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By Scott Tribe, on May 14, 2013, at 5:30 pm Its been awhile since I’ve posted, so I figured why not 2 on the same day (plus it gives me something else to do besides continue lamenting last night’s tragic Maple Leafs loss).
I just wanted to say I’m very pleased to read that the ranked ballot initiative proposed for Toronto Mayoralty elections – better known by the group name that supports it – RaBIT – survived a 3-3 committee vote to indefinitely table/defer it (which would have in essence killed it) and now goes on to the full Toronto City Council for a vote on whether to recommend to (Read more…)
By Obert Madondo, on April 13, 2013, at 11:27 pm By: Obert Madondo | The Canadian Progressive: 5-02-13 Resolution on Electoral Reform, submitted by Craig Scott, the MP for Toronto-Danforth. WHEREAS the current federal electoral system contains major shortcomings generating a significant democratic deficit; WHEREAS the decline in voter turnout in federal elections in the last twenty years in Canada is worrying; WHEREAS any electoral reform [...]
The post NDP Convention 2013: Resolution on Electoral Reform appeared first on The Canadian Progressive.
By Obert Madondo, on March 24, 2013, at 2:38 am By: Obert Madondo | The Canadian Progressive: Liberal leadership hopeful and Member of Parliament for Vancouver Quadra, Joyce Murray, is absolutely certain that opposition electoral cooperation in the Labrador by-election “will ensure progressive win and Harper fail”. That it would demonstrate how electoral cooperation works to arrest the perennial anti-democratic trend [...]
The post Joyce Murray: Electoral cooperation in Labrador by-election guarantees progressive win and Harper fail appeared first on The Canadian Progressive | News & Analysis.
By CuriosityCat, on March 6, 2013, at 12:48 pm Justin Trudeau’s Big Enchilada?
This extract from The Vancouver Courier just about sums up the fate of electoral reform’s future right now:
Political cooperation isn’t a new concept, but University of B.C. political science professor Philip Resnick says it’s worth noting that in both the NDP and Liberal leadership campaigns, it has been the B.C. candidate who has advanced the concept of political cooperation.
“Nathan Cullen in the NDP contest, Joyce Murray in the Liberal one. Add Elizabeth May to the mix and you have three,” he told me by email.
“The idea would appeal to
. . . → Read More: CuriosityCat: Is Justin Trudeau trying to win the big enchilada on his own?
By CuriosityCat, on March 5, 2013, at 4:19 pm Trudeau: Ideology over science
Hat tip to Impoliticalfor this remarkable summary of why Trudeau has decided, in is wisdom, to ignore the wishes of the majority of Canadians for a more democratic electoral system. Read the whole article for the exchange between Trudeau and Murray on proportional representation. Here’s a summary of how the science actually is the opposite of Trudeau’s personal ideology: “That’s not just theory,” adds Wayne Smith, FVC Executive director. “Most developed countries have used proportional voting systems for most of the last century, so we can see how they work in the real world. Consensus . . . → Read More: CuriosityCat: If Justin Trudeau really wanted to engage Canadians, he would do this
By Nancy Leblanc, on March 5, 2013, at 1:54 pm Fair Vote Canada clarifies one of the assertions made during Sunday’s debate on proportional representation. “In a remarkable exchange during the Liberal leadership debate in Halifax on Sunday, March 3…”
Release is worth a read.
By Nancy Leblanc, on March 4, 2013, at 8:35 pm So there’s this incredible story on CBC right now that deserves attention and what-on-earth-were-they-thinking treatment: “Literacy guide uses partisan example to conjugate ‘elect’.” Here’s a screen shot of one of the sentences that is being used to teach people how to read in government financed literacy programs in the Harper Government™ era.
Suggested completion of sentence 5 above: “The majority of voters DO NOT VOTE conservative and as a result they MOST UNFORTUNATELY STILL END UP WITH a Harper government.”
Or, have your own fill in the blanks fun!
Hilarious if it weren’t so shamefully wrong and all that…
By Nancy Leblanc, on February 28, 2013, at 6:00 am Came across this map proposal yesterday in the course of some other reading. It shows the new downtown layout for federal Toronto ridings (and presumably provincial if it follows suit, which has been the plan). There are two newly created ridings: Spadina-Fort York (aka condo central) and University-Rosedale. Notably, Trinity-Spadina gets broken up posing a question on where Olivia Chow would run if she runs in 2015.
I see that folks on rabble are discussing the changes based on a map I posted a while back in the heavy post-May 2011 election period. The babble discussion is guessing who has
. . . → Read More: Impolitical: New downtown T.O. ridings
By CuriosityCat, on February 24, 2013, at 3:17 pm So, will there be electoral reform?
The cutoff date to register as a member or supporter of the Liberal Party of Canada in order to choose the next leader is March 3. Those registered by that date have to register to vote in the contest by March 14, with the next leader officially revealed in April. However, by March 4, the total number of registered members and supporters will be known to all of us, and each of the candidate camps will know how many supporters they managed to sign up via their websites in each of the 308 ridings. . . . → Read More: CuriosityCat: We are 7 days from choosing the next Liberal Party leader
By CuriosityCat, on February 19, 2013, at 12:29 pm Joyce Murray – She walks the talk
Joyce Murray’s electoral reform proposals are the most democratic of all candidates for leadership.
