Re: electoral reform

Norm Hart | Feb 10, 2016

I’ve just received Scott Reid’s latest letter to his constituents. In it, he is making the case that a referendum is absolutely necessary for any changes to our voting system. We should note that each time the Conservatives, under the Harper government, changed the Election Act there was no nation wide referendum: when the fixed election dates were brought in; when the spending limits were raised; when the donation amount was raised; when powers were taken away from the nation’s chief electoral officer; when vouching for other voters was taken away; when we could not use the election cards from Elections Canada; and when we were required to bring additional identification in order to vote, there was no outcry from the Conservative MPs that a referendum was needed.

In fact, there was no referendum needed, when after extensive national consultations, we updated and repatriated our Constitution. We don’t need a referendum; we need positive electoral reform!