Canada's electoral system needs 'radical overhaul'; Federal Law Commission endorses system that awards party seats based on popular vote
The Moncton Times and Transcript - Feb. 4, 2004
Campbell Morrison
Advocates of proportional representation are applauding the Law Commission of Canada for endorsing the radical overhaul of Canada's electoral system.
The commission, a federal research body, undertook the study on its own two years ago, and the final version, to be tabled in the Commons in March, endorses a form of proportional representation.
"It is another important body or group that is throwing its support behind proportional representation, so it is part of a growing list of groups and individuals who think it is something that
should be considered," said University of New Brunswick political science professor Paul Howe, one of more than 100 university professors to lend their names to Fair Vote Canada, a lobby group that is pushing proportional representation.
It is a form of democracy that awards parties seats according to their share of the popular vote. Under the current Parliamentary system in Canada, seats are allocated one at a time in ridings. It means that parties with less than half the vote usually attain majority governments, while those with smaller margins win only a few seats.
Nathalie Des Rosiers, the president of the commission, confirmed in a report that the commission will probably recommend a system where two-thirds of the seats in the Commons are allocated according to victories in ridings, while a third of the seats are used to top up party members to match their popular support.
For example, in the last election the Liberals won a majority of the 301 seats in the Commons with 41 per cent of the vote and, despite getting 12 per cent of the vote, the Tories won only 12 seats.
Applying the German model where half the MPs are allocated according to ridings and the other half are chosen from lists to fill out parties' standings in the proportional vote, the Liberals' majority would have been reduced to a 122-seat minority, the Tories would have had 37 seats, the Alliance 81 instead of 66, the NDP 27 instead of 13 and the Bloc 34 instead of 38.
With those results, the governing Liberals would have had to form a coalition government with one of the opposition parties.
Advocates believe it promotes greater democracy since every vote counts, said NDP House Leader Bill Blaikie in the Commons yesterday. The NDP has long advocated proportional representation.
"It is hard to take all this democratic deficit stuff seriously without some kind of commitment to electoral reform," Blaikie said. Proportional representation exists in most of the world's democracies, but opponents argue it tends to polarize political parties since they are not obliged to appeal to a broad base of the electorate in order to win a foothold in the legislature.
Opponents tend to point to Israel and Italy as examples of dysfunctional democracies, while proponents prefer Germany and Australia, where hybrid systems exist.
But nevertheless, if it fosters agreater participation at the ballot box, Des Rosier said, the benefit of the hybrid system outweighs the risks.
There may be some willingness to explore it among Liberals. Fredericton Liberal MP Andy Scott said it should be considered.
New Brunswick is currently studying electoral reform, and similar studies are either complete or under way in British Columbia, Quebec and Prince Edward Island.
