Be informed

    There’s no question the so-called “First-Past-the-Post” electoral system, the one currently used federally as well as in most provinces, including Ontario, has its drawbacks.
    The biggest one, especially in a multi-party system like ours, is that the winner in each riding is the one who gets the most votes; not necessarily the majority of votes. And that, in turn, means a party can form a majority government even though it may have garnered less than 40 percent of the overall popular vote.
    At the same time, a party may capture a good chunk of the popular vote overall—yet fail to translate that into actual seats in the legislature.
    As such, the Ontario Citizens’ Assembly on Electoral Reform, consisting of 103 randomly-selected citizens (one from each riding), proposed back in May that the province adopt a Mixed-Member Proportional voting system.
    Under it, Ontarians would have two votes in subsequent elections: one for a local member and one for a political party. There would be 129 seats at Queen’s Park—90 filled by local members and the other 39 by so-called “list members,” who are drawn up by each political party prior to an election.
    This way, if a political party is entitled to more seats than it won locally, these “list members” are elected to make up the difference (as long as the party received more than three percent of these votes).
    Supporters say the MMP system will give Ontarians more choice, fairer results, and stronger representation—in short, a better democracy. On the other hand, it would mean almost one-third of our legislators are not directly accountable to constituents; not to mention the fact the number of ridings across the province would have to be reduced from 103 to 90.
    How will this affect Kenora-Rainy River, for instance?
    Ontarians are being asked to choose between these two systems in a referendum to be held in conjunction with the next provincial election on Wednesday, Oct. 10. Voters need to start weighing the pros and cons of each one now, and ask questions, so they can make an informed decision come election day.