Only 2 Liberal MPs were heroes today. #ERRE
Liberal MP Sean Casey was one of only 2 Liberal MPs who voted to support Mr. Cullen’s Motion to concur in the Second Report of the Special Committee on Electoral Reform.
Had that motion passed, it would have meant the federal Electoral Reform process that had been promised by the Liberals while campaigning in 2015, then reiterated multiple times by PM Trudeau and the Trudeau Government, and which they spent millions on before the PM unilaterally decided to pull the plug, then Parliament would have accepted the ERRE Committee report, and the process would have continued.
Sean Casey is the MP for the riding of Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, where they had a referendum in which voters chose to adopt the Mixed Member Proportional electoral system, and which that Provincial Government chose to ignore.
Here’s the relevant bit of MP Sean Casey’s official statement:
Today in the House of Commons, I cast my vote in favour of a motion on concurrence with the report of the Special Committee on Electoral Reform.
PEI has a special connection to electoral reform. In November 2016, Islanders voted to support the implementation of a form of proportional representation in our voting system.
In Charlottetown, about two-thirds of the ballots cast, in the end, supported a proportional system.This process ran concurrently with our government’s consultation process on changing our federal voting system as well. Understandably, many people were frustrated and disappointed with the announcement that the government would not be pursuing electoral reform, given a lack of consensus around a new electoral system.
Those who have been following the work of the Special Committee on Electoral Reform will know the amount of effort that went into producing a majority report recommending a referendum – which would include a proportional option. I cast my vote in favour of the report in order to represent the two-thirds of Charlottetown voters who supported a provincial proportional option, and in recognition of the important work conducted by the members of the Committee.
Despite my vote and the votes of other members, the motion did not pass. An important part of our system is respecting the will of the House of Commons, whose members represent all Canadians across the country. I hope my constituents know that I will continue to stand for them when it matters.