VoteForMMP.ca is accusing the
Toronto Star of fear-mongering and inaccurate journalism in the
Star's editorial today against electoral reform.
In today's editorial, the Toronto Star repeated the misleading
claim that under Ontario's proposed new MMP system, the new
province-wide candidates “could simply be appointed by party
bosses.”
"This argument is regularly being used falsely by unthinking
defenders of the status quo to deter support for needed
electoral reform," said Rick Anderson, campaign chair of
VoteForMMP.ca. "It's a shame that a media organization with the
Star's credentials is not more careful with the facts regarding
such an important question confronting voters."
After eight months of careful study, Ontario's Citizens’
Assembly on Electoral Reform recommended that Ontarians adopt a
mixed member proportional (MMP) electoral system, in which:
(a) a redesigned ballot allows voters to vote once for their
preferred local candidate and a second time for their preferred
party, and
(b) future legislatures are composed of a mix of 90
locally-elected MPPs (elected as today) and 39 new
provincially-elected MPPs elected by voters proportionate to the
party votes cast on the second part of the new ballot.
"The Citizens’ Assembly did not recommend that any MPPs be
appointed, nor is that the practice in other democracies which
use MMP," said Anderson. "It is misleading and unacceptable to
characterize that as part of the MMP proposal."
In today's system, parties are left to determine their own
methods for democratically nominating local candidates.
Likewise, the Citizens’ Assembly left it to the individual
parties to determine their own methods of nominating both riding
and provincial candidates in the future, with the provisos that
the parties are required to nominate their candidates publicly
before voters vote and to publish the details of their candidate
nomination processes in a clear, democratic and transparent
fashion.
"In the other jurisdictions which use MMP all parties have
adopted democratic candidate nomination processes for
proportional candidates, just as they have for local
candidates. Moreover, even in advance of the new system being
adopted three of Ontario's four parties have already made public
statements affirming they will follow democratic practices to
nominate MMP candidates." (See backgounder below.)
"The notion that under MMP candidates would be appointed is
simply hogwash," said Anderson. "Star readers should demand
greater accuracy from their paper. Informed voters require a
higher standard than this inaccurate sloganeering."
VoteforMMP.ca is a multi-partisan citizens' campaign
supporting the mixed member proportional (MMP) voting system
proposed by the Ontario Citizens’ Assembly on Electoral Reform.
Contacts: Larry Gordon –
647-519-7585
larry.gordon@fairvote.ca
Rick Anderson, Campaign Chair,
VoteForMMP.ca
e-mail:
rick@asci.ca
Website:
www.VoteForMMP.ca
BACKGROUNDER
John Tory, Leader, Ontario PC Party
(National Post, September 25, 2007): "The Conservative leader
went on to say that if the referendum passes, his party will
likely find a democratic way to develop its list of candidates:
'The history of our party is that the party insists on choosing
its candidates democratically.'"
Howard Hampton, Leader, Ontario New
Democratic Party (Ontario Today, CBC Radio, September 26, 2007)
"We believe we should nominate the at-large candidates according
to a very democratic process. We would want to ensure we have
more women, more visible minority candidates, more First Nations
candidates...a lot of people who make up the Ontario mosaic."
Frank de Jong, Leader, Green Party
of Ontario (GPO press release, September 27, 2007): "Democracy
extends to choosing candidates in a transparent and equitable
manner...We are committed to using a transparent and equitable
process to produce a slate of qualified Green candidates who
accurately reflect Ontario's diverse population."
Reality Check #2: Toronto Star wrong about
whether first-past-the-post (FPTP) or mixed member
proportional (MMP) leads to political chaos
Toronto: September 30, 2007 -- VoteForMMP.ca says the
Toronto Star owes it to voters to do its homework on whether
first-past-the-post (FPTP) or mixed member proportional (MMP)
leads to better political consensus.
In an editorial today, the Toronto Star claimed that
“Jurisdictions that have adopted some form or other of
proportional representation – think of Italy, Israel,
Germany, Belgium – have become notorious for chaotic
politics and legislature gridlock.”
More than 80 countries use
proportional voting systems, with some for more than a
century. If colourful anecdotes suffice for “evidence”, does
that mean Zimbabwe or Nigeria prove that FPTP is “notorious”
for producing oppressive and corrupt regimes?
The respected comparative
studies show countries with proportional representation
enjoy stable, effective, representative, accountable
governments, which tend to produce legislation more in line
with majority viewpoint while maintaining strong economic
performance
Notwithstanding colourful
politics, Italy is actually a fairly stable and successful
country, as vibrant in its political culture as it is in so
many other ways, and hardly a failing state. The periodic
reorganizations of its governing coalitions are sometimes
colourful to be sure, but are generally accomplished without
elections or even changes of government, more akin to what
we think of as cabinet shuffles than anything else. (See:
minority governments in Canada for more disruptive examples
of chaos). Where does the Star get off treating Italy this
way - and forgiving what happens here in Canada when voters
are divided in their preferences?
Germany is an example which directly disproves the Star's
supposed point. When the 2005 elections produced a split
outcome, and smaller parties demanded high concessions as
the price of coalition support, the two largest parties
instead agreed to collaborate together in forming a
successful government. The Star should check its facts.
Meanwhile, here in Canada, the existing first-past-the-post
system has produced more than its share of "chaos" and
"gridlock":
- no Canadian party has benefited more from the
extraordinary and undemocratic seat bonuses delivered by
FPTP than the Bloc Quebecois, about as disruptive a
political force as exists in Canada. FPTP lottery regularly
grants the Bloc nearly twice as many seats as they get
votes;
- three times in the last decade, Canadian parties receiving
the greatest number of votes in provincial elections failed
to be elected government, thanks to the distorting effects
of FPTP: Gordon Campbell in BC, Jean Charest in Quebec and
Bernard Lord in New Brunswick all earned the support of the
largest number of voters only to watch their opponents sworn
in as premier thanks to FPTP;
- here in Ontario, FPTP’s exaggerating effects have
delivered radical and disruptive changes in government on
the strength of relatively small vote shifts -- from Rae to
Harris to McGuinty, three successive governments bringing in
radically different approaches than the predecessors even
though only about 10% of voters altered their preferences;
- many voters indicate a preference for minority governments
as being more accountable and representative, but dislike
the constant electoral brinksmanship which attends them.
This brinksmanship, apparently misunderstood by the Star, is
greatly encouraged by FPTP, whose vote-exaggerating
characteristics magnify the opportunism revolving around
potentially big seat gains from minor vote shift. In PR
systems, parties tend to understand that small support
changes lead to small seat changes, and the emphasis steers
toward coalition-building rather than partisanship.
The Star is perpetuating two misleading myths: one that FPTP
is relatively stable and the other that PR is not. The facts
are generally the opposite of the Star's comfortable
prejudice in favour of the status quo.
VoteforMMP.ca is a
multi-partisan citizens' campaign supporting the mixed
member proportional (MMP) voting system proposed by the
Ontario Citizens’ Assembly on Electoral Reform.
Steve Withers, Media
Coordinator, VoteForMMP.ca
519-282-1078
steve.withers@VoteForMMP.ca
Rick Anderson, Campaign Chair,
VoteForMMP.ca
rick@asci.ca
Website:
www.VoteForMMP.ca
