR.
4) Make Every Vote Count - a one page handout for events
5) Myth/Fact Sheet - a two page handout addressing common myths
6) PR and Rural/Small Urban Voters - a handout developed by FVC's Rural Caucus

​On September 27th, my MP, Larry Miller, held a telephone ‘town hall’ on electoral reform. I thought this was a good idea—getting the views of his constituents on how we should be electing governments in this country is certainly something an MP should be doing. I applaud Larry for attempting to do that.
 
I say ‘attempting’ because I and an number of others who phoned in did not get a chance to express our problems with the way we elect politicians now—the usual First Past the Post horse race. I can’t speak for others, but when I announced my name to the moderator, I was clearly recognized as an NDPer. Although I placed in the queue, I did not get to speak. Neither did others on the call who wanted to point out the problems with First Past the Post or the advantages of other ways of doing things.
 
So I wasn’t too surprised to learn that Mr Miller reported that every single caller had expressed support for the way we elect people now. Well, I’m prepared to accept that there were a lot of callers that night. But the result tells me a couple of things about our electoral system in which the winner of the horse race takes all.
 
Once you elect someone under First Past the Post, that’s it; you’re stuck with whatever representation that MP or MPP feels like giving you. That, of course, raises the perception (if not the reality) that if you agree with your representative your concerns will be taken to the House or the Legislature (or City Hall). If you don’t agree … well then it’s a bit of a crap shoot.
 
With another form of voting—Mixed Member Proportional Representation, open ballot—you elect a candidate for your riding just as you do now, First Past the Post. But you also get to choose from a list of additional candidates who are running to represent a larger region. Those candidates are chosen in accord with the proportion of votes received.
 
Full disclosure: the NDP and the Law Commission of Canada favour this method. And so do I, but not because the Party does.
 
The important thing for me is that, if you don’t like the way your MP or MPP is representing you, you can call up your regional representative and talk to them. A little competition (in politics as in most things) is good. It’ll help keep all our politicians focused and honest.
 
The other important thing for me is that unless I vote Conservative in this riding, my vote counts for nothing. It’s time, I think, for us to stop giving any Party a majority when less than 40% of voters vote for them—as we have in Alberta (NDP), Ontario (Liberal) and Federally (Liberal and before that Conservative).
 
By the way, the 39.9% of the 68% who voted Liberal in the last federal election means that only 27% of all the people eligible to vote, voted Liberal. But that was enough to give them a majority in the House.
 
That not everyone in the riding of Bruce-Grey-Owen Sound likes First Past the Post, was made clear to me at a public meeting in Paisley on October 3rd. None of the 30-plus people at that meeting wanted First Past the Post.
 
Their reasons for opposing First Past the Post included …

• lack of transparency (some felt Mr Miller could have done a much better job of educating his constituents on all the different options for voting);
• lackluster representation (it’s too tempting for MPs and MPPs to convey only the views they like or of people who voted for them);
• the perpetuation of ideology (when there is no window open for differing views, it’s difficult to let in fresh air, let alone fresh ideas).

 
It’s too bad Mr Miller wasn’t able to attend the Paisley meeting. He would have heard ideas that are different from the ones he likes, but he would have breathed some fresh air.
 
David McLaren
Neyaashiinigmiing
519-534-4107
 
 
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To have your say … http://www.parl.gc.ca/Committees/en/ERRE/StudyActivity?studyActivityId=9013025
 
And for more info … http://fairvote.ca/.