Whose Democracy Is It?
Canada needs meaningful electoral reform:
39% of the votes should = 39% of the seats in Parliament.
Our Liberal Government – that campaigned on making every vote count seems to be trying to weasel out of this important campaign promise. Instead of following the recommendation of the ERRE Committee, the Government has sent postcards to every Canadian household (at great expense).
The postcards ask Canadians are to complete a deeply problematic survey which requires participants to sacrifice an unreasonable amount of personal privacy in order to have our input included. The Government’s own website gives a little background, and then redirects us to the corporate website of the marketing firm we are expected to share such personal information as our household income. This is supposed to be okay, because we are not required to tell them our name. Except the personally identifiable information we are required to share is sufficient for Vox Pop Labs to ensure the answers made by multiple people completing the survey at the same address are distinct individuals. This means the personal data we’re required to surrender is far more invasive than simply giving our names would be.
Postcards
Because Ms. Monsef says she didn’t hear the vast majority of Canadians who attended her cross Canada tour say we want Proportional Representation it is very important Canadians tell the government *again*
At the Green Party Meeting in Calgary last week, Operation Postcard parties to be held in our communities throughout the festive season were suggested. To make the process easier, my friend Bonnie North helped develop tools to make participation easier.
Fair Vote Canada has also set up a website intended to help Canadians navigate the convoluted survey at mycanadiandemocracy.ca/
But for me, the negatives attached to the mydemocracy.ca online survey make it difficult to recommend Canadians engage in the Government’s dubious exercise, particularly in light of concern the aim of the survey is to provide justification to back away from meaningful reform.
Because of this, many people have opted to use the postcards the government sends us to send our own message to Prime Minister Trudeau and the Minister of Democratic institutions, Maryam Monsef. There is white space on the cards where we can write “Please keep your promise – Canada needs Proportional Representation” and address the postcard back to Parliament:
Prime Minster Justin Trudeau
House of Commons
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0A6
There are many variations on this theme, some of which can be found under the Twitter #OperationPostcard hashtag. But since only a single postcard is being sent to each Canadian household, those of in homes with more than one citizen are limited to a single opportunity to express a preference with the postcard. But fear not! If there are more people in your household who would like to offer an opinion, or even if you haven’t received your postcard yet in the mail, the Green Party provides an opportunity to print your own copy of the postcard at home here.
Fair Vote Canada has a “All I Want For Christmas is Proportional Representation” postcard they advocate we send to the Prime Minister, Minister Monsef and our MPs. Since I can’t find a link to it, I’ve made my own, which are (naturally) free culture, so there will be no problem getting them printed due to copyright.
4x6″ Postcard
https://www.flickr.com/photos/laurelrusswurm/30816448033/
8.5″ x 11″ Christmas Card
https://www.flickr.com/photos/laurelrusswurm/30785140034/
2 smaller Christmas Cards printed on 8.5″ x 11″ card stock
https://www.flickr.com/photos/laurelrusswurm/31510916191/
Remember: Postage is free when we mail anything to MPs!
If you haven’t used Flickr before, there is a down arrow on far right side of the menu bar below the photo. For printable quality images, choose Original size.
A Better Survey:
Because the government survey fails on so many levels, the Green Party has put together its own survey so Canadians can answer
It’s packaged in an online tool so we can send to our own responses ~ along with an optional personalized message ~ direct to Maryam Monsef, The Minister of Democratic Institutions and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
I sincerely hope every Canadian takes this opportunity to make our preferences known to the government. You don’t even have to be a GPC member or even a supporter to fill this survey out… it’s being offered as a public service.
Proportional Representation isn’t about what is in the best interest of political parties, it’s for us. Adopting Proportional Representation will benefit all Canadians because no matter which system is chosen, it will make our votes count – which will make our government more accountable. And that’s good.
[If you’re just tuning into the conversation, find out more in my Whoa!Canada Proportional Representation for Canada series
The Liberal Party promise was itself an acknowledgement of the uncomfortable truth that every vote does not count in the voting system Canadians use now.
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