Unlike the others who are simply practising old-style top-down command politics, Joyce is actually walking the talk of participatoty democracy in the party.
Her pre-election cooperation idea leaves the decision up to the ridings involved; ALL the other candidates are denying the ridings a say in this decision. How does that square with regenerating the party, engaging Canadians?
Her idea for a Royal Commission after the election to review electoral changes, is more democratic than Trudeau’s decision to insist
. . . → Read More: CuriosityCat: Joyce Murray’s electoral reform proposals are the most democratic of all leadership hopefuls
By CuriosityCat, on February 17, 2013, at 3:48 pm I decide when …
The third debate is over. No-one blew their brains out. No-one surprised the audience. The race will be decided by March 4, when each of the candidates will be able to compare the number of supporters they signed up in each of the 308 ridings, calculate that number as a percentage of the total members and supporters signed up in each such riding, multiply that percentage by 100 to get their probable share of the riding’s vote, and add these all together. So by the afternoon of March 4 rumours will be sweeping the country about vote counts come the official election day in April. But between now and March 4 are a few more debates, lots of signup steps, media interviews, journalist comments, and bloggers waxing eloquent. (Read more…) . . . → Read More: CuriosityCat: The Liberal leadership race is between Trudeau and Murray, with a 2014 early election
By CuriosityCat, on February 10, 2013, at 6:21 pm Trudeau vs Reformer Murray
Justin Trudeau told a crowd in Hamilton that a Liberal Party led by him would take steps to reengage Canadians in our political life: The Liberal Party’s first step in a Federal election should be reengaging people who have given up on politics, says leadership contender Justin Trudeau.
“We need to reengage citizens across this country with the idea of being citizens,” Trudeau said at an appearance at the West Town Bar and Grill in Hamilton Saturday afternoon. “Being a citizen is more than just paying your taxes and voting and obeying the law. It’s about understanding that you are responsible for the society of which you are part,” he said. While addressing a crowd of onlookers at the Locke Street restaurant, Trudeau lamented that Canadians are becoming cynical about politics. “But we’re sick and tired of being cynical about politics,” he added. (Read more…) . . . → Read More: CuriosityCat: Political disengagement in Canada: Why is Justin Trudeau ignoring the obvious?
By CuriosityCat, on February 5, 2013, at 1:57 pm Both are recommending to their tens of thousands of members that they join the Liberal Party as Supporters and vast votes for meaningful electoral reform when voting for the next leader. But there is one startling statistic that should impact their strategy if they really want to be effective, and it is that one third of Liberal ridings are dormant, non-existent, pining for the Norwegian fjords:
Liberals estimate that approximately 80 of their 308 riding associations across the country are now dormant: with only a handful of party members in the riding, a non-functioning or dysfunctional riding executive and little or no ability to raise funds. Some party leaders believe the number is closer to 100.
Because the rules for the election of the next Liberal leader give each and every one of the 308 ridings equal votes (100 each), the Liberal leader will be chosen by . . . → Read More: CuriosityCat: Liberal Leadership Race: Critical Strategy for Leadnow and Fair Vote Canada
By Greg Fingas, on January 28, 2013, at 8:58 am Assorted content to start your week.
- Maude Barlow offers some background to the Common Causes protests happening across Canada this week: Over the last two years, we have witnessed amazing organizing and mobilizing in Canada – from student movements in Québec, to the “Defend Our Coast” struggle against tar sands pipelines in British Columbia, to scientists speaking out against the “Death of Evidence,” to the environmental community standing together through the “Black Out Speak Out” campaign. Courageous doctors have stepped forward to challenge the attacks on refugee benefits, and librarians and archivists have marched to save our collective history. Workers are fighting for their
. . . → Read More: Accidental Deliberations: Monday Morning Links
By Greg Fingas, on January 27, 2013, at 10:57 am This and that for your Sunday reading.
- James Galbraith compares the mindless drones carrying an increasing share of the U.S.’ military load, and those serving to try to attack social programs in the name of illusory deficit reduction. But sadly, Galbraith misses one of the most important similarities: in both cases, the use of replaceable machines for the task makes it far too easy to keep launching attacks even when reason would dictate otherwise.
- Meanwhile, Ivan Semeniuk reports on how poverty can influence childhood development. And Rob Carrick reports that lenders are finding ways to extract
. . . → Read More: Accidental Deliberations: Sunday Morning Links
By AppalledBC, on January 5, 2013, at 2:31 pm Stephen Harper keeps support of ‘coalition’ of voters: poll
“Among the findings in the Dec. 7-12 Ipsos Reid poll:
* 44 per cent of Canadians think Harper’s majority government is “working well,” while 56 per cent don’t think it is. * 45 per cent like the way Harper is “handling his job as prime minister,” while 55 per cent don’t. * 44 per cent share Harper’s “values” on where Canada should be headed, compared to 56 per who don’t. * 48 per cent think Harper’s “approach to politics” has been good for Canada, while 52 per cent don’t think so. . . . → Read More: Politics and Entertainment: Harper May Have his Coalition but he doesn’t have Canada
By Nancy Leblanc, on December 4, 2012, at 6:27 pm
Parkdale High Park Liberal Debate on PR vs FPTP Part 1 from June Macdonald on Vimeo.
For those who are interested, this is the first 20 minutes of our debate held on November 15th in Parkdale-High Park on the topic of electoral reform. The introductory statements by the debaters begin at around the 7:00 minute mark.
It’s relevant to a national debate that’s taking off on electoral reform, so this was a happy incident of timing. Mr. Dion’s presentation of his electoral reform proposal at the Green Party convention at the end of the summer was our jumping off point
. . . → Read More: Impolitical: Electoral reform debate – video
By Rural, on December 2, 2012, at 8:54 am Perhaps that should read `Elections Canada fails to protect our voting system` or better yet EC protects wrong doers! Either way its pretty clear by now that they have been completely ineffective in investigating the many complaints from across the country regarding the 2011 election both before and after that date. We wonder if it were not for the Council of Canadians and the citizens who are perusing the alleged interference with the voting process within a few riding’s in the courts if in fact anything would be done at all. It now appears that they are only just now (Read more…)
By Nancy Leblanc, on December 2, 2012, at 7:00 am That’s video of Joyce Murray’s Vancouver launch that happened Saturday afternoon. I recommend watching the full video as by the end of it you’ll get a good sense of what she’s about and the bold policies of her platform thus far. It is Sunday after all… . . . → Read More: Impolitical: Joyce Murray’s Vancouver launch
By Mark Crowley, on December 2, 2012, at 3:33 am Great proposal from Andrew Coyne. I couldn’t have said it better myself, and I’ve tried, and tried and tried.
“The opposition parties would agree on a single candidate to put up against the Conservatives in each riding. Were they to win a majority, they would pledge to govern just long enough to implement electoral reform: a year, two at most. Then fresh elections would be called under the new system, with each party once again running under its own flag, with a full slate of candidates.”
Coyne begins his article talking about how the idea of ‘splitting the (Read more…)
By Mark Crowley, on November 27, 2012, at 11:02 am What an exciting day to be a political addict in Canada. Who says Canadian politics is boring? People who aren’t paying attention, that’s who. At least four exciting things happened yesterday. Yes, four.
First, the Mayor of Toronto, Rob Ford, was found in violation of the Conflict of Interest act and will be removed from office. Essentially, he voted on something he really shouldn’t have and clearly took pride in not knowing how the process of government works as a defense. A process which he has been involved in for 15 years. Fascinating.
Second, we find out that Mark Carney, you know, (Read more…)
By Nancy Leblanc, on November 15, 2012, at 1:11 pm CLICK TO ENLARGEInfo on location and resolution all above on our great flier designed by Graham Bolton, riding volunteer. The debaters are all quite enthused about the night which has been inspiring to hear. They are prepared and looking to get into th… . . . → Read More: Impolitical: Last call: Electoral reform debate tonight #php #cdnpoli #topoli
By Joseph Uranowski, on November 12, 2012, at 7:46 pm When?: Thursday, November 15th, 2012. 7pm – 9pm Where?: Bishop Marrocco-Thomas Merton (1515 Bloor St W, Toronto) Who?: Hosted by the Parkdale–High Park Federal Liberal Riding Association and Fair Vote Canada. The motion: “Be It Resolved That Canada Should Adopt … Continue reading → . . . → Read More: The Equivocator: The PHP Liberals are hosting an Oxford Style Debate on Electoral Reform on November 15th
By Nancy Leblanc, on November 2, 2012, at 3:04 pm In west end Toronto, on the evening of November 15th, the Parkdale-High Park federal Liberal riding association will be hosting a debate on electoral reform featuring some fine Canadian public policy leaders. We are very appreciative that they will be taking the time to participate with us in this event. The debate will be held in the auditorium of Bishop Marrocco High School (at Dundas West subway station on the Bloor line) from 7 – 9 pm. Fair Vote Canada has kindly agreed to co-sponsor the debate.
This is a little different from the usual town hall variety event that
. . . → Read More: Impolitical: It is on: Electoral reform debate
By Rural, on September 30, 2012, at 12:38 pm Extracts from a Speech of the Chief Electoral Officer of Canada at the the Economic Club of Canada on September 25, 2012 (my bold)
According to any international democracy index you look at, Canada’s democracy is consistently ranked among the top 10 in the world. On standard indicators of democratic health –such as the protection of civil liberties, control of corruption, or a free and accessible electoral process– Canadian democracy scores very high. By all comparative standards, Canada has an enviable record of good governance.That being said, we cannot be complacent. In my view, there are two areas
. . . → Read More: Democracy Under Fire: Maintaining Trust and Engagement in Canadian Elections
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